Author: Christa Avampato

The short of it: Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day. The long of it: My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events. While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series. A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist. My company: I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media: • I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference; • I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable; • I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me. Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
home, religion, yoga

Step 114: Little Altars Everywhere

Christa Avampato

After a few months of thinking about creating an altar, I finally made one. It’s simple: no extra furniture required, a colorful cloth dish towel, 2 tea lights and holders, 2 small Chinese Buddha statues, a Nataraj statue, a Ganesha statue, some sage leaves, incense matches, a tiny bowl ceramic bowl from Japan that my friend, Rob, gave to me, a mala bracelet, and a set of Tibetan prayer beads that were given to me by a Buddhist priest in Salt Lake City. S small blue bindi from my teacher, Tracy, sits in the center.

All of a sudden, it all came together. I finally just decided it needed to be done, and the pieces fell into place with practically no effort on my part. A friend of mine in my teacher training told me about a store called Scent Elate in Hell’s kitchen. There I found two of the statues of Nataraj and Ganesha, as well as the matches and the sage (which were a gift from Mo, the owner of Scent Elate). I bought the mala bracelet in Whole Foods on a recent grocery shopping trip. The two Buddhas I bought in San Francisco’s Chinatown a long time ago. Along with the Tibetan prayer beads, those two Buddha statues survived my apartment building fire. In many ways I felt that they protected my life. Despite that they were out in the open, surrounded by smoke, there was never a speck on them and they didn’t ever smell of smoke. I found the tea lights, tea light holders, and towel at Crate and Barrel while redeeming a $15 gift card.

I love this altar in my home and it reminds me that everywhere out in the world, we can find little altars, places where we have tiny, holy moments that show us the way to enormous learnings. Ella’s community lemonade stand. Each of those gorgeous flowering tress in Riverside Park. The tables of restaurants where I share meals and laughs with friends. My tiny cafe table where I do most of my writing. The flower bed that used to be in my grandmother’s backyard. My niece’s high chair where I’ve fed her meals. These are little places where the universal divine rose up to the surface to show me the way. My way.

If you’re out in the world finding places that provide you with little glimmers of truth, I’d love to hear about them.

adventure, business, entrepreneurship, fear, feelings, yoga

Step 113: F.E.A.R.

Christa Avampato

“F.E.A.R. – false evidence appearing real.” ~ Tracy, my yoga teacher

Whenever I have class with my yoga teacher, Tracy, I keep my pen close by. She always has pearls of wisdom that she carefully places before us as an offering, wisdom that has been passed down to her from her own practice and meditation and her teachers. Last night she laid the quote above before us and asked us to consider why we would hold any fear at all give this acronym. I couldn’t think of any good reasons.

It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of letting our thoughts get the best of us. Certainly they should make us considerate of our actions, though we can’t allow them to prevent us from finding our true way. Lately I’ve been feeling my way toward my path with a little more spring in my step than usual. I’m growing increasingly aware that my life’s work, that elusive things I’ve been rummaging around for, is just around the corner, and so every day I wake up with the feeling that today might be the day when all these pieces that seem to be heading toward one another finally coalesce so beautifully that I wonder why I didn’t see their connection all along.

Every once in a while I catch myself believing in my false evidence appearing positive: “There are lots of yoga teachers in this city, all over the world. What will you do that’s so different?” or “There are people who are professionally trained industrial designers who develop products. How can you produce something as elegant as their work?” During my 18 minutes of meditation a day, my mind’s eye recognizes these F.E.A.R.s, acknowledges them, and then politely moves on. This doesn’t mean they go away completely; I certainly have moments of self-doubt. Can I really make a go of my own business? Can I really offer up something special and unique? And the answer I keep hearing, “well what else are you going to do with your time here if not create something special and unique.” Prana has a sense of humor. And it’s blunt. It’s got no time for messing around.

So I’ve started cranking along, planting lots and lots of seeds in all of this rich soil in my life. Every once in a while an early shoot sprouts up, I go over and water it, and despite my best efforts it just doesn’t root down properly. That’s okay. I thank it for making an appearance, showing me a way, knowing that its possibility put me one step closer to finding my way.

False evidence is all around us, and its a very good actor. But if we take the time to really sift through, to really match up the opportunities we find with what we truly want, it’s easy to detect which options are distractions and which ones we really need to cultivate. The next little adventure I’ll be cultivating is a trip to Santorini, Greece for a yoga retreat and teacher training with Shiva Rea. I have been looking for a retreat for some time now that really offer a nice combo of downtime and practice, in a place I’ve never been, with a teacher I really respect and admire. It just happened to work out that the week Shiva’s going is the perfect time for me to take a vacation, the price is perfect, and the theme “radical relaxation” is just what my curious soul needs. Synchronicity: a sure sign that I’m going exactly where I need to be. F.E.A.R.s be gone…

The image above is not my own. It depicts the sunset in Santorini, Greece, hopefully similar to the ones I’ll be seeing very soon. It can be found here.

environment, yoga

Step 112: Every Tree is Beautiful

Christa Avampato

“I’ve never seen an ugly tree.” Tracy, my yoga teacher

We had another divine Thursday evening with our yoga teacher, Tracy, and for an added bonus Jeffrey was there as our yoga model. To see them team-teach was a treat. Tonight we focused on balancing poses, and Vrksasana (tree pose) is one of my favorites. Very appropriate for Earth Day.

As we were exploring the different kramas (phases or stages) of Vrksasana, Tracey encouraged us to show all of the kramas as we’re teaching. The lower kramas are every bit as beautiful as the more advanced ones. “I’ve never seen an ugly tree,” Tracy said. “Inside and outside. They’re all beautiful.”

I thought about that idea in relation to the phases of so many different parts of our lives. There’s so much power and beauty in the phases we go through as we’re striving toward a goal. Even in the difficult moments, the beauty is there. It may be harder to uncover, it may be harder to appreciate. Within every moment there is a way to learn and grow and evolve. And that’s a beautiful thing.

The image above is from Google’s homepage today in celebration of Earth Day.

children, education

Step 111: Everyone Needs Kids

Christa Avampato

“Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they’re looking for ideas.” ~ Paula Poundstone

“When we approach children with the awareness that they are our teachers, we become more present ourselves.” ~ DailyOM

“Everyone needs a 14-year old,” my friend, Brian, said to me tonight at dinner. Kids and teenagers have their finger on the pulse of what’s cool, new, and will someday be widely accepted. We don’t give our little gurus enough credit. I’m convinced that a room full of teenagers has a whole lot more creative brainpower, and therefore potential to build something of value, than a room full of Fortune 500 executives.

Today at work we had our annual Bowl-a-thon to raise money for Junior Achievement, a nonprofit that helps professionals volunteer in public schools to teach financial literacy courses. We had a great time (even though it was made painfully clear that I’m just never going to be a good bowler), and I would have liked a small plug about the organization and their mission. Supporting education, and public education in particular, is crucial to our nation’s future. Without it, we might as well throw in the towel now.

This week I came across the quotes at the top of this page, and combined with my conversation with Brian and the bowl-a-thon, I was reminded how important it is to have kids in our lives. I’m not sure that I want to have children, but I’m so glad they’re a part of my life through my volunteer work and my family. We have so much to learn from them, and they need us to champion their rights. If kids aren’t a part of your life in any way, I highly encourage finding a way to spend time with them. Here are some ways that can help get you going:

1.) Volunteer. There are so many opportunities to teach a class, coach a sports team, or be a mentor. You can learn from them and they can learn from you. Check out TakePart Social Action Network, to find volunteer opportunities near you.

2.) It takes a village. Offer to spend time with the child of a family member or friend. Your friends and family can use the down time, and their kids will benefit from having you as a great adult role model in their lives.

3.) Check around the office. At work there may be a way to do some research about the youth demographic or work on a product or service whose primary users are kids. Being a part of the market research, or just having to put yourself into the mindset of a young consumer, can effect your entire view of the world.

4.) Read books meant for a young audience. When I’m in bookstores, I do a little spin through the young adult reader section and I always find a book I like. It’s become a huge market for book publishers (thank you, Harry Potter) so the content is very rich. If you can’t find a way to get real kids in your life, just reading the books they’re reading, watching the TV shows that intrigue them, or listening to music they like can give you enough of their perspective to start to expand your own horizons.

If you have kids in your life, I’d love to hear your stories about what these kids have taught you.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

New York Ciy, outlook, writing, yoga

Step 110: The Elusive Center

Christa Avampato

Finding our center, particularly in a city as busy as New York, is tough. This is the 3rd time in my life that I’ve lived in New York, and only now have I been able to find some semblance of peace here. I had this conversation twice today, with my friends, Ellie and Sara. Sometimes I feel like a puppy who’s chasing a light across the floor. I scramble over here and over there and everywhere, looking for the elusive “thing” that I should be doing or seeing or finding. The chase. I always feel like I’m on the look-out for something bigger and better.

In the past few months, I’ve been working on finding my center, appreciating where I am and reveling in it, rather than focusing on running toward something else. There are a few things I’ve been trying and I think they’re working to help calm me down:

1.) Yoga. Lots and lots of yoga. Getting my teacher certification is something I’ve been coveting for a number of years. Rather than making excuses of why I couldn’t do it, I just made time, happened upon the perfect program for me, and went for it. The meditation practice that has come along with my yoga training has also been an invaluable gift.

2.) I now give myself permission to just go home after work when I just need to go home. I don’t cave in to what I “should” do to live a “New York life”. I decided that my New York life includes whatever I want it to include, not any artificial expectations.

3.) I have a job that I really enjoy that provides me with a comfortable living in this city while I work on my own business ideas. I certainly realize that I hit the jackpot with this assignment, and every day I wake up and am thankful for it. It took some and effort to find the right combination of circumstances that would work for me, but finally I found my way. It just took commitment and perseverance on my part.

4.) I decided I could go out in crazy, but I didn’t need to live in crazy. I love being able to be in the middle of it all, and then I Iike to be able to get out of the middle of it when I want to go to sleep. As a result I live in a less cool neighborhood for the sake of some peace and quiet. And living near some large parks is an easy way to “get away” for a bit while I’m right in the midst of the city.

5.) My writing. This blog, my guest posts, and my on-line connections with other writers, keep me sane. Writing keeps me actively engaged while also providing me with perspective. And every crazy thing that happens to me in this city is just another source of good material.

6.) After my yoga teacher training, I’m getting a dog. For most of my life, we’ve had dogs in my family and these past few months since we lost Sebastian, our family pup, have been tough ones. After months of contemplating getting my own dog, I’ve finally decided that the routine necessary to raise a happy, healthy pup, is something I can and want to commit to.

I’d love to hear how you’re finding a ways to keep the peace amidst your busy lives, wherever you call home!

books, writing

Step 109: Looking for Some Solid Writing Advice? Author Zadie Smith Serves It Up.

Christa Avampato

A few weeks ago, I signed up for an open house at Gotham Writer’s Workshop. As a result, I was added to their email list and have been enjoying their newsletter. Today they featured 10 solid tips from author Zadie Smith, known for her brilliant books White Teeth, The Autograph Man, and On Beauty.

1.) When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.
Chances are if you’re reading this blog post, you aren’t a child but if you have children in your life in some way this is a great gift to pass on to them.

2.) When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.
Hard to be critic of our own work, especially if we love the piece, but this point is critical to being a good editor.

3.) Don’t romanticize your “vocation.” You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no “writer’s lifestyle.” All that matters is what you leave on the page.
This is my favorite tip in this list. Practical and straight-forward. And it made me realize that my life off the page is an important influence on my work.

4.) Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can’t do aren’t worth doing. Don’t mask self-doubt with contempt.
I’m a fan of playing to my strengths. Thank you, Marcus Buckingham.

5.) Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.
I like my writing to sit for at least a day before I start editing.

6.) Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won’t make your writing any better than it is.
I like that this puts us in charge of determining the value of our own writing.

7.) Work on a computer that is disconnected from the Internet.
For fiction writing, I totally agree. Blogging and news writing often require research and the internet is invaluable for that.

8.) Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.
I love my writing nights after work, or having a whole weekend day to just write. Those nights and days are few and far between lately, but I’m hoping to get them back soon. I do write everyday, and it doesn’t seem daunting and doesn’t resemble a chore. It’s just what I do. Just like brushing my teeth.

9.) Don’t confuse honors with achievement.
Some of the very best writing I’ve read never won any kind of award, and it didn’t make one bit of difference in how much those pieces helped me.

10.) Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand—but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.
The truth takes on many forms, and appears in our lives, off the page and on the page, in so many different ways. Just take it as it comes, through moments of triumph and defeat. It’s all learning.

Looking for more cool tips from some of the best writers around? Check out Tips from Masters.

friendship, yoga

Step 108: The Tough Side of Being True to Yourself

Christa Avampato

“I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself, if you can take the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.” ~ Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Johanna, one of my yoga teachers, frequently talks to us about obstacles. Tight hamstrings, a lack of patience, distractions of the mind that impede our focus. For a while those inner obstacles will allow themselves to be ignored, but the longer we refuse to recognize them, the more angry they get until they are unbearable. As Johanna explained to us, they will eventually become so tired of being ignored that they will flare up in our lives in ways that force us to acknowledge and deal with them. “So hand them a rose and say, ‘I see you’,” Johanna counsels us.

This is hard stuff. We want to believe that obstacles are just things we can plow right through if we’re truly strong people. And so when the obstacles bog us down, we beat ourselves up. We say things like “this shouldn’t bother me” or “I should just get over it” or “I’ll just let it go because it doesn’t really matter”. Johanna made me wonder if we might be better served to acknowledge something that is distracting or bothering us with a simple “I see you. I understand you. You’re here to teach me something.”

I’m not sure how Johanna does this, but she always addresses an issue I’m having in my life at the most timely moment and her wisdom is powerful. This weekend a friend of mine tried to get me to do something I knew I just couldn’t do and still remain true to myself. He wanted me to publish an interview in my Examiner column about a friend of his, and the profile just didn’t fit with the purpose of my column which is to inspire would-be entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. In the past I would have just published the piece, even though I knew it wasn’t something I could be proud of, because I wouldn’t want a friend to be angry with me. When I told him that the piece didn’t fit with the focus of my column and I apologized for not being able to run it, he sent me back an email that really hurt my feelings. I felt “up against it” as Johanna would say. I was really angry. And rather than just rolling over, I held my ground. I acknowledged the anger and said, “I see you. I understand you. I know I need to stand up to my friend in order to be true to myself, and I will do just that.”

And then a funny thing happened. Rather than still feeling angry or hurt my friend, I felt a release. I have an issue with creating and maintaining boundaries. In the past, I’ve allowed people in my personal life to push me around and this behavior has hurt me for many years. Setting boundaries and sticking to them in my personal life is very hard for me. “Old habits die hard,” Brian tells me consistently. I really wanted to do something that would prevent my friend from being angry with me, but I couldn’t do that and still be authentic. And if I do nothing else, I have to be true to who I am and put work out into the world that I am proud of. Anyone who asks me to compromise that isn’t really a friend at all. And that’s a hard truth to accept, but I’m trying.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

Examiner, technology, website

My interview with Anthony Casalena, Founder of Squarespace

Christa Avampato

My interview with Anthony Casalena, Founder of Squarespace, a very cool web publishing platform: http://ow.ly/1zO60

change, choices, decision-making

Step 107: Irons in the Fire

Christa Avampato

I got a chance to catch up with my friend, Amy, today. She is one of my dearest friends and will be visiting New York soon. She’s about to transition out of her current job and isn’t sure what will come next. Amy’s considering a number of different paths as she winds down from a wonderful job she’s had for the past four years. I’m so excited to see how everything plays out for her.

We talked about the need to put a lot of irons in the fire when we’re in the midst of change. When I was considering my next career move a few months ago, I applied to a PhD program, applied to a yoga teacher training programming, looked inside my current company at a number of positions, and started to look at external jobs as well. I explored every possibility that seemed interesting, and I ended up moving forward into a yoga teacher training program and finding a new job at my current company that I love where I can leverage all of my interests, from social media to technology to innovation. Exploring a lot of different options made the possibility of finding a combo I really wanted all the more likely. I found a little luck along the way and was dedicated to having my next move be one that really made me happy. Having options, and giving myself the freedom to consider all of them without being wed to one single path, was a key component for my next successful jump.

Our lives seem to move in concentric circles, Amy and I. It’s probably why we’ve been such good friends for so many years. I know her next step is going to yield a glorious new beginning because she’s worked so hard for so long and because she’s not afraid to live her life in many different directions. I’m glad I can be there to cheer her on.

change, home

Step 106: Away We Go or Do We Stay?

Christa Avampato

This week I’ve been thinking about home. Not just the physical place where we live, but the place that becomes part of our identity. The place where we belong and the place that belongs to us.

I watched the movie Away We Go on my friend, Rob’s, recommendation. It was his favorite movie of 2009 so I dropped it into my Netflix queue. It’s a sweet story about two people who are about to start a family and want to find the perfect place to live. They trek across the country and up to Montreal. Eventually they end up in a place that neither of them ever imagined being the perfect place because they’d been there before. And there it was. Perfect, and so easy.

This week was the series finale of Ugly Betty. I became a fan late in the series, and really ended up loving the kitschy, wink-wink-nudge-nudge humor. What I really loved was Betty’s desire to try to do the right thing, work hard, and follow her heart. In the end of the series, her heart lead her to a tough decision to make a new home, even when staying where she’d always been was a good deal, too.

In Real Simple Magazine this month, I read a story about a couple whose newly renovated home caught fire. They considered moving to Bali, rebuilding the house they had lost, and everything in-between. Eventually, they stayed on their property and developed a very unique new home from two structures that they had never considered turning into a house. It was in the same place, but an entirely new idea of home.

I guess sometimes we can go home again, sometimes we’re better off making our own way, far away, and other times, we can stay where we are and make it new again. I traveled a lot in my 20’s and moved around all the time. Now I’m nearly 3 years in to my 3rd return to New York. I haven’t lived in any one city for this long since I was 18 years old. I’m glad to be making a little nest of my own, and I have to admit that from time to time I wonder if there will be another home chapter after NYC or if I’m really here to stay.

I’d love to hear your perspectives on the idea home.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.