Category: books

books, entrepreneurship, Examiner, technology, writer, writing

NY Business Strategies Examiner.com: Interview with Bob Young, CEO of Lulu

Christa Avampato

As a writer, I am very interested in Lulu.com, a start-up that helps authors self-publish and promote their work. Gail Jordan, the Director of Publicity at Lulu, was kind enough to arrange an interview for me with Lulu’s CEO, Bob Young. Gail summed up Lulu’s mission very eloquently. “Lulu is a tremendous example of the entrepreneurship of our founder and CEO, Bob Young, as well as being a place where writers, who are often entrepreneurs themselves, are empowered to publish and profit from their work.” What an inspiring reason for being!

To read the interview, please visit:
http://www.examiner.com/x-2901-NY-Business-Strategies-Examiner~y2009m6d1-Interview-with-Bob-Young-CEO-of-Lulu

books, change, movie, play, theatre

My Year of Hopefulness – A Life in Three Acts

Christa Avampato

With such beautiful weather in New York today, I headed to the park to continue reading Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street. At the start of chapter 16, Michael Davis opens with the line “sometimes life in like the movies, a story in 3 acts.” I’ve been thinking about that line, particularly with respect to my post from yesterday about being in a state of flux with a dash of confusion.

Davis reminded me that in act 2, there is always a series of challenges that the protagonist has to work through. I wonder now at the ripe old age of 33 if I’m at the tail end of the first act or have just entered the second act of my life. This slight act of separation, some might call it delusion, helped me think a little more clearly today. I’m able at this moment to step away from my life a bit, and just observe what’s happening in context of a broader set of possible outcomes.

It also helps to know that in every great story there are always twists and turns, that few if any read like fairy tales of sweetness and light. There are fairy tale moments, though they tend to not be the ones that are the most interesting or insightful. The trade-off for learning and insight is often a bit of struggle and discomfort. It involves rising when all we feel like doing is laying low. It asks us to be greater spirits than we believe we can be.

Surviving and thriving through act 2 requires us to take a deep breathe, several if necessary, put our heads down, and get to work, on ourselves and on the exterior circumstances that effect us so that we can sail into act 3, riding high, wiser and more certain of our direction. It helps if our co-stars, friends and family, can help us – a protagonist rarely appears in act 3 triumphant as an island. Guides and assistance often appear as the plot lines intertwine with growing complications, exactly when we need them.

A story takes a while to unravel, to reveal itself to the audience, and to the protagonist. There will be moments of confusion and tough choices to make. It’s all part of the drama and the comedy; it’s all part of life.

books, business, career, entrepreneurship, Examiner, health, technology

My Year of Hopefulness – The Food Medic

Christa Avampato

Today I am thrilled to publish a recent interview with Gary Novosel, Founder of The Food Medic. The Food Medic is a website that provides information of good nutrition’s ability to combat disease. On the site, Gary provides information on the health properties of specific skills, what foods have great benefit to combat specific diseases, and delicious recipes that are easy to prepare.

All of the interviews I do for Examiner.com really motivate me to work on my own business ideas. Gary’s story is one with real heart, so much so that I even found myself tearing up when he talked about several life-changing experiences that prompted him to start The Food Medic. He’s also written a cookbook to capture many of his insights and delicious recipes, appropriately titled The Food Medic Cookbook.

Gary’s journey is a wonderful lesson in the power of kismet and following your passion! He also has great advice for people who are interested in starting their own businesses. Check out my interview with Gary on Examiner.com by clicking here.

books, business, social media, technology, Twitter

The Twitter Book by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein

Christa Avampato

When I read, appropriately enough on Twitter, that Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein had written The Twitter Book, I couldn’t wait to scoop up a copy. Literally. So I sent a message to the book’s Twitter account and asked if I could get an early copy to review. The book is so clear and concise, so necessary to the social media world, that I wondered why on Earth it has taken so long for this kind of book to be written. Tim and Sarah are the perfect people to publish this type of work, both experts in the tool itself and in the art of communication. We’re lucky to have them.

The Twitter Book is appropriate for people who’ve never heard of Twitter, who don’t understand it, who like the concept though aren’t sure how to use it, and for Twitter addicts like me. Whether you’re an individual looking to build your own personal brand on-line, someone who is considering starting a business, or part of a large company, the book is chock full of ideas, resources, and helpful advice.

I recommend getting a copy of this book and using it as a constant reference the same way you’d use any top-rate how-to guide. I also found that it was incredibly helpful to have my computer in front of me so I could actually experiment with the different tips and resources that Tim and Sarah suggest. Within the pages of the book I also found a few other great people to follow on Twitter.

From a personal brand building stand-point, I found dozens of great ideas in The Twitter Book. (For those interested in how The Twitter Book helps business brand building, please see my Business Strategies column on Examiner.com.) Here are three of my favorite ideas to give you a flavor of what awaits you in this book:

1.) Twitter gives you the opportunity have superhuman powers you’ve always wanted: you can read people’s minds and overhear conversations as if you’re a fly on the wall.

2.) The art of brevity and timing is priceless. Highest traffic days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, business hours in EST. That’s when the most links, ideas, and thoughts get replies (direct messages – dms – or @ messages) and passed around (“re-tweeted”). People need to see your message (“tweet”) within 5 minutes of you posting it or they likely won’t see it at all. And make it concise and interesting because you’ve only got 140 characters to get your point across.

3.) Jargon explained. I hate to be in acronym city. I think a lot of people use acronyms and catch-phrases to make themselves seem better informed than anyone else around. It annoys me. Twitter is no exception. A lot of people scratch their heads when they hear words like “tweet”, “tweeple”, and “tweetup”. I don’t blame them. I did the same thing and for a long while the jargon scared me off. I belonged to Twitter for a year and was mostly inactive before I figured out why it mattered and how it could be useful to me. The most valuable reason to pick up The Twitter Book is to have experts Tim and Sarah explain the jargon in very straight-forward terms, and then show you how the tool can be a very powerful part of your overall brand-building toolkit.

Before Tim and Sarah even get the discussion going in the book, they ask for suggestions to improve and enhance the content. The book has given me a lot of great ideas and I want to return the favor to them with a few ideas to consider for the next edition.

1.) For people brand new to Twitter, a glossary of terms would be very helpful.
2.) A set of easy to reference lists in the appendix would be handy. Common mistakes to avoid on Twitter, top companies using Twitter effectively, etc.
3.) An expanded section on how non-profits can use Twitter. It is briefly touched on in the book and I’d love to learn more from Tim and Sarah on new ideas that are particular to nonprofits that would help organizations increase awareness through Twitter.
4.) A resource directory, divided up into sections, in the appendix would be handy. For example, a list of third party programs, resources to help trim messages that are over 140 characters, etc.

An easy and endlessly helpful resource, The Twitter Book will accelerate the growth and power of Twitter. Generous and honest, Tim and Sarah skillfully help their readers take part in the conversation. The Twitter Book will be available in hard copy on May 26, 2009.
It is available in e-book format now at: http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596802813/

books, change, family, Hachette Book Group USA, love, writer

My Year of Hopefulness – Follow Me by Joanna Scott

Christa Avampato

As a writer, I read a lot, always looking for new styles and interesting turns of phrase. Joanna Scott has become my new favorite author. I quickly ran through her book, Follow Me, in a week. I couldn’t put it down and wanted to enjoy every word of this consuming, at once bitter and sweet, story that spans several generations of women. Mistaken identities, family complications, love, and a sense of place dominate the books intertwining themes. At points I loved and hated all of the main characters, a sign that Joanna Scott is capable of creating personalities that are so true to life that I have found myself thinking about them as if they are my neighbors and friends.

Even more lovely and intriguing than the plot twists and turns, Joanna Scott uses language that made me realize that English can be just as beautiful as any romance language. Her poignant sentiments are dramatic without being saccharin. For example, early on in the book one of the characters runs away from her life and family after a traumatic event. “But still she runs. Running, running, running. How many lives start over this way, by putting one foot in front of the other?”

I considered how many of us today must start over because our investments have decreased so dramatically in value or because we, or someone in our family, lost a job. Starting over is frightening and painful. And yet, Joanna Scott is right: starting over is simply putting one foot in front of the other in a different direction. What I find so inspiring about Follow Me is that its characters are not afraid to start over. Indeed, they find it almost impossible to not immediately start over when life doesn’t go their way. A lesson that at least bears consideration, if not emulation, by all of us.

books, business, career, decision-making, Jack Welch

My Year of Hopefulness – Suzy Welch’s 10-10-10 principle

Christa Avampato

Suzy Welch was on the Today Show this morning promoting her new book about her never-fail operating principle – 10-10-10. With decisions, consider how your choice will effect your life 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years from now. It’s such a deceptively simple rule of thumb, that it made me think why I hadn’t thought of it myself – always the sign that something is a good idea.

Let’s consider an example to see how 10-10-10 works.

What if you’re thinking of leaving your current job and have been offered a position at a new company:

10 minutes – how will you feel about giving your notice at your current position? How will you feel about not seeing your current co-workers everyday? Do you feel like you would be leaving important work unfinished that you’d like to add to your portfolio? How does this jump contribute to your long-term plan? How do you feel about getting up every morning and going to this new job?

10 months – settled in to your new position, how does this new experience shape your overall career outlook? Your outlook on your life in general? Did you have to take a pay cut or get a pay raise for your job? How has your new financial situation changed your life, if at all? Could you experience any buyer’s remorse? What have your gained through the new experiences and projects in your new position?

10 years – how do you imagine the position you are considering will effect your life 10 years down the line? What contacts and skills did it give you that effected your long-term career goals?

The questions for each phase are endless. Suzy Welch recommends doing a values self assessment first to identify what’s most important to you. That will help you compile the questions at each phase that are relevant to you.

When doing the value self-assessment, ask the big questions: do you care most about financial independence and financial security? Is your goal to live a life of adventure? Do you care most about collecting good stories and meeting interesting people? Do you want to start your own business? Is travel important to you? Do you want to be a life-longer learner or an expert in a specific field.

By taking the long-view, the action steps for the near-term become much clearer. It’s all about perspective. How do you want to design your life?

apple, books, business, economy, government, politics

My Year of Hopefulness – The Age of the Unthinkable

Christa Avampato

In 1997, Apple launched a campaign with one simple message “Think Different”. 12 years ago it was inconceivable how necessary to our survival those two words would be in 2009. Joshua Cooper Ramo, an analyst and former Foreign Editor of Time, takes this Apple campaign slogan and sprints with it, full speed ahead, to help us understand where we are and what we’ll need to do to pull ourselves together. His new book, The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New Global Order Constantly Surprises Us and What to Do About It, is a beacon for those who have been looking for straight-talk about our current economic crisis and how you and I, everyday people, can move forward.


Ramo pulls from historical examples to show how people in the midst of a situation leading to their demise never saw it coming. Gorbachev is an eloquent example. He opened up the U.S.S.R. a bit at a time, and then the momentum of change was so strong, so pronounced, that Gorbachev had no choice but to let go of the reigns he had gripped tight for so long. Is the state of our economy, and the CEOs who have long prospered under the old rules of our financial system, any different?

In this dark situation it can be hard to see any cause for hope. Ramo suggests that while this might be the darkest moment in our world’s financial history, it is also the moment of greatest possibility. We have the opportunity to wipe away every preconceived notion we have about how we do business, how we live life, how we create, how we inspire, how we dream. 

“Ahead of us is the invigorating possibility of discovery and reinvention.” With that simple sentence, Ramo encourages us to question every assumption about ‘how it must be done’. The days of cookie-cutter policy, politics, and business are over. If we are going to craft a new, brighter future, it will take all of our courage to challenge ourselves, our families, neighbors, co-workers, and leaders. It is time to toss aside common assumptions in favor of grander, more creative, and courageous plans and actions. 

Never before has it been so possible to create a world that we want to live in. It’s as if we have a blank canvas staring at us, daring us, to invent something extraordinary. The only question now is do we have the confidence to build something from nothing. Can we take up the paint brush and with wide, vibrant strokes imagine a new future and commit to bringing it to life?  
books, community service, philanthropy, volunteer

NY Business Strategies Examiner: The Idealist.org Handbook to Building a Better World

Christa Avampato

This week I had the pleasure to interview Russ Finkelstein, Associate Director of Action Without Borders / Idealist.org. Russ was the driving force behind a valuable resource just published by the Penguin Group. The Idealist.org Handbook to Building a Better World is a book for anyone who wants to make a positive impact in the world. Whether you have never volunteered before or are a seasoned nonprofit professional, this book is filled with advice and guidance on the world of philanthropy. With info on areas ranging from board service to volunteer groups to in-kind donations, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in getting involved in service.


For the full story, click here.
books, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship

My Year of Hopefulness – The Blue Sweater

Christa Avampato

Inspiration is one of the main reasons I read. To my delight, Jacqueline Novogratz, the CEO of Acumen Fund, a nonprofit venture capital fund dedicated to eradicating poverty through strategic entrepreneurial investments in the developing world, wrote a book from her heart that is uplifting for anyone who ever had a dream and went after it. The Blue Sweater is a story of encouragement, faith, and determination for people who want to live a purposeful, fulfilling life. In other words, this book is for everyone. And you must read it. 


Jacqueline takes us on a journey from her life as a young college graduate working for Chase Manhattan into Africa where she worked in microfinance back to the US where she attended Stanford Business School and then through her career post-MBA up through her founding of Acumen Fund. Articulate, powerful, and deeply moving, Jacqueline’s prose are so fluid it’s as if a friend sat me down to tell me her life story. Every page took me further and further down the road of adventure. I couldn’t put it down and read it from beginning to end in one weekend. 

With a vivid writing style, Jacqueline introduces each character so clearly that you feel they’re in the room with you and you feel compelled to help them in the way that you’d help a friend or family member. I wanted so much to see each character succeed. As their pride welled, so did mine. As they smiled and grew more confident, so did I. And when things didn’t go well for the characters, I felt their heartbreak, too. I wanted them to keep going and I wanted to go with them. 

Perhaps the most incredible feature of the book is Jacqueline’s humility and her ability to try and try again she made some positive progress in everything she ever attempted. Too often we are reading the stories of people and companies who are too afraid to admit mistakes or failure, who don’t want to take risks or step out of their comfort zones. It was refreshing to hear the twists and turns that Jacqueline’s career in social enterprise has taken. She owns every success and every failure with grace and dignity. And the many entrepreneurs she has helped throughout her career are all better off for her tenacity and ambition.  

Warning: there is a high probability that this book will motivate you to make a difference today. Be ready.   
books, creativity, hope, TED

My Year of Hopefulness – It Only Gets Better from Here

Christa Avampato

33. How did that happen? When did I go from being a confused, maybe even lost, cute chick in my mid-20’s? I don’t feel any older. I actually don’t even look any older (or at least I tell myself that as I smooth on the anti-aging moisturizer.) I took a long walk in Riverside Park today and thought about my past birthdays, which very often have turned out to be pivotal moments in my life.

My first birthday after college I was promoted to a position at work that would set me off on 5 fantastic years in theatre management. Another birthday I had my passport stolen in South Africa and learned about the tremendous kindness of strangers, while simultaneously falling in love with the country and culture as a result of what I thought initially was a horrible tragedy and later turned out to be a blessing. In South Africa, I learned painfully that we are never alone in this world, that someone, somewhere is always willing to lend a hand if we have the humility and grace to ask for help sincerely and honestly. I’ve fallen in love on my birthday, and I’ve also had my heart broken on my birthday, none of which would I ever take back. I went snorkeling for the first time on my 30th birthday and so began my gradual letting go of the fear of water. (This is still a work-in-progress.)

So today, what is the pivotal moment that happened? Today, I learned to trust my instincts. I realized that maybe I learned to temper my wide-eyed, blinder-clad idealism with a bit of reality. I learned to see people and situations for what they really are and not simply for what people told me they were. I began to connect dots from my past to my potential future. I learned that while my days past were wonderful, my future days will be better and happier still. I learned to hear and acknowledge what was not being said, as clearly as I am able to discern what is being said.

Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, gave a talk at TED this year that has had my mind spinning for weeks. She is funny, likable, and brutally honest, even at her own expense. She talked about success, and the concern and fear of many, maybe even of most, people who achieve success. “How will I ever top this?” “Is my greatest work done?” “Is this the very best I will ever be?” And her answer – maybe.

However, she counsels, keep showing up. Every day, keep looking forward, appreciating what we have and had, and recognizing that always within us there is the potential to achieve and be more tomorrow than we are today. Much of our creativity and inspiration comes from an other-worldly source that we do not control, but can only revel in and listen to. Pay attention. Or, as Ann Curry told me via Twitter “Inspiration often comes without warning.” And if that is the case, and I believe firmly that it is, then why not think that it only gets better from here? We have no reason to believe otherwise because much of it is likely out of our hands.

The photo above is of Elizabeth Gilbert and can be found at: http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/elizabeth_gilbert.html