Category: politics

books, Obama, politics

Step 11: It’s the Little Things

Christa Avampato

“Let’s not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

It’s easy to pay attention to the big emotions of our lives: Falling in love, grief from losing a loved one, pride for a hard-won accomplishment, or disappointment caused by betrayal. There’s no way to avoid those huge swells, positive or negative, because they take over our lives. Reading this Van Gogh quote made me think about all those tiny emotions that we feel at every moment, and that often pass by unconsciously: frustration at getting on a crowded subway car, wincing at the sting of the cold weather, gratitude when someone holds the door open for us, and joy from an encouraging message from a friend. These smaller emotions, while less significant in size, can add up to a great deal of our happiness quotient.

How do we feel about lives in the empty moments, when nothing particularly emotional is happening, when our lives are just humming along without any type of massive shift? In those quiet moments, we get a sense of our base emotions and attitude. The trick is to recognize and appreciate that empty moment. With all of the opportunities to fill up empty space, it’s easy to avoid ever having an empty moment. The empty moments are important because they allow us to take stock of the little emotions; they let us get a sense of where we are on the happiness curve.

On the way to work this morning, I was thinking about how we handle the constant tweaks of the little emotions that every day circumstances cause. Because I just interviewed Sasha Abramsky, author of Inside Obama’s Brain, I’ve been considering Obama as a role model for how to conduct our daily lives. Whenever Obama is thrown a curve ball, and isn’t quite sure how to react, he smiles. We can observe this behavior in his debates, during his press conferences, and during one-on-one media interviews. The smile lets him pause, gather his thoughts, and remain outwardly composed in the process.

This tactic gives him the opportunity to work through his small emotions, rather than having to obey them. And he looks good all the way through the process: he looks as if nothing ever phases him and provides a thoughtful, articulate response. A wonderful example to manage the little emotions we all experience.

education, learning, politics, religion

Step 3: Things I Don’t Know

Christa Avampato

Last night I was settling back in to my New York apartment while the wind whistled through my windows. It was so loud at one point that I couldn’t sleep so I flipped on the TV to CNN. Chistiane Amanpour was reporting about Muslim radical extremists in the U.K. Though I watch the news regularly and read several newspapers, there are some topics that still confuse me. The complex network of Muslim radical extremist groups is one of them. I know all the vocabulary though I don’t know how it all hangs together. And this bothers me.

I started thinking about all of the things that I know just a little about, and how much it bothers me to have holes in my knowledge. I don’t like the phrase “I know enough just to be dangerous.” I’d much prefer to know enough so as not be dangerous but be able to speak intelligently on a topic.

In this new year, there are a few topics that I’d really like to dig into and understand in depth. Here are a few of them:

1.) WHAT – I know little to nothing about Islam and its many factions. I’d like to take a small step toward piecing together the popular vocabulary that surrounds this religion. It’s influence is growing in leaps and bounds, dominating our news waves. I should understand it more clearly if I’m to have a greater understanding of our own foreign policy.

HOW – My friend, Amy, is very well-versed in the topic so I’m going to ask her to give me a little crash course during one of our catch-ups. I’ll also ask her for some primer books, blogs, and news services that would be a good reference for me.

2.) WHAT – I’ve been practicing yoga for a decade though have not read some of the sacred texts that serve as its base. I also don’t know the Sanskrit names for all of the asanas (poses).

HOW – At the end of February I am going to begin a very intense yoga teacher training program to master this material. Every other weekend, I’ll be practicing 9 hours on Saturday and 9 hours on Sunday, for 14 weeks. In addition, the program also requires meeting 3 times per week after work, independent reading and writing assignments, and class attendance at the studio once per week. It is a rigorous program that will require a great deal of focus, though my passion for the art and science of yoga will make the rigor a welcome circumstance.

3.) WHAT – The news stories I love most are those that showcase the Power of One. I’d love to read more of these stories in 2010 to understand the psychology of this personality type, and there are a few people that particularly intrigue me. There are several sources that catalog the journeys of these kind of people. Two I particularly like are NBC’s Making a Difference segment and Dafna Michaelson’s 50 in 52 Journey.

HOW – I’ve ordered a few books that share the stories of Geoffrey Canada, the Founder of Harlem Children’s Zone, and William Kamkwamba, the 14 year old in Malawi who built a windmill for his family armed only with a local library book. These are incredible stories of people who saw a need in their communities and set to work to meet that need with little or no resources except their own ingenuity and passion. Could anything be more inspiring?

education, election, government, politics, social media

My Year of Hopefulness – Teaching at Hunter College

Christa Avampato

“Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.” ~ Gail Godwin, American novelist

“If you have stage fright, it never goes away. But then I wonder: is the key to that magical performance because of the fear?” ~ Stevie Nicks

Today marked my first college class teaching. My friend, Jamie, teaches an introductory political science and an elections class at Hunter College. He asked if I would come in and guest teach on the topic of social media and popular elections. With a great amount of nervousness, I accepted and went this morning at 10am to teach 2 sessions.

I have a secret – I have an awful case of stage fright. I’ve been known to get sick to my stomach several times before making a presentation or acting in a performance. I have a few techniques I have tried over the years and only one really seems to work: quit whining and just do it. It’s amazing that once I get to the stage or the front of the room, I’m completely fine. It’s the anticipation of performance that brings on the butterflies.

And so it was at Hunter. I had made copious lecture notes and rehearsed in my apartment. I was wringing my hands a bit, and worrying. Would I add any value? Would the students think what I had to say was relevant? What if I couldn’t answer a question? And here’s the truly terrifying one – what if there was no reaction at all from anyone? What if all I heard was crickets amid a sea of empty, expressionless faces? Ouch.

True to past experience, none of these things happened. The classes were engaged, interested, and interesting. I learned as much as they did in the course of the preparation and the class itself. Teaching is exactly like theatre with an added component of more front-loaded research, and theatre and research I know I can do. What surprised me most is how much I loved teaching a college class. Truly loved it. The time flew by, and when I was finished, I wanted to teach another session. Yes, the PhD-route is certainly the right one for me. Now I know that for sure.

In preparation for the class, I have had the great fortunate of amazing professors as clear examples. At Darden where I got my MBA, professors teach the case method. No lecturing allowed. The professor’s job is to draw students out, to engage them immediately, and keep the dialogue flowing non-stop for close to two hours. This is no easy task and for two years I had the privilege to sit with masters of this teaching method like Ed Freeman, Robert Spekman, and Alex Horniman.

I have also been watching and studying Michael Sandel, a professor at Harvard who teaches a wildly popular class entitled simply “Justice”. For the first time, the class is being shown on-line for free at http://www.justiceharvard.org. Every Thursday a new class is uploaded. Sandel, like my Darden professors, is a master teacher that manages to engage and facilitate discussion in a very large lecture hall. Watching him made me re-consider teaching as a profession, and reignited my interest in going back to school and getting a PhD. I must remember to send him a thank you card.

I have just created an account on slideshare.net and uploaded the presentation I gave this morning at Hunter. I build presentations as guides for a discussion and not stand-alone documents. I’m glad to walk anyone through the presentation if they’re interested!

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?  
business, career, Fast Company, health, media, New York Times, politics, women

My Year of Hopefulness – Women on the Rise

Christa Avampato

I read an amazing article this week in the New York Times about women who are finding the athlete side of their personality later in life. As recently as 30 years ago, women were discouraged from competitive sports, particularly from running. As a runner, that fact still stuns me and makes me grateful for the times when I was raised. For my mom and for millions of women like her, the road was not easy along any path, particularly when it comes to being fit and active. That is a recent phenomenon. One I am very grateful for.

The article left me thinking about what other areas of life have been off-limits to women that are now seeing the tide turn. Certainly in women being entrepreneurs and controlling their own careers. Great strides have been made in media – there are so many to name in that field. From Oprah to Barbara Walters, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour, Arianna Huffington. And the list goes on. I am always proud of how many female business journalists have been featured as our media chronicles this latest economic downturn. I often think that women are running the reporting from Wall Street: Maria Bartiromo and Erin Burnett are terrific examples.

I am now reading a book entitled Another Day in the Frontal Lobe. It’s the story of Katrina Firlik, a young neurosurgeon. She was the first woman accepted into the neurosurgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Certainly in healthcare, and particularly in fields like neurosurgery, women like Dr. Firlik are paving the way.

Technology is seeing its fair share of women on the scene. Ning co-founder Gina Bianchini, Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz, and Charlene Li who authored the book Groundswell while at Forrester Research, immediately spring to mind. Having made great strides in this industry, women have a long road ahead. Fast Company recently ran a feature on some of the most influential women in tech. It’s a good read and I highly recommend it.

In politics we are lucky to have so many women taking the helm. I am very proud that Secretary of State Clinton heeded the calls during this difficult time that America’s reputation is facing around the world. I cannot imagine anyone better suited for the job. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Shirley Franklin, and Janet Napolitano are other shining examples of the many that serve in all levels of government.

I consider fields like energy, transportation, and engineering and wonder how women will make their marks in those areas in the coming years. It will be exciting to watch and to take part in that development. With so many incredible female role models to learn from, women are poised for take-off.

The photo above was taken by Filip Kwiatkowski for The New York Times.

government, hope, Obama, politics

My Year of Hopefulness – The Gift of Obama

Christa Avampato

There are many articles that will be written today regarding the inauguration of Barack Obama. January 20, 2009 will be referenced for decades to come as the day that the US turned the corner and found light in all the darkness. It was the day when we all came together to lift the heavy burden of the dismal economy, multiple wars, a crumbling environment, a healthcare system in tatters, and an education system that needs serious attention. It will be known as the day that we began to rise up and over obstacles that for so long have shackled us to bad policies and petty grievances. It will be remembered as the day when our inspiration and creativity was alighted again and never to be put out. A miracle of hope and faith and belief that we can and we will lift ourselves out of the muck, and reach down to help others out, too.  


I will remember it as a day when my confidence soared because I watched a man who believed in himself and in all of us so that he could overcome centuries, literally centuries, of deep discrimination, prejudice, and injustice. The son of an African immigrant, a continent largely forgotten by our foreign policies, received a top-flight education and ascended to our country’s highest office and honor. And he did this with the small contributions of help and time and dedication by hundreds of millions of common people just trying to get by. He rallied us to make us believe that each of our individual voices could and should and would make a difference if we could all get going in the same direction. He won the Presidency by winning our hearts and our minds and our spirits.

Today we received a great gift – a talented, trustworthy, empathic leader whom we can look to for guidance and support. He believes in us as much as we believe in him. And it’s with that mutual respect that we will be able to turn our country around, eventually. Lend your voice at http://www.whitehouse.gov
government, hope, Obama, politics

A Perfect Union

Christa Avampato

Can you feel the excitement and anticipation and trembling from joy in America and around the world? Everywhere you look, no matter who you speak to, there is this wonderful sense of hope. I am watching scenes from Washington D.C. on the news and so wishing that I was there with everyone to share in this moment. Thank goodness for television and the Internet that will let us bear witness no matter where we are tomorrow.


We are in the last hours of the Bush administration. Tomorrow night at this time he will be back in Texas, his long eight years as our President having come to an end. My mother has a saying that I have had to repeat to myself almost daily for 8 years, “This too shall pass.” She’s right – it did. It was arduous and painful, but it did pass. I would feel a bit bad for the man if he hadn’t so completely decimated our country and left it in such a state to hand over to Barack Obama. Now I am just grateful to finally big him farewell. 

Four years ago, I was living in Washington, D.C., working for an environmental nonprofit. I was crying on that inauguration day. I had just finished reading “Dreams of My Father” and tried very hard to convince myself that Barack Obama was elected not as a Senator from Illinois but as our President. Four years later, it is an awesome thing to realize that that wish has been answered. 

Last night, NBC replayed the SNL Presidential Bash episode. In all of the excitement about Obama’s election, I had forgotten what a long-shot he was for most of the past two years. He an unlikely choice – inexperienced, too young, not accomplished enough. Now he is about to become the most popular President in history because he gave a voice to people who had been silenced for so long – the young, the disgruntled, minorities, middle and lower-middle class, the poor, and those who never had any kind of interest in politics or candidates. He not only got them to listen, he got them to rally. He got them to all go in one direction. And all the while, “experts” and “insiders” doubt him publicly. He believed and he made us believe. And he got us to not only believe in him, but more importantly to believe in us. 

If there is one lesson that his election has taught us it is the incredible belief that possibility is only limited by leadership and empathy. In my early career I was trained that hope was useless – only hard work ever got anyone anywhere. Barack Obama changed that for me – he showed me that hope is a powerful motivator, a powerful tool that can help someone create something from nothing. He awakened in me a new sense of commitment and creativity and conviction. He made me feel lucky and proud to live in these times. 

Congressman John Lewis gave a very powerful interview with Brian Williams tonight. Congressman Lewis describes his feelings about the Obama inauguration and what it means to him having marched on Wachington with Dr. Martin Luther King. 6 minutes long, elegant, and emotional. And his quote that most stands out to me is, “To see this event, this achievement, it was all worth it.”
books, Middle East, politics, war, women

My Year of Hopefulness – A Thousand Splendid Suns

Christa Avampato

It has been a long time since I’ve found a book that is so powerful, so compelling that it makes me stay up until 4am to finish it. That’s exactly what happened with A Thousand Splendid Suns. As a writer, I find I learn much more from reading than I could ever learn in a class. Khaled Hosseini weaves a beautiful, heart-breaking, heroic tale about life in Afghanistan. It was hard for me to imagine how he could ever write a follow-up as emotional as The Kite Runner. He did it – A Thousand Splendid Suns is a perfect novel. 


As a woman, it was especially moving to read the story. It made me realize how very lucky I am to be an American, to be educated, to be free. I spend each of my days living the life I want to live. Not all women, particularly those in Afghanistan, as as lucky. And it is luck that separates us, me and the women of Afghanistan. Otherwise we are the same – with dreams and aspirations and opinions and beliefs. A Thousand Splendid Suns made me grateful, and t made me feel like I owe it women everywhere to live a life of my own choosing. Freedom is a gift that should not be wasted. 

I love novels because they take us out of our own environment. They force us to live a different life, by different rules, with different choices and consequences. They transport us. There is one scene in the book where a women is being led to her execution in order to protect a friend. At first, I tried to reason every way she could get out of the situation – how she be free and still protect her friend. At first blush, I was horrified at the character’s choice, and then as I lived with her memories, with her circumstances, I began to see that I would make the same choice she did. I understood. I empathized. 

I don’t know of a social tool more powerful than story. Hosseini is a master of weaving fictional characters into history, allowing them to share the emotional and human fall out caused by societal actions. He makes a strong case for justice and truth and reason and hope – the very things our world needs more of. 
career, economy, government, New York City, opportunity, politics, relationships, thankful, thanksgiving

Thankful

Christa Avampato

Now that the food and travel of Thanksgiving have passed, I’m spending the morning eating leftover pie, drinking coffee, leafing through retail sales circulars, and considering all the things I am thankful for. Friends and family go without saying. This has been quite a year to date so items are making the list that have rarely if ever been on the list before:

My job – despite the normal frustrations that come with every job, I am especially grateful for my current position because the day-to-day tasks and the big picture view get me up out of bed every morning. I’m learning this is a rare blessing.

A place to call home – my friend, Monika among many other people close to me, are quite shocked that I have lived at one physical address for longer than a year. That hasn’t happened since 1998. Ten years of moving at least once a year. Good grief. And now I am finally in a city that is comfortable and feels like home. I feel a sense of ownership and belonging that I haven’t found before in my life. The stability of that sends waves of peace into my life that I have not had before.

Interesting times at a young age – the economy, politics, social activism. We are living in unprecedented conditions and if we can push aside the sense of uncertainty that invades our lives regularly, it is truly a spectacular opportunity for learning. To have this privilege so early on in my life and career is a tremendous gift that will inform many decisions I will make in the year to come.

The opportunity that lies ahead – we may look out into the world at the moment and see a very bleak picture. Though hidden within the folds of that bleak cover, there are wrinkles and pockets of opportunity. Going forward, there will be incentives for us to start businesses, to become a society of savers rather than spenders, to take up the call to protect the environment, and to build better transportation systems in our cities that will benefit generations to come. The good times will roll again, though in different, and dare I say better, forms that before.

In business school, Frank Warnock was one of my economics professors. Frank developed his expertise in international capital flows as a Senior Economist in the International Finance Division at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, DC. And whenever we reviewed cases or economic situations that were troubling, he would always say, “You have to be hopeful. What’s the alternative?” Those words ring truer today than ever before. And for hope, and the people who remind me of its value, I am most thankful.

friendship, history, movie, politics

John Adams

Christa Avampato

I don’t have HBO and missed out on the showing of John Adams. I read parts of the book by David McCullough when I was in business school. I took a class, on the Lawn, about Thomas Jefferson. Being a great Jefferson friend, then adversary, then friend again, John Adams had to be included. 


The HBO film and book bring to light the frightening prospect that Americans faced upon declaring their independence. We take this for granted today — of course we are free and independent. The film drives home a visual image of the frightening times that led up to, through, and after the Revolution. They took a “leap in the dark” as Adams said to Jefferson. You get a feeling for the contentious, volatile, and passionate personalities. And it’s a good education in politics and negotiation. 

Ben Franklin had two quotes in the second part that effected me so much that I paused the DVD to write them down: “Politics is the art of the possible” and “Diplomacy is seduction in another guise. One improves with practice.” I think about these two quotes in light of our recent elections. How President Obama focused on the possible – how he ignited people’s sense of hope with that idea – and how elegantly and patiently he played out his hand. He was the unlikeliest of candidates, by his own admission. There must have been times that he was uncertain, even scared or nervous. I imagine there must have been times when he would step back, breathe, and take another step forward. I am envy this kind of patience, and I am working on it as an area of development.

In John Adams, we see that Adams had no patience. H wanted to act swiftly and without hesitation. And he nearly missed the very allies he was looking for, even though they were standing right in front of him – the gentlemen from Virginia: Washington and Jefferson, one who would lead the battle by sword and the other by his pen. They also had this reverence for patience and humility. They had the same goals as Adams – an independent republic and governance by the people; they just went about achieving them in different ways.

The movie also makes it clear that each player has his part and I was left wondering if we’d have this nation today at all if any of those personalities had not been present. It made me re-consider the frustrations I have sometimes felt on group projects and it gave me greater perspective and appreciation for people I have sometimes terms “difficult”. Maybe we all need a John Adams in our lives to help us to value and take decisive actions when the opportunities arise. And maybe we also need a Franklin, Washington, and Jefferson to teach us the value of diplomacy in getting what we want and to help us believe in the art of the possible. Most of all the film makes the case for a group of close advisers, no matter what path we take in life.