Thursday Thoughts: Dreams Don't Work Unless ...

***
To read how I do what I can with what I have (and how you can, too!), check out my new book, "Urban Nomad USA: Travel Sized Life Coaching for Journeys of All Sorts" now available for purchase!


Don't miss another blog post! Sign up on my website to have them delivered by email or become a fan of Urban Nomad on Facebook to see them in your news feed.

Do you know an intelligent, creative, spiritually-minded person who might be interested in this blog post? Please forward it in its entirety, compliments of Dawn Trautman, Urban Nomad. Copyright, 2012.

The blog is moving!

Hello to all of my faithful Blogger followers! I'm excited to report that my business is growing and changing at such a pace that I explored all new ways of creating my online presence. As part of that, I recently moved my blog so that it can be more integrated with my main website. There are all sorts of technical reasons to move it that I won't go into here. The move was quite a project and I learned a lot. Of course I wrote about it for today's post, which you can read at the new site, http://www.dawntrautman.com/urbannomadusa.

The only sad news about integrating my blog with my main website is that it will no longer be here at Blogger for you to read in your reader. I feel a bit like I'm leaving a community, but I'll still be stopping by to read your blogs and comment from time to time. I certainly don't want to loose contact with you either, so please come join me over at http://www.dawntrautman.com/urbannomadusa. You'll see a few ways to subscribe in the sidebar of the new blog. I even have a link to my Pinterest page (just for fun) and my Vimeo channel (because I love to make videos). By the way, all of your favorite posts from the past are migrated over there, too, so the history is not lost as I make room for the future.

The new blog home is only part of what's next for me and my business as a life coach. I can truly say that I can hardy wait to see what challenges and opportunities are around the corner!

Thursday Thoughts: The Picture in our Head

***
To read a bit about my adventure and clarify the picture in your head about your own adventures, check out my new book, "Urban Nomad USA: Travel Sized Life Coaching for Journeys of All Sorts" now available for purchase! Better yet, contact Dawn to arrange for a live book release cabaret with your organization in August, 2012.

Don't miss another blog post! Sign up on my website to have them delivered by email or become a fan of Urban Nomad on Facebook to see them in your news feed.

Do you know an intelligent, creative, spiritually-minded person who might be interested in this blog post? Please forward it in its entirety, compliments of Dawn Trautman, Urban Nomad. Copyright, 2012.

Tuesday Travel Tip: Look Before You Leap

{Theo, planning his next move}

I often have the pleasure of cat sitting Theo. He is a pleasant cat who lives in a pleasant apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Like many cats, he loves to climb to the highest available surface, and then leap from one place to the next. The part that fascinates me is that I always know where he's going to jump. He looks at his target, pauses, adjusts his body, and then jumps. Maybe we should be doing the same every time we leap into something.

1. Look. Know where you're going.
2. Pause. Consider whether this is really where you want to go.
3. Adjust. What needs to be lined up before you leap?
4. Jump. Once you decide to go, completely commit to it.

Perhaps by following this careful planning process, you too can always land on your feet, just like Theo.

***
For additional ways to land on your feet, check out my new book, "Urban Nomad USA: Travel Sized Life Coaching for Journeys of All Sorts" now available for purchase! Better yet, contact Dawn to arrange for a live book release cabaret with your organization in August, 2012.

Don't miss another blog post! Sign up on my website to have them delivered by email or become a fan of Urban Nomad on Facebook to see them in your news feed.

Do you know an intelligent, creative, spiritually-minded person who might be interested in this blog post? Please forward it in its entirety, compliments of Dawn Trautman, Urban Nomad. Copyright, 2012.

Monday Musings: Wasted Time

{Photo credit: theberry.com}

When do you fall into the bottomless pit of wasted time? Because I don't own a television or play video games, my wasted time generally happens online. I start out visiting favorite sites and checking news and information that is relevant to me or my business. I know there's a problem when I'm done with those sites but I stay online, watching or reading things that are not that important or even that entertaining to me.

What's the harm? Well, not much in the short term. The problem comes when you pretend that the filler activity is truly relaxing instead of an entertainment choice with a beginning, middle, and end. The problem comes when you aren't interacting with real people or completing real projects. The problem comes when it's keeping you up late or causing you to not eat as healthy as you could.

I am not against television, video games, or the internet as a whole. Sometimes each medium can be helpful, necessary, or downright entertaining. What I'm against is not making an active choice about it. When we passively fall into these activities we are no longer active agents in our lives. We are half-participating in something that does not benefit us or anyone around us. Sometimes we are also sacrificing actual, restful rejuvenation for an activity that actually keeps our brains quite active. Sometimes we are avoiding a real-life situation by distracting ourselves with someone else's story.

Step 1: Set a boundary on your entertainment, your media and anything else where it's necessary. You may be surprised at how much time you have.

Step 2: Choose something to do instead.

• Need to relax? Take a short nap, go to sleep for the night, sit outside, walk a dog, do yoga, pray, draw.
• Need to interact with people? Call someone, visit someone, go to a coffee shop and see who's there, join a club.
• Need to do something that you've been avoiding? Get it done, so that you don't spend more time remembering to do it. 
• Need a good story? Read a book, write a story, ask someone about their childhood, see a live performance.
•  Caught up on everything and still have time? I believe that every person was created to change the world. If you're not sure how you'll do that, I''ll help you devise a plan. 

***
For something to read when you shut off the television, check out my new book, "Urban Nomad USA: Travel Sized Life Coaching for Journeys of All Sorts" now available for purchase! Better yet, contact Dawn to arrange for a live book release cabaret with your organization in August, 2012.

Don't miss another blog post! Sign up on my website to have them delivered by email or become a fan of Urban Nomad on Facebook to see them in your news feed.

Do you know an intelligent, creative, spiritually-minded person who might be interested in this blog post? Please forward it in its entirety, compliments of Dawn Trautman, Urban Nomad. Copyright, 2012.

Thursday Thoughts: Theme Song

***
To read a bit about my adventure and gain some focus for yours, check out my new book, "Urban Nomad USA: Travel Sized Life Coaching for Journeys of All Sorts" now available for purchase! Better yet, contact Dawn to arrange for a live book release cabaret with your organization in August, 2012.

Don't miss another blog post! Sign up on my website to have them delivered by email or become a fan of Urban Nomad on Facebook to see them in your news feed.

Do you know an intelligent, creative, spiritually-minded person who might be interested in this blog post? Please forward it in its entirety, compliments of Dawn Trautman, Urban Nomad. Copyright, 2012.

Thursday Thoughts from Laura Ingalls Wilder

***
To read a bit about my adventure and gain some focus for yours, check out my new book, "Urban Nomad USA: Travel Sized Life Coaching for Journeys of All Sorts" now available for purchase! Better yet, contact Dawn to arrange for a live book release cabaret with your organization in August, 2012.

Don't miss another blog post! Sign up on my website to have them delivered by email or become a fan of Urban Nomad on Facebook to see them in your news feed.

Do you know an intelligent, creative, spiritually-minded person who might be interested in this blog post? Please forward it in its entirety, compliments of Dawn Trautman, Urban Nomad. Copyright, 2012.