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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Tuesday Travel Tip: Bring Your Own Spork

More often than not, I have a spork with me. It's a lovely pink plastic one that is fairly durable and definitely reusable. Here's just a sample of the myriad of situations in which it comes in handy:

"Want to try this? It's really delicious."
"Oops! We ran out of utensils at the picnic."
"Oh, wait, I forgot to grab a spoon from the frozen yogurt shop."
"My ice cream cone is melting!"
"Welcome to your new sublet. We haven't done the dishes in awhile."

The answer to all of these?

"No problem, I brought my own spork."



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It requires more than a spork and a smile to be strategic about your life. Learn proven, scientific methods to know yourself better, understand how your thoughts influence the world around you, and reach your lifelong goals. The next round of $59 Online Interactive e-courses starts NEXT WEDNESDAY, June 1, and runs for four weeks.

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Monday, May 23, 2011

People Who Figure Out How to Remember Things Are Better Off

While I am in Illinois to perform in "Happy Days: The Musical" I live with the other out-of-town actors in a large house owned by the theater. I also have been bestowed with the title of House Mom, an actual paid position. (This seems to be a gender neutral term, as the House Mom for the previous show was a man. But I digress.)

As the House Mom, I assign chores, buy supplies, keep track of the company vehicle (a sporty minivan) and coordinate repairs. At our house meeting I made one request: if someone needs something, put it in writing. It could be a handwritten note, a text, an email or sky writing, but it needs to be in writing. Why? Because I know that I'll forget things that I hear, but I remember things that I read. Is that true for you? Or are you the opposite?

I observe so many people continuously forgetting things. "Oh sorry, I forgot to replace the banana that I ate. I'll bring one tomorrow." And then tomorrow comes, and they still forget. They never took the time to remind themselves. They probably remember at inopportune times, such as when they are falling asleep or taking a shower or otherwise unable to replace the banana.

Figure out how you remember things. Put a system in place to remind yourself. Why? Here are some of the top reasons:
  1. Save yourself from the mental clutter of continuously remembering things you forgot, not doing them, and having to remember again.
  2. Honor the people around you by "paying them back." They appreciate it, even if it's a banana, and they'll be more likely to help you in the future.
  3. Good opportunities come to reliable people. I am not likely to recommend you to someone else for a cool opportunity if I don't think you'll follow through. I end up looking bad for making the recommendation, and someone else looses out on the opportunity.
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Need help organizing your time, space or money? My 4-week Online Interactive e-courses called Organize starts June 1 and runs for four weeks for only $59.

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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Tuesday Travel Tip: Track the Price of Your Flight

Many people have their favorite site to compare airline tickets or their favorite airline where they like to accumulate frequent flier miles. However, before you do that, check out Bing Travel. Bing gives you a helpful history of the price of your trip and even predicts whether to buy now before the price goes up or wait for the price to go down. Sure, they might be wrong, but they even explain what might happen if they're wrong. Plus, having a good guess is better than having no information at all and just waiting to see what happens with the price, crossing your fingers the whole time that you gamble correctly.

p.s. I am not being paid or compensated to sing the praises of Bing. I really just like it that much!


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Learn proven, scientific methods to know yourself better, understand how your thoughts influence the world around you, and reach your lifelong goals. The next round of $59 Online Interactive e-courses starts June 1 and runs for four weeks.

Do you know someone who would benefit from this blog post? Please consider forwarding it.

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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Tuesday Travel Tip: Take a Day Trip

Yesterday, a friend and I took a day trip. (Our "weekend" falls on Monday since we work in theater.) As we drove away from town and into the countryside, we slowly began to talk about new topics. It wasn't a conscious choice, but as soon as we were away from our "bubble" in the town where we are living, we talked more and more about the world at large. When we arrived at another town after about an hour of driving, we got to see new things, walk among new people, and eat at places that we don't normally get to eat.

Not every trip requires months of planning, expensive choices, and requests for vacation time off of work. A quick trip can provide just the restoration that you need. Give it a try this spring.
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Learn proven, scientific methods to know yourself better, understand how your thoughts influence the world around you, and reach your lifelong goals. The next round of $59 Online Interactive e-courses starts June 1 and runs for four weeks.

Do you know someone who would benefit from this blog post? Please consider forwarding it.

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Saturday, May 7, 2011

A Week in the Life of a Life Coach, Actress and Urban Nomad

Some of my friends in the blog-o-sphere introduced me to Ali Edwards. She leads a scrapbooking project called Week in the Life. The idea is that once a year, you make a time capsule of what regular life is like. To find out more, visit her website.

For my Week in the Life, I followed many of Ali Edwards' suggestions. I also made it work for me. For example, I had my Week in the Life begin on Wednesday since that's when my week begins, after Monday and Tuesday off from performing in shows. I also noticed that Ali Edwards typically does The Week in the Life at the end of April. At first I thought I shouldn't do that week because of how much I had going on, and then I realized that's the point. I just capture a week, no matter what's happening.

I'm glad I did the project. Documenting a week made me think about what's important in my current situation, what I'll want to remember for the future, and who is in my world. I also found myself delighting in normal things, knowing that they won't always be normal once I move on. I even took photos of things like my food, my favorite beauty products, and my shoes because those photos will be a fun time capsule later on.

Start to appreciate normal life. Document it with photos, keep a detailed journal, or just discuss it with a partner. You may find a new appreciation for things that you weren't even noticing.

I will eventually put my pictures into a scrapbook the way Ali Edwards suggests, but for now I've gathered them into a video with a couple show clips. If you've ever wondered about the week of a life coach, actress, and Urban Nomad, here is a peek into my world.


A Week in the Life from Dawn Trautman on Vimeo.

(Having trouble viewing it? Watch it on Vimeo.)
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Learn proven, scientific methods to know yourself better, understand how your thoughts influence the world around you, and reach your lifelong goals. The next round of $59 Online Interactive e-courses starts June 1 and runs for four weeks.

Do you know someone who would benefit from this blog post? Please consider forwarding it.

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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Tuesday Travel Tip: Bring Your Power Source

It is the rare hotel, airport, bus, train or rest stop that has enough power sources. In this era of laptops, phones, iPods, Kindles, and in my case, a space heater, more things need power than can generally be charged while on the road. I travel with a small power strip that comes in handy all the time. This one only has three plugs, which is perfect for me, but others may need even more plugs. (And just in case you're wondering, the TSA has never questioned my possession of so many cords in my carry-on. They always questions my tap shoes, but never my power strip.)

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Learn proven, scientific methods to set and reach your lifelong goals. The next round of $59 Online Interactive e-courses starts TODAY, Tuesday, May 3 and runs for four weeks.

Do you know someone who would benefit from this blog post? Please consider forwarding it.

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Monday, May 2, 2011

I don't want to brag ...

... so I have others do it for me. I was so honored to be chosen by Tara Joyce for her April Innerpreneur Spotlight!

That's right, I'm an innerpreneur. Tara defines an innerpreneur as an entrepreneur who use their business to find personal fulfillment (creatively, spiritually, emotionally) and create social change. Surf on over to read my spotlight, and spend some time on her site to find out more about innerpreneurs.

Thank you for joining me on this journey!

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Learn proven, scientific methods to set and reach your lifelong goals. The next round of $59 Online Interactive e-courses starts TOMORROW, Tuesday, May 3 and runs for four weeks.

Do you know someone who would benefit from this blog post? Please consider forwarding it.

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