KatrinaDreamer’s Website and European Adventure

Meet Katrina, a 30-something woman who is currently wwoofing her way across the European lands of her ancestors. WWOOF stands for “World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms” and Katrina has signed up to be the gardener.

Or the dishwasher.

Or whatever else is needed on the farm.

Today she is in Norway, but over the past month she has visited Findhorn and Iona in Scotland, Wales, and England. From Norway she’ll venture over to Sweden, The Netherlands, Belgium and France. Then Switzerland, Austria and Germany followed by Ireland and Iceland. It’s a six month journey of dreams, photography, writing and nature, a perfect way for Katrina to express her talents.

In fact, when Katrina and I started working together on her website in March 2011 those were precisely the four interests we needed to pull together to create Katrina’s lifework focus.

Follow your dreams, literally

Yet as we explored how to turn her interests into a lifework path, Katrina started getting serious about her trip.  At first, the European adventure was a dream. Literally. She had a sleeping dream about going to Iceland, a dream that seemed remotely possible, but mostly fanciful.

But then she started tossing around the possibility of turning it into reality, and as she did, things quickly fell into place. Meaningful coincidences and encouragement popped into her life, one after another, and before she knew it, she had a passport in hand, a backpack on her shoulders and an empty house on the horizon.

When things fall apart, persevere

Since I have yearned to go on an ancestral journey for decades, and since Katrina and I share much of the same ancestry, I am living vicariously through her, which is definitely the easier way to go since little has gone as Katrina planned.

Findhorn and Iona were inspiring adventures, but England was a bit iffy, having arrived at her destination only to discover the retreat owner was unprepared to receive Katrina. As it turns out, the retreat owner was facing the threat of eviction if she could not afford to buy her house. Needless to say, it was a bit chaotic.

Blog to build an audience

Lucky for us, Katrina has a great way to share her rich stories: her newly redesigned blog and website.

Katrina is a fluid and moving writer who beautifully portrays the emotion and struggle behind her experience, as well as the soul-illuminations that surface with each ordeal. She has no computer on her trip, save her iPhone, which she uses to capture photos and writer her content (yes, she uses her iPhone’s “keyboard” to text her long blog posts, emails and Facebook missives!)

It’s been a trying journey, full of challenges and plans gone awry, but Katrina is a thoughtful woman who realizes she’s been thrown into the dark depths of the heroine’s journey, and with it the very real possibility of complete transformation into a new life.

Considering what she’s been through and how gracefully she’s handled it (even if she hasn’t always felt graceful), I know that she will make it through to the other side.

In the next three posts I’m going to share with you

• How Katrina and I developed her brand by incorporating her many interests (and why we tossed out her old website!);

• Her special time saving technique that helps attract new readers while simultaneously supports her colleagues endeavors; and

• How she makes side income while she’s away

So stay tuned for more of Katrina’s Website and European Adventures as we delve into the riches of creation that come from surrendering to the experience.