Naked Idealism

Excerpts from the book:

Naked Idealism table of contents (pdf, 66 kb)

Naked Idealism chapters 1 and 2 (pdf, 156 kb)

Naked Idealism prologue (pdf, 25 kb)

To receive an additional free chapter on finding your life purpose, subscribe to the Idealist Coach news/updates list.

To celebrate the completion of my book–especially because it emphasizes getting back in touch with the things we love–I’m also reviving a neglected hobby by releasing one of my songs. “We All Are One” provides nearly seven minutes of upbeat electronic instrumental listening, with a dancier club-like feel and lyrics at the end. I think they fit much of the theme of Naked Idealism as well. You can listen to a few excerpts of it for free and purchase it below for $1.29. Enjoy!

Buy “We All Are One–7:15 Original” (mp3, 128 kbps):

You’ll receive the download link after clicking on “complete purchase” at checkout, and an email with a download link good for 2 weeks. For your convenience, the file has no digital rights management or playback expiration once you’ve downloaded it, but it is copyrighted–please support artistic expression and ask your friends to purchase a copy if they enjoy it.

Preceding its broader release via Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other channels in September, there are three options for purchasing Naked Idealism. For every book purchased via these options through the end of August, I am donating 20% of profits to charitable causes promoting progressive change.

Option 1: U.S. mailing address, purchase directly from author (PayPal or credit card):

The “add to cart” button below will take you to a shopping cart window, where you can enter your ZIP code, click “update cart” to calculate tax/shipping, and then click the PayPal checkout button. Contact me if you run into any technical issues. I’ll assume you’d like it signed unless you indicate otherwise in “instructions to seller” during PayPal checkout.

Option 2: U.S. mailing address, purchase using a mailable/faxable form with check or credit card: Download this printable book order form.

Option 3: Non-U.S. address, or Option 1 shows 0 copies available: You can buy the book here.

If your organization is interested in a bulk discount for 30 or more books, please contact me to discuss options. (Note that distribution through major wholesale channels will also begin in September.)

“Nearly all of us have fantasized about living our ideals, while nearly all of us are simultaneously challenged to identify our values, mission, and life’s purpose. In this intriguing book, life coach Dave Wheitner guides readers on a fascinating and fun journey of self-realization so that our vision can be realized. Naked Idealism supplies all the essential tools to help us discern, define, and develop our strengths, identify key values, and devise an effective strategy for finally living what Wheitner calls an “authentic life.” If you have ever longed for a life well lived, let Dave Wheitner and Naked Idealism show you how to achieve it and enjoy every step on your way there.”

- Jo Stepaniak, author or co-author of 16 books on compassionate and sustainable living

“Since I’ve had this book, I’ve wanted to give a copy to half the people I know. Doing the right thing isn’t always easy, and Naked Idealism candidly addresses this. It contains a wealth of tools, information and honest personal experience covering many largely neglected topics. Tackling two challenging tasks at once, it empowers those with a high level of social consciousness to become more effective and engaged, while also encouraging deeper awareness in areas they may not have considered. Wheitner also lets readers in on his own sense of incompleteness, creating a sense of connection and inspiring others to move forward on their own path.”

- Robbie Ali, MD, MPH, MPPM

“Dave Wheitner has created a comprehensive and inspiring guide for socially conscious people … Throughout the book Wheitner used entertaining stories to illustrate the concepts, with many from his own life adventures. With refreshing honesty, he also revealed his own career struggles. The well researched book includes 168 footnotes in which the author integrates concepts from a wide range of experts, including Stephen Covey and Richard Bolles. Many parts of the book include career counseling and coaching concepts that could apply to anyone, but there are just enough examples to have it feel tailored to the idealist audience. Wheitner’s unique background and training in public policy, counseling and coaching enable him to address this topic in such a comprehensive manner.

As a career counselor for over 25 years who was turned on to the socially responsible careers concept by a Ralph Nader keynote address, I highly recommend this book to all idealists.”

- Karen Litzinger, MA, LPC
Owner, Litzinger Career Consulting

“I’ve read self help books before, and they’ve always been about problem solving. Those books were telling me what to do with the problems in my life, but they weren’t helping me achieve my dreams. With Dave’s book, he was telling me to think about what I really want, not what I should want. Even better, he was telling me that reaching for what I really want was how to be truly successful and help the world. Dave’s book…has given me a new way to reach for and achieve my goals.”

- Melody Platz, Writer

Press release

pdf (51 kb)

Book cover image (all are 3 x 3.9 inches)

png, 300 dpi (436 kb)

jpg, 300 dpi (102 kb)

jpg, 72 dpi (14 kb)

tif (zipped), 300 dpi (487 kb zipped, 4.1 mb unzipped)

For additional information, please contact Wheitner Authentic Living via our book inquiry contact form or 412-222-5999. Thanks!

Naked Idealism table of contents (pdf, 66 kb)

Naked Idealism chapters 1 and 2 (pdf, 156 kb)

Naked Idealism prologue (pdf, 25 kb)

To receive an additional free chapter on finding your life purpose, subscribe to the Idealist Coach news/updates list.

Dave Wheitner, founder of Idealist Coach, blends his experience from several idealist settings spanning life coaching, counseling psychology, management, policy research, and environmental public health. He has conducted behavioral leadership assessments for managers, created and taught a graduate self-development course for community leadership students, counseled adults recovering from addictions, conducted environmental public health and poverty research, and managed a multi-agency data project on urban family health and wellness. Raised in a near-poverty environment, he later experienced vastly different settings. After studying psychology at Yale, he earned an M.S. in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.A. in Counseling from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He enjoys guiding others toward more fulfilling and meaningful lives, composing music, cycling, jogging through Pittsburgh’s urban woods, and co-hosting vegan waffle parties.

To inspire others and promote the concepts of Naked Idealism, I’ve created several designs that I hope you enjoy! Products include T-shirts, cloth shopping bags and bumper/bicycle stickers.

make custom gifts at Zazzle

The Rain Barrel People are illustrative characters from the book Naked Idealism, and were inspired by one of my first creations using some of the techniques outlined in the book: a rainwater storage and irrigation system to support our urban garden.

The Rain Barrel People provide some youthful lightheartedness amidst discussion of very serious topics, for an audience that sometimes takes ourselves, our lives and our world a bit too seriously. They also help to organize some of the book’s concepts and symbolize the following:

• A rain barrel may provide life sustaining, growth inducing water only after it has filled. Much of Naked Idealism is about “filling our own cups” so that we may overflow with life energy and inspiration for others. As I mention in the book, this also has an irony because water once nearly took my life.
• Wearing only barrels, the Rain Barrel People represent the nakedness or authenticity we seek to attain.
• The multiple skin tones of the Rain Barrel People symbolize a vital component of sustainability: acceptance of diversity in race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, spiritual beliefs, physical ability, and so on.
• Because rain barrels help to conserve water, they represent environmental awareness, another component of sustainability.
• The hose connecting the barrels illustrates that the three aspects of existence discussed in the book feed into one another: being naked, doing things naked, and having (relating) nakedly. In many of the illustrations the hose is circular, showing that the process of mastering them can be cyclical. We rarely fully “complete” one stage, and must sometimes move back and forth between them. Additionally, this connection illustrates that we are all interconnected and interdependent.

Have you read the book and decided you’d like to accelerate your movement toward an authentic and sustainable life?

Through my encouraging coaching process, you can define and create what’s really important to you, organizing your life and pursuing your ideals in a refreshing, more integrated and authentic fashion.

Please visit Idealist Coach, my strategic life coaching and consulting practice, for more information.

The Rain Barrel People are illustrative characters from the book Naked Idealism, and were inspired by one of my first creations using some of the techniques outlined in the book: a rainwater storage and irrigation system to support our urban garden.

The Rain Barrel People provide some youthful lightheartedness amidst discussion of very serious topics, for an audience that sometimes takes ourselves, our lives and our world a bit too seriously. They also help to organize some of the book’s concepts and symbolize the following:

• A rain barrel may provide life sustaining, growth inducing water only after it has filled. Much of Naked Idealism is about “filling our own cups” so that we may overflow with life energy and inspiration for others. As I mention in the book, this also has an irony because water once nearly took my life.
• Wearing only barrels, the Rain Barrel People represent the nakedness or authenticity we seek to attain.
• The multiple skin tones of the Rain Barrel People symbolize a vital component of sustainability: acceptance of diversity in race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, spiritual beliefs, physical ability, and so on.
• Because rain barrels help to conserve water, they represent environmental awareness, another component of sustainability.
• The hose connecting the barrels illustrates that the three aspects of existence discussed in the book feed into one another: being naked, doing things naked, and having (relating) nakedly. In many of the illustrations the hose is circular, showing that the process of mastering them can be cyclical. We rarely fully “complete” one stage, and must sometimes move back and forth between them. Additionally, this connection illustrates that we are all interconnected and interdependent.

Update: Naked Idealism has been recognized as an Independent Publisher Highlighted Title. (Listed alphabetically by topic; scroll down to “self-help.”)

“Dave Wheitner has created a comprehensive and inspiring guide for socially conscious people … [his] unique background and training in public policy, counseling and coaching enable him to address this topic in such a comprehensive manner. As a career counselor for over 25 years who was turned on to the socially responsible careers concept by a Ralph Nader keynote address, I highly recommend this book to all idealists.”

- Karen Litzinger, MA, LPC
Owner, Litzinger Career Consulting

“Nearly all of us have fantasized about living our ideals, while nearly all of us are simultaneously challenged to identify our values, mission, and life’s purpose. In this intriguing book, life coach Dave Wheitner guides readers on a fascinating and fun journey of self-realization so that our vision can be realized. Naked Idealism supplies all the essential tools to help us discern, define, and develop our strengths, identify key values, and devise an effective strategy for finally living what Wheitner calls an ‘authentic life.’ If you have ever longed for a life well lived, let Dave Wheitner and Naked Idealism show you how to achieve it and enjoy every step on your way there.”

- Jo Stepaniak, author or co-author of 16 books on compassionate and sustainable living

“Dave Wheitner has created a guidebook in Naked Idealism which like most guidebooks, works…if you use it! Dave has written an inspiring book full of personal stories that we can all relate to at some level, and offers practical tips to be more naked, metaphorically speaking of course. Being naked means being real and authentic which may make us feel uncomfortable and vulnerable in many settings. But Dave offers humor, stories, tips and techniques to assist you in your quest to be more authentic, true to yourself and capable of impacting change in the world at the same time.”

- Patrick Williams, EdD, MCC, Founder of Institute for Coach Training, author, speaker, lifecoach

Before you can save the world, you must become yourself.

Do you dream of a sustainable and just world, but also desire more happiness, direction, balance, or fulfillment? Perhaps you work or volunteer in an idealist field and feel like an overwhelmed martyr, or perhaps you earn a decent paycheck but want a more meaningful career. Maybe you’re a current or aspiring progressive leader, a concerned citizen, or a student seeking more focus and impact. Maybe you long to bring forgotten ideals, dreams, or creative talents back into your work and play, or know someone who does.

Naked Idealism will entertain and refresh you with an approach to authentic living that supports both personal fulfillment and a sustainable, just world. You will learn how to expose your authentic core, clarify what’s really important to you, integrate your personal and community-level visions, and relate to the world more genuinely and effectively. You will examine your intentions for doing good, perhaps even chuckling at yourself during some of the exercises. Wheitner shares valuable tools from positive psychology, career theory, persuasion, organizational dynamics, and more.

While candidly addressing challenging and often avoided topics (like how our own prejudices can impact our personal happiness and success), Naked Idealism will also remind you not to take life too seriously. Wheitner weaves in humor from his own circuitous journey toward authenticity: cross-country adventures, a peculiar rainwater irrigation system, vegetarianism and veganism, real-life lesbian grandmothers from Mars, and a backyard abandoned coal mine cameo.

You are encouraged to remain fully clothed, but open to the life and world you envision!

“Since I’ve had this book, I’ve wanted to give a copy to half the people I know. Doing the right thing isn’t always easy, and Naked Idealism candidly addresses this. It contains a wealth of tools, information and honest personal experience covering many largely neglected topics. Tackling two challenging tasks at once, it empowers those with a high level of social consciousness to become more effective and engaged, while also encouraging deeper awareness in areas they may not have considered. Wheitner also lets readers in on his own sense of incompleteness, creating a sense of connection and inspiring others to move forward on their own path.”

- Robbie Ali, MD, MPH, MPPM

“I’ve read self help books before, and they’ve always been about problem solving. Those books were telling me what to do with the problems in my life, but they weren’t helping me achieve my dreams. With Dave’s book, he was telling me to think about what I really want, not what I should want. Even better, he was telling me that reaching for what I really want was how to be truly successful and help the world. Dave’s book…has given me a new way to reach for and achieve my goals.”

- Melody Platz, Writer

Excerpts from the book:

Naked Idealism table of contents (pdf, 66 kb)

Naked Idealism chapters 1 and 2 (pdf, 156 kb)

Naked Idealism prologue (pdf, 25 kb)

To receive an additional free chapter on finding your life purpose, subscribe to the Idealist Coach news/updates list.

Naked Idealism is an empowering approach to authentic living that supports both personal fulfillment and a sustainable, just world. Integrating the ideas of many thinkers, it is based upon several definitions and assumptions:

• A sustainable life includes fun, fulfillment, balance, success and expression of what’s most important to us. Without these elements, it’s difficult to maintain energy over the long term.
• A sustainable world includes elements that contribute to a healthy, harmonious, peaceful and life-supporting existence: environmentally friendly practices, social justice, creative expression, and a deep respect for all living things, to name a few.
• Authenticity, a vital component of both, is full and honest expression of who we really are, through the activities we engage in, the visions we pursue, and the way we interact with others.
• When we understand and honor our authentic selves, and proactively create what’s important to us rather than reacting to problems, we’re less likely to engage in socially and environmentally destructive behavior. By clarifying and pursuing what we want more directly, we often reduce the need to seek materialistic replacements to “fill the void.”
• When we relate to ourselves and to the world in a more honest and authentic manner, we reduce the conflict and suffering often caused by prejudice, fear, and unnecessary competition.
• When we’re happy with our own lives, we’re better able to share our energy and gifts with others. We’re less likely to face burnout, and we can have greater positive impact.

So get out there, expose your authenticity, and express your naked idealism!