Rai (00:00):
So welcome to the SOAR podcast today. We have Robin Wald. So Robin, tell us a little bit about what you do and what your business is.

Robin (00:08):
Sure. Hey Rai, thank you for having me so excited to be here. So my business is Robin Wald Cosmic Wisdom Coaching, and I’m a certified life coach. I’m also a professional astrologer. I’m a certified yoga and meditation teacher. I’m an intuitive tarot reader. And basically what I do is I offer people, support, guidance, insight for a greater self understanding, greater self-compassion and really give, help people to understand what they need about themselves, their life situation, so that they can take next steps and move forward in the direction that they’re hoping to move forward.

Rai (00:47):
Yeah. And you and I worked together, we went through our coaching certification together, and then we worked together as coaching partners, for like almost a year.

Robin (00:57):
I think it was about a year.

Rai (01:00):
And your work is just mindblowing, like the way that you coach and the different modalities that you bring in. I know a lot of people who do astrology readings and you know, they’re very into like the spiritual and intuitive coaching and things like that. But you are leaps and bounds above anybody else I’ve ever worked with or known. And I think that really comes from – this is my perspective, so tell me how this lands for you – but to me, that really comes from you just always being true to who you are. You have always, as far as, as long as I’ve known you, you’ve always been, this is my business. This is what I do. You don’t care if people think I’m crazy, I don’t care if people think I’m all, woo woo. I don’t care. This is what I do. This is what I love. And this is how I help people. And you do, you really have amazing results with people.

Robin (01:52):
Thank you so much first of all, I also feel that the coaching that you gave me is a big part of how and why I’m so successful right now in my business. And you helped me really explore and work through what I wanted my business to look like and how I wanted to design it so that you’ve been as impactful in my life. So thank you. It’s so funny to hear you describe me that way, because I have my sun and moon in Aquarius as well as mercury. So I am so Aquarian and Aquarius is all about individuality, uniqueness, out of the box, not doing it the way other people do it, like having your own weird spin on things and not really caring if it’s acceptable or not, because it needs to be authentic and it needs to resonate with my own sense of freedom and authenticity. So it’s so funny that that is what comes across so clearly to you around my business, because I just don’t know how to be any other way. That’s just who I am. Yeah.

Rai (02:50):
Yeah. And I think people can really, whether someone listening to this is very Aquarian or not. I think people can really take a lesson out of your book, because you have done that. What, you know, no matter where it comes from, you’ve done that you’ve held true to that. And you do have a successful business. I was just talking with a client when was it? Wednesday night about this Reiki healing, you know, candle making kind of business, massage therapy, combo kind of thing that she wants to build. She’s like, but then I think I need to have like some things that are just very standard and not really for the people who aren’t into that. And I’m like, why would you do that? What if you just did what you wanted to do? And said things the way you wanted to say them and talk to the people that you want to talk to and to hell with the people who didn’t get it or didn’t like it, I mean, that’s just not your audience.

Robin (03:43):
Yeah. It takes a lot of courage though, to step into. And it’s not just stepping into, what’s authentic for you, but it’s having the faith in yourself and trusting in yourself and in the universe or whatever your spiritual understanding of the energy that supports you is, you know, I think that that’s a big part of my spiritual practice is I trust in myself and in the world to bring me what I need to receive, you know, either to teach, to learn, the people I need to impact and interact with. So there’s a courage and a faith around that. I want to say something about how this kind of really connecting to your uniqueness is relevant for everyone, right? It’s definitely not just an Aquarius thing. And that’s actually one of the beautiful things that I do with people in astrology is really to help people understand themself uniquely as an individual. This is one of the myths about astrology and the things that I kind of distanced myself from just horoscope stuff. Like I don’t write horoscopes. I don’t, that’s very broad in general. And when people have an experience of, Oh, that’s just like, not real

Rai (04:57):
It’s in the Sunday newspaper. Yeah.

Robin (05:00):
But, but actual astrology, when you do it with a professional astrologer, it is so unique to you. It is completely unique to you, you know, it’s based on the moment, literally the minute you were born in the exact location you were born. So in a specific time and place, it’s you, but it’s also about how your natal potential evolves through your life, which is a combination of your unique attunement and then the choices that you’ve made and the experiences you’ve had and how you’ve interacted with those. And so everybody’s life is unique. And the question is how can we be more courageous and more trusting to step into that authentic, unique life that I am here for? Cause I’m not here to be like anyone else or do my business exactly like anyone else’s. It’s not someone else’s business. It’s mine. So how do I understand my needs, my wants, what feels right to me?

Robin (05:54):
What’s gonna bring me joy, right? Because why be in business if you’re gonna hate it and resent it and be overwhelmed by it? I mean, I coach a lot of solo entrepreneurs actually and hardworking, really hardworking, but very often entrepreneurs fall into this trap of being miserable with what they created. And to me, that’s really an unfortunate thing because you’re using your freewill and your talent to build something. Yeah. And how do you do that and take it seriously, but also find the joy and love in it and be inspired by it and do it because it is a natural expression of your heart’s passion. Yeah,

Rai (06:43):
Exactly. Why would you continue to heap the stress and the burdens on yourself and take all the risk? Why not just go be an employee if you want to be stressed out and, you know, give a third of your time here on earth to someone else, not being happy, doing it, just go be an employee. And then you don’t have all the risks associated. But when you go out on this path on your own, there has to be a bigger purpose to it. There has to be a deeper why, and it has to be something that brings you joy. Yeah.

Robin (07:19):
Yeah. So from an astrological perspective, there are things we look at in a chart, you know, the mid-heaven, you know, the six house and what’s on the cosmo and planets in the sixth house, they point to like your day to day work, who you work with, your employees, your colleagues, the kind of work you do. Do you like to be alone at work? Do you like, you know, more social, relational, what kind of skills you may be good at? But the 10th house, which is your mid-heaven is considered to be like the finger of God or destiny pointing you to a higher purpose. What is your personal purpose that you’re here to bring out into the world to be seen for and to be known for? So, you know, that’s really useful information for someone to say, Oh, what is my ultimate purpose? And what are the things in my 10th house?

Robin (08:03):
And then the transits, like what’s going through there now, why does it feel so hard right now? Or why am I feeling this urge to change and shift? And I’ve done this all this time, but now I’m just irritable with it. And I want to do something new, but I don’t know what that new thing is. And that’s when a lot of people actually come and consult with me because they’re feeling an urge to grow and evolve to the next thing in their life. But they’re not quite sure what it is or they might have a vision, but they’re not sure how to get there. And if you know, so it’s, it’s amazing fun work to do with people to explore that.

Rai (08:36):
And, you know, I had never experienced astrology the way you do it until you and I started working together. I was always familiar with, you know, whatever’s in the back of Cosmo or the newspaper or whatever. And I’m like, this is so general that it could apply to anybody like this is bullshit basically. And then you and I worked together, you told me things that you and I had never talked about. And you knew things about my relationship with my father and my relationship with my mother, how I was as a child. Was I outgoing? Was I creative? Was I sporty? Was I, you know, you knew all these things just by looking at my chart. And you were so insanely specific that my skeptic brain was going, this cannot possibly be applied to anybody else. There’s no way that you could get this sort of information other than doing what you do.

Rai (09:31):
And it was so eye-opening to me, sorry, that’s my cat hopping around my desk there. It was so eye-opening to me to not only have some explanation for why I am the way I am, but also to know it’s okay. I don’t have to be like you, you were very like free flowy and, you know, go with the flow. And I’m very, I need a plan. I need structure. I need to do it this way. And that’s because I’m an Uber Capricorn, but I was always holding myself to other people’s standards or showing, or, you know, thinking that I needed to be better. I needed to be someone else’s way. I needed to take a page out of their book when really it was okay for me to just lean into what came naturally for me. And that was being that hyper disciplined, hyper organized Uber generator Capricorn. Yeah.

Robin (10:30):
Yeah. And that’s the common experience of most people who have a professional astrology reading is what they come away with is I feel so validated that I understood, like I am this way and it’s okay. It’s like actually better than, okay. It really is who I am. And I’m expressing my uniqueness in the world. You know, the gift of that then is just bringing more consciousness to it because you know, one of the myths about astrology is that somehow the astrologer is telling you everything about yourself and it’s somehow fortune telling, and they’re going to predict your future. It’s not that it’s really just translating this cosmic language, this cosmic sort of blueprint, fingerprint map, if you will, right. When you learn how to read a map, it helps you get somewhere as opposed to like, just trying to like, let me go down this street, let me go down that street. And you have no. So when the map is clear, it’s like, Oh, I have more choice about how I get where I want to be going. So it actually expands your freewill and your ability to interact with your own life in a very powerful and intentional way.

Rai (11:42):
Yeah. And one of the things that I hear between the lines the most from my clients is really that they don’t know who they are, they know they want some sort of freelance life. They know they want some sort of freedom, independence, flexibility in their schedules, but they don’t know if they can do that. They don’t know if they’re independent enough. They don’t know if they’re strong enough. They don’t know if they’re creative enough. They don’t know if they’re supposed to be a writer or a designer or a developer. They have no idea. And they don’t know who they are on a very internal, granular level. And so the work you do really helps people understand who they are and understand what is the terrain of that landscape? Are we looking at ocean topography? Are we looking at mountains? Are we looking at a desert? What are we really working with here so that you know how to best navigate?

Robin (12:35):
Yeah. And it helps, you know, what your gifts are and really lean into your gifts. Sometimes people are, they’re not even fully utilizing the gifts that are so accessible to them. And then I mentioned something and they’re like, Oh, I actually am really intuitive. I actually really do connect to other people on an emotional level, but they don’t recognize that that’s a resource of theirs. So it’s like showing them all the resources they have so that they can really apply those resources and know, Oh yeah, I can do this. I can do that. The other thing I was going to say is that now I just lost my train of thought, Oh, I was going to say, is that that’s where the coaching comes in. Right. So when you have an awareness of who you are, what your talents are, also what your challenges are, right.

Robin (13:26):
It’s okay to really recognize your challenges. We all have blind spots, things that are harder for us, but when we kind of re define those in terms of growth opportunities, you know, it really is about taking on a growth mindset versus I’m just bad at this. I’ve never been good at organizing. So I can’t really do that well. Okay. So where is it in your chart while you’ve got a ton of Pisces in Gemini and all this mutable energy, and it’s not structured and there’s no earth and you’re not, you know, there’s no Virgo organized and you know, that kind of that’s okay. It’s okay. So we validate your experience of yourself, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t build skill around that and that things, you know, like that’s where coaching and awareness says, okay this is where I have a challenge now, how do I address that challenge and still achieve the goals I’m looking to achieve? That doesn’t have to be a non-starter, you know, where, Oh, I can’t move forward or accomplish something because I’m not already good at this. That’s where you look at, okay. Where, what skills do you need? How do we get those skills? Who can help you with that? What are your resources? You know, how committed are you to that? You know, that’s the coaching piece, which I know you do amazing work with people, helping people navigate that path forward.

Rai (14:42):
Well, and it’s also a decision making tool. You know, a lot of people think, you know, if we go into the business building side of things, when you’re building your freelance business, it’s okay. So how do I market myself? How do I position myself? Well, if you don’t want to do a particular kind of marketing and it’s against your natural way of expressing yourself, then don’t do it. And having that deeper understanding of who you are and how you naturally express yourself in the world can actually help you create a marketing plan and a branding planet. All of those pieces that we need as business builders in a way that feels good and comes naturally. And doesn’t feel like this massive tooth pulling painful process.

Robin (15:27):
That’s one of the most powerful things you taught me in coaching. That was so helpful for me, you know, because when you started out in a business and I know you wanted to ask questions about how I started out my business and why. Yeah. But when I first started out in my business, I really didn’t know anything about marketing and marketing felt terrifying to me. Just the word marketing. I would have this cringy tight feeling in my gut and like, Oh, I don’t want to put myself out there. I’ve always been more of an introvert, more of a, I like to be in the background. I always sit in the last row of the classroom. And when I’m teaching, I’m in my element, I could teach to hundreds of people. And you know, that’s really about wisdom. And I love to convey and to share wisdom, but when I’m not teaching, I do not like to be, have any attention on me.

Robin (16:18):
I really like to be in the background and marketing to me felt terrifying because it’s like people are going to see me and people I don’t know, I have to promote myself. Like I’m not a self-promoting person. I’m like, if people need what I have to offer, they’ll somehow find me, which is a little naive because you have to have some presence and put out the shingle for people to find you. But you really helped me distinguish that all the things I thought marketing was based on what I see out all over social media, LinkedIn, and I don’t have to do it like anybody else. It just has to feel natural and organic. And it has to feel authentic to me and how I do my business. So I love that. You’re really guiding people to trust that and to follow that.

Rai (17:09):
And that’s really what you have to trust at every single stage, whether you’re at the place where you’re ready to market yourself, whether you’re just trying to figure out what is my business name, whether you’re trying to figure out what am I even going to do for my business, what am I going to sell to people? What service am I going to provide? It’s going back to, well, what feels right for you? And you’re really the only one who can answer that. But as coaches, what you and I both do is help people peel back all those layers of self doubt and should, and you know, family expectations and financial burdens and all these things that are clouding the decision of just what feels right for you. Yeah.

Robin (17:55):
And that’s a great starting place. Go ahead, sorry.

Rai (17:58):
You know exactly where I’m going. How did you make that decision for yourself when you first, you know, tell me, when did you really start your business and how did you come to that conclusion that this is what I want to do and I’m going to go all in on it. Yeah.

Robin (18:13):
So I started studying astrology in my early twenties and I really just considered myself more, a student of astrology and someone who loved it and was fascinated and always learning. And I would do readings for friends. And once in a while, I would do a paid reading for someone who referred someone, but it wasn’t a business. It was a passion, you know, as a hobby, it was just something that I love that enriched my life. I became yoga teacher certified in about 20 years ago now. And that I also did, like, I had a few clients, private clients, I taught in some schools, I did some programs and it was a little side business like a consultant. My main business was being a full-time mom of three children and being the business manager for my husband’s businesses. So I managed all of his, everything, customer service and bookkeeping and inventory and shipping and all of the, his business.

Robin (19:11):
I was the behind the scenes person and I was managing a household and I was also a volunteer extraordinaire. I was like on boards of directors and committees. And I was used to just doing what felt important to me and pretty much doing it for free. It wasn’t about money and it wasn’t about business. And I never saw myself as a business owner. I just was somebody who did things I loved that were of service. That was kind of my guiding principle. And then I got divorced and I was no longer having the income of working in my husband’s business. And I was on a sort of transition plan where when my youngest reached a certain age, I was going to have to sell my house. I was going to have to figure out where I was going to live. How am I going to support myself financially?

Robin (19:57):
And, you know, I had a lot of little pieces of things that I did, but really for me, the choice to become a business owner was out of necessity. It was, I need to now monetize all of the skills I have, but I looked into working for other people. So I am also a Jewish educator. I work with teenagers. I love working with teenagers, like my heart and soul, but that’s a very part time, 8 hours, 10 hours a week. That’s not a full-time thing. So then I started looking at, well, maybe I should go back to school for this, or for that, I used to be a nutritionist. I have a masters, should I go back and be a nutritionist? Should I try to get a degree in school counseling? I considered a lot of other options.

Rai (20:43):
You had so many different roads to choose from

Robin (20:45):
So many roads to choose from. I mean, I guess I’m fortunate because I am very inspired by a lot of things and I’m good at a lot of things. So I had a lot of choice, but I guess I thought if I’m really going to do this and like vision my life going forward, what would really make me happy? What do I love to do? And it really came down to that. I love astrology. I love counseling people and being a listening, you know, like that’s a skill I have from all the yoga and the meditation and the heart opening. And the compassion is just to be present and to really listen and hold space for people, hold space for people’s pain, hold space for people’s fear, hold space for people’s hopes and dreams. And, you know, so I was like, well, how can I take the astrology piece, which I love, how can I take my teaching skill, which I love, how can I take this spiritual, very intuitive side of, you know, what I bring?

Robin (21:48):
And then I decided, well, I can become certified as a coach, and I can wrap this all together and offer this through coaching. And that’s how we met. And I went through this. So that was the first step of me seeing, Oh, I’m stepping into a new career path that integrates and joins all of these other things. And then it was really just about, we did so much work together finding a name because before that I had my website, which I was so proud. I did myself. I was like, this is getting real. I’m putting up my service. And I had, each page was like about a different hat that I wore, Oh, here’s me as an astrologer. And here’s me as a yoga teacher. And here’s me doing work in schools with children. And, and then it was when I really did this, like coming, like, what is it, the bigger vision you helped me really figure that out.

Robin (22:38):
And we were playing with names and what felt right. And when I came up with cosmic wisdom coaching, I was like, that’s exactly. That’s like, really exactly what I want to offer in the world. That is my brand. That’s my mission. That’s who I am. It’s how I live my own life. And it’s what I have to offer. And once I really figured that out, you know, then I designed my own logo, which again, I was like, so thrilled because I was like, what are the symbols? And we talked about this and you’re like, well, what are the symbols that speak to you? What represents you? Like, you know, and you really helped me be able to trust that process. And I’ll say that, you know, I guess at the beginning, when you start a business, there’s some fear. Am I going to make enough money?

Robin (23:24):
Am I going to be successful? Am I going to know how to do all the marketing piece? How are people going to find me? And they’re all these feelings of like the shoulds. And there are a lot of people out there like sharks who want to like tell you like, Oh, do this program and that program and hire me and I’ll come, you know, and you could, there are a million consultants out there who can help you with that. But you really helped me to understand, like, Robin, you’ve got this, you know who you are, you know your brand, you know your competency, you know your people, just present what’s authentic to you. And that’s really what I’ve done ever since. And I have to say like, people just come and come and come and refer. And my business just keeps growing and growing. And my network keeps expanding. And I’ve been really just sitting with a lot of abundance and a lot of joy around my business.

Rai (24:17):
And what do you credit all of that to?

Robin (24:21):
I think it’s a couple of things. One is I think I was ready and I really do believe in manifesting what you’re ready for. It’s like we aren’t ready to receive the gifts that are there for us until we really sort of clear out and make space. That’s actually a very Jewish wisdom based teaching. So Kabbalah. So some people listening may have heard of Kabbalah Jewish mysticism, the word Kabbalah, literally the root of the word is qibbēl. And qibbēl means to receive. And the first primary teaching of Kabbalah is that in order to receive first, you have to empty yourself. You have to empty your cup to allow that cup to be filled. You have to empty your ego of what you already think you know, in order to make space for what you don’t know to be taught, you know, to learn.

Robin (25:17):
And part of it is you have to empty yourself of any limiting beliefs around scarcity or not being good enough, or, you know, do I really have what it takes, all those things you have to, it’s like, you have to let that go and be ready to receive success. So I think I was really ready. I was so ready. And then the second thing I think is really key is I just think you have to do great work with people. That’s really the way, that is the number one primary way I market my business is I just do excellent work. I have a hundred percent integrity with people. If you have integrity and you do great work, and you’re really there because you are of service and it’s not about your ego and it’s not about the money. And it’s like, you’re just wanting to give something that you have to give that someone needs to receive. Then it’s just a beautiful exchange of energy. I’m going to receive in return for what I give. And when you do great work, people refer and refer and refer because they want other people they love and care about to experience what you offered. So that’s really, my business grows that way.

Rai (26:30):
So that’s your marketing strategy.

Robin (26:32):
That’s my marketing strategy. That’s it.

Rai (26:36):
I love it. And you know, when you’re talking about the cup that you have to empty, this goes back to some conversations that I’ve had with so many freelancers around. They go, you know, I’m so busy, I’m so busy. I don’t know how I’m gonna fit this in. I don’t know how I’m going to build my business on the side. Well, when your cup is so full of the poison that’s sucking the life out of you and the joy out of your life. You have to empty that cup of the poison so that you can fill it up with the water. Yeah. And that’s a concept that is really challenging for some people because they go, well, what about my finances? How am I going to pay my bills? And there are ways that we can create a runway for you to make that happen. But I think your story is so powerful because you just literally went all in on yourself. And you’ve trusted that if I do good work and I take care of people and I work in integrity, there’s no way I can’t succeed because I’m going to be offering something that I know is of service and I’m just going to give it my all.

Robin (27:44):
Yeah. And I really do feel very, I feel blessed, you know, I feel so blessed on a daily basis. I meet amazing people and I love people. I love humanity. You know, I love people’s life stories and where they’re at. And I love to be able to be part of their journey on whatever level, even if it’s a one-time or if it’s a coaching relationship, or, but I love to be able to just, you know, be both a witness, but also like a cheerleader for like people just being really, you know, happy and healthy and whole, and you know, if I could be any small part of that. So I love what I do. I just, I love it. And yeah, the going all in, I mean, I don’t want to pretend like it was super easy. There were days that I really struggled and had a lot of fear. You know, I think that’s where spiritual practice comes in. You know.

Rai (28:46):
I mean, we all have those times when we’re like, I don’t know how I’m going to pay the bills. I don’t know how I’m going to cover the mortgage. I don’t know how this is going to happen, but I feel like that goes back to that trust piece that you mentioned.

Robin (28:57):
Yeah. Yeah. For me also, I made a very conscious decision that when I was selling my house, that I was going to intentionally downsize and live below my means and what that did, that was a really, that was a business decision. That was actually like a lifestyle, but very much a business decision. I never wanted my business to become something that I had to do, because if I didn’t do it, I was going to be afraid that I couldn’t pay my bills. I didn’t want my business to be about money. My business still is not, it’s never been about money and the money comes and more than I ever believed or anticipated. I’m like laughing and giggling like, Oh my God, look how successful I am. I had no idea, but I never wanted it. And I still don’t ever want it to be just about that.

Robin (29:47):
I don’t want it to be about that. You know? So I made a decision I’m going to just live really, really simply and inexpensively. And then it’s never an issue. Like I can make my bills really easily. And then all this extra money, what’s it for? It’s then I can, you know, give gifts to my children and take them on trips and travel like post COVID, you know, but it’s really about, again, it’s like money is just another weird thing. We get hung up on success, money. Like those are very, you know, kind of cultural values that may or may not resonate with your personal values. Right. And you know, I value freedom. I value really deep relationships. I value wisdom and learning. I just want to learn. If I come to my job every day and I’m learning every day, I am very happy and that’s, you know, so like, I really do think that you can design your life in accordance with your truest values. That’s the most powerful thing we can do as humans.

Rai (30:54):
Yeah. And one of the things that I love to challenge people on is redefining success, because like you just said, success is so culturally defined. You’re successful. If you have the house in the suburbs and you have the 2.5 kids and you have the, you know, two cars and you’ve got the swing in the tree and you’ve got the vacation photos and that’s what success is, right? No, go define your own success. I was telling this to my group in the Chiron community in Slack the other day, one of my markers of success is have I played board games with my husband this week? Have I had a chance to like, just hang out with him and do what he and I both love to nerd about over, which is playing board games, Terraforming Mars and Gloomhaven and all these weird games that we just, that’s how we love to spend time together. And it doesn’t matter how much money’s in the bank. It doesn’t matter how many clients I have. It matters can I spend time with the person I care about? Yeah. That’s what success is for me.

Robin (31:55):
Yeah. And again, that goes to your core values, your core, most important value is connection and time like real quality time and joyful time with your partner. So, you know, your business needs to be in service of that. Not the other way around. A lot of people sacrifice their relationships and what is most, their exercise, their health, their sense of balance and calm and peacefulness, their spirituality, their friendship. They sacrifice that because they’re working all the time in their business with the idea that, well, I need to earn in this so that I can have those things, but it’s actually, it’s almost inverted. Yeah.

Rai (32:38):
The other way around. And you really shown that in your business, when you completely set aside the money and you go, you know what? I don’t care about it. That is not a marker of success for me. This is, you allow those channels to open up and you allow the money to flow more freely. You don’t have this tight white knuckle grip on it. Yeah. Yeah.

Rai (32:58):
If you were working with someone who came to you and said, I am just having a really hard time trusting in this process. I know what I want to be doing. I know I want to do this as a business, but I’m scared and I’m having a hard time trusting that everything will work out if I go all in on me, what would you say to that person?

Robin (33:19):
Hm. Well, the first thing I really might do is really go sematic level of where, when you have that fear or you have that not trusting where in your body is that. So I might really take someone to an inner experience of where they’re feeling it and look at that. What does it feel like? Does it have a color, a texture, a temperature, can you breathe into that? Can you ask it what it’s trying to tell you? Because fear is a natural human response. There are reasons that, you know, fear protects us, right? It can actually keep us safe, but to an extreme fear can hold us back. So I would maybe first let that person experience and allow the fear. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with ever like, you know, feeling what you feel that is a really good starting place.

Robin (34:12):
Actually. I think you have to go deeper into that first. So really just become friendly with, and make space for what you’re really feeling. Cause you’re feeling that is your, that is your intuition trying to tell you something. It doesn’t mean you have to get stopped and stuck there, but that’s a place to begin, to explore. I mean, safely, right? Different people have different levels of trauma and things that they do not want to explore. And I’m not saying you have to rehash all kinds of things, but it’s helpful to know in this moment, what am I feeling? Let’s look at that a little bit more. And then, you know, what’s the next smallest step you can take. And then another part of that is the longer range vision, and really having a compelling enough vision to motivate you, to pull you forward, you know, and then there’s everything in between like creating new habits and figuring out what you need to learn. And you know, some people, small steps, some people leaps and bounds. But it’s always individual. It’s always very much aligned with what that part, because there’s no one answer to your question basically, right? It’s really a personal journey for each of us.

Rai (35:29):
Well, and I think you bring up an important process, which is don’t get mad at yourself for feeling fear. Don’t feel like you shouldn’t be feeling fear. Don’t force yourself to shut down the fear or ignore the fear. You know, a lot of people numb out. They drink, they smoke, they do whatever they feel like they need to do to numb those fear feelings. That’s not what you need to do. You need to actually lean into it and feel it more and feel what information is here for me. Yeah. Is there something I can learn from this? And then I can go forward feeling that same fear. Maybe it’s a little more muted now that you’ve acknowledged it, but then you can still move forward.

Robin (36:09):
Yeah. And I think one of the best things that people can do is have powerful allies in their process. So sometimes that’s a coach. Sometimes it’s a consultant. Sometimes it’s a friend or, you know, a loved one. Sometimes it’s a therapist, you know, sometimes. But I think that it’s really important. I mean, we’re talking about being entrepreneurs and going, following our own path. And it all sounds very independent, but we, you know, even an independently successful person has resources that they rely on and that who they bounce ideas because other people are mirrors for us, you know, they’re mirrors for us and they show us and teach us about ourselves in ways that we don’t always see for ourselves. So really, really important to think, you know, to know that it’s okay to look outside of yourself also to someone who can help you do the inner work safely, you know? Yeah.

Rai (37:10):
So one of the other things I wanted to ask you about is of everyone that I know in the freelance and entrepreneurial world, which is a lot of people you by far have the most diverse service set. You do astrology, you do meditation, you do yoga, you teach, you do so many, you do coaching, do so many different things. How do you, and maybe this is my Capricorn brain coming up or about to say structure, how do you

Robin (37:41):
It’s ok, say it? Yeah.

Rai (37:43):
You have so many different offerings. How do you know when to offer what and how do you position yourself and portray yourself to potential clients when you have so many different things they can choose from?

Robin (37:56):
Yeah. It’s an interesting question. I am still navigating and learning that. People come to me through different channels and avenues. You know, I do a lot of work in the Jewish world and right now because of COVID and everything on zoom, I’m actually doing a lot of work out in Los Angeles, you know, from my home in New York, I’m doing a lot of work in the LA community for parents of teenagers and for teenagers directly around wellness. And I’m doing a lot of emotional, mental health, mindfulness, meditation, that kind of wisdom based in Jewish teaching. And it’s interesting because they don’t know that I do astrology. Right. That’s like, it’s like, but if they go to my website, they’re going to see I’m a life coach. I’m an astrologer, I’m all these other things. But so it’s, sometimes my services exist really in their own world based on the community or the people I’m serving.

Robin (38:51):
I have coaching clients. Actually I was going to say, I have coaching clients who really don’t do it, but that’s not true. All of my coaching clients, we do do astrology because it’s so valuable. It’s like so helpful from an archetypal personality, you know, it just helps me understand them and helps them understand themselves. So even if a client comes to me for coaching, not through that astrology route, I always really do encourage and include that somehow, because it just adds to the process. Like for me, that it’s like a thousand fold. It illuminates a lot. A lot of people don’t know that I do tarot reading. You know, I don’t really hang out my shingle as much as a tarot reader, just because again, culturally, it’s so misunderstood and I’m, I don’t see tarot reading the way some people promote themselves as tarot readers.

Robin (39:44):
I am not a psychic, I don’t claim to be a psychic. I’m not fortune-telling. I use tarot really as an intuition validator to bring to consciousness so that we can talk about in a conversation, what you’re feeling and how you, like, how would this information be helpful to you and what choices might you make around it? So I use it as another tool, but it is very intuitive and it is, it exists on an archetypical, more of that Neptunian Piscean realm of just trusting something to arise that needs to be seen and understood and reflected on. So, but I don’t necessarily tell people I do tarot reading because will they you know, have a weird judgment about me, like, Oh, she shouldn’t be teaching yoga in school to my second grader. If she’s also a tarot reader, that’s for other people, like at some point, like, again, I let all of that. That’s not my concern. I am who I am. I offer what I offer. The people who need to find me for whatever they need to find me for. They will. Again, it comes back to, I just have a lot of faith that I’m here to be of service and you let me know how I can serve you best.

Rai (40:53):
Yeah. And one of the things I hear you saying is you don’t feel the need to sell all your services to the same people. You have different channels where this group of people is really interested in this service. And this group of people is really interested in these few services. And this group of people is really interested in this service. And you don’t feel the need to, one thing that I see a lot of freelancers do, especially if they’re freelance writers or designers, they start putting together the proposal for the client, and then they go, Oh, but what if they also need this? And what if they also need this? And what if they also need this? I should tell them all the things I do so that I can have the best chance of getting them as a client. But you’re not into that.

Robin (41:34):
No, no.

Rai (41:35):
I’m going to give you this. And if it feels natural to expand on that later after we worked together. So be it, but if not also so be it. Yeah.

Robin (41:46):
Yeah. I mean, I have lots of yoga clients who I just teach yoga and meditation too. And then interestingly, sometimes those clients will, you know, want to do other things with me and I’ll recommend coaching or astrology, but I just let it be, you know, here’s another interesting thing about business. Again, I’m not, you know, that I’m not like the big fan of like doing it, how everybody else does it. But one of the things you see out there, when you start a business, it’s like, how’s the right way to market. And how should you lay out your website? And what should you say on your website? There’s a big story out there in the business marketing ideology that you need to speak to people’s pain points, identify the pain that your potential client is in. Who’s the client. And this is another one. Okay.

Robin (42:33):
Pain points that makes me nuts. Number one, the other one that really bugs me is know who your exact client is. And you have to keep honing and honing in more specific, more specific, because everybody needs to have their niche. And when people ask who your client is, I say, Oh, well, I teach young children. As young as kindergarten. I teach or, I do astrology and coaching for people in their late eighties. I do wisdom and Jewish programs intergenerational. And for families, I do one-on-one astrology for people all over the world of every race, color, nationality, religion, every age, every gender, like I work with high school kids. I work with college kids. I work with people in transition in their jobs. People in retirement. I do relationship consulting for families. I do parenting stuff. I don’t believe you have to be so, so, so, so, so specific, you just need to know that what you have is of service and the person who knows they need that service, I am open to receiving that person.

Robin (43:39):
And then the whole pain thing, I would way rather focus on someone’s healing and wholeness than on someone’s pain. I’m sorry. I’m not going to take advantage of like trying to market myself. Are you terrified of the next step ahead? Are you worried that your child, blah, blah, blah. I don’t want to speak to people. People do have pain, but like, I want to speak to people’s potential. I want to speak to people’s self love and compassion. I want to speak to people’s like, you know, you’re feeling something isn’t quite aligned. Let’s help you feel more aligned. So you could be more full, more joyful, more healthy in your life. Like, that’s what I want to speak to. So those are two like business things like whoever’s listening. Like if you’re like really, like, I have to get my, you know, spiel down, like who’s my person and what’s their pain. I would just, this is, again, this is me. This doesn’t have to, to anyone else. But I don’t think it’s an essential part of a marketing plan or the way to promote your business. I’ve never done that. And my business is thriving.

Rai (44:42):
I love it. You’re such a rule breaker.

Robin (44:44):
I am a rule breaker. I know, I know it’s not for everyone. It’s not for everyone.

Rai (44:49):
So a while ago you mentioned that you used to not see yourself as a business owner and as someone who is very creative, very intuitive, very spiritual, business can feel like the complete opposite of all of that. And I know some people feel like, well, if I inject too much business into my business, I’m going to lose the creative side of me or the intuitive side of me. How did you reconcile being that spiritual, intuitive, creative person and also claiming, well, actually, yeah, I am also a business owner.

Robin (45:26):
Yeah. I think for me, it was actually in getting creative with my website and with my Facebook page and with my LinkedIn and with my Instagram, especially like, and this again, I attribute this to you, Rai, because you helped me with this. You really helped me with this. You said any marketing plan you do, it has to feel fun to you on some level that you actually want to do it consistently, if you hate it and you’re not, and you’re going to resist it and avoid it, it’s not going to be consistent. It’s not going to be effective. So let it be something you really enjoy. So, you know, my website, that to me felt like such a creative endeavor to define what I do and to keep editing and honing and redefining like who I am and how I want to present that.

Robin (46:15):
And my website is far from perfect. And I’m sure people who have a really good business eye for marketing and content copy. will be like, Oh, this should be different and that and that. I’m sure, but I had fun doing it. And I still have fun every time I come back, every couple of months I revisit, I’m like, let me change photos. Let me change fonts. Let me change what I’m saying. How do I want to word this now that I’ve, you know, and I… Just to me, it’s a creative process that feels like self-expression. So again, I don’t label it business or marketing. It’s creative self-expression, that’s fun. I can do that. And then the same thing with my Instagram, I just post beautiful pictures that I’ve taken from places I’ve traveled that inspire me and that have a personal meaning and resonate with me.

Robin (47:01):
Not everybody looking at it is going to know where that photo was from or what. Doesn’t matter if they understand fully what it means to me, but I’m having fun, creating what I’m creating. And then what I do is I share, you know, wisdom, teachings that means something to me because I’m dwelling in that teaching today. I’m meditating on that mantra today. I’m practicing that as a spiritual practice right now in my life. So I’m just going to put out what I want to be practicing and learning and inspires me. I do it creatively. And there you go. That’s business marketing, you know, that’s my Instagram. So it’s, you know, again, it, I think it has to be authentic. Yeah. Know, it doesn’t follow somebody else’s rules. It just, it follows my rules.

Rai (47:50):
And I think this is a perfect example of how it can work for you when you just do it the way that it feels natural for you. Because when you were describing, you know, you change your fonts and your website and you just post on Instagram, what you feel like posting. I’m the complete opposite. I have specific fonts. I have a brand guide. We use Cinzel we use, I don’t even know how to pronounce the Montserrat. I don’t know how to pronounce it, but those are our fonts. Those will always be our fonts do not use any other fonts inour marketing. And then on Instagram, we’ve got like the grid. It’s got to go blue, white, blue, gold, white, gold on the Cornell side and on the Chiron that has a similar pattern. I’m very structured, but that feels good to me.

Robin (48:34):
Yeah. But that’s why you’re so brilliant with supporting people around that kind of consulting for marketing and having a brand and having colors. And

Rai (48:45):
My thought is you changing things all the time that speaks to your fluid nature and just your flexibility and your ability to just express what you need to express whenever you need to express it, because that’s who you are. And you trust that as you’re doing that, you’re going to reach the person who needs to hear that at that moment, that they need to hear it. And they’re going to come to you through that message. And so you have that trust and it just shows you can have very creative, flowy strategy in your business, or you can have very rigid, structured strategy in your business and neither is right or wrong. It has to be right for you. And that’s all that matters.

Robin (49:26):
Yeah. I guess the piece that needs to be right for me is that it still feels playful. You know, it’s like, and maybe this is, again, this is my Aquarian. Pardon me. But I do bore easily. Like I constantly want to be experiencing new things, learning new things. So the changing things around and constantly creating to me that feels fun. It feels playful. And I need a little bit of that or a lot of that. And if I’m going to be dedicating, you know, 30 plus hours a week of my time to my business, I want it to be joyful and creative and fun. So that’s a big part of it.

Rai (50:04):
Yeah. I love that. I love that. So Robin, where can people check you out online?

Robin (50:11):
Oh, thank you. So my website is robinwald.com It’s ROBINWALD.COM. On my Instagram I’m Robin Wald Cosmic Wisdom. That’s also my Facebook. You can look me up on LinkedIn. That’s all the more resume, boring stuff, but I have a lot of podcasts posted on my LinkedIn, as well as I have a blog on my website. So you can read things I’ve written about astrology, about coaching things that may resonate with you. I’d send out, if you want to subscribe to my blog. I don’t spam people, but every once in a while I send out like you know, a new blog post or something that might be of interest to people. I do have a YouTube channel, but I’m a little like shy to say that because, you know, that’s come about through like meditations I’ve led where people ask, well, do you mind recording the meditation or the yoga session? And then posting it for our people to watch later who couldn’t be on the event. And I do that, but I really don’t love being on video. Like, so for me, it’s a little awkward to put myself out there that way, but those resources are there and that’s just cosmic wisdom. If you search cosmic wisdom what else

Rai (51:21):
You’ll see everything you’re saying here in the show notes.

Robin (51:23):
Yeah. Okay, great. Yeah. And I did create for your people, Rai, for anybody who’s listening, just to help people out. If you’re interested in astrology, if you’re interested in tarot, if you’re interested in this kind of more intuitive, you know, life purpose type of guidance and coaching, cosmic wisdom, coaching, I have a special offer for your people, and it’s the name of your podcasts SOAR!15, and you’ll get $15 off of a reading or of any kind of service you want. Yeah.

Rai (51:52):
Yeah. And I send so many of my clients to you for readings because it, like I said before, it just gives so much in-depth understanding of who you are that you can then use to leverage your way forward. So thank you so much for that discount code for our listeners. And thank you so much for being here, Robin. This has been wonderful.

Robin (52:13):
Thank you so much for having me. I love spending time with you always. Thanks everyone. Bye-bye.