We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Robin Finney. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Robin below.
Hi Robin, thanks for joining us today. We believe kindness is contagious and so we’d love for you to share with us and our audience about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
For the past 6 years, my motto when traveling has been:
“Some people you meet for a day, others you meet for life, and not one is greater than the other.”
Sometimes the most memorable moments are those that are found in one occurrence, one act of kindness, one stranger.
In 2019, I was traveling in Morocco for the first time. The feeling of being in a new country is exhilarating. New sights to see, new cultures, customs, and ways of living to experience. It’s a high that I’ve yet to find anywhere else.
It’s common in Morocco (and many countries all over the world) to find collective taxis. The idea is that you fill a vehicle (often a small van or car — an old Mercedes in Morocco) with as many people as will fit, and then you head out. Each taxi is going to a specific area, so you let your driver know along the way when to drop you. I was headed to Chefchauen (aka the “blue” city).
I went to the central location where you collect rides and found the one that was headed to my destination. Six of us scrunched into our ride. It was an extremely hot day. Windows down, no AC. It was about a 2-3 hour drive. As we were making our way, an elderly woman in the back gestured to the driver to stop. I assumed she was asking for a bathroom stop. The driver pulled up to a gas station and the woman got out. I remember being a little irritable and impatient that day because it was so hot. I don’t do well in extreme heat, and with no AC, I was feeling a bit woozy and light-headed.
After about 10 minutes or so, I looked up and saw the woman walking back to the car carrying a grocery bag. She got back into the car, reached into the bag, and began to pull out cold water bottles. She handed one to me, to the driver, and to each passenger in the vehicle. I took a sip and felt the water trickle down my throat and cool my body. Tears filled my eyes as I held this gesture of kindness in my hand. I looked back at her and said, “Shkran” (shoo-cur-ahn) which is Arabic for ‘thank you.’
It was the kindest, most unexpected gift I could’ve received at that moment.
Experiences like these remind me of the goodness of humanity and how there truly are more kind people than society leaves us to believe.
I’ll likely never see that woman again in my life, and I will forever remember her and her kindness that day.
Robin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
In some ways, I feel like my business is just evolving. I was very naive when I started my business in 2019. I had left the corporate life behind in 2018 to follow my dream of traveling the world. I had sold most of my belongings including my car, and had cashed in what savings I had. I was simply following my curiosity. The only plan (besides only buying one-way tickets) was to take a pause for a bit and use the time to get curious and discover where my heart was leading me next.
Flashback to 2017, when I first received the loud call to take this leap. I was on a retreat in Guatemala. I was surrounded by many coaches. One woman (who later became my coach and played a bigger part in my life) pulled me aside and said, “I think you would make a great coach.” She was observing how I held space for others, listened with intent, and asked curious questions. I laughed at her response and blew it off.
Circle back to 2018 in Thailand where I began my nomad journey. All I could think about was rest, exploring, and not taking on any work. I was burned out (which at the time I was not present to nor had any language for).
Life will connect us with the people, places, and experiences that lead us to our purpose, and our greater calling.
I was renting a room from a woman who happened to be a coach (no coincidence). While at a gathering, I met an incredible human who was also a coach and put out a call for someone to assist them with marketing and other support. I didn’t know why I was saying ‘yes’ at the time. But something in me said to answer the call. And so I did. Reflecting back, this experience and these encounters were planting seeds for me to become a coach and step into something greater than myself in service to others.
In 2019, I enrolled in a yearlong coaching and transformation retreat leader certification through SOURCED™. I had no business enrolling when I did. I had no income and no plans for building my own business. Again, life was nudging me towards something greater than myself.
Fast forward to today, I have been coaching for several years now within my business (Soulo Experiences) and in partnership with Amber Swenor of Soul Seed Strategy.
I provide coaching support and guidance to people who are looking to gain more confidence and trust through solo travel, and I provide coaching to entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and visionary leaders who are ready to evolve into their authentic, unleashed selves.
I lead epic, adventurous Soulo Experience 1:1 and group retreats. Last year I led my first 7-day Soulo Experience retreat in the jungles of Brazil on the magical island of Ilhabela. I also co-lead retreats with Amber Swenor in our yearlong container, Soul Seed Awakening. In addition, I support clients 1:1 to go on their own Soulo Experience adventure.
What I love most about being a coach and leading retreats is witnessing the evolution, expansion, and embodiment of my clients. I am a gentle space holder who listens with intention and asks thoughtful, curious questions to support clients in discovering a new truth for themselves while being witnessed through it all. I empower my clients to step out of their comfort zones and come to their edge at their own pace.
How’d you meet your business partner?
Some people you meet in life and you’re instantly connected at a soul level and feel as if you’ve known each other for lifetimes. That was my experience when I met my now business partner, Amber Swenor, two-ish years ago. I instantly felt drawn to Amber’s authentic, confident, badass, rockstar heart-centered energy (and when you meet her, it’s hard not to!). I was at a place in my life where I knew transition was coming. I was moving out of my sister’s house after 2 years of being on pause. My business was at a pivot point again, and I would be leaving my job at REI (which had provided a bit of stability for me during the pandemic).
Amber was enrolled in the yearlong SOURCED™ certification (the same program I got certified in). I happened to be an apprentice/mentor for her cohort. Amber already had an established business. I remember being impressed with her skills and natural ability to coach and download a client’s strategy in the blink of an eye. Amber approached me about supporting her with an upcoming coaching container with her business Soul Seed. She also shared with me a vision of bringing someone on her team to be a support coach and eventually grow into a coaching/leader role guiding 1:1 clients.
I was still a rookie at coaching and trusted this would be a great next step. Amber was clear from the very beginning of her vision for Soul Seed and for the expansion of having someone alongside her to carry out its mission of authenticity in service to our clients all over the world. I said yes, not knowing what this would look like.
And 2 years later, I’ve expanded so much as a coach through working alongside Amber and learning from her wisdom and expertise. She’s given me the stability that my nervous system was crying for and shown me that earning money can be light and fun.
Having the opportunity to have my own 1:1 clients within our year-long program Soul Seed Awakening and be a support while on retreat has been the greatest gift. Her trust in me has been what’s carried me through. Even when I wasn’t fully confident in my abilities, Amber was. I couldn’t ask for a better mentor, coach, business partner, and friend.
She’s a role model for me in so many ways – embodying and demonstrating that writing a best-selling book and getting paid to speak on stages while supporting clients in unleashing their authentic selves and having several other income-generating projects on the side IS possible.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
There are so many lessons I’ve had to unlearn since stepping away from the 9-5 corporate world. One in particular is how I structure my day. For most of my life, it’s been challenging to sit still and be on a set schedule. I can remember counting down the clock when I was in school. And the same when I was in corporate. When I was in motion, at an event, meeting with my team, traveling for a conference, or visiting various properties, I felt alive. I was in my element.
But the idea of having to be “on” for 9 hours a day was draining and constricting.
When I left corporate and started my nomad life, I remember feeling antsy for the first several months. At first, it felt like I was on vacation. I felt free. And then it started to sink in that I didn’t have a job anymore. I didn’t have anyone to report to. And while this sounds glorious, I was still programmed that I “should” be on from 9 to 6. When I started my own business and partnered with other coaches, this same conditioned response of “I have to be at my computer for 8 hours a day” was running in the back of my mind.
It was through a lot of trial and error that I finally found my rhythm and what works for me. For several years, I set my calendar to where I wouldn’t take calls before 10 am. I wanted the morning to be my time to ease into my day. And then I recognized that having called in the later afternoon around 3:00 was not productive for me. It was a time I needed to pull back and rest. Which rest is also something I learned in the process. I unlearned that we have to be on at all times, push through, and keep going. I learned that incorporating naps into my day (even 20 minutes) caused me to be more available and energetically aligned.
Since I am a nomad and live in an array of time zones, I’ve learned to be more adaptable with my schedule. When I got to New Zealand and that part of the world, I may have calls at 5 am. And living in Brazil, I’ve had to adjust my no calls at 3 pm to fit others’ time zones. But now I’m able to recognize that I can still have fluidity in my day. I can still create space for naps, midday adventures, and working well into the night. I follow my energy flow and honor when I am in the flow and when I need to pause.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wanderingaunt.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wanderingaunt
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wanderingaunt
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-finney/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmbUSzudJ9ufQWP_d1bvoVw
- Other: TikTok: @wanderingaunt
Image Credits
Victor Zamboni