81: {Interview} How to Listen to Your Inner GPS with Lynn Robinson

Are you currently in a season of life where you are making some BIG decisions? Maybe you are switching jobs or wondering whether or not you should start a business. Either way, we all have things that we go through in life and listening to your intuition is crucial when it comes to decision making.  

Today I have Lynn Robinson with me. Lynn, bestselling author and intuitive advisor, shares her journey of how she launched her business at a funeral and emphasizes the importance of trusting intuition in making life decisions. She defines intuition as a guidance system that helps us make good decisions and explains how to recognize when intuition is showing up. Lynn discusses the consequences of not trusting intuition and shares personal stories of when she didn't follow her intuition. She also explores the shift in societal acceptance of intuition in decision-making and the need for new leadership that embraces intuition. Lynn provides a three-step intuitive technique for creating a successful life and offers tips for dealing with worry and negative self-talk.

Takeaways

• Trusting intuition is essential in making good life decisions.
• Intuition often leads us out of our comfort zone, but that's where growth and success lie.
• Writing down goals, visualizing success, and taking action are key steps in using intuition to create a successful life.
• Negative self-talk and worry can be counterproductive and can be replaced with empowering affirmations and positive questions.
• Society is increasingly recognizing the importance of intuition in decision-making and leadership.

Lynn is an Author, Speaker and Intuitive Advisor who helps people make changes and achieve their goals—both personally and professionally—by following their intuition. You can find here HERE or connect with her on LinkedIn HERE

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Transcript

Caroline (00:00.954)
Welcome, Lynn.

Lynn Robinson (00:02.576)
Thank you for having me.

Caroline (00:05.082)
So you're a bestselling author, you've written seven books total and you're a keynote speaker and a intuitive advisor. So tell me, how did you get to where you are now?

Lynn Robinson (00:13.648)
Yes, all of the above.

Lynn Robinson (00:20.8)
my goodness. Well, I had the weirdest manifestation story. I bet you on this podcast have never heard of anybody whose business got launched at a funeral. I bet I'm the first. It is, I know. So I was the operations manager of a software company in Boston and decided that wasn't what I wanted to be when I grew up. And I was fascinated by intuition and spirituality and how intuition can help us make good life decisions, business or otherwise.

Caroline (00:29.53)
That's a first.

Lynn Robinson (00:48.24)
And I started taking classes on intuition and I decided that's what I want to do. I want to help people trust their intuition. I want to help guide people using my intuition. And so I did what a lot of us are now familiar with, kind of law of attraction. And I just said, okay, I've got a successful full -time intuitive advisor business. I'm a keynote speaker. I'm writing books. I'm traveling the world. And what happened a few months later was unfortunately a friend of mine died and they went to his funeral.

And it honestly was an intuition moment because I felt, I don't know, I guess the word is guided to sit next to a woman that I didn't know. And the short version of the story was that she ended up being a Boston Globe newspaper reporter. And I did a session with her, my intuitive advising session. And she said, my gosh, this is really wonderful. And at the end I said, you know, I really didn't talk about what you did for a living. Well, it turned out that she was the writer for the Boston Globe newspaper. She wrote an article about me and I got over 500 clients in the next few months.

So yeah, I know. So that was my funeral started my business story. But yeah, I'm a real big believer in trusting one's intuition, obviously, but also, I find that when we get clear what we want our intention, that intuition starts to kick in. It's kind of like our inner GPS. And so I think it guided me to sit next to that woman at the funeral. It wasn't like she had a big sign on her that said, sit here because I'm going to write an article about you.

Caroline (02:13.05)
I love that story and thank you so much for sharing. And I'm actually fascinated with law of attraction and intuition as well, because even, you know, starting this podcast and starting the businesses that I have, I mean, I had to buckle down and pay attention to my intuition or else it never would have happened.

Lynn Robinson (02:19.536)
Yeah.

Lynn Robinson (02:28.432)
Right. Yes, yeah. And I think that intuition is often the missing piece in the law of attraction and manifestation that you have, because we're all being guided in one way. We don't all get it in the same way. It might be an aha moment, an inner voice. It might be a dream, synchronicities and coincidences that begin to unfold. But the intuition piece is that you have to follow that intuition. You know, I had to follow that intuition to sit next to that woman at the funeral.

You know, so many other incidences in my life going having to trust that. I mean, the way I put it is a little bit woo woo, but I feel like the universe is on our side. It wants us to have what is in our heart, you know, whether it's a business of some sort or relationship. And that when we trust that intuition, it's that part of us that's really guiding us towards our destination, like our inner GPS.

Caroline (03:20.922)
So I want to unpack that further. How would you define intuition and how do you know when it's showing up?

Lynn Robinson (03:27.6)
Yeah, you know, it is a little bit of practice, which is the boring answer, because it's kind of like learning a language and there's no one way that's the right way. And so you kind of have to figure out how it does speak to you. And so it is maybe just trusting it on some small things. It's not necessarily trusting it on the big things like should I quit my job? Should I marry or divorce? You know, something big like that. But trying on some small things. What's my right next step? You know, what could I do today to grow my business?

And I always just take a few moments every day, but it's not like contemplating my navel for half an hour at a time, but it's more just sitting quietly and going, you know, what could I do to grow my business today? And again, you might get that aha moment, like, that's a good idea. Or you might get a, you know, a voice. You might find that throughout the day that you run into a podcast or a person or have a conversation with somebody that gives you an answer. So I think it's always guiding you.

The quick, the answer to what is it, my favorite definition is from a 15 year old girl who said intuition is when you know something, but like where did it come from? And it's true. I honestly don't know where it comes from, but I think that it's all hardwired into each one of us and we just have to learn how it communicates.

Caroline (04:47.514)
So what happens when we don't trust our intuition?

Lynn Robinson (04:51.344)
Well, I've certainly had plenty of those times, and I'm sure all of the listeners have, and you have. You know, I find that things don't work out as well. They don't work out as smoothly. One of the ways that intuition communicates is if something feels consistently boring, draining, you know, you're not excited about it, that's your intuition saying either move away from that or don't go there in the first place.

So I mean, it makes sense to me that we're hardwired with a guidance system that says, you know, if something feels uplifting, it makes you feel at peace, it makes you feel expansive, you're excited about it. That's your intuition saying go in that direction. But you know, have I personally done a lot of things where I didn't trust an intuition? Yes, I should do this. This is what I should do for my business because that's what everybody else is telling me to do. And usually those things just didn't work out. I bet you have a few stories like that as well.

Caroline (05:45.082)
I was going to ask you that because when I first started my product based business, my wine product, Chilvino that I invented at the time I had a corporate job, I was making a six figure salary and I couldn't afford to spend the time marketing it. I outsourced it and my intuition told me to, to, to do my own marketing. And I just told myself I didn't have the time to do my own marketing. And so I spent and wasted a ton of time and money on outsourcing it. So.

Lynn Robinson (05:49.392)
Yes.

Lynn Robinson (06:04.08)
Right.

Caroline (06:13.242)
I'd love to hear a story that you may have too in that department.

Lynn Robinson (06:15.536)
Yeah, you know, I and you know, we were talking before we actually started the podcast about the expensive PR person I hired and the same kind of thing. And, you know, I've taken so many marketing classes and, you know, I've got a typical business, you've got an ancient typical business, I've got a lot of people who are listening are fall under that category. And a lot of the marketing experts out there, it don't fit what we do. And so my favorite marketing technique is to say, it and I think of it as sort of my intuitive business plan.

I say, okay, what's the outcome I want? What does success look like? So, and again, if you think about that inner GPS model, it kind of makes sense. It's like on a GPS on your phone or your car, you're saying, here's where I want to go. And then I spend a few minutes every day. I just kind of visualize it, imagine it as if it's already happened. And then the action part is

what could I do today to grow this business? And I'm a little bit of an overachiever, so I always say, what five things can I do? And I don't have to be something big. It's not like write a book or start a podcast or something. It could be reaching out to Caroline. That was one of my intuitions. It could be writing your blog. It could be taking a walk. It could be having coffee with a friend.

Because I find that each time I trust those intuitions, something unfolds. You know, a new person shows up or a new idea or a new opportunity. So I tell people to experiment with it and just try it in low -risk situations at first. Yeah.

Caroline (07:45.786)
So whatever your intuition is showing up and telling you to do something that's uncomfortable.

Lynn Robinson (07:50.192)
It almost always is. And that's one of the reasons that people have a hard time trusting their intuition because it does lead them out of their comfort zone. And that's probably the biggest thing that I can emphasize because I just think your life purpose isn't hidden behind the door that says this is easy or this or have no fear or anything. I mean, I'm sure you had the same experience that I did that when starting my business, I was terrified. I mean, I had a well -paying job as that operations manager.

of that software company. And, you know, so my logical brain and my parents, everybody else are like, why are you leaving that job? You've got good benefits and good pain, you're going to get promoted. And, you know, but there wasn't, but I was terrified. I mean, I thought, my gosh, what if all those people are right? And I'm wrong. And, you know, but I knew I had to take the risks. One of my favorite books, I can't think of the author off the top of my head, but it's called Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.

And so that's my motto in life. And I'm really grateful for that because it certainly brought me a lot of interesting experiences. Because I think if we play it safe and we stay on the sidelines, somebody else is going to get that Chilvino idea and act on it. Yeah.

Caroline (09:00.538)
Yeah. And for me too, just honestly, some of those things, those safe places of staying in the corporate job or the benefits to the 401k and the people saying, you shouldn't leave those. It looks shiny from the outside. I just wanted to prove them wrong. And in the beginning, what was like, okay, how's your little podcast going? They're now like, whoa, what's going on now?

Lynn Robinson (09:12.272)
Right. Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Yeah. Yeah.

Lynn Robinson (09:22.64)
yeah, yep, exactly. I know. Isn't it amazing? Because I, you know, I, this is a little bit of a generalization, of course, but I just find I divide the world into two, two types of people. One, people who are not going to take a risk and that they want to stay as safe as possible and, you know, have things pretty clear cut. I mean, sometimes those things don't work out, even if that's our intention for sure.

But I think the other part of the world is, you know, I'm seeing something that feels like it's my passions, feels like it's my purpose, it's making me feel alive. And, you know, it's certainly not without its risks and you're gonna have a lot of naysayers around you, but you also need to actively seek out the people who are gonna say yes, you know, at a girl, you're doing great. But I know sometimes our little inner voice is our worst enemy. And, you know, that's the other thing I find with people who...

often come to me for an intuitive session is that their inner talk, their self -talk is really negative. I don't have the confidence or other people are good at this and I'm not, or I don't have the money or the education or fill in the blank. And I think, you know, we all feel that way. I mean, you admitted to being scared when you started your business. I did too. I used to cry in my office before my clients got quite a good idea. I figure out I don't know what I'm doing. And so I think it's just, you have to kind of...

take that leap and trust that you're gonna be okay. You know, again, it may just be some small steps at first, but go in the direction of your dream and what excites you. That's a great way to live life.

Caroline (10:54.17)
I feel like you're, and you can correct me if you're wrong, because you're the intuition expert, but I feel like your intuition honestly knows you better than you know yourself.

Lynn Robinson (10:57.424)
Lynn Robinson (11:01.648)
Yes, yeah, absolutely. So we hire expensive outside experts to, you know, try to launch our business or market us or do something. And yet there is, I mean, you know, I like to think of it as again, you know, that inner CEO or the inner GPS that there's, there's a kind of a spirit that we know that's part of our intuition that wants us to be successful, that knows our skills and talents that can find an ideal situation for us to flourish in.

So absolutely. I know, and we both talked before we started the show about all those expensive experts that we both hired. And yet when we trusted ourselves, that's when the business got launched. Yeah.

Caroline (11:43.418)
So pivoting a little bit here, I feel like in the past it was not okay to talk about following your intuition or your gut when we're talking about corporate decision -making, corporate executives, even for entrepreneurs. I mean, cause it's kind of vulnerable in my opinion to say, well, it was my gut opinion. So why, why does that become more acceptable now to talk about?

Lynn Robinson (11:52.208)
Right. Mm -hmm. Good point.

Lynn Robinson (12:07.504)
You know, my theory is that because the world has changed so much that we can no longer rely on, well, this has always worked for us and this is what we've always done in the past. We can't do that anymore. And so we're having to be pioneers and pioneers are requiring intuition. Pioneers are requiring some creative thoughts, some different ways of thinking about things. So I think we're absolutely needing intuition now. And there's been a lot of studies that say that people who use their intuition are often

the most successful ones. And it's not like our right brain intuition is just completely chassette. I mean, obviously we have two sides of the brain for a reason. There's sometimes some decisions where we need to be logical and rational and look at the budget and the numbers and is this feasible? But there's another side that's going, yes, go for it. Yes, that makes me feel excited. That makes me feel at peace. I know I've got the skills and talents. I want to offer this to the world. So there's both sides. But I think

Our world is requiring new leadership now. It's requiring those of us to really take those leaps and to do things different and to bring about a more compassionate and interesting world that really solves a lot of these problems, very difficult problems that we have in the world. We can't think in the old ways anymore.

Caroline (13:24.986)
that answer because you're right and I think even talking about it as a leader humanizes them as a leader.

Lynn Robinson (13:33.2)
Right. Yeah. And I do find, you know, it's funny, you know, a decade or two ago, nobody knew what a coach was. And, you know, it's like kind of that was kind of new to hire a coach. And I think that the person in the future that people are going to be hiring are people who really use their intuition, you know, whether they do what I do into an advisor or some other person who's coming and helping people learn to trust their intuition. Because I think that is just a skill we're going to need in the next decade or two for sure.

And I think it's just, you know, it's absolutely a skill that's learnable. I mean, I do think some of us maybe are born with it a little more than others. You know, perhaps like being born into a musical family or an athletic family, I think some of us, the intuition comes a little bit easier. I found out actually after I had started this business that my maternal grandfather, who had been a police detective in London,

had in his retirement started doing spiritual healing. And so I think there was some energy there in my family that must have made me more open to it. But that was funny. I didn't know that when I had started my business. Kind of a secret in the family, if you will. Yeah.

Caroline (14:38.202)
he started that. I mean, because that's such a 180 from working in law enforcement, you know?

Lynn Robinson (14:42.608)
Yeah, although I bet he had to use his intuition a lot in doing that, yes, to be successful at it. But definitely, yeah, hold on, the police detective to spiritual healing, yeah, that was a bit of a career leap. I bet he felt nervous about that too.

Caroline (14:55.354)
That's just a great testament and story though that you can make pivots in your career, especially if you trust your intuition.

Lynn Robinson (15:01.104)
Yes. Yeah. And I think we're called to do that more than ever. I mean, probably our parents and grandparents generation, we mostly had one job that we stayed in for our whole lives. And now that's just ridiculous. Most of us wouldn't even want that if we could have it. But, or maybe those people who don't like risk, they would like that. But yeah, I mean, between being downsized, laid off, you know, a company moving or merging or whatever, we're often faced with those pivots in life.

I think that's really where the intuition can help. So, I mean, again, my favorite technique is just to write down, what does it look like? What's that? You don't even have to know what's the specific, like, want to work for XYZ company or have this job title, but what do I want in that next job? Or what do I want in that next piece of work or, you know, that career that I want? And just, you know, to really write it down, I think there's something very powerful about that. And that's where the intuition can begin to guide you to that right circumstance and those right people.

Caroline (16:00.602)
So I'd love to hear more about your three -step intuitive technique that will create a fun and successful life.

Lynn Robinson (16:06.768)
Yeah, so the first part is the one I just said, the kind of writing it down. And people often get kind of messed up in that first step because they kind of go, how is it going to happen? Well, I'm going to win the lottery and then I can develop my business. And, you know, in a way, I think that woman who I sat next to at the Boston Globe for the Boston Globe newspaper reporter, she was my lottery ticket. You know, I mean, I now I've been in my business for over 30 years now.

And she kind of was my lottery ticket. I mean not literally but so I think that writing it down being clear what you want I Spend a few minutes for step two. I spend a few minutes every day Visualizing it so my specific process what I believe is that when we kind of Think about what we want as if it's already happened. My business is flourishing. It's successful. I'm happy. I'm great staff I'm making this much money or more every year and just really being in

that feeling, that belief that what you have is, you know, what you want is what you have. It sounds ooey -wooey. I mean, a lot of it's law of attraction. But I think that it's very powerful to do that because you start believing that it is possible. You start feeling what it's like to have it. And then the third step is that, you know, take what action can I take? I think asking our intuition questions, empowering questions is important. A lot of us ask disempowering ones.

Why am I not making enough money? Why is Caroline more successful than I am? You know, we ask ourselves kind of disempowering ones. So empowering ones, and that's maybe the third step, is to say, what could I do today to grow the business? What's my right next step? What could I do to create more money? Or simply making a statement, you know, I want information about how to grow my business. I keep an old -fashioned pad, a paper, and a pen. You can certainly do it on a keyboard. But I find it...

And again, I know it sounds woo woo, but I just start writing almost like it's automatic writing, like brainstorming. And yet I find when I look back at those notes from years ago, I go, wow, that really worked out. That was actually pretty wise advice. So you're going to feel like you're making it up. But I actually think, you know, think of it as your inner CEO giving you a message. I think that's the best way to maybe non woo woo way to think about it.

Caroline (18:25.754)
here for all the woo woo because even though it sounds fluffy and whatever on the outside, it works. And I talk about this all the time, more so on Instagram than I do LinkedIn, but you have to take the action. You have to write it down. You have to feel it, but then you have to talk about, you have to take action. And a lot of times I talk to people and they say, well, I'm not good at it or I haven't done this before or whatever. And I say this all the time is you have to get good at sucking at first, like just like.

Lynn Robinson (18:27.568)
good. I thought you were a fellow woo woo.

Lynn Robinson (18:39.344)
Mm -hmm.

Yep. Yeah.

Lynn Robinson (18:47.472)
Right, exactly, yeah.

Lynn Robinson (18:53.776)
Yes, good point.

Caroline (18:55.258)
If you're gonna go to the gym, you're not gonna get a six back in two weeks. You gotta work on it.

Lynn Robinson (18:58.416)
Right. Yeah. You can't be a concert pianist the first day out. Yeah. Yeah. And it does take a lot of humility, I think, to be okay with sucking at it. You know, I mean, I'll tell you, those first few months of my doing that business, I kept thinking, you know, when are they going to find out? I don't know what I'm doing. And I felt so inadequate. And, you know, and yet here I am over 30 years later, still doing it and still having clients and having written seven books. So, and, you know, I do think that you have to be persistent.

and it's like kind of grow your courage muscles. I think what everybody keeps wanting is a courage pill or a magic wand that gives you courage because it feels scary. I mean, I look back on all the things that have actually worked well in my life and have made me more successful.

And yet, and I think most of those were really scary to begin with. You know, the first time I ever gave a speech, the first time I gave a speech to 2000 people with a translator in Japan, my gosh, I was so terrified. I almost pushed my husband in front of the stage when I was getting introduced going, you go be Lynn Robinson. It was so scary. and then there was an earthquake at the end of that speech Caroline. So I had reason to worry, but I didn't know that in the beginning.

Caroline (20:02.45)
my god, that's...

Caroline (20:10.138)
That's hilarious and I can relate.

Lynn Robinson (20:14.288)
gosh, definitely takes a lot of courage to be a business owner too, because as I said, you know, you've got a lot of naysayers around you.

Caroline (20:21.274)
It's easier to be a naysayer than a supporter. And then it's funny because the naysayers, they, they turn back to be a supporter, but they're on the late train and it's like, we remember those days.

Lynn Robinson (20:30.352)
Yeah. Yeah. Where were you when I needed the support? Yeah. Yep. Yeah.

Caroline (20:37.53)
So I want to talk to you about worry. What are some tips that you share in your book or in your speeches that, because everyone worries, right? Everyone has things going on life, you know, even if you're in the peak or pinnacle part of your life, there's still probably something that's going on. How do you deal with that?

Lynn Robinson (20:47.472)
Yep.

Lynn Robinson (20:52.88)
Right. Mm -hmm. Yeah. It's part of it is really paying attention to what you say to yourself. Because I guess I'd call him a spiritual teacher back when I was in my 20s. And whenever I or anybody else had one of those negative things like, you can't make money in this economy or all the good guys are taken or I'd never be successful, he would just stand there and it was so visual and specific. He'd stand there with his hands on his hips. You go, if you say so, it's true.

Now, he was implying that it's a self -fulfilling prophecy and to a certain extent, maybe a generalization, but I do think that those are true. So I really had to learn how to switch gears on if I was constantly worrying about something to ask myself, what do I want instead? And to really shift my focus. And it wasn't easy. I mean, multiple times a day, I would catch myself worrying and being anxious. And, you know, I'm a big believer in affirmations and you...

You can't really give one to somebody else because you kind of have to find one that really works for you. But the one that I like that works for me is, one is, I'll figure it out. Everything is figureoutable. And the other one is kind of just an affirmation, may all of this unfold with ease and grace. Because I think we, in our own mind, we start creating worry, fear, what if this doesn't work? This is what it's going to look like if it doesn't work. I'm going to be a bag lady on the street.

It's interesting that there's no bad boys. You can say bad ladies, but not bad boys. It doesn't make sense, but anyway, I digress. So I just think really switching the gears and going, what do I want instead? And it takes practice. I mean, I still catch myself worrying.

Caroline (22:32.538)
I love that you brought up talking to yourself because we all do it and it's how are we talking to ourselves? Are we being kind to ourselves or are we being ugly to ourselves?

Lynn Robinson (22:34.96)
We all do it.

Mm -hmm. Yeah. Right. Yeah. What's another way of looking at this, you know, is a good question to ask. What would be a kinder response to myself? What would a person I admire say to me about this worry? Those are all things that are great to kind of switch the channel and worry.

Caroline (23:01.274)
So what is lighting you up with some of the clients that you're working with right now?

Lynn Robinson (23:04.88)
You know, I love working with people in business, you know, just who, especially people who are entrepreneurs who have a big vision, a big idea. And so what I do when I'm doing my intuitive advising is just kind of really tuning in, using my own intuition, helping them use theirs, maybe seeing what's standing in the way. Cause a lot of times it's like that inner talk that we have that we just go on automatic. And so, you know, just really helping people achieve their dream. I tend to be one of those yay sayers rather than the naysayers. So I think all of us need that kind of encouragement.

But I really do try to trust my intuition. And people call me when they've got a person that they're about to hire, or they're having a problem employee, or a problem partner, or they've got a vision of something they want to do, and they kind of need it to be fleshed out. So I love, those are my favorite people. People have a big vision. Absolutely. Yeah.

Caroline (23:53.69)
So as we wrap up, how can our listeners find you?

Lynn Robinson (23:57.104)
My website is lynnrobbinson .com. It's L -Y -N -N, no E. So that's the best way and most easy way. I'm certainly on lots of social media. And my latest book is called, Put Your Intuition to Work. So, you know, I'm really passionate about teaching people how to do it. So, cause you know, you read a lot of these business books that it's important to trust your intuition, but nobody tells you how to do it. So that's one of the things I'm passionate. That lights me up, Caroline.

Caroline (24:23.034)
Well, I love that. Thank you so much, Lynn.

Lynn Robinson (24:25.648)
Thank you. Great to talk to you.