What happens when the life you thought you'd have is no longer the life in front of you? Sarah sits down with her friend Robyn Jordan for a deeply personal conversation about surviving breast cancer, the end of a 32-year marriage, rediscovering identity after years of putting others first, and finding the courage to start again. Robyn's message is beautifully simple: your past does not define you, and the next chapter of your life may just become your best one yet.
Robyn imagined growing old with her husband after raising and homeschooling seven children together. Instead, cancer and the end of her marriage completely changed the picture.
Her experience became a lesson in accepting that life doesn't always unfold according to plan—and discovering that a different life can still become an extraordinary one.
For years, Robyn's identity was closely connected to being a wife, mum, homeschooler and the person everybody could depend on.
Cancer added another potential label.
But Robyn intentionally chooses not to make any single experience the entirety of who she is. She doesn't simply want to be a cancer survivor—she describes herself as a cancer thriver.
Facing mortality created urgency.
Robyn realised there were places she wanted to go, experiences she wanted to have and dreams she had continually pushed into the future.
Her philosophy became:
“Say yes and work out how.”
Because sometimes “someday” never comes.
Robyn reflects on a lifelong pattern of being the helper—the person who didn't want to inconvenience anyone or admit she needed support.
Cancer helped her recognise that constantly saying “I'm okay” can unintentionally prevent others from knowing when you actually need them.
Vulnerability means sometimes being willing to say:
I'm not doing so well. This is hard. I need support.
Perhaps one of Robyn's biggest transformations has been separating her worth from achievement.
After decades of doing, caring, achieving and being needed, she's learning the freedom of simply being—knowing she has value without having to earn it.
“Your past does not define you.”
— Robyn Jordan
“Say yes and work out how.”
— Robyn Jordan
“What if this next chapter was the best ever?”
— Robyn Jordan
Sarah Jordan-Ross (00:00) Hey everybody, welcome to Taboo Talk with Sarah, the podcast that breaks the silence, fosters hope, and talks about the tough stuff so you never feel alone. If you're new here, I'm your host, Sarah Jordan Ross. I am a wellness coach, a speaker, a wife, a mum, and I believe our stories have the power to connect us in ways we don't often expect. And today's guest is a little different for me because I'm not meeting her for the first time.
Robyn Jordan (00:24)
Ha ha ha.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (00:25)
Robin
Jordan is someone I've had the privilege of knowing through several different chapters and communities, and somewhere along the way, she became someone I'm very blessed to call a friend. Now I know pieces of Robin's story. I know she's survived cancer. I know she experienced the end of a 32 year marriage. She's raised and homeschooled a large family, built businesses. Started all over again when things have fallen apart.
And these days she's also the welcome concierge at Voice to Influence, which if Robin feels like a pretty perfect role for her.
Robyn Jordan (01:03)
Ha ha ha.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (01:05)
But something I've been thinking about recently is that knowing what happened to somebody isn't necessarily the same as knowing what it was actually like for them. And that's really what I want to talk about today. Robin, welcome to Taboo Talk. It is so great to have you here.
Robyn Jordan (01:23)
Thank you, lovely Sara. It is a privilege to be here.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (01:28)
Yeah. Now I've started every episode of this season with the same question. Now
Robyn Jordan (01:34)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (01:35)
knowing some of your story, there's lots of different ways you could take this question, so I'm actually quite excited to see where it goes. Now that question is what have you seen
Robyn Jordan (01:45)
Thank you.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (01:47)
in the world that now you can't unsee it? And what does it make you want to do about it?
Robyn Jordan (01:55)
Mm, wow, that's probably easy really for me to answer that because it's it's actually through this whole journey of cancer facing my mortality and rebuilding my life that I have actually seen many other middle aged women that may not necessarily have had cancer, but that are living that life of quiet desperation and
If they don't make changes, we'll die with that song within. And that is really what I get up every morning to do to help encourage, to help help other women realize that there is a whole world of possibility, no matter what the story that you have had. You know, your past does not define you. And yeah, I am an example of that. So yeah.
We we d we are so deserving of living our best life, of answering that call within. And this second chapter of our lives is a very special one. So yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (03:08)
I'm imagining that the life that you thought you would have before cancer, before the breakdown of your marriage was very, very different to what your life is now.
So what back then, what did you imagine your life was going to look like? And now
I'm it might just be different, but thinking would you have been as happy as you are now? Would you have found all of those things had it have kept going down that road?
Robyn Jordan (03:59)
Well, I never could have imagined that I would be living this life. And the life that I dreamed always was was with my family. I had had seven children, we'd homeschooled them, and I loved my husband and that we were gonna grow old together. And one of the things that I've realized in life is that life does not always turn out how we we think it is going to.
And what do we do when that happens? So I guess that's been my quest of rebuilding my life. And if you'd asked me you know, if you'd asked me way back then, would have I thought I would have been happy, you know, in my sixties, I would have said yes, you know, before a series of events happened over a number of years. But now, you know, I have learnt so much from this chapter and
I I I'm on my own, which I could never have imagined, having a husband's children or always around and I'm privileged to be a nana now, so I've got grandchildren. And yet, life is very different to what it was. But I think, I'm a person that just embraces the now and I'm so grateful for all of the experiences I've had since those defining moments that I went through and
Some of them have been extraordinary, some of them have been really challenging and stretched me and helped me really dig deep. Yeah, and the season of my life is still ongoing. So I'm excited about the future.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (05:39)
Is great to see because now I know your marriage ended a little while ago now, but you spent 32 years where you were putting everybody else first, and I'd say a large part of you was tied up in that I'm somebody's wife, I'm somebody's mum, and that maybe somewhere in amongst there you forgot who Robin was when she wasn't
Robyn Jordan (06:09)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (06:10)
being that and then you went through an experience where you had to figure out who you were, what you wanted to do, what you needed to do. So what was that like, that remembering of who you are?
Robyn Jordan (06:27)
Mm. Well, definitely, you know, identity has been a huge part of my rebuilding. And yes, my identity was glued to the role of motherhood for so many years. And when that, you know, changed, it was a period of well, who am I? And what, you know, what does my life mean? And where what's it going to look like?
And I I think, even through a cancer diagnosis, I'm very careful now what I have re what I associate my identity with. And certainly I I see a lot of people that have come through that cancer journey that that is part of their identity. And honestly Yes,
Sarah Jordan-Ross (07:15)
My cancer survivor. Yeah.
Robyn Jordan (07:17)
exactly. And
I I say I'm a cancer thriver, but it definitely is not part of my identity. And in fact, to be honest, I really don't think about it very often as I have actually had cancer. and all the connotations that go with that. You know, I I I tried to learn the lessons that I needed to and then it's like full steam ahead, that was in the past, I can take all of the learnings and move forward. But
identity is a huge thing and and what I actually see sometimes is that secondary gain in people where they can't uncouple from the fact that they have been a c you know gone through cancer and all of our journeys are so different but it is it was really the hardest thing I have ever had to go through and I wouldn't wish that upon anybody and I would certainly not want to have to go through it again.
And yet life is so uncertain and I think that's what I have, you know, really built muscle around that that uncertainty, embracing uncertainty and the road ahead.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (08:31)
The what I heard there was the being careful that you don't attach your you don't make one aspect of who you are become your whole identity. And we need to be careful with that, particularly with a diagnosis, that we don't go, that we don't let that particular diagnosis become the entirety of who we are, to that we say, I'm a
Cancer
survivor, or I have. And that the disease
Robyn Jordan (09:03)
Yeah, exactly.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (09:05)
becomes who you are, rather than the, as you put it, I'm a cancer thriver, or as another guest put it a little while ago. I just happen to have that, but I'm so much more than that. And embracing that more than that.
Robyn Jordan (09:20)
Yeah, exactly. I can sort of see
two aspects of identity that really can apply and and did not not the second one so much, but one of the identities that I had, which was really a role, was the hero role of everyone can count on me and don't worry about me, I'll be all right. I don't want anybody's life disrupted. And in that
adopt and and obviously, as I have learnt a lot about me and human behaviour, I realised that that was a role that I've adopted for a lot of my life as a young child. I was the eldest daughter and I soon l you soon learnt, you know, and the meanings that we make things as a young child can often come with us and manifest in in our adult years of
I don't want to be a nuisance and I get praised as a child when I haven't got too many needs and when I'm the one helping. So there's that aspect that we need to let go of and actually be vulnerable enough to say, I'm not doing so well and this is hard and I I really need some support because there were times that I felt very abandoned and that no one was there for me because we had
moved to a new country, I didn't have my family and my friends around me. But then after, and you know, hindsight's a great thing, I realized that I was partly responsible because I was showing people, you know, my famil immediate family, that no mum's okay. And then the other aspect is the victim mentality of woe is me and why why is this happening to me? And I I can honestly say that I I
did have those moments. I've thought, well, I've had lots of children, I've breastfed babies, I have not smoked, I don't drink, blah, blah, blah. And then when I get into the whole treatment thing and meet meeting other people and beautiful twenty-eight year olds with this beautiful long, glorious hair, not married, not had children, facing the risk of well, when you have chemo mostly that puts you in
you're inf infertile. I stopped asking myself that and I realized, well, why should it be someone else and not me with the statistics that are happening? So those two identities are really something to be mindful about when you're going through any challenge really.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (11:58)
Yes,
that you can either fall into that, woe is me, or you can see what you can find good in that in that situation, which isn't always easy, I believe. For that every cloud
Robyn Jordan (12:11)
No, I don't
Sarah Jordan-Ross (12:13)
does have its its silver lining, but there's sometimes you've got to look really hard. And when it comes to to cancer, the other thing to remember, and I'm sorry, there is a terrible echo.
the other thing to remember is that the cancer rates now are pretty much one in two. So there's not going to be very many people, if anybody, who hasn't been touched by cancer in one way or another.
some of us perhaps closer to home than others, but I don't think there'd be anybody who doesn't know somebody who's been touched by cancer. And you have those those heartbreaking stories, but then you also have those ones of, but they they found hope. They
They like you did, the well, why not me?
Robyn Jordan (13:20)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (13:20)
And as you were speaking, the the quote that popped into my head was this guy who thought he was badly off because he had no shoes until he saw a man who had no feet. Sometimes we need reminding that as tough as things are
Robyn Jordan (13:39)
Mm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (13:41)
There's always better and worse but I think the other thing and it's something I focus on a lot and as I said, there's not gonna be anybody who hasn't been touched by cancer.
So in those dark days when you can feel completely alone and isolated by it, maybe that's something to remember is that chances are somebody else may understand what you're going through. No, they won't be able to say, I know exactly how you feel, because I don't. I
Robyn Jordan (14:21)
Yeah. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (14:23)
know how my experience felt for me.
Robyn Jordan (14:27)
Mm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (14:27)
I can
maybe imagine, but
What I really need you to do is tell me what that experience was like. Help me understand what
Robyn Jordan (14:39)
Mm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (14:40)
it was like for you rather than assuming that that I know. But then also the hey, you're not by yourself.
Robyn Jordan (14:48)
Hm. Yes, exactly. I think that's important, you know, to make sure that you do have that support network. And even if you haven't got family or friends around you, that you find the communities. And I had breast cancer and honestly the breast cancer, the Jane McGraw nurses and the breast cancer society are incredible and I
realize that it it is b mainly because it's driven by women that are the nurturers and have the heart and actually know what we need. But I think mortal facing your own mortality is a gift of the urgency really because we all can say, one day, someday, and you know, where I was when I
had that diagnosis, I was not in a good place. My relationship was falling apart and it really woke me up and because what I was doing was giving my power away. I was giving my worth away and it I placed it in the hands of somebody else. And so really
taking that back and realizing it was almost like these audible words that my life mattered to. And realizing that if I if my life was cut short, I was 50 when I was diagnosed, so that's 15 years ago now, that I would have regrets because there were roads to travel and things that I dreamed of. And I've always been a visionary, so I've never been short of things that I dream of doing. And
It took it from being a dream to actually making things happen, making things a reality. And I have just so often just walked off a cliff. you know, I my motto really is say yes and work out how. And years years ago, and it was not long after actually my marriage had ended, I a friend asked me, Would I like to come on a tour to Italy? And I always think
When I'm making a decision, that my what are my core drivers and that my they are adventure and connection. So would I be disappointed if I missed out on this wonderful adventure? Yes. And if I was then able to go financially a little bit down the track and I didn't have these lovely people to go with, would I regret it? And yes. So I said yes, and I had to work out how.
Because, obviously there there's a cost to doing that. We went to Italy and and it was always a place that I've dreamed about going. And I remember one in one place in Sicily looking down from a a height and just it was incredibly beautiful and just tears streaming down my face because I thought I'm living one of my dreams. And no matter what that might be for you, it's like realizing that someday
you have to make, one now. You have to put it into more the present and make these things happen because someday may never ever happen. And this is what we do often as women. We always are putting everybody else's needs and dreams and their their visions in front of us. But to realise that there is we've been created with a calling and a purpose and
Taking the time to really know what that is is such a valuable, worthy journey of the clarity, of who who we are and what it what is it that we can bring to the world. So yeah, I just think it has opened up doors that I would never have imagined, but I also take more risks. I have let go some of the fears that have kept me back of living my best life and
Don't worry about what people think. And I remember hearing a quote saying, what other people think is none of your business. And I've always laughed at that. I think that is so true because and and it's it's a daily thing sometimes, of conquering those fiery darts in our thoughts and realizing that we get this one precious life and yeah.
We'd I don't want to have those regrets. And living after my I my marriage ended, I actually worked in healthcare and these little old ladies would say to me, I left it too late, Robin, don't you? And it's like they sit on my shoulder here, along with that quote from Henry Thoreau that says, Most men and women are living a life of quiet desperation and die with a song unsung. And I thought
I am not gonna be one of those people that are gonna die with a song unsung. Whatever that may look like, my life's dreams and purpose is gonna look something different to someone's and that's perfectly great.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (20:04)
Yeah. 'Cause we each are made for a purpose that only we can fill. And I love
Robyn Jordan (20:12)
Exactly.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (20:12)
that of the don't don't get to the end of your life and regret the things that you didn't do. And
Robyn Jordan (20:20)
Mm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (20:21)
that's a a common thread amongst people who've who've faced their mortality is the when you get to that end of
Your life, more often than not, it's the things that you didn't do that you regret, not the things that you did. Although sometimes there may be those two. But I know
Robyn Jordan (20:40)
Yeah. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (20:41)
when my mum was sick, we'd had as a kid, we had this dinner set that was always the Christmas dinner set or the special occasion dinner set. It became the everyday dinner set because my mum said
I've
got all these beautiful things that I've gathered over over time. They're meant to be enjoyed, they're meant to be savoured, they're not supposed to be sitting in the cupboard gathering dust. take them out and use them or
Robyn Jordan (21:11)
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (21:16)
go on that trip.
Robyn Jordan (21:17)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (21:19)
It may or may not make make sense, but does it have to?
Robyn Jordan (21:23)
That's right.
Well, that is exactly right. I think, you know, when you feel that prompting and you know that there's something that you would love to do, that's where the say yes and work out how comes in. And and it's always served me because in in it, maybe it hasn't exactly worked out how I would have liked, but I've always grown or I've learnt a lesson through it. And I think so many people hold themselves back from possibilities and
We do not need to know how it all is gonna work out. That is the real gift is being able to live life with that element of uncertainty and being emotionally okay with that, being able to back yourself that if something doesn't quite work out, that's okay. You know, I know I can I've got choices and that's what we need to really remember that each one of us have have choices in life.
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (22:24)
Yeah. And don't be afraid to to take that risk, to make that choice, to to live
Robyn Jordan (22:29)
Exactly.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (22:31)
that life. Do you think through all of that like you've touched on a few different things, but do you think you discovered something more about yourself that you didn't know before?
Robyn Jordan (22:43)
well I I think I've discovered that I'm more capable than I thought I was and that there is a lot of things that I can bring value into the world that can make a difference and to others. And that is such a a part of fulfillment is when we are, you know, willing to contribute because, you know
Often that is one of the core needs of a human too for fulfillment that's missed out is that contribution and growth that those two aspects are so important. You know, never stay stagnant. And it doesn't mean you have to be racing ahead or anything, but always have a mindset to grow and to learn new things. And that has been a wonderful gift. It you know, my marriage breakdown, my mortality
journey was has opened up, human behaviour and personal development. And I learned so much about me and I learned also a lot about others, which w has really been such a blessing because I realized so much of life we can't control. And what we can control is our own responses, our actions, our thoughts and you know,
how we show up in the world. And that just took so much of a load, I think, off me of realizing I didn't have to be the one making it all right for everybody, you know, taking care of everybody and trying to prevent them from making decisions that are not going to be healthy for them. You know, and it's a natural thing as a mum. We love our family, we love our children and it's hard to see people go through some of the challenges, but
one of the things, that I really was so yeah, impacted by, just hold on one moment, I think something happened.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (24:42)
I'm human, I stuff up and that's okay. And maybe people notice the See, just 'cause she looks like she's got it all together and I'm talking about you now doesn't necessarily mean that and I think it's a common woman thing.
Robyn Jordan (24:59)
Well next and
Sarah Jordan-Ross (25:02)
We tend to have I can juggle ninety nine balls but
Robyn Jordan (25:07)
Ha ha ha.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (25:07)
please don't throw the hundredth at me 'cause then I'm gonna drop everything.
Robyn Jordan (25:11)
Well that's actually important an important point because this whole thing of feeling like you've got to get it all right all the time and just embracing that we are human.
So what what what I discovered was a body of work from a man called Gable Marte and about the whole I guess the factor of emotional suppression and what that can actually do to us, to our bodies and everything. And he had some things that he observed in woman that all had
had gone through cancer that I I just found was really fascinating. He he some of the things were he they were putting everybody's needs first. They had difficulty in saying no. They were suppressing anger or unable to feel it all, like just sort of putting that lid on things. And they were being the strong one or the nice one that was always accommodating, never wanted to burden anyone.
And childhood patterns of actually having to learn to earn your love by being good or helpful. And I thought that just that was so much me. And he just had he's got these seven A's that of what we need to do to, you know, live a life that's true to ourselves. And yeah, I mean, I'm happy to read them out because they were they were really quite helpful I found.
one of them was acceptance, honouring what is, without pretending. And this is part of our journey of recovering too, was owning that sometimes we are not at our best and it's okay that part of recovering from something like this is the grief of what we've gone through, the
The fact that our bodies will never be exactly the same, and that it's it's a new normal, which is wonderful in so many ways. Awareness, you know, see, yeah,
Sarah Jordan-Ross (27:16)
And it's finding that new normal.
Robyn Jordan (27:18)
exactly. Awareness is another big thing where we see the patterns that we've lived by. anger, allowing ourselves to feel it, autonomy, you know, living by our own choices, not letting somebody take our voice. attachment, having real honest.
Connections, not dependent on someone, not having to measure up and walk on eggshells, really honest connections that you can be raw and real and express yourself. Assertion, you know, claiming your right to exist and to take up space. And that was, you know, a little bit about the hero role where you think, no, don't worry about me.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (28:02)
Yeah.
Robyn Jordan (28:02)
And the affirmation of connecting with your values and what gives your you your life meaning. And so these are sorts of things that, just by being growth mind mindset that you read and that you learn, some of the factors that can contribute to, our bodies not healing itself in the way that w it's been created to.
And making those changes and always knowing that because we've done something for so long, it doesn't mean to say that it has to stay that way.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (28:37)
'Cause if it's not working anymore, don't keep doing it because that's what you've always done. And I remember once hearing this story of like somebody who they cut the end off a off a roast and and left it and had absolutely no idea why and
Robyn Jordan (28:57)
Yeah. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (28:59)
then so they'd they'd recently gotten married and husband's gone, Why do you do that? She said
That's just how we've always done it. He got industrious and asked I think it must have been the grandmother why? She said
Robyn Jordan (29:15)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (29:15)
'cause the girl said, Well, that's how mum did it and the mum said, Well that's how my mum did it. So it was Yeah, I had to do that 'cause it wouldn't fit in the pen, so I had to put into separate ones or I'd use the other bit for something else. And it's just like, dear. How lo how often in life do we
do something without even thinking about why do we do that or why
Robyn Jordan (29:38)
Exactly. Exactly.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (29:41)
do we think that where did we get that from so having yeah having that
Robyn Jordan (29:45)
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (29:48)
opportunity to explore it is is a good thing and bringing your awareness to what's really
Robyn Jordan (29:51)
Yeah. Mm. Mm. Yeah. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (29:57)
going on and I will put those things those seven A's from Gabonate in
Robyn Jordan (30:04)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (30:04)
the
nights 'cause I love his work. I've read lots of lots of
Robyn Jordan (30:07)
Yes, yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (30:08)
his stuff. He comes out with some very brilliant things, so I don't mind sharing his work at all.
Robyn Jordan (30:12)
Well I No,
well I think it's, you know, from his observation, you know, it's not necessarily science, but it's from his clinical observation, which is real life stuff, isn't it?
Sarah Jordan-Ross (30:24)
Yeah.
Robyn Jordan (30:25)
Mm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (30:26)
And he is a medical doctor and he has
Robyn Jordan (30:28)
Yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (30:29)
done lots of research in varying things, so
Robyn Jordan (30:33)
Hmm. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (30:35)
he just might have a vague clue what he's talking about.
Robyn Jordan (30:39)
Yes, I
love some of the things he he works on. But yeah, there's
Sarah Jordan-Ross (30:42)
Yes.
Robyn Jordan (30:43)
just so many so many great authors and people that bring their work out that can really help you to live your best life. And that's what it's really about. You know, go out there and find that joy and that passion that every day you wake up grateful to be alive and that you can feel like, you know, at the end of your life that
you've made some meaningful contribution in whatever way that may be.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (31:12)
One of my favourite poems is called Success and it says to know that even one life has breathed easier because I have lived, that's to have succeeded.
Robyn Jordan (31:24)
Mm.
that's beautiful. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, interesting.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (31:31)
And think one of the ways that you have made a difference is through community and through like really connecting people. And it's one of the things that I've loved over the course of our friendship. We've met in a couple of different communities and and supported each other through different ones. And now we're both part of the voice to influence group. And you are the welcome.
concierge which
Robyn Jordan (32:03)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (32:04)
is an absolutely perfect role for you. And I find it interesting that you've become one of those people who helps other people walk through a door and feel like they belong.
Robyn Jordan (32:16)
Yeah. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (32:19)
So what does belonging and you mentioned community as being important before? So what does
Robyn Jordan (32:25)
Mm. Mm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (32:27)
community and belonging actually mean to you?
Robyn Jordan (32:30)
Well, I think belonging for me begins with the internal belonging of I belong to a source greater than me and you know I I have a strong faith and and also realising that, you know, I don't have e I don't have the resources, but because of of God that I have everything within me.
And being able to see that in others, is something that God's been showing me over the years. And it's a beautiful thing because it's like peop we all have that common need to feel like we're we belong, that we are enough and that we are lovable for just who we are. And that is something that, yeah, I've always been, I guess, a words of affirmation person and
Cup half full person and I don't find it a challenge at all to see the capabilities and the possibilities in other people. It's taken me a while to be able to see that in me. You know, that is some of my own journey. But yeah, I love to feel like people are made to feel welcome because
Isn't it funny we can see people like leaders? I I'll never forget Dean Grezioso saying that every time he gets on stage that there's fear and that he feels can he do this sort of thing? And I thought, wow, here he speaks to, you know, hundreds of thousands of people and it just seems effortless. And so these are things that we need to take on board that we are not the exception.
And just because somebody has been a really a high achiever and and I've realized this with my coaching and everything, that does not mean to say that they have life all worked out and that they still have those fundamental core needs as a human being. And it is a privilege to be able to make people feel welcome, seen, and to help them be able to unlock their voice and their message to the world.
so that they can go out there and create those beautiful ripples. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (34:53)
Yeah. And it's
great when you're in a a room with people like that those those high achievers
Robyn Jordan (34:59)
yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (35:00)
when they go, Actually I still have I still get butterflies when I talk like Joseph McClendon, who's
Robyn Jordan (35:07)
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (35:09)
in Western influence as well. He's one of our our faculty. He says, Yeah. He talks about the toxic ten and he says even he succumbs
Robyn Jordan (35:17)
Yeah. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (35:20)
to to those as well. So
Robyn Jordan (35:22)
Well, that's exactly right. Yeah. No, it's it's interesting and it this is where, knowing that we all have something that we can bring to the world and it's helping having community that can help unlock that. And I know when my marriage did end, I ended up doing a coaching diploma type thing at in in a big coaching school in Melbourne and what I always
feel is that they gave me wings before I f I grew my own. And they would see they saw things in me that I hadn't seen in myself. And it was just so uplifting. And I'd love to say that I orchestrated it all perfectly, but it was just that wasn't the case. It just so happened that that's exactly how it all unfolded and I'm just so grateful to the Lord that
that I did find that because it just helped me be, forward focused and realise so much about myself that community I think is one of the big key factors that we do not have enough of and that we can learn and grow together. We can fail together, we can, you know, yeah, just make much more of a difference together.
and support one another through the the good, bad and the ugly. And yeah, we need more of that where we gather like minded people with similar values and we can have such a a an a greater impact. Mm-hmm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (37:03)
Yes,
we can do so much more together than we can by ourselves. And that's one of the things that I'm loving about being part of Voice to Influence. Now just
Robyn Jordan (37:14)
Yeah, yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (37:15)
briefly for those of you who are wondering what we're talking about, Robin,
Robyn Jordan (37:19)
Ha ha ha.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (37:21)
what is voice to influence from where you sit?
Robyn Jordan (37:24)
Well, it's a beautiful community of all sorts of people from all parts of the world that know that they have skills, that they have a message, and some of them, you know, have an enormous amount of value to give, and yet sometimes they haven't had the right opportunities to be in the right room to really magnify what they can bring. whether you are starting just with
working out what your message and and what you want to bring or someone that's been on, you know, a journey for many years. We are connecting people. It's a an amazing community of mission focused people that really have a mission to be able to bring more value to the world and get these amazing people on stage, in a book, on a podcast, in a big event where
we can help them and their success to multiply purely and simply from connections and people that have been around a long time, that have that know everybody, that they need to know, sort of thing. And it's not about knowing more, it's being in the right room. And yeah, it's been really beautiful to see and to chat to people that are wanting to come into voice to influence. And
And just hearing these stories and their mission and what I love is that each one of them have a heart to help and create more impact for others. And all often it's through their own stories. I always think, you know, our mess can become our message. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (39:12)
Yeah, and we need to share those stories. I end the podcast generally with your story matters, share it. Because
Robyn Jordan (39:20)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (39:21)
your stories make a difference to other
Robyn Jordan (39:24)
Hm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (39:24)
people.
Robyn Jordan (39:25)
Yes, exactly.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (39:27)
Now
I've got one question I really want to ask Well, I've still got a
Robyn Jordan (39:30)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (39:30)
couple of questions I really want to ask you, but you've been a mum, a wife, a homeschooler, a cancer survivor, a businesswoman, a community builder. You've worn a lot of hats. My question though Who are you when all those roles and all those labels are taken away?
Robyn Jordan (39:50)
Mm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (39:51)
Who is Robin?
Robyn Jordan (39:52)
Yeah. Well, I'm a I'm a cup half full woman. I'm a daughter of the most high king. I'm a deeply emotional, heartfelt person that has overproductive tear glands. Cry cries or they leak when the good things happen and they leak when sad things happen. I'm deeply compassionate and empathetic and yeah, I'm a lover of life and yeah.
I I'm just everything that God created me to be and I'm free to just simply be these days without achievement, without success, and knowing that that is val of value, you know, and that has not always been my case. I was always a doer and now I l I really am very intentional about just being and knowing that that is enough. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (40:44)
You've remembered you're a human being, not a human doing, and that you are
Robyn Jordan (40:48)
Yeah. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (40:49)
loved and have value just because you're you, not because of anything specific that you do.
Robyn Jordan (40:56)
Yeah.
Exactly. And that is there's so much freedom in in that. It's just a beautiful a beautiful way to journey through life. Mm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (41:10)
Yeah. Is there anything that like looking where you are now? Is there anything that you wish you could tell younger Robins?
Robyn Jordan (41:21)
Think to trust the journey and to know that she has got everything within her because of who her creator is, and that there is nothing to fear that we can let go and you don't have to measure up, you can just be exactly who you are with no apologies, and to go and shine your light bright and
Yeah, take risks, jump off those cliffs, say yes and work out how and have the best fun along the way. You know, just find the joy in the simple things. I find nature is such an incredible gift for me. And yeah, I just surround yourself with people that are cheerleaders, that lift you higher on a sim with similar values and yeah, just make every day count by showing up.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (42:18)
And you just answered my next question, which was gonna be for somebody who's standing in the wreckage of the life they thought they were gonna have and can't see what's next, what would you want them to know? And I think you just
Robyn Jordan (42:30)
Ha ha.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (42:30)
hit the nail on the head perfectly with the trust yourself, go do those do those things. Take a chance on yourself.
Robyn Jordan (42:41)
Yeah, for sure. And know that whatever you've gone through, whatever your past is, that it does not define you, that there are always new chapters to write and that what if this next chapter was the best ever?
Sarah Jordan-Ross (43:00)
What is the thing that gives you hope?
Robyn Jordan (43:09)
That there is a loving God that is ultimately ruling and reigning on this earth. And it's because of that that I don't have to fear anything. Even when that doesn't look the case with the world, it's such disarray at times that yeah, I'm very mindful of that I do not let fear enter, basically. It's like fear not for I am with you. And yeah.
It's in a nutshell, really.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (43:44)
Think that is a beautiful note for us to end on. So thank you so much for being with me today. I knew that we would have lots to talk about. I also
Robyn Jordan (43:58)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (43:58)
knew that I knew parts of your story, but that that was by no means the whole story. So thank you for sharing more of that with us and reminding us that just because we know somebody's story or we have a
similar experience. We don't necessarily know exactly what it was like for for them living through it, but we can also take inspiration from the stories of others who have walked that road or a similar road to us before. And maybe that's one of the reasons we need to keep having conversations like this. We don't have to have lived somebody else's story to be curious about it.
And we don't have to have all the answers. Sometimes, and I'm going to borrow Robins, sometimes it's say yes and figure it out. Cause everything is Yeah.
Robyn Jordan (44:55)
Yep, exactly. Along the way. Mm-hmm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (44:59)
Everything is figureutable. I know that's
Robyn Jordan (45:02)
It is.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (45:03)
not a word, but anyway.
Robyn Jordan (45:06)
No, that is exactly right. Trust the journey and one of the the biggest gifts we can give ourselves when we're facing uncertainty is that learning to back yourself. Yep.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (45:19)
Yeah, and get yourself into rooms, into communities that help you to do that. As you heard, Robin and I are both part of the Voice2Influence community. And if hearing us talk about it has made you curious, details will be in the show notes. Or even better, send me a message and ask about it. While you're at it.
Actually send me a message if there's anything that we've talked about today. There's something that you're wrestling with, something you disagree with, a story you want to tell, or something you think we should talk about here on Taboo Talk. This isn't supposed to be a one way conversation.
I started this to share the stories of people to make us all realize that we're not alone. And that there is so much more that connects us than there is that divides us. And we need to remember that. So until next time, take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and remember, your story matters, so share it.
I'm Sarah Jordan Ross and this has been Taboo Talk. We'll see you next time.