A Courageous, Authentic, Risk Taking Man

Hello everybody and welcome to The V Spot. I'm your host, Andrea Mancuso, founder and CEO of Intentional Healing and Wellness. I created this podcast because I believe vulnerability is our true superpower, and I want to promote a safe space where we can come together and engage in conscious and courageous conversations to encourage individual and collective healing. In the V Spot, we will choose courage over comfort as we speak our truth and pave the way for others to do the same. For each episode, we will unite in empathy and embrace our superpower as we spend quality time together here in the V Spot. Thank you for tuning in. Hello everybody. I'm incredibly excited for our guest today. Robinson Lynn is the Executive Director of Momentum Education. He's a dynamic facilitator, a phenomenal coach, a compassionate leader, a valued mentor, and a friend. Robinson, thank you for joining me today in the V Spot.

Thank you. Um, I appreciate all those kind words you just said, and I, I think in addition to friend, you can call me one of your biggest fans. And so the opportunity to spend time with you in general and then specifically on a podcast like this is something that I would be very excited and was very excited to say yes to.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Can you begin by sharing a bit about Momentum Education for those who are not familiar with it?

Sure. Momentum Education is a personal and develop— personal and professional development company that I would say for the last 18 years has specialized in workshops and kind of leadership sessions that are meant to support people in living the life they dream about. First, by getting clarity about what matters to them, and then by giving them the tools they would need in order to create that in real time and bring it to fruition. So I think we do a great job of having people dream, get clarity, but then we think— I think we do a great job of then giving people the tools they need to actually accomplish what's on their hearts.

Thank you. So I'd love to begin by turning back the hands of time since this is absolutely a full circle moment for me. So I want to rewind to August of 2016. It was a Thursday. Do you happen to remember what happened that day?

August of 2016, I would say that's probably the day that we met. It was the beginning of the Momentum Advance course, which I was the facilitator for and you were a participant. And it's a course that focuses on living the life you dream about and altering your relationship with fear. Um, and so you, I do remember some specifics of that day and that weekend, but, um, if we're talking about August of 2016, that would be my belief. We're most likely to likely talking about that day.

Yeah. Excellent. Thank you. I'm so, I'm so impressed with, with your memory. Um, absolutely. It was the first time that we met. It was the advanced course at Momentum Education. Um, I was suffering at that time with panic disorder, a history for a couple of years. Uh, fear was completely running my life. Then. And I'm curious to ask you, what do you remember about me from that weekend?

What do I remember about you from that weekend, right? Well, I'll maintain confidentiality of everything that you shared. Thank you. Um, but I would say I remember a few different things. One, I remember thinking, um, the word that comes to mind is that you're a badass. And what I mean by that was that although you— I experienced you as kind and compassionate, It was also clear that you had life experience and a level of resiliency that would have you, in my opinion, you know, you came there like looking to get results, but also it was clear that you were going to operate in a way that was still in integrity with your own compass that you've developed over years. And I think the sentence that's coming to mind is also that there's like, you know, don't mess with you, right? I think that there's, there might be people who can take kindness for weakness, and I was able to see you both incredibly kind, but also get that there was a badass inside of you that makes things happen. Particularly, I also remember thinking that you were someone who cared very much about others and would be someone who would be a champion for others who, if they ever felt like they couldn't champion themselves in those times.

Yeah, thank you. Well, first and foremost, thank you for seeing me the way that you have. That weekend and— every year since. And when I think about that weekend, I think about the fact that it was the first weekend of my adult life where I interacted with courage in such a profound way, such a different way. And being here in the V Spot right now in this moment is absolutely a direct result of being in Momentum Education 5 years ago with you. And so first and foremost, I want to say thank you publicly It was absolutely a line-in-the-sand experience for me. And for anyone who hasn't experienced the advanced course yet, I would say run, don't walk, to sign up for it. And you can certainly thank me later. But, you know, in preparation for this episode, I was thinking about that, that particular weekend, and I realized that I didn't know for the first 3 training days that you were Robin's son. The founder of Momentum Education. Given the work that your mother was committed to, I'd imagine that you needed to embrace courage when you were growing up more than the average person. So would you be willing to share a childhood memory that stands out in this moment of when you first came face to face with courage?

Well, great. That's a great question. So yes, as you, as you mentioned, my mother, Robin Lynn, was the founder of Momentum Education. My name is Robinson, so I'm literally named Robinson son. And unfortunately, when she passed away from pancreatic cancer, I became the director of Momentum Education pretty much overnight at the age of 22. And so I think those lessons— I'll speak from a childhood memory, but I would say those lessons definitely speak out to me as, you know, just being able to— the solid foundation that she instilled in me personally and professionally in my life, I think, continues to guide me to this day. In terms of a childhood memory, well, you know, I think what comes up for me is— yeah, I think the first thing that comes up to me is when I was around the 4th or 5th grade, actually for both, my mother had decided that she wanted to do the work of transformation similar to what she had started with Momentum Education, but this is before that. She wanted to do it in a place where she felt healing was really necessary and required, which was at that time for her, Cape Town, South Africa. And so I would start with an act of courage on her part, which was as a single mother bringing myself and my sister— my brother was a little bit older, so he didn't travel with us— but as a single mother transporting her family to a new city, a new country, and a new continent. And that, that at that time, um, that she didn't know anyone, and she was going right after the apartheid had ended, and then also going as an African-American woman who would still be dealing with, I would say, lots of prejudices inside of looking to be a part of the healing of South Africa at that time. And so I start with her act of courage. What comes to mind for me, and I don't know if I would describe it as, at the time, viewing it as courageous. And I think there's probably true for a lot of people, right? That inside of acts of courage, they may not always view it that way in that time or until afterwards, if ever. But for me, I have lots of memories of being there. And for those, you know, who don't know, my father is a white Canadian man, my mother is an African-American woman. I'm biracial, I would say, and can often be— people can often view me as a white-presenting individual, although there are often people of color who say, "Oh, you look like my cousin." So I knew something was happening, right? And so, yeah. And so I would say at that time, I remember having lots of conversations with people who had never been around people of color, and because of that would say statements that were offensive, sometimes say statements that were disrespectful to individuals or around people of color. And I would say that they felt comfortable saying that around me because the expectation would be I wouldn't address it. And so even at a young age, I remember in those moments not feeling like it was courageous, but feeling like in those moments, regardless of the age of the people I was around— sometimes it was fellow students, sometimes it was educators— but feeling the need to address it and feeling the need to speak up and feeling the need to say something about it, if for no other reason that I knew if I didn't, I would have trouble sleeping that night. And so, that's what comes to mind to me now, you know, at that age. Again, at that time, I don't think it was being— I wouldn't have viewed it as courage, but I think at that, I think there's people of all ages who can maybe relate to sometimes wishing to say something that's on their heart and finding a reason not to, and then not having it sit right within their spirit. And I would say for me at a young age, I felt the need to say it, even if I wasn't sure what was going to happen afterwards.

Yeah, that's so powerful. And what I'm hearing you say too is— what I'm tapping into is, yes, the immense courage it took to address those particular moments at that time and the immense trust in self to do so, you know, despite knowing how someone else will react, what it would lead to, what it would look like, and all of that. So yeah, absolutely a courageous act and a real I hear. Display of trust, you know, self-trust. I love that. Yeah, I also want to acknowledge the immense courage it required of you. You said you became the executive director of Momentum Education at age 22, and after your mom, you know, passes away. And I just want to acknowledge the immense courage it required of you to rise to the occasion at 22 years old, at the same time that you're experiencing the trauma of your mother's illness and death. Um, so thank you for answering the call to live a purpose-driven life. I know that my life is certainly better because of your choice, and I know that I speak on behalf of countless others too.

Thank you very much.

Yeah, so, so let's talk about your authentic self for a bit. Tell us about the man behind the business. Who are you when you give yourself permission to take off your executive director's hat?

Um, who am I? I think this could be a whole podcast series, right? Uh, inside of that, I think the first thing that comes to mind is as the executive director of an organization, I feel the responsibility to be very results-driven. And I would say when I'm not in that role, I'm able to kind of take off And this is some recent accomplishments, a recent kind of growing as well, but I find myself less concerned with accomplishing and more interested in being present with family, friends, loved ones for beautiful moments and enjoy. And so I, I'm looking to live life in a way— I'm someone, you know, who am I? I'm someone who's looking to live life in a way where I am aware of the beauty of the moment and where I savor it and where I'm not in a rush to move on to the next moment or to fix it. And so right now that can look a lot of different ways, whether it's, uh, I'm a lover of music, uh, sometimes it's, you know, engaging exercise, and sometimes it's as simple as I'm gonna, you know, binge watch a show with my wife, but I'm not gonna be checking, you know, the results of a, of a something that I'm working on. I'm actually gonna be present with where I am. So I would say right now I'm someone who's looking to be present and I'm someone who's looking to have the people I love feel loved by me.

I love that. And, you know, I think that as— I think we share this in common, and so I'm excited to hear you speak about it in this way. We, I think, have touched on this in the past where because we are results-driven, oftentimes we are so focused on arriving at the finish line of one particular result, and then we are already lining up to begin the race for the next result. And so hearing in this particular moment that you are in a committed practice to being with the moment, enjoying, being fully present, and again, I would say trusting that the next goal will come and the next journey will come, I think is an epic win.

It's funny that you say that. So I think particularly over the last 18 months running an organization Right, living life during a pandemic, but running an organization that had up until this point specialized in in-person offerings that we've been unable to do. And there was a time where I said, okay, I'm gonna, you know, I realized I was kind of treating life like a sprint. And then I said to myself, oh, you know, and I actually kind of reflected and I said, well, I've been treating life like it's a sprint. It's time to treat life like it's a marathon, which to me would imply that there's a slower pace and that sustainability is important. And it's in, you know, essential that I run my race in a responsible way in which I'm able to finish. And then I realized that I'm someone who doesn't enjoy running, and I don't enjoy races, and I have yet to sign up for a 5K, a marathon, a half marathon. And so why am I even using this metaphor of a race to live my life? Because I've realized that there's still— whether it's a marathon or a sprint, there's still a finish line I'm going towards. And as much as possible for me currently, and that may change in other areas of my life, I'm trying to not have a clear finish line being identified.

I love that. I love that. That's a switch up from the usual routine, right? I love, I love that. And you mentioned music, right? You mentioned that music is— you are passionate about music. So one of the things that I know about you is that you love battle rap. Would you be willing to talk a little bit about your, your love for battle rap and, and how it, uh, serves you at this particular time? And, and really since the day you've been introduced and fell in love with it.

That's great. So I've done a few podcasts in my day. No one's ever asked me about one of my top passions, which is battle rap. Um, and so there's a few different things that jump out about it. For me, I'm a lover, so Big fan of kind of the overall battle rap scene, which some of us may be familiar with from if you're a hip-hop fan, from sometimes it kind of hit the general audience through the movie 8 Mile. And so there's lots of different ways, but I would say it's primarily in a 2021 context has developed into kind of spoken word, poetry, competitive poetry, and a great use of double entendres and figurative language. And so I would say 10 to 20 years ago, people prided themselves on their ability to freestyle and create something off of the moment. And I would say more so in modern battle rap, although that is still an aspect, more so it's really people may prepare for 3 months for a single battle and might write 9 to 12 minutes of original material that they can only use once in their life. And every line, or almost every line, of that original material is meant to be a metaphor, use of metaphor, double entendre, figurative language in a way that has multiple meanings for almost every sentence inside of what's being offered.

Yeah.

And so for me, I love words and I love language. And so it's been really nice to have something that has almost the competitive nature of sports, but with the English language and with different uses of words. And so as someone who often speaks for a living and facilitates as a living, I'm able to appreciate the use of language, the creativity behind it, and also how one person without an instrumental— often this would be going on a cappella— is able to kind of be an emcee and, you know, master of ceremonies and master the crowd. And so that's my appreciation for it. I think in a lot of ways it's given me an outlet You know, I spent a lot of my time in transformational senses, coaching senses, results senses, and this has just been like a fun passion to find myself entertained. And, um, and, and like I said, it has the competitive nature of sports, but with the use of the English language. And I would say the one last thing about it that's really also quite positive for me is that it creates an outlet for what sometimes can begin as tension between two parties. As a creative way to alleviate that tension. And similar to, you know, uh, kind of, there's a great sportsmanship at the majority of the end of those battles where people are able to be friends or, um, have long-standing relationships where they feel like they've made each other better.

Wow. Yeah, you know, I, I love that you, you also brought up that— that's epic. And I love that you brought up the, um, the training space, right? And, and as a facilitator and having shared the space with you many times, I see what you do as a variation of battle rap, you know, where you are meeting people for the first time, hearing, you know, what they are going through, not hearing what they're going through, and being able to in real time craft words that allow for people to experience breakthrough, allow for people to experience freedom, and really paved the way for next steps that, that has their life look totally different. So, um, in this particular moment, hearing about your appreciation for battle rap, I, I am called to, um, spotlight you as a unique battle rapper in your own right. Um, and, you know, it's, it's been a, you know, privilege really to witness you and think of things in such an instant moment, but have the impact be long-lasting after the moment ends. So that's powerful.

I appreciate that greatly. I think something that makes me smile about what you said is that there was a time in which I thought and considered myself a rapper and a battle rapper, and I would engage in competitions. That time has been a long, long past. And not currently, I enjoy it as a fan more so than an active participant. But something that I think, I think about a lot in terms of having prepared me for facilitation is so much of when I was rapping and particularly battle rapping and freestyling was about observation. It was about noticing what someone was wearing, noticing what just happened, you know, 3 feet away, notice the song switch, noticing all the things and being able to comment on them in real time in a way that would have people get how present you are to the moment. And be impressed, right? The idea would be, I look to impress people with your ability to create something in this moment. And so it's funny, as a facilitator, there's been so many times where something has happened in the training room where I think the ability and desire to actually address it in that moment— and not to say that everything needs to be addressed in the moment, but to comment on what's actually occurring, to see what I just saw, uh, and, and express it in a way where, here's what I'm seeing, is that what you're seeing? I think is a skill I completely developed inside of battle rap competitions. And then has served me well, even though I'm not currently doing it in rhyme form, of just being present to my surroundings. And, you know, I'll notice anything from the necklace someone's wearing to the shoes that they're wearing. And again, not from a battle rap standpoint, but from an observation of, I'm looking to see this person in full totality, not just listening to their words.

Yeah, so, so powerful. Well, I will not ask you to freestyle a battle rap verse in this particular moment, although it would have been epic if I thought of it sooner. But no, as a leader that many people respect, rely on, and turn to, I know that the past 18 months have been exceptionally challenging for you. So what has risk looked like for you as a leader of an organization that up until the global pandemic held all of its trainings in person?

Yeah, you know, we had 17 years of experience with in-person workshops, about 30,000 different graduates. And I remember it very clearly on March— I believe March 10th, or it was actually March 11th for me. I was in the shower and I said to myself, well, we're going to have to cancel and postpone all of our in-person trainings. Because given the information I had, I no longer could understand how I would be able to offer training safely to the public and be able to sleep at night. And so we made that choice not knowing if and how we were going to be able to survive as a business, but knowing that we wanted to put the right things first, which would be people's safety. And so in terms of risk, I think what I've been able to do during this time, and I would say I, but I would say as being a part of a larger team with the organization, is we've been able to try things without— almost think of it like when we, I would say, having So having the way that we had lived and worked be really removed as a possibility, yeah, took something off the table, but it added a lot to the table of, well, then let's be as creative as possible. And because we know we can't do it the way it's been done before, let's remove any pressure we may place, or I may place, to do it the way it's always been done. And so this has been a time of great growth because we've been willing to take risks as an organization. We've been willing to try new things. We've been willing to, you know, succeed and fail in the public's eye. But all of it has come from, you know, I think about the question, there's a question sometimes used in coaching circles, which is, what would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? And there's so much value to that question, but every time I hear it, it pushes one of my buttons. Because the concept of I should only go— I'll go after this if I knew I could not fail doesn't really exist in my life. What exists in my life is what's important enough or big enough or on my heart enough that I'm willing to go after it and risk failure. And so there's things that I'm not willing to risk failure about because it doesn't matter to me enough, but there's other things where it's like, well, if I'm gonna fail Wouldn't it be great to fail at trying to support as many people as possible? Wouldn't it be great to fail in trying to— we said we're gonna provide 1 million meals, and if we get to 999,000, are we really gonna be upset? So that's been my kind of guiding principle during this time, is, yeah, to be willing to take risks. And inside, you can't take risks and at the same time not be willing to risk failure.

Definitely, definitely. Yeah, I just want to highlight that in this time of the season of change and absolutely a season of risk and trying on new things, two things that stand out that I have been able to access in witnessing you. One is, I would, I guess, name it in this moment like the power of the pivot. You really demonstrated the power of pivoting and in real time with lots of variables on deck and lots of stress and unknowns, uncertainty attached to it. And also the demonstration of compassionate leadership. And I say this, and I know again, I speak for many because the conversation happens often enough when you are not in the space that during a time where we, and I'll speak for me, I, didn't feel there was many places to turn and experience compassionate leadership, I knew that I could look to you. And so again, during a great time of change, I just want to celebrate you and spotlight the fact that, you know, demonstrating compassionate leadership in the way that you have has really been a comfort to too many people to count.

Thank you very much. No, I appreciate I appreciate your kind words because I have, in general, one, they're kind, but two, I respect the person that they're coming from so much. So thank you. And when you speak about pivoting, you know, as I shared, we had 17 years of experience in person and I had never been on a Zoom before March 11th, before March 12th, actually. And in the last 18 months, we've hosted about 500 virtual gatherings for close to 5,000 different people. And I think it's featured over 45 different countries. And so none of that would have been possible without pivoting. And so what's great is that it used to be that in order to, for us to kind of facilitate work through Momentum Education, it was based on someone being locally based in New York City or Washington, DC, or having the resources to travel. And now we've opened up being able to have an impact in communities that I may never travel to. I may never step in that country, but I feel like I've been able to have an impact on that community because of people's willingness to share the work that we do. So that's been a really bright spot in a challenging time.

Yeah, and talk about results. Like, let's just spotlight this result again for the people who are listening. You were never on a Zoom call prior to March of 2020. And here we are in September of 2021, and, you know, your organization has facilitated over 500 virtual trainings in at least 40+ countries. I mean, talk about results. Those are quite impressive. That's quite impressive if you ask me. Thank you for sharing that.

Thank you.

So, okay, so, so far we talked about courage, courage, authenticity, and risk. And you are absolutely a courageous, authentic, and risk-taking man. So tell us what's up next in the life that you dream of living.

Great question. What's up next in the life that I dream of living? Well, one, thank you for choosing words like courage, authenticity, and risk-taking that mean so much to me. That is not lost on me. And, um, in terms of what's next, you know, it's so funny. I'm glad you've asked that question because that's probably not something I've asked myself in a few months. Um, and I think it shares a little bit about kind of the presence I've been looking to have, but also like, oh wow, like what is next? So, you know, it's funny, we're, we're recording this the day before I'm not sure when it's gonna air. Um, but the day before Momentum Education resumes in-person trainings and in-person offerings. So it's really a full circle moment for me. Um, because it feels like the start of something new because we've been able to learn from everything that we've learned over the last 18 months. So I've really removed any pressure to go back to saying, this is, you know, to go back to something that doesn't currently exist. Right. I would say we as a people, grown and changed. And for many have experienced trauma, for others have experienced growth or learning, however it looks over the last 18 months. And so I feel this feels very new to me to be offering simultaneously virtual and in-person offerings in a way that's really exciting. And so that's on a professional side of what's next. On a personal side of what's next, you know, I'm looking to just continue So it's funny, I'm recording this. You may remember we had a conversation, but I shared I'm someone who's recording this currently from New York City, and I happen to live in a home that my grandparents moved into in the 1950s that has a beautiful view of the George Washington Bridge. And what comes with that view is more times than not some really beautiful sunsets. And inside of those beautiful sunsets I can prob— I can't count the amount of sunsets that have been happening outside of my window that I had no idea of because the blinds were down or because I didn't get home until after it was already dark. And so I'm looking to live life in a way where I'm not saying the sunsets weren't always present, but I'm looking to live life in a way where I'm present to those sunsets and those beautiful moments and those sweet tender exchanges and those things that could happen on a daily basis, but it doesn't make it any less spectacular when it's happening in that I love that.

I love that. And the photographer in me wants to encourage you to take some pictures and post them for those who don't have access to the view that you have. So that's, that's incredible. All right, great. So for our final piece, we're going to do a speed round. Great. I call it the Forwarding Four. So I will ask you 4 questions. You will answer as quickly as possible with the first thing that comes to your mind. Knowing that there's no right or wrong answer. Um, so let me know. Okay, um, number 1: if you were on a deserted island with just one album, what would it be?

Uh, Jay-Z's The Blueprint. Great.

Number 2: name one area of your life where you are presently intentionally healing.

Fitness.

Number 3: What are your favorite words of wisdom offered in The Lion King?

Favorite words of wisdom offered in The Lion King? When Rafiki hits Simba on the head and Simba says, "Well, why did you do that?" And Rafiki says, "Who cares? It's in the past." And Simba goes, but the past can still hurt. And Rafiki says, yes, you're right. Sometimes the past still hurts.

I love that. I love that. Number 4, what's your call to action to everyone who is listening?

What's my call to action to everyone who's listening? You know what comes to me— you said go with the first thing. And there's a quote my mother used to say. Around— sometimes people are looking to make such a big difference in the world that they can forget the difference they can make sometimes before they even leave their own block, and sometimes before they even leave their own home. And so I would start there as a call to action. Is there anything going on on your street or in your home? Or, um, yeah, starting there and then, uh, having that ripple effect go outward into the world.

I love that. I love that. Well, thank you. Time certainly flew today, as I expected that it would be, uh, that it would occur. And I just want to thank you for a couple of things in this particular moment. Um, first and foremost, thank you for your permit— for your commitment, um, for your contribution, for your service, for your leadership, And of course, as always, for your vulnerability. Um, thank you for carrying the baton that your mother passed to you. And thank you for always holding me up to my highest possibility. Um, I'm exceptionally grateful, and when I count my blessings, I always count you twice.

Oh, thank you.

Um, and so, yeah, thank you. Thanks for being here with me. And where can folks find you?

You can find out more information about the work I do at Momentum Education. And then you can find me at Instagram and LinkedIn @robinsonlynn444.

Excellent. Thank you, Robinson. And thank you to everyone who tuned in for this episode of The V Spot. To be continued. Thank you for spending quality time with me here in the V Spot. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, write a review, and tell a friend to tell a friend to meet us in the V Spot. To stay connected and in the loop about all special events, join the email list at www.intentionalhealingandwellness.com. You can also join the Intentional Healing and Wellness Community on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I'll catch you soon.