Transforming Trauma into Triumph w/Robyn Williams Warner

Summary

The Living Your Legacy Podcast: Episode Summary

Title: Transforming Trauma into Triumph w/ Robyn Williams Warner
Host: Rudy Mawer
Release Date: June 30, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this compelling episode of The Living Your Legacy Podcast, host Rudy Mawer sits down with Robyn Williams Warner—a survivor, speaker, and self-made entrepreneur dedicated to empowering women. Robyn shares her harrowing yet inspiring journey from trauma to triumph, detailing how she transformed personal pain into a purpose-driven mission to help thousands of women reclaim their power and build impactful lives.

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Robyn Warner's Personal Journey

The Traumatic Experience

Robyn Warner opens up about a pivotal moment in her life that forever changed her trajectory. At 18 years old, she was sexually assaulted by a man twice her size who had a history of violence. This traumatic event occurred while she was running on a public trail, leading to severe physical and emotional scars.

Robyn Warner [00:00]: "Every woman's worst nightmare happened to me in the middle of the day and I just was really broken. Like, my life as I knew it was gone that quick..."

Choosing to be a Victor

Despite the immense pain and societal judgment upon her return to a small town, Robyn made a conscious decision to transform her trauma into a source of strength and purpose rather than succumbing to victimhood.

Robyn Warner [04:46]: "...at any given time, you can wake up and say, I'm done with this. I'm gonna move forward."

Reflecting on her experience, she emphasizes the importance of mindset and the power of choice in overcoming adversity.

Robyn Warner [05:03]: "But I remember a distinct moment where I was like, this is a choice. Like I can choose to wallow here... But as a young girl, it was in me to choose to be a victor."

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Building a Legacy through Empowerment

Founding Businesses and Community

Robyn's entrepreneurial spirit first manifested in her teenage years when she opened a dance studio in Utah. Balancing motherhood and business, she successfully expanded to two locations before selling the business at 30. This early success laid the foundation for her future endeavors focused on women's empowerment.

Robyn Warner [02:07]: "I started my flagship business. Actually, my first time I ever opened a business was a dance studio in Utah... while raising my babies."

16 Income Streams Explained

Robyn has developed a diverse portfolio of 16 income streams, each designed to support her mission of empowering women. These include:

1. Safety and Self-Defense Programs: Offering courses and sponsorships focused on women's safety.
2. The Community Movement: Creating safe spaces for women to grow without negativity, including global retreats.
3. Podcasting: Hosting a podcast that shares positive stories of women overcoming challenges.
4. Affiliate Marketing: Partnering with brands to promote products that align with her mission.
5. Passive Income Shops: Utilizing print-on-demand services to generate revenue.
6. Books and Speaking Engagements: Authoring books and speaking at events to spread her message.

Robyn Warner [12:13]: "So I have about six like actual flagship businesses... and my Book and speaking."

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The Importance of Mindset and Resilience

Victim vs. Victor Mentality

A recurring theme in Robyn's narrative is the stark contrast between viewing oneself as a victim versus a victor. She advocates for choosing resilience and empowerment over succumbing to circumstances.

Robyn Warner [07:00]: "And the sexual assault really opened it up to be like, no, I can be whoever I want to be."

Delayed Gratification and Overcoming Challenges

Robyn discusses the significance of delayed gratification and the willingness to endure short-term pain for long-term success, drawing parallels to entrepreneurial endeavors.

Robyn Warner [08:27]: "I can sit in a small threshold of pain, but that will be the level of my life. Or I can walk through pain and become more resilient."

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Impact and Legacy

Defining Legacy through Impact

For Robyn, legacy is not about what one leaves behind but the lives one changes. She strives to make a lasting impact on individuals, ensuring that her efforts resonate deeply and meaningfully.

Robyn Warner [18:30]: "It's actually not like, what I leave behind. It's who I impact or change on the way."

Stories of Influence and Transformation

Robyn shares anecdotes about the profound ways her work has touched lives globally, emphasizing the genuine difference she aims to make beyond mere influence.

Robyn Warner [15:16]: "Like, can I leave an impact? Impact is when a crater hits the earth, leaves a huge mark, and nobody fills that back up."

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How to Join Robyn Warner's Community

Robyn provides various avenues for listeners to engage with her work and become part of her empowering community:

• Website: Robin Warner Co.
• Instagram: Direct engagement through DMs for personalized support.
• Books: Rising Fearless Women Rebelling available on Amazon.
• Retreats and Coaching: Intimate retreats and one-on-one coaching sessions focused on mindset and personal development.

Robyn Warner [19:59]: "You can purchase my book on Amazon. It's called Rising Fearless Women Rebelling. If you want to work with me one on one, you can come to one of my really intimate retreats."

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Key Takeaways and Notable Quotes

• Choice is Empowerment:

  "At any given time, you can wake up and say, I'm done with this. I'm gonna move forward." (Robyn Warner, 04:46)

• Impact Over Influence:

  "I want my legacy to reach people and feel seen and heard." (Robyn Warner, 18:30)

• Resilience is a Skill:

  "Everything comes down to mindset." (Robyn Warner, 07:00)

• Transforming Pain into Purpose:

  "Take your pain and make it into purpose." (Robyn Warner, 18:44)

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Conclusion

Robyn Williams Warner's story is a testament to the incredible strength of the human spirit. From surviving a life-altering trauma to building a multifaceted empire dedicated to women's empowerment, Robyn embodies the essence of transforming adversity into a powerful legacy. Her insightful discussions on mindset, resilience, and impact provide invaluable guidance for anyone looking to overcome personal challenges and create meaningful change in their lives.

Listeners are encouraged to connect with Robyn through her various platforms to embark on their own journeys of empowerment and legacy-building.

Transcript

[Robin Warner]

Every woman's worst nightmare happened to me in the middle of the day and I just was really broken. Like, my life as I knew it was gone that quick and I had to navigate as a young adult, like, do I want to take this pain and make it into purpose, or am I going to be a victim or a victor?

[Jordan]

Robyn Warner is a survivor, speaker and self made entrepreneur dedicated to helping women reclaim their power. She transformed her pain into purpose, becoming a leading voice in self defense, healing, and women's empowerment. As the founder of the community, Robin now hosts retreats, builds impactful programs, and mentors women to rise with confidence, purpose, and strength.

[Robin Warner]

I've got to meet thousands of women and at the end of the day, I'm like, you get to choose to stay here. Whether it's a toxic relationship or whether it's just the bottom of the barrel, after whatever happened to you, I'm like, at any given time, you can wake up and say, I'm done with this. I'm gonna move forward. And.

[Unknown Host]

It spans the globe like a super high cold Internet.

[Robin Warner]

Elvis Presley.

[Unknown Host]

Today, Apple is going to reinvent Lefong. It's not over until I win.

[Jordan]

The living your legacy podcast for those.

[Unknown Host]

Who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary. The impossible has happened. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan, Open Chicago with the lead. You said Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream foreign. Welcome back to another episode of Legacy Makers. Joining me today is Robin. Really crazy, epic story, doing amazing work in the world, helping tens of thousands of women improve confidence, improve their safety. She's a speaker, an author, and a really crazy journey to get here. But now it's changing a lot of lives. So I'm excited to have you here.

[Robin Warner]

Thanks for having me. It's such an honor.

[Unknown Host]

Yes. So I know you know we've spoken offline and I don't know where to start. So let's start at ground zero. Tell us the story. Yeah.

[Robin Warner]

Well, first and most importantly, I'm a mom, a divorced mom of four small children. So I'm still very much changing poopy diapers, burning casseroles, just trying to lead these little humans to be contributors to society. But when I'm not doing those things, I have a really specific purpose. And it's to help women rise, stand in their power, start the business, leave the toxic relationship, keep themselves safe. So I started my flagship business. Actually, my first time I ever opened a business was a dance studio in Utah.

[Unknown Host]

Okay.

[Robin Warner]

And it ended up being two locations, thousands of families and I sold it when I turned 30, so that was a really cool thing as an entrepreneur, all while like raising my babies. And I had no idea how to make money or could I start a business. My parents really pushed traditional education, so I was going to be a dental hygienist. I wasn't going to let my mom and dad down. I went to school and actually at my first year of school, I was dancing for my university. Everything was going really awesome. Every woman's worst nightmare happened to me in the middle of the day. So I was running on a paved public trail. There was other people there at 12 o' clock in the afternoon. And a random man that I had never seen drug me off the trail in like the one spot that was a little bit more secluded. And he beat me, sexually assaulted me and tried to take my life. And miraculously, as an 18 year old girl, I fought myself from him. And it was pretty incredible. He was twice my size at the time and he had just been out of prison for raping four women. So I was definitely up against someone who knew what they were wanting to do and was really close to succeeding it. So as an 18 year old girl, my whole life changed overnight. My parents pulled me from school, I had to move back home and I came back into a small town and everyone knew what had happened. People can't stop talking about it and I just was really broken. Like my life as I knew it was gone that quick and I had to navigate as a young adult, like, do I want to take this pain and make it into purpose or am I going to be a victim or a Victor? And at 18 years old, I look back and I'm really proud of myself because nobody would have blinked an eye if I kind of lost control of my life. Maybe got into drugs, slept around, kind of just had a hard time because it was a really, really horrifying thing that happened to me. But I remember a distinct moment where I was like, this is a choice. Like I can choose to wallow here. I can choose to say, oh, poor Robin. Yeah, my life is completely messed up now. I don't even know who I am. I'm traumatized to a point that is unrecognizable, literally, physically and emotionally. But as a young girl, it was in me to choose to be a victor.

[Unknown Host]

Well, and it's crazy just to add at 18, like a lot of people don't go their whole life without having that conversation and making that decision. And the people I know that do, you know, many that have come on this podcast and are in this show. It happens at 30, 35. 40, 45.

[Robin Warner]

Right.

[Unknown Host]

So at 18, it's.

[Robin Warner]

Everyone always asks if you could go back, like, would you not go running that day? Would you change? And I though it was the most horrifying thing. It was the best self development program. And I'm so grateful that I went through that because I've saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

[Unknown Host]

What it creates.

[Robin Warner]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host]

And you would probably. You may be doing dental hygiene.

[Robin Warner]

Exactly, exactly. I might be doing something that I hate 9 to 5 job. But it gave me a really distinct purpose at such a young age. And I've since been able to find really big, like achievement at a young age. I've had more heartache. I had a devastating divorce. Yeah. From my high school sweetheart after raising four babies and building businesses. And that was probably more devastating than my sexual assault. It wasn't something I was anticipating and it just broke me. But again, I had a choice, Victim or Victor. And I went back to that moment where I stood up and left the trail. And I was like, no, this is okay. I did it when I was 18. I'll do it again.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah. I referenced before, but David Goggins has a book called Can't Hurt Me and it's, you know, it's all about training your mind and brain and, you know, working through these challenges and obviously going through that like almost anything after. Right. Like, we're all going to get hit with challenges. Most not obviously anywhere as bad as yours. But it's so important to kind of train it as a muscle.

[Robin Warner]

It really is.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah.

[Robin Warner]

And it's simply just a choice. Like, I've got to meet thousands of women and at the end of the day, I'm like, you get to choose to stay here. Whether it's a toxic relationship or whether it's just the bottom of the barrel. After whatever happened to you, I'm like, at any given time, you can wake up and say, I'm done with this. I'm going to move forward.

[Unknown Host]

And let's stay there for a second because I'm always fascinated. I want your opinion. Because you work with tens of thousands. Why do most people. Most people, when they get given that choice, they give you an instant excuse as why they can't.

[Robin Warner]

100%.

[Unknown Host]

Well, why do you think that is?

[Robin Warner]

I think as humans, we are just programmed to take the easy way out, to be kind of lazy. It's our mindset, really. Everything comes down to mindset. I was raised with not actually a very resilient Mindset. I was raised in the LDS Church, which has a lot of really use obey. If you do this, you get this. So I didn't ever get the opportunity to think outside of the box, to, like, really choose life as I wanted. So I, too, was conditioned just to kind of be like, these are my choices. There's nothing more. Right. And the sexual assault really opened it up to be like, no, I can be whoever I want to be. If I want to go write books and save women and stand on big stages and, like, save lives, like, I'm going to decide today. That doesn't mean I got to do that that day.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Robin Warner]

I then had to work backwards and build the framework. Right. And it's been a lot of work. No one comes with instant success, as you know. But people, once you get to the top, they like to be like, oh, like, it was so easy. And I'm like, no, it wasn't. But the hardest part was the mindset.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah. And I think it's like you say, it's. It's hard to make the decision, and it's actually easier to stay in the bad situation because it gets harder before you get to the exact, you know, like, losing the way it sucks for a year to lose the weight. Oh, yeah, right. Or like getting. Starting a business, you have to maybe quit your job and earn less and fail a bunch and spend more money to start a business.

[Robin Warner]

Oh, yeah. There's pain along the way and people to avoid the pain.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah.

[Robin Warner]

And for me, it's like, I can sit in a small threshold of pain, but that will be the level of my life. Or I can walk through pain and become more resilient. So the more success I have and the more pain I feel, I can manage it.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah. One. One of the. One of the biggest billionaires in the world. I can't remember which one, but he said one of the biggest things that you see in successful people is their ability for delayed gratification. You know, and I was always good at that as a kid. Like, I would always invest money, but, you know, and wait for stuff to come back. And, you know, I got into real estate and like, 20 years old, which is, you know, in business, real estate is a delayed gratification.

[Robin Warner]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host]

You know, you don't get that unless you're flipping, you know, which I wasn't really a delayed gratification thing, so I see that. But. But let's talk about now that, you know, the present day, tens of thousands of women. I know you mentioned 16. You have 16 income streams, right? Yeah. So that's four for each child.

[Robin Warner]

Exactly. I'm like, listen, I'm saving for your therapy, and I'm saving for your college.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah, yeah. So. So talk about, what are you doing with this massive community? How are you helping people?

[Robin Warner]

Yeah. So I have been building my community of women since that day I turned 19. So from a year of my sexual assault, I gave my first safety presentation, and I just cried all the way through it. And as I kept moving through my trauma processing and really realizing I was actually helping people, I was finding healing through helping. And so for years, I've been building a community and traveling around the world on big and small stages. Literally, any woman who will listen to me, I will come. I've gone into people's houses privately because I'm so passionate that it's just one life I can save.

[Unknown Host]

Well, what's fascinating about what you do is you're helming a lot on the safety side, but there's also, from my understanding and the data, a lot of people that are listening to it and they've kept it a secret their whole life.

[Robin Warner]

Oh, yeah.

[Unknown Host]

Right. And that's worse, almost.

[Robin Warner]

Oh, yeah. I mean, my. My experience getting picked off the side of a trail by a random stranger is very rare. Most people are experiencing abuse through family members and close friends. And that's even more tragic because I remember when my. When the man who attacked me was sentenced. His. His sentence was 15 years to life, and he's been there 16 years, and hopefully he'll stay forever. But I cried for him. I was so sad that this person, obviously, he needs to be there, get off the streets, but, like, how sad that this is now his life. I can't imagine if it was, like, a friend or a family member.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Robin Warner]

And so I'm empowering women to really speak up.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah.

[Robin Warner]

To share the truth and to learn how to become aware and protect yourself. And that also bleeds into business and just lifestyle as well.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah. Well, and that sounds like maybe a lot of people stop and come to you for one thing.

[Robin Warner]

Right.

[Unknown Host]

And then you. To end this kind of like a very different world. What I do in business, they come to me for marketing, and then they stay for a lot more.

[Robin Warner]

Right, right.

[Unknown Host]

And that sounds like how your community's built.

[Robin Warner]

Yeah, it's built off of empowerment. So they might find me for a safety tip or how to protect your children, and then they stay for the joy. They stay for the positivity. They stay for, you know, seeing me as a divorced mom, figuring out how to afford this lifestyle that I've built with another person and now that's gone and.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah.

[Robin Warner]

And how to fight for what I believe is right and fight for my children and you know, have all these income streams.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah. And then the business.

[Robin Warner]

Yeah. I'm very all obviously very business minded and entrepreneur and so those actually really do coincide. And it's from empowerment.

[Unknown Host]

Love it.

[Robin Warner]

I've never met someone who owns a business who doesn't have power.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah. Big. Yeah. I think like entrepreneurs have like, you know, if you line up a thousand of entre 1000 entrepreneurs, the they probably all have like these 12 traits or 20 traits. Right. Yeah. So, so, but talking of it, let's talk about the business side. 16 income streams. Maybe we start with some of them. What are.

[Robin Warner]

Yeah. So I have about six like actual flagship businesses. So one of them is my safety and self defense program platform so that I have income from my course, from speaking through sponsorships online. Yeah. Then my next one's called the Community and it's a really big movement right now of women coming to find just a safe place and not necessarily like physical safety but like wanting to come just be around women who don't gossip, they grow like gross minded humans. And so I host retreats all over the world. I was just in Cancun next week, going to Alaska here in a minute. And we do all sorts of mindset and personal development so meditation, journaling, breath, work. And some people are there because they've experienced sexual trauma. Other people are just entrepreneurs and they want to like just become more self developed. So that's really cool. I have a podcast called the Community that women tune in every single week just to hear positive stories about women overcoming horrible things or even just how do I fit in as a mom? How do I make friends as an adult? I, through my safety advocacy I built a platform where now I get to share my message a lot more broad which I don't take like I take that very seriously. So if I'm online sharing on Instagram or my platforms, like I'm not going to give you an Amazon link. I'm going to share something that's going to save your life.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Robin Warner]

So I take it really personally and, and I have some great opportunities to make income off my Instagram and brands who that who are working with me. I do a lot of affiliate work. I have like some passive income shops like print on demand. People just buy stuff and it ships to them and they touched it, but I never did.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Robin Warner]

And then my Book and speaking.

[Unknown Host]

Good. Yeah, a lot.

[Robin Warner]

Yeah, I have a lot going on.

[Unknown Host]

And. Yeah. And. And, I mean, very similar to me, all of those things, like, they filter into helping people with a message.

[Robin Warner]

Right, exactly.

[Unknown Host]

You know, arguably, your message is more important than what I teach in the now. It's in business. But. But, you know, it's. It's great with the Internet. And, you know, what we've been able to do is we can help thousands of people and we can travel the world and speak and have books and top podcasts and, you know, I was just at an event in Vegas, and I'm sure you resonate with this. People from all around the world. Right. Flew into this event and they were stopping me in the corridor, and it was like, four years ago. I took your course and it changed my life.

[Robin Warner]

Right, exactly.

[Unknown Host]

You know that I was saying to my team, because they asked me how the trip was, I was like, that's definitely the highlight is like, a total stranger that lived in Germany took your course four years ago and said, you changed.

[Robin Warner]

Yeah, it's. It's actually living an impact.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah.

[Robin Warner]

Like, I tell people all the time, like, I don't want to influence anyone. I'm not an influencer. I hate that word. I can influence anyone to go buy this dress, this. But can I leave an impact? Impact is when a crater hits the earth, leaves a huge mark, and nobody fills that back up. So every time you walk past, you remember, I want to be an impactor. So when you run into me at the grocery store or you take my course or you read my book, I want it to hit so hard that, like, you weren't influenced, you were impacted during.

[Unknown Host]

That would have been the case if what happened hadn't happened.

[Robin Warner]

Exactly. I don't think I would have known as quickly that what my purpose and my passion was. I think I'm a very positive person.

[Unknown Host]

So, like, in your DNA, it would.

[Robin Warner]

Come out eventually, but I don't think at this capacity. Yeah, I think I would have loved just, like, motherhood and, like, helping my neighbors and bringing casseroles, I don't think I would have been. I mean, speaking. I've had content with millions and millions of views. And so it's like, if I have a stage where two people are listening, or I have a stage where a million people are listening, I want to give them my best stuff. And I don't think that would have happened without something literally taking my life and turning the needle.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah. Yes. Crazy. Crazy how that. Yeah. Yeah. So. So let's talk a Bit about the legacy side the show, obviously a crazy story. And now such impact you're doing what? What are people going to get extra in the show that we've not already heard today?

[Robin Warner]

In the show you'll get a lot of this. But also I want people watching to know I'm also just like them. Like, I want the moms who are watching, who are stuck changing dirty diapers and unfulfilled, or maybe broken down from trauma to be like, you can do whatever you want to do. You just have to rise. Like, whatever situation you're in, whether you're broke, whether you are in a relationship that's not serving you, whether you might even be in abuse, like, you get to choose to rise. No one's coming to save you, no one's going to do it for you. You get to stand up and choose and make hard decisions to rise into your life. And when you do that, you become powerful. And then you can start creating powerful things like businesses or impact or messages, but you can't do that until you rise. And so I want the people watching, I want to leave impact that something strikes them, that they're like, I am, I'm going to write the book or I'm going to start the business. I'm going to quit my job, I'm going to leave this marriage. Like, I hope when they're watching, they leave and they know what they need to do to rise in their life. Because we all know we have that thing in our back of our head where we're like, I know I'm supposed to be doing this, but I always tell everyone, the second you feel like an impression, whether it's from God, source, the spirit, whatever you believe in, when you feel that the time between taking action and when you actually do it is the most important. So let's say I hit and it says write a book and I don't. I start making myself really broad and this opens me up for depression, anxiety, low self esteem, right? And then it's really likely I'm not going to write the book. But the second you feel I'm going to leave this relationship and then you step forward, you've now kept yourself tight and it's more likely you're going to succeed. So when you're watching my episode, whatever is in the back of your mind, start a business, sell a business, leave a relationship, whatever it is, I hope that that's the moment it hits you again, whether it's the first time or the 30th time you felt it. And I want you to walk forward.

[Unknown Host]

I like that. Yeah. Last couple of questions, then. I could almost end there. But legacy, right? The word and, you know, obviously listening. It's pretty obvious what. What it is and the mission, but what does it mean to you and what's the mission?

[Robin Warner]

I thought about this a lot because of coming on the show. I'm like, what is my legacy? And the words that came coming to me is it's actually not like, what I leave behind. It's who I impact or change on the way.

[Unknown Host]

So.

[Robin Warner]

So I want my legacy to reach people and feel seen and heard. I want first and foremost for my daughters. This is for my daughters, right? And then it's for every other woman or man who listens. But I want my legacy to remind people that it does not matter what happens to you. It's what you do with that. You could be in the most horrifying situation. Things happen to us all the time, but you get to choose. So at any given time, if you hate your life or you hate your human experience, do something about it. So I hope the legacy is you can be a victor, you can be a victim, take your pain and make it into purpose. That's what's so powerful about people. Any leaders, entrepreneurs, they usually always have an origin story, and it comes with pain. And we had a choice. We could just swallow and be sad and crumble, or we could take that pain and use it as fuel. And I've never met anyone that I would consider a hero or a leader to me who hasn't endured extreme pain.

[Unknown Host]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So last question. If. If they're listening, they know someone that needs to get in this community or listen, you know, find you in one of the ways the book, the podcast comes to a speaking event. Where's the best place for them to start that journey with you?

[Robin Warner]

So my website is Robin Warner Co. That's my married name. I still have to legally have it because I leave the country too often to. Yeah, I go by Robin Williams. So I would say go to my website or just reach out to me on my Instagram. I'm always the one behind every DM because I get such sensitive content that comes through. I want to make sure that I'm the one who sees that DM me. You can purchase my book on Amazon. It's called Rising Fearless Women Rebelling. If you want to work with me one on one, you can come to one of my really intimate retreats. I usually only take under 10 women all around the world, and we work on all things mindset, personal development. I do a lot of one on one coaching, business, mentoring, but it's all on the website.

[Unknown Host]

Good.

[Robin Warner]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host]

Wow. What a. What an episode. What a story. Excited for the full show, you know, and to learn more and. Yeah, excited for all the great you're doing and for more of it and for hopefully this to help reach even more people.

[Robin Warner]

Thank you. And I want to thank you for using your platform to help others share their platform.

[Unknown Host]

Of course. That's what it's about. There you go, guys. That's a wrap. Legacy makers. I'll see you guys on the next episode soon. Take care of.