Lessons from An Occupational Nomad with Roxanne Wilson

Christine Li  0:01  
Welcome back to the Make Time for Success podcast. This is episode 94. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take a totally different career path and then when you're on my special guest today, Roxanne Wilson, is here to share several stories about her experiences with taking several different career paths. And she shares with us a lot of lessons that she's learned along the way. We talk about showing up, believing in yourself and going for what you think is right for you. Roxanne Wilson has been a television host, radio personality fitness professional appellate attorney, author, speaker, social media coach for network marketers, and reality show survivor. We managed to talk about all of this in this one episode, and you're gonna see how Roxanne is both a star and a total delight to be with. Let's go listen to this inspirational and fun episode now.

Hi, I'm Dr. Christine Li, and I'm a psychologist and a procrastination coach. I've helped 1000s of people move past procrastination and overwhelm so they can begin working to their potential. In this podcast, you're going to learn a powerful strategies for getting your mind, body and energy to work together so that you can focus on what's really important, and accomplish the goals you want to achieve. When you start living within your full power, you're going to see how being productive can be easy, and how you can create success on demand. Welcome to the Make Time for Success podcast. 

Hello, everyone. It is Dr. Christine Li on this beautiful spring day. I want to welcome Roxanne Wilson, to the show she and I are brand new buddies, we are colleagues and new friends. And I am just intrigued by her even without knowing all the details of her life. So I'm excited to just interview her today and get her to tell us all about herself her journey to the life and career that she has right now. And to throw in a lot of different lessons about life that she has to share. Welcome to the show, Roxanne.

Roxanne Wilson  2:31  
Thank you, Christine. It's an honor to be here. And I feel very connected to you. And it's very exciting to you know, just have this new relationship. So it's, it's an honor to be here.

Christine Li  2:39  
Thank you so much. All right, let's start with all the good stuff. What would you like our audience to know about you and also what you're doing in the current day?

Roxanne Wilson  2:49  
Yeah. So what I'd like you know about me, I had a pastor a long time ago who said this to me, I was like, I don't know how to take it. But I've own this. I am an Occupational nomad. And I say that outright because I think that there's a lot of people who are not sure they're doing what they want to be doing. And so if I can give you license to just go for it. I'm all about that. Right now what I am, I am a coach for network marketers. I teach network marketers how to grow their business on social media, and how to create that platform. I was called like social media, Instagram is the bar where you meet people, you don't ask them to get married at the bar, you got to get to know them get their number, and then the transaction happens offline. So I teach them that. But what that really means is I'm teaching women who have given their entire life to the world, to their spouses, to their kids, all the things, how to re define who they are right now, to celebrate that and to brand themselves on social media. Okay, terrific.

Christine Li  3:49  
For those in our audience who might not know what a network marketer is, could you start us off with that definition?

Roxanne Wilson  3:58  
Great question. So a network marketer is someone who is companies like for direct selling, it's also MLM as a as a more antiquated term for it social selling. So like, probably the first one you've ever heard of was probably AVON or Mary Kay, more and more you hear things like, like a Rodan and Fields is a more modern one, but that's who I help.

Christine Li  4:19  
Okay, terrific. Thank you for that. All right. How did you first realize you were an occupational Nomad, I love that term, but I really want to dig in and find out what the history of it is for you. Yeah,

Roxanne Wilson  4:33  
so I didn't know that again. My Pastor Dave Haney. And when I lived in Austin said one day it's like, you know, you're an occupational nomad. I'm like, the word Nomad just is not something that in the 21st century, you want to hear yourself described as, like, I don't know how to take that. But it took me probably a decade honestly to go I am an Occupational Nomad, and that's okay. I grew up when I was four years old. I knew I wanted to be a Supreme Court justice. The first one Back female Supreme Court Justice, which is very interesting now like the juxtaposition because that's now happening, it's a thing. And I did everything in my power from the time I was four on to go there, told everyone that's where I was going. I was not afraid to say it because I knew it was true. That's what I was going to be doing. Somewhere in undergrad, I'll tell you exactly where the view happened. The show the view, like back in its infant days with Barbara Walters and all peed on I thought, oh, it would be amazing to have a talk show and be like the young voice on that. And so I really enjoyed that. But I'm like, but I must remember justice. You really can't do both. You can't do that be kind of weird. And so I went about all things law. I clerked for the Texas Supreme Court after going to Michigan for law school and Baylor for undergrad, I worked for an appellate attorney as an associate attorney for an appellate attorney at a big firm in Austin. And at some point there, I realized I didn't love what I was doing. In fact, there was a motorcycle rally going on. They call it the rock rally the Republic of Texas Rally and you know, Austin, and it was like, 11 o'clock at night, I'm working in the biggest, most beautiful building at the time in Austin. I'm looking down going, Wow, they're so passionate. They've come from all around the country to ride their Harley Davidsons back and forth. And I'm like, I am not passionate about anything in my life like that. So I got down on my knees and I set and I got up and I knew someone something I know it was me God both say that within three months, I need to be doing something different. That was the first time where I thought I am not going to be doing what I said I was gonna be doing since I was four years old. And I was sure on that. And I should mention, I was teaching Jazzercise at the time, and I taught Jazzercise, but that was like my fun thing to do, right that, oh, I'm alert and I teach Jasmine's. So about a week later, I got a call from the Baylor Alumni Association, because I was like the young alumni thing happening in Austin doing like just doing all the events and as part part of it and they reached out to me because Mark Burnett productions was coming through Austin, and was going to be doing auditions for the next season of The Apprentice. But a caveat to that was the day before the long cattle call lines. They were having an audition just for business people graduated from business schools in Texas, where you can be guaranteed to sit down with the casting producers and all the things I'm like, okay, so they were asking me to get the word out to Baylor alum, I'm like, Sure, I'll do that. And then as I'm doing that, I'm like, wait a moment, I have a business degree. I've totally seen that show. I know you're fired. I've always said I can do that. Why don't I audition. And so that's what I did. I went and I auditioned. And I literally said to myself, I was sitting audition, I said, You know what? I know that if I get another audition, like the next audition, I know, I'm going to the finals. I just knew I knew I'm gonna be on the show. I just knew it. You know, when you're in your 20s, you just know things and no one can tell you anything different. That's where I was. And it was true, it happened. So I competed on the show, I made it to the final four. And then I got fired on national TV that happened. And then I went on to I gave my two weeks notice. And I moved on from law. And what was interesting is as I did that, I had so many people going are you okay? Are you okay? Like they really thought that I was having an emotional or mental breakdown because I decided to leave law. And to me, I just knew that was not what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my life. And I needed to make a change in that moment.

Christine Li  8:38  
So powerful and a beautiful story, because it's like somebody put a hole biker rally in front of your Dorje. That's to give you a signal that there's other things you could be thinking about.

Roxanne Wilson  8:52  
Wow, I've never thought of it that way, Christina, and you're so right. It's like, what is it gonna take for you to realize to wake up, and for me, it took a biker rally. But yeah, that's so true.

Christine Li  9:03  
And that the other opportunity came in the same timeframe. I just think these stories are really beautiful, because they're kind of rescue stories of a kind that you are alert to what's happening around you and able to use your own energy and desire to take advantage of the things that are possibilities always, but happen to be big steps out of your comfort zone out of your tried and true from your age of four path that you believe is the best path for you. It's a powerful, powerful story, and it's great. It's a great story. I'm so glad it worked out for you in that way.

Roxanne Wilson  9:47  
Well, thank you and I don't want to make it sound like it was easy. I mean, the road after that was easy, but what you just said I think is so poignant. I think about that for people who are going through that. What I didn't do in that moment, which I think I've been conditioned to You and I'm battling at different times in my life, if I didn't go, what am I going to do? What is ever going to say? Or how's that gonna be possible? I said, next three months, I'm gonna do something. And I allowed, I like heard it and said, Okay, I accept that, which then open doors where I saw, you know, sometimes if we're so fixated on certain things, we don't see what's right in front of our face. If I didn't accept that, that same phone call could have come from alumni association, but I might not have realized why that call is for me, not for all these other people.

Christine Li  10:31  
Yes, I have found that people, including 20 year olds, by the way, tend to shortchange themselves, even when they are really high flying really talented, super over educated people or well educated people. So I'm wondering, what part have you allowed yourself to listen to that message within you? How come you weren't resisting your own

Roxanne Wilson  10:59  
voice? Yeah, that's a good question. I think it probably had something to do with. At that point, I think I was still a dreamer. First of all, but also, two things that I think were big. One was, I had had a situation, frankly, I've don't you start by this, but I was sexually harassed at the firm, probably a month prior to that. And that was a very traumatic situation for me, which I think made me look at what I was doing in general very differently. And then I also had a realization around that time to where I looked around. And I thought to myself, in corporate America, not just in law, but in corporate America, sometimes you see this, like, it's a bit of a rat race in the way of people are grinding. And so they're not living life, that's the healthiest for them. And I used to think, before, I was like, you know, that's not gonna be me, I'm, I'm different, I won't be them. And then I realized, wait a moment, you know, if you hang around that so much that could become you. And so in a way, I got a glimpse into where I would be in 20 years. And I was like, I don't think that I want that. So I think was a juxtaposition of those two things that made me go, okay. We got to move on.

Christine Li  12:21  
Okay. Okay. I'm so sorry about the event that happened at the firm. And I'm grateful that you were able to use that for yourself and to take care of yourself going forward. And now I want to ask, what did your nomadic path take you to next I frogs,

Roxanne Wilson  12:43  
and I lived happily ever after. That is not what happened. Especially when you jump without a plan and a parachute things happen. So when the show was over, I did a lot of speaking to women in business group, female women's groups, when in business faith in business, I wrote a book about my time on the show that was about faith and business. A lot of people think you can't have both of those things. I think now people realize you can but back then I don't think it was something that people were willing to share. You can be both and be successful both. I also was trying to figure out like I knew I wanted to talk show and I thought Oprah whoever would just come knocking. He's like, come on. That is not how it worked. I learned a lot about the la culture. I was going from New York to LA to living in Austin all the time, just doing different interviews and different calls and all those things. And I learned a lot. And I realized that I don't think it was ready for all that, quite frankly. So I really focused on Austin. I ended up doing a morning radio show for I Heart Radio in Austin. And then after that I you know, still that yearning to be on TV. I really I am someone who is like, Oh, you want to be on TV. But I really, for me, I'm emotive and I love to speak to big groups of people and impact people and TV and I'm just comfortable on TV and radio. Like that's my that's my jam. And so I ended up working for an international home shopping network that's actually based out of Austin. I even had a dinner Believe it or not with Gayle King, and she told me, I needed to go to small town America and do like news and build and I was like, No way no how I'm not doing that. I think it was it probably could have worked. Who knows? But I think part of it is you go to school, you're a lawyer, you do all these things. I'm like, Wait, I gotta go start doing what I don't know. I'm not doing that. Everything in life prepares you for a new in the future. My dad has always told me that. And so I did home shopping for five years and I went up from being like a head of host to Director of Sales and programming. What I'll tell you about what I've learned from that is when you're on TV for hours and hours, three hours, five hours at a time, speaking without a teleprompter and talking to someone you actually cannot see. But you're like envisioning and creating that relationship. That was amazing education, for sure. But it was at that time after that, that I realized, okay, and I did some stuff for like a magazine. And also I was doing all sorts different things. Again, the Nomad, but I took a step back. And that's when I ended up in network marketing. And it for me, it was I looked around and was like, Wow, all my friends are married, they have babies, they're divorced already. And I'm just like, doing this career thing. Not that it was bad. But I thought, wow, okay, let me take a step back. So I took a step back, did network marketing, I decided to be what they call, like, I'm just gonna, I'm like, I don't have to think you mean, I just do this, this and that. And, okay, well, I am meant to think is what I've learned. So I really was like, a bull in a china shop, I had great success, but I very much was taking everything I learned from TV and radio, and then business school. And I was like, we need to be implementing this into your business life life as a network marketer. And so that's when I realized that I didn't want to be a network marketer, I wanted to help network marketers and empower them.

Christine Li  16:06  
Okay. Amazing. Thank you for filling in that the latter half of the path. Now, I'm going to shift a little bit and ask you about those network marketers, the people who decide to go that direction. What is it that draws you to that group? And what have you learned from working with that group? I'm presuming it's a very heavily female population. Is that right? Its

Roxanne Wilson  16:34  
greatest assumption. What has led me to that group I think is first and foremost, I think it's underserved population. There's a there's a stigma that network marketers have, and so people disregard them. And I think at the end of the day, because I've looked back on my life, and I'm like, What is my like? What's my purpose? Ruxin? What is your purpose? Why don't all these things make sense? And what I realize is, what makes sense and why I've been drawn to doing certain things and really repelled from doing other things, is I want to feel like I'm making an impact in people's lives. And in some ways, also, I would say, serving people who are under appreciated, undervalued for whatever reason, it may be. And so we're network marketers, again, as I said, people have this stigma to it. And what I know is that the people in network marketing are phenomenal. The women are phenomenal. We think that starting a business. And you know, Dr. Christine, you and I, we both have online businesses, so we know what it's like to do that. But what I've learned is, that's a scary thing for a lot of people. And most people have been conditioned to not even have a vision of what they'd want to create. Right? But maybe nine to five is not their thing. So what do they do then? And network marketing is a place where you can and we're going to influence our society anyway, right now, or you can share what you have out there. So what I love about them, I'm gonna make sure I'm answering the question is that I love who they are. And I love helping them realize their entire potential. And for some, that means they leave network marketing, and they do start their own business. For others, they might switch network marketing companies, or they just continue with when they have. But ultimately, what I've learned about network marketing is that unlike anything else I've ever done, except for me being on television, it requires anyone in network marketing, if you're going to be in it for more than a week. All those things you think that you have solved in your life, those personal issues and things that you just push down, they come brewing up, and it's a mirror in front of your face. And that's what it is all about. So it is totally this incubator for like figuring out your own personal stuff. And so I love being a guide to help people do that.

Christine Li  18:51  
I love it. Thank you for explaining all of that, that really rings. So true to me not having been a network marketer, but being an entrepreneur, myself, I can totally attest to the fact that the moment you press publish, or send or put yourself out there with a product or a service, all the great on worked through personal stuff comes up as well. And it really is a task to sit with feelings to sit with the past to sit with your ideas of what your future is going to look like or code look like and not freak out and not run away and hide. And of course to be a network marketer or an online entrepreneur. You definitely cannot hide you have to be present. You have to be energized. You have to believe in yourself and the things that you're selling and that is a whole trick and I would say you do need a coach to get you through that process. And Roxanne sounds like an amazing woman to work with With her experience, and the fact that she just knows how to put things from her own past forward, that you're not going to let resistance thoughts get in your way. And I'm sure you take care of your clients in this way as well, could you share with us, maybe two or three of your top tips that you share with your clients so that we get a sense of how you lean?

Roxanne Wilson  20:27  
Absolutely, thank you for that, you know, when you're talking, something came up that I wanted to share as well, too, this can be a tip, for sure. It's a definite tell if you look at someone's social media profile, like a network marker. And if you see that they're posting all about their business, or using corporate images, and you don't see them. Whenever I'm with a client, I see that I will always say, hey, we need to see more of you. And what's interesting is like, Uh huh. And a week later, they see nothing about them. And that's when I know like, okay, let's talk about this. You're not showing anything about yourself? What's going on with that, and I'm gonna tell you nine times out of 10, it's, I'm embarrassed to show myself, I don't feel good about how I look, or I don't feel good about something that's going on with me. And that's why I don't want to put myself out there. I mean, that's like an immediate conversation that we tend to have. But I know that if someone is, is hiding behind their products, it's because they're hiding themselves. My biggest you asked for tips, my biggest thing is realizing that when it comes to selling, in network marketing, when it's not a product that you've actually created, right, it's not your baby, you have to understand that the thing that's going to make a difference between why people shop from you, as opposed to anyone else who's selling the same product, or any place between where you work, worship workout and home, or Amazon is really you. And so the more you hide behind your product, and the less you show about those amazing things about you, that make me think well, I want to buy my hair product from Dr. Christine, because I love her haircut and she was talking about it on that, that is the thing that's going to make me or we both have dogs and we you know, we do both have dogs or dogs are usually like that thing is gonna make me purchase from you, as opposed to purchasing from anyone else. And so the more we, for lack of a better word, whitewash that and take that away, the more we are, are disconnecting with our potential client or team member.

Christine Li  22:29  
Gotcha, you're making me think about everything we've spoken about, even before pressing record today about showing up about being women of color being of minority status, and the different forces that might force us to feel like we need to suppress our voice, or suppress our message, or even keep ourselves literally hidden, hidden from view, keep our face off of the screen, defer to other people, all of these things that women tend to have to deal with as a group, I guess the pressure to conform the pressure to not be too bold, the pressure to not be too loud, or too salesy, all of these things we have as women in our heads, because we're really good at that we're really good at taking care of everybody else's needs and expectations. But at the end of the day, what are we doing to really promote our own needs, and our own message and voice and my own mind is just racing to get the next question, because I'm thinking about all these things at the same time, but you seem to have beautifully integrated your work and your experience and your personality together, which is amazing. And that you're an inspiration to women who really want to stretch themselves a little bit more.

Roxanne Wilson  24:08  
Thank you. There's a lot there. And thank you for that. And you know, I think that being on a podcast or having conversation is very therapeutic, where you realize, oh, wait, this all does like the puzzle pieces do make sense. Sometimes we don't stop and even realize we just do right? And so this is, you know, thank you. I appreciate that very much.

Christine Li  24:27  
You're very welcome. I'm still fascinated by the occupational Nomad concept. And for me, what is so important is that you kept your eye on the prize. And the prize was that you get to design your life. It wasn't a particular occupation, or state or social group. It was that you wanted. What happened to you to really match your vision for what you wanted for yourself. And I don't think we see Stories of that as clearly as you've described it. We don't see that that often. So is there something you could mention that might bring someone who's on the cusp of acting that way to really trust themselves? And go for that vision?

Roxanne Wilson  25:21  
Such a good question. And very poignant because I've, I had lawyers come to me after and go, Gosh, I really wish I could do that. But I don't feel like I can because of XY and Z, my constitutional law professor, she used to call it the golden handcuffs. When you get into, you know, the corporate world and all the things and you're buying things on Sunday, you have the golden handcuffs. My thing to you would be someone who's like having that angst you're feeling and if you're listening, it's probably somewhere in your stomach or in your chest. Is this think about life could be next week, two weeks from now? 10 years from now, if you keep doing what you're doing right now, will you look back on those last 10 years? And be proud of yourself for doing that? Or will you be regretful or windfall for it? And if you think that you may have lost what might have been? Go for it? What is the worst that can happen? Like, honestly, what I've realized now, is that you can get another job. And people say to me, you can always go back to law. And I was like, stop saying that I'm not going back to law. But if that's the thing that's gonna get you to move, then yes, you can always go back to what you were doing. Someone will hire you. Oh, my goodness, people are dying to hire people. Right? Yeah. Go for it. Do it because you are going to regret it. We get this life. And you know, whether you believe we have a billion lives or one life, you still only have this one life to do, right? Like you've got this iteration you don't it's not Groundhog's Day, we don't get to do this one over and over and over again. And so make the most of it. We fixate so much on all of the bad things that could happen. And gosh, we have great imaginations. How about we imagined the great things that can happen and allow those to take for

Christine Li  27:12  
not to take us off on a total tangent, but I think you've just convinced me to get a puppy. Because it's that kind of a thing. You know, if it's not a puppy for you, it's something else that, oh, we can think about how complicated it's going to be, how expensive, how annoying how potentially bananas it's going to be. But if it's the thing that you really are desiring, you know, this is your life, this is the place to experiment, and try and reach. And sometimes that is the joy in life is that you've tried that you've really kind of taken the LEAP sometimes. And then you have stories to tell you've got all these great stories to tell.

Roxanne Wilson  27:55  
There's a book I want to I just finished listening to I feel bad saying reading when I actually read it, but I listened to it. Called a logical by Emmanuel acho. It is amazing. I highly recommend it. If you're if you're going through the should I go for it or not. It's all about stop looking for logic, because the greatness is in the illogical and go for.

Christine Li  28:18  
Yes, thank you for that book recommendation. I love that. Could you let us know how our listeners can start working with you and or come into your circle?

Roxanne Wilson  28:30  
Absolutely. I am on Instagram roxtalks R O X T A L K S. That's a great place to find me in there. There's my link where you can find all things as well too. But I'd love to continue this conversation with you there and just support you in any way.

Christine Li  28:45  
Okay, beautiful. Everyone, head over to roxtalks and follow her. She's amazing. And I can't wait for our relationship to blossom. From here. Roxanne, thank you so much for being here. And thank you for bringing the inspiration, your beautiful story and your beautiful self to the show.

Roxanne Wilson  29:05  
Thank you so much, Dr. Christine. I appreciate it.

Christine Li  29:08  
All right, everyone. Hope you loved this conversation as much as I did. I'm going to see you next Thursday when the next episode drops. Take care. 

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Make Time for Success podcast. If you enjoyed what you heard, you can subscribe to make sure you get notified of upcoming episodes. You can also visit our website maketimeforsuccesspodcast.com for past episodes, show notes and all the resources we mentioned on the show. Feel free to connect with me over on Instagram too. You can find me there under the name procrastination coach. Send me a DM and let me know what your thoughts are about the episodes you've been listening to. And let me know any topics that you might like me to talk about on the show. I'd love to hear all about how you're making time for success. We'll talk to you soon.

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