Wandering Roots: From Corporate Life to Transformative Retreats with Anna | DFS 321

Alright, let me up. Welcome to Destin for

success. I'm your host, Jennifer Takagi, and today I have a new

interesting friend, Anna. I'm going to get this right. I'm

going to just pause a second. I'm going to do this right then.

Op mail, yes, close, and she's with wandering roots. That's her

business. I cannot wait to hear more. Anna, welcome to the show.

Thank you. Thank you for having me

on this show. We like to talk about success,

your journey to success, what you're doing, what you're up to

in the world. So tell us what's going on. Sure.

So I have been at wandering roots, or I founded

it in 2018 so I've been at it for almost six years, little

over six years. And before that, I was a manager in a molecular

diagnostics lab. I quit a 13 year career in corporate. I just

I ended up having neck surgery, and I had a lot of time to sit

with my thoughts and be humbled by my own mortality. And I

thought, Gosh, I really wish I was more jazzed about my life. I

had everything I thought I wanted, and I really wasn't that

happy. So I started doing things that terrified me, and I took

yoga teacher trainings to sort of heal from the chronic neck

pain after surgery, and I thought I could take my love of

travel and yoga and combine them and host retreats. And so that's

what I did. I have hosted over 20 we usually go international.

We've been all over the place. And in the last two years, I've

been helping other entrepreneurs plan and host their own

profitable

retreats. So where are you physically

located? Like, where do you call home? Yeah,

home for me is Michigan. Oh, okay. And

when you go international, where is

international?

So normally Europe and over there, mostly

we've hosted in Costa Rica five times, Sicily, Ireland,

Scotland. Next year we're going to Belize the Dolomites and

Iceland fender Banff. We've done a couple domestic like Antelope

Canyon, Grand Canyon Olympic National Park in Washington, and

then we host one a year in northern Michigan in the fall

for a little smaller long weekend offering, because all of

those are seven days.

That sounds so much fun. I'm writing that down

because somebody's gonna ask me, and I'm gonna go, Oh, I know.

Hey, appreciate

it. Yeah, no, it is fun. It's like, traveling

with friends. It really is,

yeah, and I travel a lot, and I told you,

when we were in the green room that I have a friend who went to

Italy on a yoga retreat. Yeah, he was like, wow, it was super

fun. And they had excursions every day and did yoga, yeah,

had their own chef and whatever, yeah, and so I love to travel. I

love to try new things. So this sounds just very interesting to

me. I have several people to refer to you when I find out

when you're really into it. I i I'm intrigued that while you

were down and had down time with your neck, I think I want to do

yoga, and I think I want to travel. I think I want to make,

yeah, I'll just do retreats, because that is a bold leap.

Like I Yeah, you know, nine to five. What are they? I just

learned this term recently a w2 I went from being a w2 employee

healthy life to be an entrepreneur, which was a leap,

but, like, I stayed in my comfort zone. Like, I Yeah, a

little bit yeah, but I think, like, adventurous yoga retreats.

Like, wow,

yes, I am. It took me a little more time than,

like, a year. I I was my last job. I was sort of given the

opportunity to be an entrepreneur without the

financial risk. I was the first hired employee besides the

executive. So, like, I built the lab, I hired the staff, I bought

the equipment, did the inventory, all the things, and

had to make all of the decisions, but at no financial

risk to me, because I wasn't funding the bill. So I tried to

quit, and I thought I was going to take a different direction,

in the same as a w2 employee, but in sort of a more like, um,

kind of director of sales role, which I hate sales. So that

would have never worked out. But anyways, I tried to quit. I got

a lot of money to stay, and I went to my husband, and I said,

I think you should start your own landscape business, because

he had been doing it for like, 15 years. And I thought I still

didn't know. I wanted to do, and I maybe was still being a

coward. Obviously, I was like, you do it so and then after he

did it for a year, I thought, okay, I I can figure all of

like, make a website, you know, be an accountant, you know,

things that are all ancillary to running a business, right where

you actually almost spend a lot more of your time than doing the

thing you love. But anyways, I thought I had enough confidence

and had learned some skills that I could just try something

completely different, and so I side hustled it for two years

before I quit my job. So got but I did quit right before COVID.

So that was terrible timing, because I had to cancel all my

events. But it was, it was a good test from the universe and

still here. So

you're still here. And in the year,

initially, I was doing around six. This year

I turned 40, and I had a lot of trips I wanted to do on my own,

so I only did two, and next year I'm doing three, because I'm

starting to plan other people's more and just kind of pivoting a

little in my business. So scaling back a little bit

well, one thing is an entrepreneur that has been

a very eye opening. Interesting thing for me to witness with

other people is the ability to make those pivots and shifts.

And obviously I have a podcast, because we're doing a podcast

interview. And if you go back to the beginning of my podcast, it

was called new manager. Media managed right from the start,

because all it was all about leadership development, and I

made a pivot shift in my business when I learned how to

do energy healing. And that's a super fun thing, and corporate

would probably really benefit from it, but they may not hire

me to come in and talk about, yeah, hard sell. Yeah. I was

like, I don't know. I struggled sometimes with the leadership,

because, you know, they think everybody already knows how to

do it, and guess what, they don't, and they suck at it. But

heaven forbid I open that curtain right, Pandora's box.

But I was like, Yeah, I want to make this shift, and I want to

focus on healing, and now I'm a high performance coach through

Brendon Burchard, and put it like the energy healings part of

it, you can't perform at a high level if you've got all the

totally baggage going on, right? So it all that I can make go

together real beautifully. But when I was I contacted the gal

who helped me get my podcast going, Michelle Abraham, and I

said, Michelle, like, what am I going to do? Like, how do I make

this shift? And she said, she's very intuitive and brilliant.

And she goes, Oh, well, I think destin for success, because

that's an easy transition. Cool, because you're going from new

Manor to your destin for success, she goes, then you can

go either way. So I find it very easy to interview people,

because I've got people who are very structured, strategic type

entrepreneurs. Typically entrepreneurs is who I

interview, and then I've got the people who are totally Woo and

out there. But it all works, because it all leads to your

success. But I really thought I would have a big drop in my

listeners and my growth would slow down. There are all

different ways to measure podcasts. The only way I know

how to measure mine is unique downloads, yep, and they keep

getting downloaded and they it keeps growing, yeah, so, um, and

then I a gal that I knew in a group, I got a request to have

her on my podcast, and I thought that's very interesting, like

she was kind of high up in this networking group. And I was

like, Wow. I didn't even know she knew who I was, much less,

yep, I guess. And she they sent me all her background

information. I was like, I don't even know who this woman is.

Like, this is not the woman I met. What the What the hell I

like? I don't understand. And she came on, she goes, Oh yeah,

I just burned it all to the ground. I decided I didn't want

to do that anymore. So now, yeah, yes. And I was like, wait,

what? So I love that there can be pivots. Your pivot is, like,

even within the same area. And grasp that a whole lot easier.

But it's interesting to me that, oh, well, you know this is, this

is working well, but I think I would enjoy this more, yeah,

yeah. I think sometimes I think you're always

led to where you're supposed to go. I'm sure you believe that as

being, yeah, you're writing and don't energy healer. But um, I

um. Um, had gotten asked a lot if I would plan other people's

retreats. And initially I said no, because I I didn't know how

that would look. And I was like, I don't know what I would do,

you know, like, whatever. And then when I had to cancel all of

my events, I was like, Well, I just received all of this time.

What a gift. And so I made a course so people could DIY it,

because I would get, you know, just people at different price

points and different backgrounds that wanted to do different

things. And then I started a one on one service as well, and I

ended up loving it way more than I thought. I get to talk, even

if you booked a course like I do a 16 minute zoom limit, because

I want everybody to feel confident moving forward and not

have any lingering questions. So we zoom all the time. And I love

hearing how they got into hosting retreats, and I love

hearing what content they want to share and and there are, I

mean, I'm a psychic medium. I have food photography. There's

just so many women doing so many incredible things, and a lot of

them are pivoting, too, if they or putting out a new branch of

their current brand. So I think, I think it is stupid to think

that you're going to grow and develop as a person, as a human

being, and then that your work wouldn't follow that that's just

so weird to me, right? I mean, it just seems odd like if you're

gonna like shift and change, why don't, why wouldn't your

interest shift and change? Why wouldn't your goals shift and

change? So I don't know. I um, I think you can get a little hung

up on, like, maybe quitting or like stopping something, even if

you are having success, because your brand can feel pretty

personal. But I also think there's a lot of power in

quitting and just pursuing something that excites you and

lights you up. So

I was in my 20s, and all my friends had a

master's degree, and I did not, and so I went and signed up for

a master's program, and I got in, and it was a Masters of

French literature, and I'm in my first class, and it ends up

being 16th Century French theater is the topic. Well,

it's, it's like reading Shakespeare, but in French, I I

struggled, and I called my high school French teacher, I tracked

her down, and I was like, Hey, could you tutor me? She goes,

Why don't we meet first and see what you need? And yeah, so we

met. I guess you could back then. Now they charge for it,

but you could check out a carousel at the local library

that we're little office type space. And she goes, Why do you

want a master's? And I say, because all my friends have one.

I just like, that's a good reason. And she goes, Okay,

well, what's happening to the class? And I tell her, and she

goes, I think you should quit. Yeah, quit. She goes, Well, who

said you can't quit? I said, Well, in my family, you don't

quit anything, yes, oh, my God, yes. But, but you don't like it,

and she is. You're on a path. You picked a path. You've got on

the path, and as you're going down the path, you decide you

don't like the path, so you turn right, turn left, you just get

off that path. Just get off you smart alec, tell me what to do.

So simple,

when you break it down like

that, I went home and I was single, and I

thought that's a bunch of crap. I'm sticking with it. I'm not

just going to be a quitter. I may not hire her to help me, but

I'm not going to be a quitter. Maybe I'm going to be a quitter.

I don't know. To the class, and there were, I don't know eight

or nine people in the class. I'd already gone to the library to

check out all the books on the list that you had to only get

from the library, and they were all already taken because they

all lived on campus, and I did not, because I had a full time

permanent job. And so I'm sitting in the class and one of

the gals, and this is all in French, and I've now been out of

college for six or seven years, right? So I'm very rusty, yeah,

but she said, and everything's in French, and she says, I

thought it was hilarious when Julian said, blah blah blah, and

she blah blah blah. And I was like, Wait, Julian is a girl. I

thought that was a like, I didn't need to do the gender,

the characters, yeah, I'm out. And, yeah,

this is it. How many more signs do I need?

Yeah,

that was the final sign. And I called. My

high school Spanish teacher and said, Okay, you win. You're

right, like I quit, versus having one class on my

transcript for a master's, and I got a F, oh, man, gender, the

people, I had to withdraw. But I think it can be hard, and I I'm

in a program right now, and she spent a lot of time helping me

map out what I was going to do and what I did so FYI listeners,

12 minute gift.com that's my thing, and you need to go get

it. And it's a three part audio series training for my audience

that is something they should be interested in, like, typically

would be interested in, and I've had a lot of really great

response to it, but as we're putting it together, she said,

once you get this recorded, and once you get this out there,

Jennifer, you have to stick to this for one year. And I was

like, what? And she said, as it goes along, if we need to make

changes or tweaks, we can, but most entrepreneurs stop too

soon, and yeah, they're really going to get traction. So what's

your advice on that? Like, because you alluded to before I

started my Yeah,

I actually kind of love that, because I

think also entrepreneurs can be really creative and just sort of

get bored with something and kind of like, you know, want to

move to the next thing. So I am a spreadsheet data nerd at

heart, so I do like to just track things for a specific

amount of time to at least see if it's working or not, and not

just give up because it's hard or, you know, you've given it

one week and it didn't blow up like you thought. It probably

one input you hoped it would so. But I, um, I think that, well,

first of all, your body always knows. So if it's not aligned

with you, there's something probably going on with your body

if it's really not for you, like, if you're really supposed

to quit. But I also think that sort of giving it some time to

grow and nurture something, and just not getting upset that it,

you know, like I said, didn't take off right away, is you got

to live in the middle of those two things. But, um, I think

that. I think there's always signs. There's always signs if

you're supposed to sort of wait it out, or if you're supposed to

pivot and move, and the more I mean, you're the energy healer,

the more in tune with that stuff, the better, right? Well,

it Yes, and not everybody, really, you know,

goes with that.

Lots of people don't,

not everybody's bag, obviously, I don't know

it's not, but Brenda Burchard, you may or may not have heard of

him. He's, like, really big in the personal development space,

and I'm in his mastermind group, and he was on a stage and

physically started on the far left and said, I did my first

online training, like a webinar, and and I didn't sell anything,

and I I got a better camera, so I at least looked a Little

better, and I did it again, and the camera was better, but then

I had a problem with this, and I fixed that. And he said, Yeah, I

did it every month, and every month I made a change, I made a

tweak, I got better, yeah, and I didn't make a sale till like

month 11, but I was, you know, pivoting along the way. And it

was like, yeah, oh, I did one one time for three months, and

then I quit.

I actually did a live workshop when I first did

my course, I tried to do those live workshops, and I think I

did three, and I quit, and then probably about three months, but

left the course up. And I was like, Maybe I should try

something else. But he's he's right here. I if you actually

one of my favorite yoga teachers always says, Consider some

everybody in a class, if you go to like, a 60 minute class in a

studio, everybody's been a beginner at one time, so you're

never gonna be the woman doing the handstand in the front

corner on your first class, right? You gotta, you have to be

able to differentiate between if you're being a beginner slash

student, and not take yourself too seriously and be willing to

look stupid and grow and learn make mistakes and carry lessons

forward. But, um, yeah, yeah. I I wonder what the best?

Honestly, this is such a good question, like, such a good

indicator of, are you quitting because it's hard and you don't

like being humbled by feeling like a student, or are you not

an expert, because everybody kind of wants to skip to the

good part. But. The journey is the part where the magic

happens. So I don't know. Jennifer, I don't know the

answer. I think you should give it a shot. I think you should be

willing to try. And if it really doesn't work out and it really

just not happening, then maybe, maybe that's when the power and

quitting happens. I think that every seven years I'm going to

do something different. No, I don't know. We'll see I just

like to, like, pay attention. I think if you one of the things

that my brand, I try to encourage all of the women that

go on retreat to like, build the life that they love, that they

like, think about daily, what they want. Like, what do you

want out of life? I think sometimes we get so caught up in

the hamster wheel, or all of the hats we wear, or the decision

making and things like that, that we forget that we're here

to enjoy it, you know. And it's fleeting, and we're not here

forever. It's not guaranteed. So, um, I mean, it doesn't mean

you're going towards the excitement all the time. There's

hard parts too, but I think the more you can kind of be aware

and make decisions based on that, then you're probably doing

it right. I

love that, and it cracks me up. You're going to

do something new every seven years i i worked for the federal

government, and oh god, one time said, Because I followed in his

footsteps in the federal government, and he's my French

degree wasn't getting me very far. So there he goes. How'd

that work out for you? And I said, you asked my mom, I ran

the government, so it looked out pretty well for me. What about

you? I have health insurance, I mean. About you?

Oh, that's amazing. But

my dad, hey, every seven years, people need a

new job, because they get in one job for so long, and they get so

comfortable at it that they're no longer effective. And I ended

up staying in the same branch my entire career. I was in one

section for two years, and then I moved to another section, but

I did one job for two or three years, and then I stepped into a

different one for a number of years, and then I was a

supervisor for so like I did, I was in the same division with

the same premise, if you will, but I was very different tasks

and responding different things. So I think I did that, and then,

oh my gosh, I had been an entrepreneur about seven years

when I switched to the training. So maybe I've done it

unintentionally, maybe, and it just worked. So tell me the time

when you felt the most successful? Because we have

those times where we're like, wow, this is it. And it could be

right, yeah. Like, when is your

I felt the most? Um, yeah. So I think that

last year I took the summer off. I had been like grinding hard.

I'd been in a hustle for a long time, and I just decided to

trust that I could take something off, and I was going

to come back, and I was going to work four hour days, there were

going to be days that probably, if I was in the flow or I had to

catch up, it would be longer, but that would be my intention,

and I wanted to be better about work life balance. And I have

done really well at that. I think that I've had a lot of

success as far as numbers and profits and selling out retreats

and things. But if you're not feeling a life that you love and

want and enjoy, I if you're dying at your desk and you're

making seven figures, it's not worth it. So I think that, yeah,

success. I don't actually believe in balance. I think

there's like peaks and valleys to life and work, and seasons of

where that's a little bit harder, a little bit heavier,

and then there's lighter seasons. And I just think trying

to take care of yourself, stay true to your values, and living

there and making time just to enjoy it. I think that's a good

place to be. I think that's success to me. I I don't know. I

don't think it's a number.

Well, it's so much, because if you have

financial success, the question is, what do you do with that?

Yeah, I was in a group call the other day, and we were doing a

visioning exercise, and one of the questions was, if you're

more successful, what would the marker be? Which typically it's

money, right? Because when you're doing things, you make

money. And it was like, Well, why does that matter? And so as

we went through it, it was. Like, what would you do if you

had all the money in the world and you could do anything that

you're not doing now? And I thought I would be more

philanthropic, me to bring more clients in, to have more money,

so that I can be more philanthropic. I am, but not to,

like, a scalable degree, yeah, yeah, being philanthropic. But

that was like, oh, but that was a very different way to look at

it 100% like, I want more so I can do this. Like, what are you

going to do with them more? Well, yeah, I don't know. Like,

oh yeah, I want to be more, yeah, yeah. And

some people are just like, they need more, but they have no idea

what that even looks like. Like, what like a number, even

sometimes people can't even tell you. And you're like, well, and

you're always playing a losing game,

yeah, yeah. You may or may not hit that, but

we'll see, yeah, oh my gosh. Well, this has been such a fun,

interesting conversation. What is next on your agenda? Because

you've, you've gotten it down to four hours a day. I was gonna

say a week, but a day, which is much more reasonable. See, I'm

trying to not work Mondays and Fridays. Oh,

perfect. Love that I'm working on. It's kind

of the same. Then I'm getting closer. I love it. You'll get

there. Um, yeah, I think I just pivoting more into the planning

other people's retreats, because I really love that. And, um,

seeing how next year goes, with hosting half and seeing if I

want to do it less or more. I'm just like, kind of seeing how it

feels. But I don't know. I don't have any. Right now I'm running.

We're renovating our primary resonance, and that has taken

out most of my headspace that I don't have to live in a shoe box

any longer. But other than that, I think that I post COVID, I

wasn't networking sort of like this feels so it's so fun to

like, hear your story a little bit and get to know you and see

what you're up to. And spending time with other entrepreneurs

just fills my cup so much. It's really inspiring to me to hear

other people that are really chasing their dreams. So thank

you.

If someone wants to get hold of you, Anna,

how are they going to do that?

My website's your wandering roots.com.

There's a lot of resources there. There's a lot of free

things. We still have some openings for retreats, and then

also, we're taking clients all the time for our course or one

on one services. I'm also on Instagram at your wandering

roots. I travel with my best friend that's our chef, and my

friend that's a photographer, and my friend that's a

photographer makes some really funny reels. So if you're

interested to see what it's like, you can check me out

there.

Oh my gosh, I'm going to Instagram. I'm going to

see what's happening there. And if I understood correctly, you

do any kind of retreat, it doesn't have to be a yoga

retreat.

100% yes, we do. Like I said, I had a psychic

medium food photographer. She's teaching people how to do

photography. I have a lot of coaches that are just teaching

their content. I have a nutritionist that it's all about

food. So there's, I mean, you literally can do anything. So oh

my gosh,

I love it. Well, Anna, I look forward to

connecting with you again, because I got more questions.

This is awesome being here.

Thank you for having me.

I'm Jennifer Takagi with destin for success,

and I look forward to connecting with you soon. Bye, bye.