It is time to get solar powered. We welcome you back to another episode of the solar powered podcast. My name is Ryan Hall from Royal Hearts Coaching, royalheartscoaching.com, life and relationship coaching for kings. And as we've really found as I've really found my voice in this podcast, really interviewing and having conversations with people who who have inspiring stories and really have something really have something to teach the world through their own story.
And I think I've got a guest on the line right now that I think fits that bill perfectly. Her name is Lori Raggio. She's the founder of Inspire Greatness Coaching and Consulting. We were both certified by the exact same coach training program, the incredible accomplishment coaching. And I think we've got a really interesting conversation today about what it means to trust your intuition. Something that I always love talking about and we bring her on.
Now let's go out to the desert and talk to Lori Riggio. Lori, welcome to the solar powered podcast. Hi, Ryan. So, grateful to to be here with you. Thank you. My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me. So, thank you so much for coming on, I should say. I I was on another interview earlier today where I was the guest. So yeah. Just kinda stuck in my head. Straight. Right? There you go. There you go. Well, one thing I always like to ask my especially my first time guests is, who is Lori Rigio?
Well, I I like to refer to myself as a creation catalyst and a That's that's usually in and of itself. Yeah. And a transformational soul activist. So I I work with women leaders and and entrepreneurs really to help them to, little by little, uncover and take off the armor that they've built up over their life so that they can take some risks, so that they can really access all the opportunities and possibilities that are out there for them.
And so I see myself as a, an activist, a catalyst to help them to do that. And, and most of that is because of my own experience. Well, let's talk about that. What, you know, what was your life before you found this, before you found this passion for coaching? I actually have a little over 30 years of experience in human resources, predominantly in leadership roles in healthcare organizations and around the learning and development focus.
And I really kind of look back and I definitely was a workaholic. I mean, I I identified, you know, myself and who I am by what I did. And I think really almost since accomplishment coaching, which for me was, I graduated in early 2019. I was looking for something that was gonna help me to focus more on who I was being and becoming, not what I was doing. And so that was in some ways a catalyst for, for my change of focus in my life. A catalyst for your own creation, Yes, absolutely. I love it.
I also think we found the, the title for this particular episode. Yeah. Have, do you find that, you know, especially in the people that you work with, with, let's just speak big picture here, especially in the women, that you work with, do you find that you attract like a lot of the same, you know, kind of stories, the, like the stories of being a workaholic, of, you know, breakdowns in relationships and their families. Do you find that you attract a lot of those, kind of people? I I do.
It it's that type of person and someone who you know, maybe from the outside world looks like everything is put together, but on the inside, they're dying. You know? I mean, they know that what their life is like is not what they would like it to be. And maybe they just haven't had the opportunity to stop long enough, you know, to figure out what is their core purpose, what do they really want? And then to start to create, you know, the life that really fits for them.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, just speaking personally and clearly, I'm not a woman, but, you know, just speaking personally here, one of the things that as you can hear my cohost drinking water in the background, I care, but one of the things that I have found as I've been in my business building, you know, business building process and full disclosure, I'm working on a working on a relaunch for the spring, just throwing that out there.
But, not so much a rebrand, but a little bit of a swap, let's say. It's all I'm gonna say. But but so far as, like, some of the stories that I have, like, fallen into is just the idea of just, again, just being a workaholic. Just having no, like, having no time to go out and throw a ball for, you know, for my dog. No time to go out and hit the pavement in the morning, but it's been too cold for that here Yeah. At least until recently.
But just really finding no time for myself, and I have it that that's just something that really hits that really hits home for you, not just as a coach, but, you know, as a person in the world. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and and I think, you know, you you started out by talking about intuition and and part of my story is, and I believe this wholeheartedly, is that if we don't start to take the time for ourselves, something happens that kind of forces us to do that.
And for me, my last corporate position in human resources, my job was eliminated after 16 years. And it was like, I had been talking about starting a business. I've been talking about doing other things, but I hadn't done them. And so that gave me the opportunity to really take the time. And so I really think that if we're not taking action on that ourselves, the universe is gonna do something or give us some opportunity to invite that. So that's one of the things that happened.
But the other thing for me is that, you know, for 15 years, I had been visiting Arizona. And for 15 years, I've been thinking about, I love this place. I eventually wanna be here. I purchased land. I felt like this was where I was supposed to be. But, again, it just kinda was timing wasn't wasn't working. But, eventually, last year, it did, and everything just kinda came together.
And so part of my journey is also listening to my self and listening to my intuition and trusting that, you know, the what I'm seeing or what I'm feeling and going with it. And so, you know, speaking about intuition, for me, I think it it's different for every single person. But what I've learned is that where I feel it for me is very specific place. And it's, like, right underneath my ribs, right, you know, above my belly button. It's like that one spot right there. That's where I feel it.
And for the longest time, I didn't trust it. And for some of that reason, it was because I was, you know, dealing with an eating disorder for many, many, many years from, like, 10 years old to probably my late twenties, early thirties. And so if that's where my intuition speaks to me, for me, with an eating disorder, I didn't trust anything in that area, and I didn't pay any attention to any kind of signals, not signals that said I was hungry, for sure. You You know?
So there was a period in my life where I was getting messages that I didn't pay attention to. And so as I, you know, worked on that eating disorder, I started to realize that, you know, this is this is that area for me. And so listening to it, trusting it, going with it has made a huge difference in my life. You know, one of the things and thank you for sharing that.
But one of the things that just really jumps out to me there is just the idea of alignment is that if we're not if we're not aligned with some kind of a higher purpose Yeah. Then it is going to show up for different people in different ways. For you, it showed up as an eating disorder. For me, it showed up as being addicted to, you know, sweets. Yeah. For others, it might be drugs or alcohol. It might be promiscuous sex.
It might be any number of things just to kind of mask that pain of not listening to that inner voice, listening to that inner Jiminy cricket as it were. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I think, you know, part of working with the clients that I do, it's helping them to realize that. And and many of the women that I work with have never really quite thought about signals coming from their heart, from their body other than their head.
They've been, you know, very successful as, you know, people that kinda live up in their in their head. Yeah. I really get that. I really get that because there there there's something that really resonates for me in that in that I'm quite proud of my intellect. Mhmm. But when I listen to this over everything else hi. How are you doing? But when I listen to everything else other than my gut, than my intuition, something is going to be off.
It's not a matter of when or it's not a matter of what, but how big. Right. You know what I mean? It might wind me up in the hospital with a kidney stone. I mean, who knows? Yeah. That literally happened, by the way. Yeah. Wow. Well, and one of my, you know, teachers and mentors talks about, you know, your intuition is the voice of our soul. Yeah. So if we don't pay attention to that, you know, will we actually make decisions that are in the best alignment.
I mean, my experience, at least for me, is no. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I imagine your, I imagine your experience would probably be aligned with a lot of people out there. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I find it very, like, I find it very interesting that even in the, that even in the just unmitigated chaos that was our 2020, that was everybody's 2020 Yeah. That you found your purpose out there in the out there in the desert.
And I think that's a very just an incredibly powerful reflection on just how important it is to listen to that inner to that inner dialogue, listen to that inner voice. And what like, what's available to you out there on a, like, on a soul level Yeah. That you weren't finding, here on the East Coast? Yeah. Well and and yeah. And that's so interesting because I don't think I knew for sure until I got here.
So I I knew that I was being called here because every time I would visit, I never wanted to go home. And I think the the difference was more noticeable each time I would visit. And for me, it was the warm it it it's the geography. It's the warmth. It's the constant sunshine. It's the being in an environment that I feel like I'm extremely connected.
And in fact, one of the things that I've been writing about and talking more about is I feel like everyone has a geographical soulmate, and that is the location, the physical location that their heart and their soul is drawn to. And it's helping people to figure out how do you know what that is and, and how can you go about searching for it? And then what's available for you once you find it. Because I have found that my life is just so different since I've been here.
I'd love to talk a little bit more about that, about that because I, you know, as you were sharing that I was just hearing game show bells in my head. Did you say a game show? Game show bells. Yes. Okay. Ding ding ding ding ding ding. Yeah. But as I, like, the first time that I ever visited New York, I'd like, I always thought that I would follow my passion out west, out to Southern California, you know, to like in the screenwriting community.
But the first time that I visited New York, it just landed like a just a complete power, just like a complete power surge. And when people ask me why I would leave the, you know, the relative slowness and ease of Alabama to come up here to the northeast I live in, you know, Connecticut now but for the just the hustle and bustle of New England and the, you know, in the northeast, it just it just felt right. There was just no other way to say it.
And that's, just, you know, again, me trusting my own intuition. Right. And where did you actually feel it? Like, when you when you were there, like, where did you where did you sense it? The difference? It was in my chest. Like, I was able to I was able to breathe, like, breathe from my soul. Like, I felt just so often and a lot of my anxiety problems came from just not knowing how to, handle my breath.
Mhmm. But when I was there just hearing the, like, hearing the different accents, you know, standing at a street corner and hearing somebody speaking Polish, hearing somebody, you know, a couple people speaking Spanish, ironically enough with a Long Island accent, it just really got me thinking that there's just so much more out there, and my chest just felt so much bigger and wider.
Yeah. Yeah. And I think that, you know, that that's definitely one of the things that really jumped out to me and what you just shared there. I know it's kind of a, you know, it's kind of a cliche, but is it like a is it like a you just feel happier, more content out there? I mean, I think that's part of it.
And I and I think, again, each person may describe it a little different, but it's the idea that there's so much alignment that there's a sense of being freer, of being, for me, it was less hectic, less chaotic. So it sounds for you, you kinda wanted to have more of that, you know, kind of I wanted less. Sure. And the other thing is I realized that, you know, I grew up initially in kind of, like, the suburbs of Chicago and then moved to Maryland and then now here.
I realized how much I was focused on the weather. Like, every morning, first thing I would do is I'd get up and I'd look at the weather. And the weather was gonna tell me, was it gonna be a good day? Was it gonna be a bad day? Could I go outside? Could I not go outside? It, like, almost dictated my life. Here, I don't have to worry about that. I know it's gonna be warm, you know, and warm is relative, but, you know, I knew it was gonna be warm. I knew it was gonna be sunny.
The majority of the time, I knew I could go outside whenever, and it was just that that additional freedom, I think. I real I I hear you loud and clear on that one. I hear you loud and clear on that one. And like you said, warmth is is relative. You know? Call me in call call me in August when it's 900 degrees at 9 o'clock at night. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I can't help but notice on the bookshelf behind you that book transformation 2020.
Ironically enough, I was just with, doctor Devillea earlier today. Yes. I see. Had a interview with her, but I know that you wrote a that you wrote a chapter in that book. You wanna talk a little about what you shared in that book? Yeah. And I've had the opportunity in the last 6 months to really author 2 chapters in in 2 different books through doctor DeVea and the ladies power launch, which is so fascinating. But transformation 2020 was my first, ever, really.
And what I wrote there was, the, you know, information, I think your I titled it, the unknown is not our enemy. So kinda going back to our AC, you know, coaching days. Yeah. The idea that, you know, people are so afraid many times of what they don't know and when they can get past that and realize that really beyond all that is where all the opportunities and possibilities are that they can, you know, just expand their life.
And so that was really kind of the introduction to, to my story and to my journey. And you know, that it's been really kind of a 4 decade process, really when I looked at it. And then the book that recently came out success in any season, what I ended up writing about is my spirit more of my spiritual journey. And so, that was titled Being and Becoming a Spiritual Journey. I love that. I love that.
But it was such a cool thing to collaborate, you know, with other authors and just the experience of, you know, using your voice and kind of getting out your story and your thoughts and your ideas. Yeah. Yeah. What's what would you what would be your biggest takeaway?
I'd I'd love to dig dig in a little to that, to that success in any season chapter, but what was your biggest takeaway from that process of, you know, working with people like, you know, doctor Deville, Liz Hill, fellow AC graduate, and, you know, the ladies who, wrote chapters for that book. What was your biggest takeaway from that collaborative process? Yeah. I I mean, I think for me, it was having a container that supported the process.
So anywhere from, you know, having deadlines because that helped to support, you know, my accountability, to having the opportunity to hear other stories and knowing that I was on a similar process in writing these chapters as others were. And really, you know, having that camaraderie throughout the process. So I think those were and I know that you're in the process of, you know, offering a a, you know, a similar opportunity. And I just think it, for me, it was my first attempt at writing.
And so I really, I needed a structure. I needed a process I needed, you know, a container that someone else had. All of that already set up and I didn't need to worry about that piece. So I think it's just kind of filling your piece of the puzzle. Yes. Yes. Now I feel much more comfortable and I think eventually I will write my own book, but I needed kind of that jumpstart. I, yeah, I totally get that.
But on the other hand, this type of work, this type of writing work, it definitely gets in your blood. Let me tell you. Yeah. It definitely gets in your blood. Well, can you go into a little bit more detail on what it is you wrote about in Success in Any Season? I I did read your chapter and I, you know, I I found it just incredibly fascinating. Yeah. I mean, I think it goes back to the intuition and paying attention to that.
I mean, I, I wrote about, you know, really in some ways being on a mission, to demystify spirituality. Cause for the longest time I kind of equated it to religion and I had been, you know, raised Catholic and then kind of pulled away from the Catholic church for a lot of reasons. And then didn't have really anything else to kind of fill that void until I realized that it was really my spirituality.
And so I think, you know, I would love people to find their own spirituality and allow it to to guide them. So that's part of what I wrote about. I included some very factual kinds of things about what I've done to get in touch with my own spirituality and and kinda keep it alive on a daily basis. So there's some very factual, you know, things in that chapter.
But then there's also things like, you know, being, more aware of my surroundings and and having unusual experiences happen, you know, that are signs. For example, I I think it was probably after a month that I had been in Arizona, and I was walking my 2 2 dogs very early in the morning. I mean, the sun was just starting to come up. And I would say maybe 6 feet in front of me were 2 black wolves. And they just kind of looked kind of a knot. There was like this acknowledgement.
There was no fear in me. My dogs didn't really see them yet. And it was almost like this almost like a welcoming experience. And they just then walked the other way and then I walked, you know, past them and it was just this amazing, like, connection. Like I was part of, you know, I'm, I'm living in their environment and, you know, that was all gonna just work out. We all belong here type of, a feeling. But in the past, I certainly would have been very fearful to see that and to experience that.
Sure. Sure. And that story just gave me chills. I mean, just just kind of, I've always had a fascination with wolves anyway, but that story really gave me chills because there's it's like you said, it was almost like the it was almost like the desert welcoming committee. Yeah. And and I've had, you know, similar kinds of other experiences. I mean, there's so much wildlife here and and seeing it all the time. And, and I also feel that there's this sense of I don't know if it was former life.
I mean, I I don't know. But I've had people since I've been here say to me one shaman in particular had a conversation, and she said, I see ancestors there waiting to welcome you. And you need to spend more time outside and just really pay attention because there are ancestors who want to show you what's available there. I 2 years ago, 3 years ago, maybe even a year or so ago, I don't know that I would have understood that paid attention to that, followed that.
So there's been a lot of interesting things that have happened since I've been here. Oh, no doubt. No doubt. You know, one of the things I'm really hearing there is that, is that so many of us, you know, myself included. I mean, don't forget I grew up in the buckle of the bible belt, but so many of us conflate religion and and, spirituality. Mhmm. It's like it's 1 and the same.
And what would you say to somebody who has strong religious beliefs, but they're also, you know, feeling more of a calling towards, you know, like this, you know, like you said, like, religion like, spirituality and nature and, you know, and stuff like that. What would you say to somebody like that? I mean, I would I would really say to them to explore it because, certainly, it's not one or the other. You know, I think they both complement each other.
And so I would I would just give yourself an opportunity to explore that. You know, have conversations, maybe do some reading, do some writing, journaling. You know, allow yourself to find, you know, whichever environment actually brings out more of the connection with spirituality and just, you know, kind of experiment with it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, one like, one of my oldest friends, who passed away several years ago, but her father was a, was a chief in a Shawnee Indian tribe.
And, and she you know, my friend Noreen just taught me so much about native spirituality, but also how it ties in directly towards, you know, traditional religion. I mean, she was a, you know, she was a devout Catholic. Yeah. So there's a, you know, there there's a lot that I think a lot of people don't understand, but, also, there's also not one set meaning for any of this. It's all about the individual and what we make it mean. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. I I think it's so individual.
When you read the chapter, Ryan, what stood out? Was there something that stood out to you? I think the thing that really stood out to me was just how just how open it was. Mhmm. I I I think just how open and vulnerable it was. And, like, the the biggest takeaway that I got was that we all have to be on our own journey. We all have to be on our own trip, and there's not one trip, not one journey for each and every one of us. It's, you know, there there's not one set journey, I should say.
There's individual journeys on, for for, for all of us. That was that was definitely my biggest takeaway from it. Something that I have been reckoning with myself, as I start to lean in more towards some of my own spiritual beliefs.
Mhmm. Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. Well and I and I think, you know, through my experience where we live or where we spend a lot of our time, I think can either support, guide, and kind of build up, you know, that sense of our spirituality, or I think it can actually detract from it. And so again, to me, it it's listening to ourselves and paying attention to our intuition and, you know, thinking about how do we spend more time in that place or multiple places that kind of support that.
In fact, one of the, ladies power launch, events coming up in in April, I'm doing a a mini retreat, and it's titled find your geographical soulmate, expand your life. And we'll talk about, you know, how do you find those locations, and then what's available to you to spend time in those locations. Yeah. Yeah. You know, as you were saying that, I just got just this incredible image.
I I used to live on a lake back home, a lake that my family owns, and, it really took like, I've always felt drawn to water. I mean, it's and it's not just because I'm a Pisces either. But I've always felt drawn to water.
And I found this, this little pond outside Greenwich, Connecticut where I wrote most of my second novel and like I found this park bench and there were these geese, these Canada geese who, if you know anything about geese, you know they can be kind of squirrelly sometimes to say the least. But, there was this one, it looked like an older goose that one of the, like, after I'd gone through some, you know, through some stuff, I found this place for the first time in, you know, probably a year.
I sat down. It was like, almost like this goose recognized me. It was like this goose recognized me, and I just felt like I was, like, this is where I was meant to, like, I where I was meant to be. You know what I mean? It was like where I was meant to be. So this whole geographical soulmate thing, I'm hearing you loud and clear on that one. Did you find that you had more energy or did thoughts as you were writing, did did that location provide you a different focus?
Or, I mean, how did it support your writing? I think it cleared my head. Like, it helped, like, it helped me to find, you know, just get grounded, find peace, find find a little stillness. And, yeah, just like I've had a ton of coaching calls out there. I mean, it's just like a really special place and I I like I really wanna get back if I ever have time. But, it's just a really special, really special little place.
Yeah. Well and you just said something, which I think is is usually, for most of us, kinda one of the barriers, and that is we don't have time. Yeah. And if we think about it, if that particular location provides the support and the creativity and the grounding and all of that, it's like, why not spend more time there? Because that gives you what you need, and it sounds like the end result that you're, you know, that you're looking for.
Yeah. And I could absolutely have this conversation all day. This is just been and, you know, this is just an incredibly fascinating conversation to me. I do wanna ask one more question.
When you, you know, when you have somebody who, you know, one of your, you know, usual type coaching clients that may come to you, and they want to because you can't force anybody to, you know, do anything like this, but if they want to start to explore this certain spiritual aspect of their life if they may have some, you know, I guess I I don't wanna say fundamentalist Yeah.
You know, religious views because there's such a nasty connotation to that word nowadays, but if they have some, like, deeply held religious views, but they want to start to explore to that, what might be some practices or some, or some words of wisdom that you might offer to somebody like that? Yeah. And I, and I think some of these, I think I did put in the success in any season chapter. I'm trying.
I think I did, but it it's, you know, putting into practice, if it doesn't already exist, some type of daily meditation or daily time to be quiet and, you know, just allow yourself that that peace and also some type of journaling or writing or kind of keeping track of what's coming into your mind throughout the day. You know? So I think those two practices are are helpful, and those can be you know, they can look so different for each person.
And then another one that I found is really helpful is movement. So, you know, it could be for one person. It could be that they're on their Peloton and, you know, thinking about, you know, spirituality or, for me it's just being outside and walking and being among, you know, nature. But there's something among the wolves.
Yeah. Being among the wolves and the coyotes and the rattlesnakes and, you know, but there is something about movement that I think helps to embody what we're feeling, what we're experiencing. Yeah. I love that. I love that. Because that's that was when I was at my most peaceful during the total mess that was 2020 Yeah. Was when I was able to get outside first thing in the morning and go, you know, go hit an easy mile and a half, 2 mile run.
Yeah. I mean, it just like you said, it's individual for everybody. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, I've got to start back because I'm tired of being at the effect of the cold out there. One of the things you don't have to worry about out there in desert land. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, listen, Laurie, I could have this conversation all day, but this has been a truly fascinating conversation.
Thank you so much for, you know, for bringing yourself and, you know, your knowledge and your and your wisdom to this conversation. Thank you. And, how can people find you online? You've got a really awesome, awesome offer that we were talking about. Yeah. Well, first of all, my my, website is under construction, so the best way to find me is either on LinkedIn or my email address. And so the email is [email protected].
And what I'd like to offer is and I don't know how you wanna do this or how you've done this in the past, but, a signed copy, and it would be the 3 books because transformation 2020 had a workbook, and, then a a coaching session to kind of talk through, you know, what's coming up for the person as they've read the chapters and, you know, what they might wanna do with those feelings that they're having. Yeah. That's a magnificent idea.
And, I would probably just direct people to send you an email. Or if you have a Calendly, link, we can, we can include that in the show notes as well. That kinda gives me an idea for my own coaching business. But yeah. No. Laurie, thank you so much for joining us. It's been a real treat, and, we'd love to have you back. Thank you, Ryan. Alright. That'll do it for this episode of the solar powered podcast, a presentation of Royal Hearts Coaching.
For more information, you can find me on royalheartscoaching.com. You can follow me on the social medias at ryanhallwrites on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or just shoot me a good old fashioned email at [email protected]. But that'll do it for this episode and yes, we will have more big projects coming. But that'll do it for this episode until we meet again. This is Ryan Hall saying thank you so much for listening. So long for now. I love you all and go get solar powered.