Roby Rambles: Season 1, Episode 1

What’s the END GOAL of Life?

outdoorsy chats about life w/Alauna Roby

Welcome to episode 1 of Roby Rambles, a podcast where I, Alauna Roby, Ramble about the deeper parts of life while Rambling in nature. Today we are in Sedona, Arizona, I just left the longest petsit I have ever done to date. Its almost time for the spring equinox and I am back out on the road wondering “what’s my end goal here?”

As I set off into my 4th year as a nomad, 3rd year living out of my car while doing a mix of car camping and pet sitting, I cant help but reflect on my journey to get here.

"what do you want to be when you grow up?"

If you had asked me when I was 5 years old what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have said an architect. If you had asked me when I was 15 years old what I wanted to be when I grew up I would have said interior designer. If you had asked me when I was 18 what I wanted to be when i grew up, I would have said school psychologist. If you had asked me at 21 what I wanted to be when I grew up, i would have said an English as a Second Language teacher in a foreign country. Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted what I would do once I grew up.

I went to university like i was supposed to, graduated with my bachelors degree, got certified to teach both yoga and english as a second language… but now what?

I never set out to become an “influencer”

I began my youtube channel as Yoga with Alauna, sharing free yoga classes to the world .. aka my family and friends nice enough to subscribe. I created videos that I wanted to make, not what the algorithm told me to make.

After 2 years of making lifestyle videos just for fun, filming yoga classes that nobody seemed to watch all while while working online as an english as a second language tutor, I was shocked when one day, a video about sleeping in my car in a planet fitness parking lot went viral on Facebook, then Instagram, then Tiktok, then 6 months later, Youtube. At the time I was working a seasonal job doing trail maintenance at white sands national park to replenish my savings account after 2 years of full time travel. But once that job ended, I was earning just enough money from my videos to support my life style. So, I continued making short form videos, searching for my next viral video that would make me this months rent .. aka gas money.

After a full year of this process however, and after loosing access to the business facebook page that started it all, i took a step back and began to reflect.. What was my end goal here?

Although learning how to go viral equaled money, i realized that my end goal was much bigger than a short term paycheck. i want to create videos that cultivate genuine connection over shared interests and experiences in life, not just 60 second no context videos for people to leave hate comments on..

I want to attract a community of people who relate on a deeper level, who feel more like friends than followers. That is why I am shifting my youtube content into more of a podcast style, that is why i am putting more of my focus on hosting Grounded Retreats where I bring my online community offline in nature together to camp, do yoga, meditate, journal and relax. speaking of, we just launched the signups for our Oregon Retreat at Cedar Bloom HipCamp this October 2-5th and you can find more details down in the description.

my end goal:

connect with other people who love the outdoors and yoga through videos and in-person retreats to hopefully save enough money one day own my own plot of land to host retreats on in the future!

My end goal isn’t to be on the road forever and ever. I am enjoying traveling and petsitting today so that I can find a place I wouldn’t mind settling down in the future and continue creating in a way that fosters community, not burnout.

So, what’s my takeaway for you today?

Remember that the you who exists today might not even be able to imagine what your life might look like 1, 5, even 10 years from now. So you can set your goals now and start approaching them one step at a time, but make sure to leave yourself a little wiggle room for the unimaginable.

Okay, that is all the rambling I have for you today, thank you so much for listening or watching this new creative project of mine, I am so happy you are here, if you made it all the way to the end of the episode leave a comment down below - what’s your end goal .. right now? If you enjoyed this episode please consider liking and sharing it with someone you know who might resonate with it, share it to your Instagram story and tag @alaunaroby I would love to connect with you all over there, and I will see you all in the next episode!