Bernie Borges [00:00:00]:
Viveca von Rosen, welcome to the Midlife Fulfill Podcast, a maximum episode.
Viveka von Rosen [00:00:07]:
Thank you so much. Take 2. We tried to do this when I was in Costa Rica.
Bernie Borges [00:00:12]:
That’s right. That’s right. A flash This is take 2. Now now my listener knows something that that they didn’t know before. This is our second attempt. Well, Viv, look, I wanna disclose to my listener. You and I have known each other for quite a while. I consider you like a sister.
Bernie Borges [00:00:32]:
I really do. We’ve worked together. We’ve broken bread together at events as well as with our spouses in a social setting. Yeah. So we have some history. And, Viv, I’ve invited you here to really teach, if you will, on something related to legacy. I’m talking a lot about legacy these days, a lot. And you’re all about legacy in a in kind of a different way.
Bernie Borges [00:00:59]:
Really, you help women build legacy businesses. So we’ll get to that. We’ll get to that. But first, 5th, why don’t you share your backstory? Share your backstory with my listener.
Viveka von Rosen [00:01:10]:
Yeah. You know, I first of all, I feel like I came out of the womb with a microphone in my hand. So I’ve always loved teaching. I’ve always loved speaking, being on stage, and I thought that meant being a teacher. You know, that didn’t work out. And then it meant being a speaker, and I was known as the LinkedIn expert for a very long time, and that was great. And I just got to this point in my life where I’m like, okay. I’ve got these skill sets, and I love doing the things, but the message wasn’t tugging at my heart anymore.
Viveka von Rosen [00:01:54]:
You know, I was really getting a sense of there’s gotta be more to life than this. And even though I had reached everything on my dream board, you know, the the worldwide speaking career and the books and the and all the things, I, you know, there was a sense of disease. And I really came to that pivot point in my life when I was in a hospital bed working on grants going, what the heck am I doing? Like, if this is all there is, I don’t wanna I don’t wanna pop off writing grants. Like, there’s gotta be more to life than this. And so my most recent pivot, has taken me into what I feel at least is the beginnings of my my my calling or my life’s work.
Bernie Borges [00:02:40]:
Yeah. So, again, that’s what this whole podcast is about. Right? It’s it’s fulfillment. Fulfillment. And as you know, Viv, I’m out there, you know, preaching the 5 pillars of fulfillment. Right? Health, fitness, career, relationships, and legacy. And legacy is a big one. And so you actually you help people develop a business focused on legacy.
Bernie Borges [00:03:09]:
So I wanna unpack that a little bit. Sure. Not like how you do that from a service offering standpoint, but, like, what’s the the, like, the meaning behind that? Like, why does someone wanna build a business as a legacy?
Viveka von Rosen [00:03:23]:
Yeah. And it I think there’s an internal and an external to that. So I firmly believe that we were all put on this health with certain gifts to share and that we were all put on this earth for some reasons, if not one main reason. And so that’s that’s kind of the internal part of it. The external part of legacy is and how many people can I affect with this legacy said, you know, the internal, as I’ve already said, you know, the speaking, the writing, the teaching, like, I feel like those are gifts that I need to share. The external is and my kind of my one message to the world is women’s words change the world. So I’m I’m not about me anymore, and I think that’s a big shift too when it comes to legacy is it’s usually about helping a greater community and not just putting more money in your in your in your, bank account. So for me, my external is and how many women can I help develop their legacies and and how many of their legacies can together we share into the world so that it really makes a shift? Because legacy isn’t just a job.
Viveka von Rosen [00:04:35]:
It’s not just a business. It really is about shifting mindsets, about shifting communities, and potentially about shifting the world.
Bernie Borges [00:04:46]:
Yeah. I wanna come back to something you said. You said that, women’s words change the world. Unpack that for us.
Viveka von Rosen [00:04:56]:
Sure. Not to get political or anything, but we’re in a a beep show, you know, right now. I I just the the the world is not in a great place right now. And, again, not to get into my, you know, feminism roots, but I I feel like a lot of that is a typical patriarchal mindset. And it’s interesting. Interesting. And again, not to get into too much detail because we only have about 20 minutes more. When I was working on my master’s in Native American women’s autobiography because, you know, that’s relevant.
Viveka von Rosen [00:05:30]:
But it is. And and I learned all about the matriarchal cultures and the support of the matriarchy and the support of, and and really the elevation of the elders and in particular, the elder women. And those native communities were very healthy until good old white guys and women came in there, kinda messed things up a little bit. But but that whole matriarchal society is a very supportive society and it can create a very healthy community. And so for me, true authentic women’s voices, not this is why I work with the subset of women that I do. 2 authentic women’s voices, I think, have the compassion, the empathy, the understanding, and to what you spoke about earlier, the holistic mindset. Because it’s not just about driving business. It’s not just about putting money in our bank accounts.
Viveka von Rosen [00:06:27]:
It’s not just about the cool car and the the cute husband or wife and, you know, the big houses. It it’s more than that. And so it’s not that men can’t do this. Like, don’t get me wrong. There are men like, oh, I don’t know, say you, who are doing this exact thing right now. But for me, I feel like the feminine voice is needed to make the shifts that need to happen so that we can be a a thriving community nation and world.
Bernie Borges [00:07:00]:
So okay. So I think I’m following you on that. What I wanna understand even further now, Viv, is because I know that you’re focused on working with women that are in corporate and and looking to make a transition out of corporate. And these are probably accomplished women in, you know, in positions of authority and, in many cases, executives, that sort of thing. What are some of the things that you’re observing when you work with these women? What are some of the things that they’re struggling with? And by the same token, what are the the common I don’t know if talent is the right word, but, like, opportunities that are right in front of them that you help them fitness?
Viveka von Rosen [00:07:40]:
Yeah. And I I mean, I’m so many of my women are coming to mind right now. So the women, my age and older that I have chosen to work with
Bernie Borges [00:07:51]:
And you are in the fifties decade. Right?
Viveka von Rosen [00:07:53]:
Fifties decade. Yes. Exactly. Okay. We’re we came into the workforce in the seventies, eighties nineties, and that was a different workforce than what we have today. There are so many great coaches and and consultants out there that can help women in their thirties and forties and men in their thirties and forties. But for me, it’s like, I wanna work with my peeps, which is women who entered the workforce in the seventies, eighties nineties. One of the things that we had to do a lot was fit in with the boys.
Viveka von Rosen [00:08:23]:
Right? And a lot of my clients are very, very high level, and they’ve worked their way up very high in company. And they I I was talking to to a woman yesterday. Like, she had the little bow tie. Like, we had to literally dress like men, be like men, you know, do the things that the men were doing whether we wanted to or not because that’s how you fit in. And now as we’re getting older and we’re aging out whether we want to or not from these more traditional roles within these more traditional companies, what’s happening is there’s this feeling of, invisibility. I mean, it’s people literally closing doors in your figurative and real doors in your faces, you know, your voice not being heard, whether it’s at the bar or in the boardroom. And the problem is or the challenge is that these women are powerful. They’re smart.
Viveka von Rosen [00:09:27]:
They’re educated. They have so much life warning so much life’s learning. Say that three times quickly. And they’re they’re just being ignored. And so dealing with and this is what I had this is kinda what I went through too. Right? And so dealing with the mindset of I worked my butt off to get here. I broke
Bernie Borges [00:09:50]:
through the
Viveka von Rosen [00:09:50]:
bad ceilings. I mentored and brought up other people. You know, some of the people I mentored have surpassed me, and they’re the ones not listening to me anymore. I worked to get my name, LinkedIn expert. Right? But for them, like, they they they worked hard to get their subject matter expertise, their industry expertise, and it’s now all starting to get dismissed because of a few wrinkles and because it’s just not sexy anymore. And it’s it’s incredibly painful, and shedding that and it’s it’s it’s exhausting too. But shedding that, going, okay. I’m gonna release all of this that I built that no longer serves me.
Viveka von Rosen [00:10:41]:
That one mind shift, the the like, when I went from linkedin.comforward/insort forward slash linkedinexpert to linkedinforward/inforward/viva kvonrosin, Like, that shift, that mindset, it frees you. It’s, like, burning away what no longer serves you, and that’s why the phoenix is my logo. It’s burning away what no longer serves you so that you can now come out in your full power with your full voice. And quite frankly, women 50 plus, they don’t no longer give such a you know what about other people’s opinions. And that freedom from other people’s opinions also helps to amplify the voice. And so what I’m doing is helping them with that mind shift. And and it’s just this specific subset of of women, but helping them with that mind shift shift, helping them to uncover and find those gems, those gifts that they’ve had all along, but they probably tamped down because people told them they had to. I remember being told I laughed too much in my trainings.
Viveka von Rosen [00:11:51]:
Like, that’s a bad thing. And then helping them because I do have over 20 years of marketing and sales background. Yeah. Helping them then to start to create a fitness, which is a legacy, which does speak to their health, and then helping them to launch it into the world. And I don’t do everything. I mean, yay. I’ve got an amazing network and lots of resources. So if they want to write a book, great.
Viveka von Rosen [00:12:16]:
Let me find you the people that’ll help you do that. If you want to, you know, you wanna get on stages, let me help you do that. If you want Right. Develop a software program. Like, so I
Bernie Borges [00:12:27]:
yeah. So so, Viv, I talk about on this podcast, I’m constantly reinforcing the meaning of fulfillment because
Viveka von Rosen [00:12:36]:
Yes.
Bernie Borges [00:12:37]:
I’ve discovered, and I rediscover pretty much on a daily basis, that not everybody fully understands the concept of fulfillment. Yeah. And I talk about the distinction between happiness and fulfillment. Happiness is an emotion. It can be a fleeting emotion. It can go as fast as it came. And and it can be for any number of reasons, but fulfillment is more around some kind of an achievement. And it I I refer to it as, usually, it’s immutable.
Bernie Borges [00:13:03]:
When you have fulfillment about Yes. With something, it’s usually permanent and almost nothing can take that away. And then I also use another word to to describe fulfillment. I say that it’s in your soul. Mhmm. And we use the word soul as well. So maybe you can kinda speak to your version of soul and how that kinda correlates to my version of soul when it comes to fulfillment.
Viveka von Rosen [00:13:30]:
Yeah. I I you’re, you know, we’re so aligned. We’re so aligned. We might be using different words, but we’re so aligned in what we believe. As I said at the very beginning, like, I think we’re put on this earth with certain gifts that we need to share. And and to me, that’s those are your soul gifts. Those are the things that you came on to this health with. And if you recognize them, honor them, nurture them, that’s when I think we get to that fulfillment that you were talking about.
Viveka von Rosen [00:13:59]:
As long as you’re recognizing, honoring, and fulfilled, and sharing, the sharing part’s very important, sharing your gifts, then, yes, I think you’ve got that inner stability, that that integrity, and that fulfillment that is very, very hard to knock off track. So that’s where you get that inner stability that’s really hard to knock off track, like you said, or it’s impossible really to knock that off track. So to me, that is, you know, that’s our soul’s calling. That’s our life’s work. And that’s what I’m trying to uncover with my women so that they do have that. And it’s not a job. I mean, the the job and the work that you do can be part of it, but it’s it’s that bigger calling. It’s that bigger service.
Viveka von Rosen [00:14:44]:
And and one of the things that I’m finding is, certainly myself included, and I’ve mentioned this to you already, but it really is about being in service. It it it’s so much about being in service. And when you are in a place of serving other people, other people’s opinions and other things that just might happen in the day, you know, the car won’t start or you break a yeah. That just that it doesn’t have an effect. Like, you have better perspective. Exactly. More and better perspective. Absolutely.
Bernie Borges [00:15:19]:
So as you’re as you’re working with these women because you focused on supporting women, to what extent are they acknowledging what I call the f word? And, of course, I’m referring to fulfillment.
Viveka von Rosen [00:15:34]:
I it’s, you know, I I I love you using the word fulfillment. I might have to start using that word a little bit more too. It’s key. And it’s really interesting. I I I had a recent client and she was going down a slightly easier path. And I’m like, you gotta do you. Right? I’m gonna help you do whatever you feel you need to do. But in my heart and I told her, I’m like, I I feel like there’s more to life than the path that you’re choosing to go down right now, but maybe you need to go down this path right now for, you know, to feel supported and safe and all of those things.
Viveka von Rosen [00:16:08]:
And about about a week later, she’s like, can we talk about that other thing instead? And so now she’s on what I really feel is is is her divine path or her soul’s path. So it it it is important, and I am learning to say no or not to say no. Yes. To say no. I am learning to say no to people who aren’t willing to to travel that that path and do that work. Because again, there’s great coaches and consultants out there that can help them.
Bernie Borges [00:16:40]:
Yeah. Yeah. So do people that you work with, do they think in terms of building, a legacy fitness? Or are they thinking more in terms of, I wanna get a get out of corporate, and I wanna be my own boss and do my own thing and serve others. Right? But are they thinking about just that, or do they think in terms of the legacy fitness? And how does that work? Well,
Viveka von Rosen [00:17:07]:
they looked at my website. They know I’m focused on legacy, and, like, everything we talk about is legacy. But I think it’s I think it might be difficult to wrap your mind around that on the onset. So, you know, we we we delicately move in that direction. A lot of times because my women come from a more traditional corporate background, the whole idea of creating a legacy and being the CEO, the and, you know, you’re developing your inner CEO and creating the legacy might seem unreachable unreachable or might seem too big. But, you know, one of my required readings is is 10 x is easier than 2 x by, doctor Dan sell or Dan Sullivan and doctor Ben Hardy. And and just by reading slash listening to that, you know, it’s like, oh, okay. I get it.
Viveka von Rosen [00:18:01]:
And if I have this dream and if I can find the right who’s to support me, I can create a legacy and I can do it, you know, in a manner that’s not gonna take me 80 hours a week because that’s another big thing I talk about is, like, and that you talk about is having balance. This isn’t about just starting another 80 hour a week business. This is about finding that balance. In fact, my intake form is, you know, how many hours a week do you wanna work? How many weeks off do you want per year? And, you know, and how many clients do you need in order to reach that and let’s raise your prices so we can get you there. But it’s really, it’s it’s really about creating that legacy that lifestyle legacy. So a lifestyle that is healthy, supportive, holistic, and a legacy business that’s going to shift the world that we live in, and impacts, you know, 100, if not 1,000, if not millions of people.
Bernie Borges [00:19:05]:
Okay. Before I ask you my next question, let legacy fill you in on something else that I observe all the time in the context of interviewing people and featuring people on the Midlife Fulfill podcast. I already talked about one of them, and that is just the understanding of fulfillment. The other one is the the understanding of legacy. Like, what is legacy? A lot of people, Viv, I have discovered kinda have this impression of legacy being something humongous and unreachable. Like like, I’m gonna have an impact on the world. Right? And and so I’m always talking about how legacy it’s the right the right word is impact, but it’s impact on fill in the blank, whatever that fill in the blank is, and it’s totally
Viveka von Rosen [00:19:48]:
It might be your family. Yeah.
Bernie Borges [00:19:50]:
Yeah. Exactly. It could be Like a person. Absolutely.
Viveka von Rosen [00:19:54]:
It could
Bernie Borges [00:19:55]:
be family. It could be a specific individual that is in your life, right, which may not be family may be family, may not be family. So what is that conversation like? You know, when you’re engaging with your clients, what’s the conversation just around legacy?
Viveka von Rosen [00:20:12]:
Yeah. It’s I’m glad you brought that up. I think because I tend to attract with with my whole women’s words change the world, the whole changing the world part, I tend to attract women who are thinking bigger type legacy. But it might be an industry that they wanna shift or and or it might be a culture that they wanna shift or it might be the world that they wanna shift. So our conversations around legacy tend to be bigger just because of of who they are and what they wanna create. But that being said, I, again, I love what you’re saying because for me, I mean, I might just impact 22 women. Just fulfilled that number. But those 22 women might impact 22,000,000 women.
Viveka von Rosen [00:20:58]:
And so right?
Bernie Borges [00:20:59]:
That’s right.
Viveka von Rosen [00:21:00]:
For me, my legacy might might be small. I I don’t think it’s gonna be, but it might be small, but the the threads go far. And and I think that is an legacy that the women in New York with the female lawyers in New York are you know, if you can find a way to empower them, they, in turn, maybe empower female lawyers everywhere that employer empowers lawyers everywhere that empowers the world and shifts the world. So it it might be a small it might be a a a small action and the butterfly effect. Right? It might be a small action that has massive consequences.
Bernie Borges [00:21:51]:
So, Viv, what are you seeing in terms of what that journey looks like? You know, embracing the concept of legacy, that alone can be somewhat of a journey, which can be unique to each individual. But then what’s the actual journey to actually build the plan and go do that thing that’s gonna create that legacy? What are you seeing?
Viveka von Rosen [00:22:10]:
I had to say, I am so impressed with the women that I’m working with. I I’ve in the past, because I haven’t chosen my clients necessarily, you know, you you I’ve in the past worked with people resistant to change and resistant to taking on and trying out the strategies. These women are powerful. Like, I am blown away at how quickly they are adopting the the practices, the strategies. And and in many cases, they already had some, if not all of the practices in place, that I recommend. And so it is mind blowing to see their trajectory. And then then I I mean, I do have 1 or 2 that that, you know, are are are pushing against their own their own psyches and their own belief systems and their own mindsets, and and it’s coming a little bit slower. But to a woman, the movement has been has been very impressive.
Viveka von Rosen [00:23:14]:
And again, while I didn’t put it out there that I wanted to work with speakers and authors, that’s who I’m getting. And I’m just I I’m just I can’t wait to see, you know, what what happens. Now I’ve only been at this for 6 months, so we’ll have another call in a career, and I’ll let you know.
Bernie Borges [00:23:31]:
Yeah. But I wanna say something important on that, Viv. Because my my listener may not be a speaker Right. Or an author. That’s that’s who you happen to Yeah. Work with. And and that’s that’s great. Yeah.
Bernie Borges [00:23:43]:
That’s fantastic. But, I want I wanna say something, and then I’m gonna invite you to put your personal exclamation point on it, Viv. And that is that this whole legacy fulfillment thing, it’s available to all of us. It doesn’t matter what you do, what your title is, what your role is, individual contributor or not. It does not matter. So please put your your exclamation point
Viveka von Rosen [00:24:11]:
in that. Again, the author speakers just happens to be who I’m attracting for whatever reason. But, yes, absolutely. All walks of life, you know, being a better gardener, being a better salesperson, if that’s your legacy, being a better those are the 2 accountant. I can’t imagine that. But, anyway, you know, whatever it is that is your soul’s calling, that’s the legacy piece of it. Like, just get being a better artist, being a better musician, like, that’s the legacy piece of it. And it may not be your job and it may not be what financially supports you, but that’s the voice that people remember.
Viveka von Rosen [00:24:56]:
That’s that intrinsic piece of you that people are gonna remember when when you leave the room. Right? And so that that’s really the legacy. It’s it’s the alignment with your soul’s calling.
Bernie Borges [00:25:10]:
Exactly. And and I wanna actually pick up on something that you said. I I don’t want it to be lost, and that is it doesn’t have to be a career shift. Like, you can stay in your current career, but go pursue something that is a legacy fulfillment goal. And it could be something you do in your spare time. But it but if you’ve been thinking about it and you haven’t done it, then it’s it’s really about putting in a plan to feed your soul to go do that thing, even if it is a a a hobby. Not a hobby, but something you do outside of work.
Viveka von Rosen [00:25:45]:
Like, if you if you’ve always wanted to learn to play the ukulele, learn it. If you’ve always wanted to learn Spanish, like, pick up Duolingo. If you all you know? Start feeding your soul. Start feeding your soul.
Bernie Borges [00:25:58]:
Yeah. I love that. Love that. Viv, where can people connect with you and just learn more about you and about your hang gliding adventures and your Costa Rica adventures and your legacy adventures.
Viveka von Rosen [00:26:14]:
So, the website, beyond the dream board dot com, is a good place to start. All my socials are on there. My about me is there. If you go to beyond the dream board.comforward/welcome, there’s a lot of resources there as health, and you can, you know, jump on the phone phone with me if you’ve got any questions. Of course, LinkedIn. Of course, now it’s under my name. It’s Viveka von Rosen instead of LinkedIn expert. But you’ll you’ll see a lot of what I do there.
Viveka von Rosen [00:26:41]:
And, I I reclaim my name on all the socials. So I’m Viveka von Rosen on Instagram. I’m Viveka von Rosen on TikTok. I’m
Bernie Borges [00:26:48]:
And it’s all strung
Viveka von Rosen [00:26:49]:
together. Right? It’s all one word. Yes. Strung together.
Bernie Borges [00:26:52]:
There’s no
Viveka von Rosen [00:26:52]:
No dashes or anything. Yeah.
Bernie Borges [00:26:55]:
Gotcha. Fantastic. Well, Viv, like I said earlier, you are like a sister to me, and you’ve got a wealth of of experience and wisdom and, just a heart to share, with the world. And I love to see what you’re doing and how you are impacting the impact that you’re having on these 22 or 42 or 102, whatever the number is, women who, who in turn are impacting so many other people. So you are leaving your own legacy just by doing that. So, Biv, thank you so much for joining me today on this episode of the Midlife Fulfill podcast, a maximum episode.
