How To Break Free From Family Expectations And Boldly Pursue Your Dreams with Roger Wolfson

How do you pursue your dreams when those closest to you don't support them? What mindset shifts can help you transform your career and life? How does networking and a spiritual practice play into achieving your ambitions? How can you turn setbacks into powerful comebacks and find joy in the process? In this captivating episode of the Daily Joyride podcast, host Robyn Cohen interviews Roger Wolfson, a multifaceted screenwriter, lawyer, and speechwriter, about his remarkable journey from Capitol Hill to Hollywood. They discuss overcoming family resistance, the power of staying positive, and practical steps to ignite creativity and resilience. Tune in to learn how focusing on your passions and believing in your dreams can profoundly impact your life and career.

Connect with Roger Wolfson: https://www.rogerwolfson.com/

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Time Stamps:
00:00 Welcome to the Daily Joyride Podcast
00:56 Introducing Roger Wolfson
01:35 Join My Acting Classes
02:50 Roger Wolfson's Journey
03:39 Roger's Career in Politics and Law
08:16 Transition to Hollywood
18:25 Lessons Learned and Advice
20:30 Spiritual Practices and Beliefs
35:21 The Headshot Game
35:56 Navigating Life's Challenges
38:33 The Power of Positive Thinking
40:27 Miraculous Moments
47:21 The Legacy of Positivity
55:39 Practical Wisdom for Creators
57:56 The Joy of Creation
01:01:12 Final Reflections and Gratitude

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...See you on the next ride!

Transcript

Robyn Cohen: 0:38

Hello, wonderful community. I'm so happy to welcome you back to our enchanted gathering space, the Daily Joyride podcast. I'm Robyn Cohen, and today we get to embark on a journey filled with remarkable intrigue, expertise, and inspiration. with none other than the Dynamo screenwriter, television writer, professor, and political speech writer, Roger Wolfson, the breadth of his experience in show business and politics, combined with his spiritual immersion and beautiful heart, stands as a beacon of hope and inspiration that we're just going to bathe in today. I'm really seeing now more than ever how much the world needs the light that you have inside of you to shine. And Roger is the kind of guide that actually ignites other people to a degree that ensures their unique gifts will see the light of day, You'll want to share this with everyone you know. So gather up your friends, your loved ones, and let's immerse ourselves into a conversation of evolution and inspired living Speaking of creative community and art that changes your life, I'm so excited to invite you to my acting classes that are starting this Tuesday, January 28th. I'm opening up my online workshop to all auditors for free through February, and if you'd like to jump in and act, there's still time to sign up to work on stage in the Zoom room before January 27th. That's the deadline to register class starts on January 28th, And you can let it rip and let your artistry soar. Whether you're working as a professional actor or just creatively curious, you're gonna get your spirit fed, and expand your arts and crafts toolkit. So slide into my DMs on Instagram at Robyncohenactingstudio or email me Robyn@CohenActingStudio.com. It's all in the show notes and be part of something that's going to light up your life brighter than ever before. Speaking of blazing creative fire, that is what this episode is. So let's dive in with the Charisma King himself, Roger Wolfson. Here we go. Hello, hello, and welcome back to the daily joyride podcast. I'm so excited. I'm actually already I'm already emotional. What's new? I have a friend for Wow. I think it's almost three decades that I've known you. Roger Wolfson is on the show today, and I am gonna read an official bio about Roger which is, it's sort of mind blowing, but like, if I was just sort of impromptu coming up with this bio about who Roger is, it would take the entire Episode like it would literally be like here's Roger and some of the things that he's done in the world and then our time would be up. but in general, Roger is one of my best friends I've known him since my teens, literally. I met him in between, I think, my freshman and sophomore year at Juilliard And Roger, when I met him, was working on Capitol Hill, was practicing law, You had actually majored in theater at one point back in the day and then you were in politics and working in the Senate and on Capitol Hill and a lawyer And then you were getting another degree in creative writing, and you were at Johns Hopkins, and then you were moving out to Hollywood, and then you were on five of the biggest smash hit television shows on the face of the planet. In addition to writing movies and doing all the things that you do on the left coast, you've continued to be, in the world of politics and helping, public figures and speech writers and former presidents and it's amazing. It's a panoply of, uh, Areas that you've been moving and shaking in Roger and it's mind blowing. Here's what AI had to say about you. This is what, this

Roger: 4:41

is,

Robyn Cohen: 4:42

this

Roger: 4:42

is what, this is why, I'm just scared of my AI. Go ahead. Okay, here's what

Robyn Cohen: 4:50

Here's what the robots are saying about Roger Wolfson. Okay, folks, so Roger Wolfson is a visionary. That's already all true. I think they've nailed it. They've nailed it already. whose career spans television writing, law, education, and politics. Raised in New Haven, Connecticut, Roger's passion for storytelling and justice led him to earn a B. A. in theater from Vassar College, where my dear Aunt June went, an M. A. in writing from Johns Hopkins University, and a J. D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. His diverse career includes writing for notable TV series like Law Order, SVU, and The Closer, Fantasy Date earned Keira Sedgwick her first Emmy nomination. This is all true so far. This is not fake news. This is all true. In the political arena, Roger served as a legislative assistant and speechwriter for Senator John Kerry, contributing to significant legislations, including the first bill in Congress to outlaw cop killer bullets.

Roger: 6:11

Wow.

Robyn Cohen: 6:12

Yeah, they're on point. These robots know what they're talking about. As an educator, he has taught advanced screenwriting courses at Johns Hopkins University, mentoring the next generation of writers. Today, we're going to get to explore Rogers. Remarkable journey. And also discuss how he bridges the gap between the worlds of storytelling, law, and public service to create such a meaningful impact. So, I think they, I think they really told the truth about who you are. I mean, they, really just told the truth. put the bones out there. there's so much that we could talk about that would flesh out, your, your political adventures, the world of your screenwriting, your TV shows, your theater background. I mean, we have a podcast for each area of your life, Roger. But I think to start out, what I'm hearing from, from my students and a lot of the people, the creatives and non creatives who might be listening in today. There are a lot of people out there in the world that, like you, have so many, you're, you're multi passionate human beings. I mean there's any number of things that you could put yourself into fully and, enjoy doing and thrive in those areas. And, you know, I have people come to me that are, let's say, not actors, right? And they're working in jobs that they, anywhere from tolerate to hate. And they're interested in, joining the field of arts and crafts and they're ready to take, you know, the next leap to come to Hollywood, to go to New York and try their hand at something that they're really wildly enthusiastic about, excited about, and they're also terrified to do. So. Just off the bat, how did you go from the world in which you were swimming in, in Washington D. C. and in law, to, this is, really this is going to be a one question, one answer that takes up the whole podcast, but, can you share for people who are interested in making huge career moves like you did. how you did that or what supported you in doing that, how you got there, how you managed to literally catapult yourself into an entirely new realm professionally.

Roger: 8:52

of

Robyn Cohen: 8:52

course, what's, yeah. And what's one thing or a couple of things that people could do to follow that lead.

Roger: 9:00

Well, of course, I'd be happy to do so. And I just want to start by thanking you for having me and tell everybody who is in your audience. Uh, that I really had one of the great benefits of my life is knowing Robyn Candace Cohen for God, like almost 30 years now, you know, it's just been remarkable to grow up with you. Um, and I'll tell you the story because the story, my story might on some level be motivational for some people, but I think in terms of the lessons learned. It's probably that might be the more helpful portion of it, but I would say as a word of preface that one of the reasons that I felt comfortable coming out here was because I knew Robyn Candace Cohen, and you'd already come out here before me. So you had a big role in that. And you remember the very first time I came out to Los Angeles to scope it out, I hung out with you, and you introduced me to Deborah Kahn and Lori Schneide, who's now Rabbi Shapiro. Um, and it really, and Deborah Kahn now has The Diplomat on the air, and was a writer for The West Wing, and she helped give me guidance on my first West Wing script. So Robyn, you played a really very important role in my life, and I think that's part of the lessons learned, which is sort of section two of my answer. How, uh, what, what does it take to get out here? And what does it take to get established? And part of it is finding people who are here, having relationships with them, and asking them questions. Uh, and which is something Robyn models very well. So in terms of my actual story, I, uh, I came to Los Angeles late because really my, my family, I mean, who I love very much, uh, but my family heavily influenced me and steered me away from drama. Um, Robyn, I don't know, I'm not sure if you know, but when I was 11 years old, I was offered a, a major role at the Yale Repertory Theater, uh, as a kid and my parents didn't let me take it. And then I ended up kind of aimless in high school because I wasn't, I hadn't been encouraged to do what I love to do when I underperformed in high school. And it wasn't until I got to college where I majored in drama that I suddenly became this overachiever because I think it's very important for us and for our children and for our families, not that you and I have kids yet, but to remember that a happy child is an effective child. And if you let someone follow their passions, they're probably more likely to excel at whatever they do. And so I think that's a good lesson for all of us. Um, I ended up, uh, going to, uh, Vassar, majoring in drama, doing very well. And then my parents bribed me to go to law school. I wanted to go to Juilliard, like you did Robyn, and or Yale drama school. And I applied to both of them, but then I got into Penn law first. And my parents said, if you go to Penn, we'll pay for it. If you go to drama school, we won't. So I decided to get my free law degree and then go to drama school. But after three years, of law school, my acting skills have atrophied somewhat. And I applied to Juilliard and Yale, and that was the only, those are the only two auditions I ever went out on. And I made like a callback or something to Juilliard. Um, Yale, I don't think they have one, but I didn't get into either of them. And that was discouraging enough for me, for me that I decided, okay, I'll just be a writer. I applied to Brown to get my PhD in creative writing and got in. And then my parents said, if you don't practice law, we're not going to pay back your law loans. So once again, I was kept from, and I, but I really want to be clear about this. I'm not some victim and my parents aren't some monsters. I got that. If I really wanted it, like if I wanted as badly as like, look, we look at Robyn Cohen here. This woman won the Juilliard prize at Juilliard for being the most outstanding student there. You could have had a spectacular career in dance if you wanted it. Um, you could have had perhaps the only guaranteed career in dance someone can get, but you wanted to act and you didn't care and you just did it. I wanted to act or write and I apparently didn't care enough to push through, push past my parents resistance and the resistance of the world. And so I ended up practicing law, civil rights. And then I went down and worked in Washington DC writing law. And I was counsel or chief counsel or legislative assistant and speechwriter to four senators in a row, two of them simultaneously, Ted Kennedy and Paul Wellstone. And then, as you mentioned earlier, I got my master's degree in creative writing while I was working in the Senate because I knew that But even though I loved what I was doing, I wasn't doing what I loved. And even though what I did was important and it was on the news and it felt relevant, it wasn't creatively satisfying and I knew that I didn't want to die with the song still in me. Got my master's degree, but still I wouldn't have done it. Um, I was already over 30 when, um, one of my, uh, because I had a law firm on the side when, uh, Marilyn Haft, that's her name, and she'd been the former, uh, Secretary, U. S. Envoy to the, uh, to the U. N. And she said, Roger, if you wait much longer, you're not gonna be able to do it. It was the most. It was the most faithful conversation I ever really had. Um, and that's when I realized I had to get out there and that combined with the death of Senator Paul Wellstone. So, Paul Wellstone was the center. Well, I love the most. Who is alive now. I think he'd be president. He would have. He was the most remarkable politician I ever met and one of the most remarkable human beings I ever encountered. And he was killed in a plane crash in 2002. And it was a plane that I could have been on. I don't, I'm not going to pretend I had a ticket to it or anything, but I traveled with him and I, I cared about him and I liked doing it and I'd actually helped recruit one of the staffers who was on the plane with him when he died. And she died as well. Her name was Mary McEvoy. So those combination of factors finally made me say, I have to do this. And I did it. In probably somewhat, either you can call it spectacular fashion, or you can call it misguided, you can call it moronic, you could call it adventurous. It is what it is. I sold all my possessions, including my condo in Washington, D. C. I bought a 42 foot catamaran named Kinship, and I sailed it halfway around the world. And I landed in Los Angeles by boat. Which is part of the reason why created pun intended, a little bit of a splash. When I got here, um, I was I had had a good story and, uh, I arrived in March of oh three and I was rep by CAA in April and I was staffed in June. So after all that feeling like, oh, I would never make a living in a creative profession, it happened for me very quickly. Now, I applied in East Coast work ethic to my writing. The West Wing was on the air, so I was able to write a TV spec about West Wing, which was considered to be one of the better TV specs. for the West Wing that had ever been written. Um, I got good notes from Debora Cahn, from Mark Goffman. These are both showrunners who at the time were writing for, uh, Sorkin. And, uh, and then I, I wrote a shield, which, was just about, you know, a law show, a cop show, a dirty cop show. And I had no experience with that show, but I wrote that shield spec in two weeks. And that was what made CAA think this guy's the real deal. And that's why they got me staffed. And David Shore, the creator of, um, The Good Doctor and House. was my mentor on my very first script, uh, for a TV show called Century City. And then it just, you know, blossomed from there. And I did write for five shows, uh, and then I started selling. Um, I sold my first pilot, I think in 2006, within three years of arriving here. And it sold in a bidding war between five studios. And it established me as a real player in the, in the TV industry. And since then I've sold 12 TV shows. None of them, by the way, have made it to the air, which is another lesson for everybody out there, which is that you, the important thing to do is be good. Uh, continue to develop your craft because then even if you don't get the success that you want, even if they didn't all get ordered, I can still sell because the work product speaks for itself. No one reads my scripts and says, Oh, I can understand why that didn't make it to the air. And they read my scripts and they're like, why the hell did that make it to the air? And they want to buy more. So that's cool. And then last year, um, I sold my first screenplay and that, um, went beautifully. And now there are Academy Award winning directors attached. And so my TV, my feature career is off to a rolling start, which is maybe where, where I would have have started 20 years ago. So, I mean, there's so many, the whole story of almost everybody in Hollywood, unless you've already become a smash success. is a story of perhaps mistakes made, great things happening. It's just a story. And, uh, my story, I feel very good about, you know, and I feel good about what I've done. I feel, I feel now that I'm a better writer than I've ever been. I feel now that I'm a better person than I've ever been. I think I'm more ready for my closeup than ever before. I think if I'd succeeded, if that first series had gone to the air, I don't know. Maybe I would have, maybe I would have self destructed. You know, I certainly have, uh, made my share of, of people who are conflicted about me and people who would kill for me. And there's people in town who really love me and people in town who don't. That's also part of having a big career. Anyway, just rounding out the political part, I, um, you know, I didn't want to go back to politics, but then Joe Lieberman ran for president and John Kerry ran for president and Elizabeth Warren, who'd been my law professor, ran for president and Bernie Sanders, who was a mentee of Senator Wellstone, ran for president. And I ended up writing speeches for all these people. So I, um, and I was just, you know, a speechwriter on the very low level for the 2020 Biden campaign. And I was involved in the Kamala Harris. Uh, campaign recently, which I prefer not to talk about just because it's too painful and too, too raw. But for lessons learned, I think that the three things I would say are most important is hone your craft, really hone it. When Robyn, you're an example of that. I've never seen anybody throw themselves at their talent more than you and continue to improve every year. Every performance I see you in and, um, I should give a plug for your two performances that are coming this weekend and next weekend of, uh, What The Constitution Means To Me, but I've, you know, hone a craft. The second is, uh, and this was a lesson I wish I'd kind of learned a little bit earlier, which is that networking is not your primary goal, but you really want to be the guy or the girl, the person who people really enjoy working with. And when I came to Los Angeles, I came with a Washington DC mentality. And my job was to get the bill passed. I didn't care if anybody liked me. Get the bill passed. What mattered was the result. That's not true of Los Angeles. What matters is the process, far more than the result for most people here, because it's a creative mentality. And I think that there are probably bridges I unnecessarily burn, but also lifelong friendships I've developed. I, you know, it has been ultimately a success story. Uh, but I think be the person that people want to work with. Be positive. Be collaborative. And the third, and perhaps the most important lesson of all, is, for me at least, is to develop an active spiritual practice. where you truly believe in yourself, you believe in your, um, you believe the good things are coming. This is not a town for pessimists. Now, that's not to say there aren't pessimists here and that some of them aren't successful. But, you know, I'm often asked what's the difference between the East Coast and the West because I have so much experience in both. And I often say that people say that people in Los Angeles are more beautiful than they are in New York, although New York has its, or Washington. I don't necessarily agree with it physically, but I agree with it spiritually because I think that people in Los Angeles by and large came here to follow a dream. They came here to follow a dream. New York, you go there to make money. Washington DC, you go there to either have prestige or power or to change the world. Los Angeles, you go there because you want to create. And so I think the reason people are pretty here is because they're glowing, whether they're succeeding or failing they are doing something that they know they are meant to do, and they love it. And that way the challenges become romantic, and the failures become hopeful for the future, and the successes are nothing but sweet.

Robyn Cohen: 22:00

That is, that's like listening to the most. Beautiful. Orchestral. Music. Ever. Thank you for that. I'm so Aren't you just all like, knocked back by Roger's heart? Married with his fierce intelligence, wisdom, and spiritual precision. It's like this incredible combination of, to hear you talk, those three things. Hone your craft. Do the thing. Do the thing. All the time, every day. Why? Because you love it. I love what you said. You know, you were doing something you loved, not what you loved to do. So getting connected with that deeply, you know, in the, in sometimes it takes getting really quiet. Sometimes I find it takes getting really quiet to be able to hear the voice that is that North Star saying, this is, This is your calling. It's okay. Come on along. And then you're talking about an attitude of sort of positive expectation that people want to work with. And I think it's true. I think it's enthusiasm. What is the honey to the bees? I think it's people want energy. Do you know what I mean? Like, they buy it in bottles, pills, minerals, all kinds of prescription and non. Energy, right? Like, on the daily, it seems that people are really wanting to align themselves with some energetic force, whether that be artificial or from the natural world or with people. But I love that because I think it's something that we step over.

Roger: 24:02

I'll offer two. Two refinements to that. one is a literary reference and it goes, I I'm reminded when you talk like that of a book by James Michener called the source, which is a beautiful book about a dig in Jerusalem where on the very first chapter, they go down 14 levels and find 14 different artifacts. And then every successive chapter afterwards goes down to those goes artifact by artifact and tells a story based that that will at some point involve it. And there was one point in there and I forget the time period I'm thinking it probably has, um, probably in the 1700s, when there were three rabbis that are followed in this one chapter in Israel, one of them was a great intellect. Somebody who was tremendous at picking apart the, uh, the Talmud and breaking down Jewish law. The other was, I've forgotten what the other was, but it was probably some sort of a leader. I really don't know. I don't remember. But the third was a somewhat obese kind of Falstaffian character who just loved God. loved God and was always so happy and was always just like, look, we, you know, there, there are Jewish people around the world who don't get to pray. We get to pray, we get to be public about our religion. We get to be public. What we love most, and frankly I'm saying this, you know, Jew to Jew because I know we were both raised up Jewish, Jewish on the East coast. I haven't always seen that in Judaism. Um, but I can recognize that in any craft. It's the one that loves it. That person gets promoted on some level. And if you look at it from a spiritual context and you, you look at life as, let's say like a supermarket where everybody has different jobs, which is the cashier that gets promoted to assistant manager. The one who's complaining about how hard the job is. The one who loves checking people out and talking to customers are going down the aisle and it's just happy and enjoying the state that they're already in. That's the one that gets promoted on a spiritual level. I think that happens to us too. The second thing I'll say is I've heard you say about honing the craft, about working really hard. And there's nothing wrong with inspired effort. And I'm a big believer in it. And I have grown as an artist by doing so. But I've also learned on a spiritual context that it is my energy that creates my work. More often than my effort. Yes. And I have learned how to stay in a place of a receptive mode of just really believing that things are coming my way and I don't have to hold them tightly in my fist. I can open my palm and let them land on, you know, and I think that that attitude, I know when I've started my day right, I know when my spiritual practice is firing on all cylinders, when I'm naturally optimistic and I'm looking forward to that next email or phone call from whoever it may be. When I'm truly looking forward to it, I know it's going to be good news. I know that, you know, when my friend Robyn calls me, she's going to be playing the, you know, the Bee Gees in the background, and we're going to dance together. Like, I know things are going to be wonderful. And I do believe that when we focus on what we really want, and people come to this town with big, big wants, We're either happy or sad depending on the result that we're focusing on. If we're focusing on, I love this, I love this, I love this, but it's never going to work out, or this person's not calling, or that's not going to happen, we're going to be sad. But if we're focused on, I love what I'm doing, and I just am looking forward to hearing from this person, and I'm really focusing on the result that I want. Then we're going to be happy and we're going to be helping make that result happen. And these are the great, and these are the lessons I've learned from this town from life. And these are the lessons that I practice on a daily basis. They're my daily joy ride.

Robyn Cohen: 28:10

Ah, what a roller coaster. What a magnificent resplendent wild ride it is. And hearing you speak about these areas of life and the refinements, it's all a spiritual practice. Is what is coming through. It's what you just shared is, yes, of course, the significance of, you know, you got to get as you did with the best teachers and the best people that you can learn and grow from, of course. And get the practicals and the tools, but everything that you just shared, it's all under the umbrella of where your mind is set, where your heart is centered, what your intention is, you know, you're talking about receptivity, which I believe is part of a spiritual practice. What, what do you do, Roger? just to get a little bit deeper into that, you do occur as, first of all, you haven't aged in 30 years, which is alarming, wonderful, a little frightening to look at, but like, I just, but

Roger: 29:34

you guys, Part of it was because I became a vegetarian at your house some And by the way, I don't know, I'm maybe exaggerating the years. I don't know if it's 30. We're not talking about years. We don't talk about years on this show. We don't talk about dates on the calendar. We just say, yeah, I became ve every, for those of you on this audience, I became a vegetarian at Robyn Candace Cohen's house. Um, because her mother, Leslie, um, just happened to have some cottage cheese on hand. Because I was, I was studying Buddhism at the time and the Buddhist teacher that I wanted to study under only accepted vegetarians. This was before there was a word vegan, at least not that I knew of. I'm a vegan now, but at the time it was just vegetarian. And I, and Leslie, Robyn's absolutely, if you think, if you think Robyn's delicious, which she is, you also need to meet Leslie and Heather and Max. Thanks. Uh, but Leslie offered me lunch and I said, you know, I've been thinking about going vegetarian. Do you happen to have any, uh, protein, uh, that isn't meat? And she said, I've got some cottage cheese. And I said, I'm a vegetarian. And that was that. So that's, that's why I haven't aged. Uh, but in terms of the actual practice, you know, I, and this is an important one. I want to read a poem to your audience because I really think that one of the great things is that everybody in Los Angeles has the title on some level ever, some level or another of creator. Yes. That's great. Yes. Because everybody, every human being, whether they're Los Angeles or not, whatever profession they're doing, is a creator. We're, we tend to be slightly more conscious of it because of our craft. Um, but this is the poem. It's by, uh, Jesse Bell Rittenhouse.

Robyn Cohen: 31:22

Wonderful.

Roger: 31:24

I bargained with life for a penny. And life would pay no more. However, I begged at evening when I counted my scanty store. For life is a just employer. It gives you what you ask. But once you have set the wages, why, you must bear the task. I worked for menials higher, only to learn dismayed that any wage I had asked of life Life would have paid.

Robyn Cohen: 31:53

Ask and it is given.

Roger: 31:54

Any wage I had asked of life, life would have paid. And some versions of this online have it life would have willingly paid. But the idea is that we set our wages. We set our wages with our thoughts and our beliefs. If we believe this is as far as I'm gonna go and that's why I'm just aiming for that. I'm aiming for a good solid mid level of this. So be it. You know, I really believe that almost every thought that we have that comes out of our head has a so be it afterward. If I believe that I can achieve what I want to achieve, so be it. If I believe that I can't, so be it. And I think that, look, this is not to say that we succeed without talent, although we can, because plenty of people do. It's not to say we succeed without effort, because we don't. Plenty of people do. I think this is to say to be the best version of yourselves, dear audience. To be the best version and the most effective version of yourself and to be on your own team. The idea is to really believe that you're going to get what you want. Believe in your own worthiness. Believe in your own abilities. Believe that if luck is involved, you're one of the lucky ones. I also think that this, that any of this should be what I would call spiritual bypass or shallow or that it's just be like, oh, you know, I've got big wide eyes and I think everything is, everything's always perfect. No, no, it's, it's much deeper practice than that. It's about really seeing that there are many different sides of reality and focusing on the sides of reality, of reality, something that's true, focusing on that part that's good. You know, most likely if you're listening to this broadcast, you've met Robyn, you've already begun networking, you're here because you want to be in this, in this industry, you've already probably made some sort of fundamental choice to come here, to study here. To get to know people you've already done of the things that quote unquote need to be done. You've done a whole list of them. Why not? You know, and yet have you got as many credits to your name on IMDb as you want or not? I don't know. Maybe you have, maybe you haven't. But if you're focusing on what it's lacking, you're just going to create more lack. And if you're focusing on what you've already done and accomplished, what you're already doing, you're going to have more of that. You know, the way I phrase it is I was, I was feeling sickly this morning, a little bit of a cold. And I remembered that when I have a cold, there are 4 trillion cells in my body. Maybe a couple hundred thousand aren't functioning up to par. But almost 4 trillion are! Why wouldn't, why would I focus on the couple hundred thousand that aren't, that aren't doing so good? When I've got 4 trillion to pick up, they're doing wonderful, magnificent little things. And by so doing, by focusing on those positive, I feel better, I feel happier and the cold is going to go away faster. I believe it. Practice it. I'll bet a lot of you probably believe it. For those of you who don't, please feel free to reach out to me at any point and I will try and debate you or I will just love you and let.You believe what you want.

Robyn Cohen: 35:12

That's brilliant. I'm going to pause one second. My. video, because I think it might help my audio. I'm going to pause

Roger: 35:21

Yeah, you're, you are now just a headshot for me, but it's a lovely headshot.

Robyn Cohen: 35:24

I'm going to be a headshot just for a moment.

Roger: 35:26

I'll show the audience what my headshot is too, so we can play. Okay, good. Go ahead.

Robyn Cohen: 35:30

Let's play headshots. We're playing the headshot game. Oh, it's so

Roger: 35:32

good. Headshot is me giving a speech at the National Animal Rights Day, Uh, event in West Hollywood. And just, you know, Robyn, this happens on every zoom type talk show and podcast. There's always some sort of a, of a technical issue. Nobody, nobody cares.

Robyn Cohen: 35:50

It's so true. Nobody cares. What about, what about when we're in a place? Cause I'm so, keyed in with everything you're sharing, like. You get what you ask for, you're going to bring in what you're paying attention to, what you're focused on, and if that's lack and what you don't have, there's going to be more lack in what you don't have. And if you're continuing to stay focused on the beautiful vision of your life and your, your home, your relationships, your career, and just enjoying thinking about that It's a magnetic field. So we're going to attract that, which we are sort of where we're vibing. And if the vibe is, you know, just what you shared today about like, I'm sick, but how many trillions of cells are well and working miraculously beyond what we can even start to fathom in the human body.

Roger: 36:50

Right.

Robyn Cohen: 36:50

So I love that. what about when we, I'll just plain speak, how do we get out of the dumps so that we can even start believing? Like, what is the really, really, when we are, we're, we'll call it heartbroken. when we're feeling cracked open when we're feeling like it's just It has become, you know, it's the rejection, whether it's, you know, the relationship, the you've, you've been passed on again, you had the job, and then they fired you while you were on set, you finally got the part or your best friend, you know, your best enemy got the part, you know, when we're in those places, what do you do? How do we recover so that we can even get into a place where we can start to believe In what is possible because I think that's it's such a it's like the hurdle like I think most people we get to a place and we're in a feeling tone and you know, we're anywhere from you know, frustrated to rageful to sad to grief stricken and it's like Yeah, how do I, how do I get myself over the wall? So do you have a particular practice or something that you do that keeps you in a frame of mind where you can stay open and receptive and receiving the delights of the universe that you're enjoying thinking about? But there are days where that seems impossible for people like it's impossible. So what, what do we need to tell ourselves? Or do you tell yourself, you know, that, that. It puts you in a place where the miracles can just keep coming.

Roger: 38:33

Well, Robyn, um, you know, you'll probably recognize some of my principles and I'm, going to guess that many of your audience members might also recognize them as the law of attraction. And I've studied, uh, Esther Hicks. And Abraham Hicks, but also Neville Goddard and some of the precursors to both of them. I'm not a big fan of The Secret. so that's not where I go to for my information. but I do believe that this works and the best advice I can give you to that would come from Esther Hicks. From Abraham Hicks. The idea being that when we are negative, when we're down, that is the wrong time to try and problem solve. It's the wrong time to try and cheer yourself up, or try to manifest, or try to focus on your desired outcomes. First, you need to get your, I need to get myself to a happy place. And so, the idea is to focus on the general rather than the specific. How? The general being, I look out the window. Which right now, I have the sun glaring in my eyes right now, so it's both wonderful and a little bit bright and warm. I'll look outside and I'll just look at something, I'll look at something beautiful. I'll look for a bird, or I'll look for a tree. Or, if I'm lying in bed, I'll enjoy the feeling of my sheets. Or, if I'm not, I'll just literally hug myself and feel how soft my own skin is. Um, and just go to a gentle place. Think how magnificent life is. Think how magnificent it is to breathe. There are times where I've been down that, or not feeling well, that my breath was the one thing I could focus on that I knew was there for me. And it's a wonderful thing to breathe, to, um, inhale inspiration.

Robyn Cohen: 40:27

Okay, so we were just talking about the actual practices that Roger deploys in the moment of the heartbreak, in the moment when it feels like your world is crashing down upon you. And you were talking about before the interweb went out completely, my computer shut down, which by the way, has never happened before, which by the way, my computer has never in my entire life of having this computer just turned off for no reason. It happened twice with Roger and I'm thinking it's the electricity in the air that

Roger: 41:06

was

Robyn Cohen: 41:08

generated and it just, it exploded into cyberspace oblivion with excitement. So, what he was sharing about was the, the practice of in those moments of despair, possibly just noticing something that brings you maybe even a general sense of of peace, a general sense of comfort. He was talking about the breath, taking an inhale, the inspiration of the breath, the life force, and just paying attention to that. And you were also talking about Roger. letting the sun rays hit your face, like just letting the sunbeams warm your skin. And I, and I'm just going to talk turkey for a minute here. Before I even got onto the podcast, two things, and they have to do with the gems that you've been dropping. You had said, you know, there's something about positive expectation that things can change. and will go well. And you just sort of lodge that as a cornerstone of your belief. And these days, I have a practice where I wake up in the morning and I say to myself, something mystical, mystical, magical is going to happen today.

Roger: 42:33

Oh, nice. And

Robyn Cohen: 42:35

In a turn of events, since I've been deploying this sort of message invite to the universe, it has in fact happened, and today has been no exception. It has been on the court with you. Before I came into this meeting, I was working with one of my coaches. I got some feedback that in the moment I made it mean something that I'm not gonna mince words, but it decimated my soul, crying, tears, my totally a dysregulated central nervous system. And then I go to turn on my computer, which is lagging. And now I have to text Roger because I'm running late. Can we start five minutes later? Sure, no problem. But the computer is as dysregulated as it's ever been. A literal, a literal mirror and match to what is going on internally. And, uh, and then we get on the call and Roger starts sharing. Ha, ha, ha. You start sharing. From what you know. From your soul. to be true about life and living and there is a path forward. There is grace and there is space for all of us. And there is, we can dismantle these lies of scarcity and separation and come together sometimes by simply being. letting the sun in. So we're in the middle of the interview. I'm still calibrating technically I'm calibrating the computer and I'm also stitching my heart back together through the receptivity of your words. And the intention behind your words, Roger, because it is what you say, but intention creates effect, as you know, it's true in storytelling, it's true in, in our life stories. And so I allowed myself to literally take the learnings from what you were sharing. And at that moment when you were divulging your practices. The computer went out completely. We got off the call. And then the first miraculous thing happened. It has never happened that if you are in the middle of recording a session, let's say on zoom to your computer, and you do not stop the recording, it will not download. It will not convert To a downloaded file on your computer, meaning our interview 100 percent of the time is lost because I never hit the stop button. So for the first time in the history of my technological life on Zoom, which has been vast, and I've been on Zoom and made recordings for the last five years straight, it converted and downloaded onto my computer, though the meeting had cut out, the computer had turned off, and I never had a chance to save it. Okay, so miracle number one. So then I'm thinking to myself, okay, something, something has shifted, something has shifted, And that mystical, miraculous thing that I set out to have happen today, there it is, ask and it is given. And then I said, I'm going to keep following. I'm going to keep following down the Roger Wolfson road for just a minute here. And I went into the kitchen and I was shaken up because I thought we had lost our whole thing.

Roger: 46:33

Uh huh.

Robyn Cohen: 46:34

and I stood there in my kitchen. I got some nourishing food. And then I looked over across the room and there was a chair and it was like it was inviting me to come and sit in this chair and the sun was setting like in the seat of this chair. So I walked over the chair and I sat in the sun and I closed my eyes and just breathed. And that's what That's what I've been doing since our call was somehow cancelled and then brought back to life. That's what I did. And I, um, I'm free.

Roger: 47:16

That's beautiful.

Robyn Cohen: 47:17

So I want to thank you for what you provide, Roger, to me as a friend over the course of three decades and, you know, to the world at large. It's, um, I mean, we can't ever really know the legacy, like, but with you in particular, because you're, what you put out there not only goes out into broadcast television and Movie theaters and it fills literally stadiums and stadiums of people just in that medium, millions of people, right? But, the people that you fill up that you're also on the daily in contact with and sharing with the legacy of that and the reverberations of that. it's such a gift. Your, your life is such a blessing in that way, in that Talmudic way that we strive for it to be. Your life is such a blessing to so many people. And I, and I so thank you. And I know you have to get on with your life. And this zoom call kind of took all afternoon in some ways, and much, much longer than we thought it would. But what do you want to say if you had the world stage. If you had the eight billion plus listening in, and if you had 15 minutes, you're the most eloquent and dynamic and interesting, public speaker that I've ever known. It's remarkable. Roger can get up at a He can get up anywhere. It can be a farm in Minnesota. Or it can be on a Broadway stage. It can be in front of the White House. It doesn't matter where it can be at my birthday party. Roger has the ability, to stand up and say something that whoever's lucky enough to be there listening will never forget. Okay. So that's just a little background about no pressure, no pressure. But if you had the world stage Roger for 15 minutes, what would you give the world right now? What do you want the world to know?

Roger: 49:21

Well, thank you for that. And thank you for all your kind words. Uh, I would say that all of us always have the attention of the world. We just don't always know it. A Course In Miracles, which you and I have taken, given our attention to over the years, says when I am healed, I am not healed alone. What we do for ourselves, we do for the entire world. What I'm talking about here, which I can thank Los Angeles and the entertainment industry for giving me is a practice rewiring our neural pathways. So that we can really be positive so that we can focus on the positive and by therefore feel good and then by feeling good, therefore, attract good things to us is a lifelong goal. Sometimes it happens quickly for some people are just blessed with it. Other people have to climb and claw and grapple to get there. But I think that we really learned by being creators. Everybody on this call is a creator. We learned that we are creating our own experience here. And when we are truly positive, we don't even need this stage in order to impact people. Because our energy is already out there healing them. When I'm healed, I'm not healed alone. And I think that it's a beautiful exercise and it has affected my writing and has made my writing better. It has made every interaction I have with people better to simply look at the good. You know, and it's been around in humankind since, you know, for many, many generations for all of humankind, it's been there. Um, Dale Carnegie, you wrote a book about the power of positive thinking, like in the twenties. I think it was. None of these precepts have changed. You know, your, your brother was clearly at times in his life a proponent of this. A blessed memory, but that's one of the reasons why he's still with us. He's still with you and me in such a profound way because we remember his smile. We remember the joy he found from Shakespeare. We don't just remember that he was a Shakespearean scholar.

Robyn Cohen: 51:39

Yeah.

Roger: 51:39

We remember that he loved Shakespeare. Yeah. Doing what he loved. And so his love survives.

Robyn Cohen: 51:50

Yeah, and and his his joy. It's this podcast is a love letter to Adam. It's it's my gift to anyone who's interested in listening in. But you know, it was his prompt before he passed that I just be happy. He knew it. He knew it from his bones. He knew it from his body that only had a very short time to live. He knew it from source that it, that's, that was the whole gig. And when he invited me to just be happy, I was at a loss. I was at a real loss

Roger: 52:36

you were losing him

Robyn Cohen: 52:37

right

Roger: 52:39

for the for those in your audience right now who are questioning it and who are probably also experienced in Los Angeles people who use what is called spiritual bypass and are just happy without reason or their happiness feels detached from their actual experience. That is not what I'm suggesting to you and your friends and your students and your followers. I'm not suggesting that. It's the Martin Luther King kind of love. Martin Luther King Jr. talks about love. He says love is not an easy thing. Love is a practice. Love is a strong thing. Well, so is being positive. Yes. Being positive takes strength.

Robyn Cohen: 53:19

Yes. It does

Roger: 53:20

It isn't. It is not about ignoring anything. It's about focusing on the positive in everything that you pay attention to.

Robyn Cohen: 53:27

Yeah.

Roger: 53:28

There's so much to be, to pay attention to. Even when we're talking about your brother, he was a light in this world. His death was a tragedy. But when I think about him, I don't think about the loss. I think about the gifts.

Robyn Cohen: 53:40

Ah, yeah. The joy. His joie de vivre.

Roger: 53:44

making. I'm not, I'm not ignoring that he existed. I'm not pretending he didn't die and that he didn't die and leave his children behind and leave his career behind and leave his beloved family behind. The most loving sisters a brother has ever known. But We could focus on the crucifixion, or we could focus on the resurrection.

Robyn Cohen: 54:03

Ah!

Roger: 54:05

And a lot of Christianity, as we know, the problem with a lot of Christianity is when they focus on the crucifixion.

Robyn Cohen: 54:10

And,

Roger: 54:11

you know, if you're sticking with the myth, or the reality that it is Jesus, there's so much to celebrate about this man, that doesn't involve just his being tortured on a cross. On a hot afternoon and into the evening, you know, reborn three days later, we can focus on there is something good there without ignoring the bad. You're just focusing on the positive aspect of it. And our job here. That's our job to do it. And yes, we're going to have things that are going to come up that may or may not make us happy, but we get to choose. You know, and just sort of the last thing I'll say about this for the topic is on the day after election day when I had been working for the Harris campaign and I'd just gotten back from Michigan, uh, could have been a very unhappy day. But I, I just focused on what the good work that we had done, the fact that the, uh, that yeah, we switch right now to a different mode of conversation. 100 percent pleasant. But if we're going to accomplish what we need to accomplish, if we're going to fight back against Trump and turn, turn this around in two years, and then in four, elect a new president, we need our resources. We need to be able to bask in the sunlight, and remember the warmth, and put the smile back on our face, and that's the party that attracts more people to it, not the angry, bitter, depressed party.

Robyn Cohen: 55:38

Yeah. So is that sort of, is that how we mitigate falling into the traps of, so for, for people that are on their way, that really do love, this art and craft or love, whatever it is that they're doing and wanting to really do something significant in their field. what are the, like, what are some of the traps or a trap that you might have in the past fallen into that you could warn them about? In terms of while they're going for their dreams, what can you warn them about

Roger: 56:12

thinking that there isn't enough time to do what you need to do, thinking that you're behind, thinking that other better, thinking that more should have happened by now, thinking that it's not going well, you know, all these things are resistant thoughts. You know, we're alive, we're alive, and we're here and we're pursuing the career that we love. We're, you know, look, look at you. I mean, one of the, one of the great lessons I learned from Robyn Cohen is Remember when you came back from shooting, um, the, the, uh, from shooting a movie and I picked you up at the airport and you had just, this was one of the biggest breaks of your career. And it was a huge movie.

Robyn Cohen: 56:55

The Life Aquatic. I was in Italy. I just got back from Italy, Rome that day.

Roger: 57:00

The experience you had involved every famous person imaginable and all of them loving you and adoring you. And it was this, such a career highlight. And I asked you where I was driving you and you said to acting class. Yeah,

Robyn Cohen: 57:17

because it was a Thursday and that's when our acting class met Thursday nights. You picked me up Thursday at LAX from Italy and it was, it was about 5 p. m. and it was going to work out just perfectly because it was going to take us two hours from LAX to get to North Hollywood. And um, I do remember that. And thank you for getting me there. Get yourself

Roger: 57:40

up on stage. A writer writes, you know, I mean, I've typically get paid for what I write, but not always.

Robyn Cohen: 57:48

Yeah.

Roger: 57:49

But the universe compensates me for writing, you know, I, I, I enjoy it. Yeah. Yeah. Speaking again of Debora Cahn, there was a time when I was writing for Law Order SVU and she was still writing for the West Wing and we had dinner. Um, for something and I was complaining about how things were going at work and this, that, the other thing. And she looked at me and she said, Roger, we do this because it's fun. And I was like, Oh my God, what an incredible wisdom. We do this because it's fun. Have fun doing it. That's what I'm talking about. And it is a practice. It takes consistency and it takes time. And you know, but the last thing I guess I would say right now is that if you need a condition in order to be happy. you will neither be happy nor get the condition. But if you're happy, you will be happy and get the condition.

Robyn Cohen: 58:45

You heard it here from one Roger Wolfson. Wow. Thank you for this treasure chest of gems. Drops of wisdom. I love the name of your organization. I knew this was going to be wonderful. Please have me back. I will. Well, it's imperative.

Roger: 59:05

I would keep

Robyn Cohen: 59:06

you for another four and a half hours right now, but I know you have, you have your evening plans ahead of you. Thank you for, for sharing what you did. And, and so, um, magically, but also so practically. It's such a winning combination. Like yes, it's woo. And yes, I'm a woo woo person. I am, but it's also so grounded in something that even in the span of time that we've been connected in cyberspace, I was able to put into play and it made a profound difference. difference. And the course of my life will never be the same, nor will the course of this podcast, if you believe in the the butterfly effect, you know, but that this happened in the way that it did unfold is truly miraculous. So thank you for being at the source of all of that. And for being a yes. And For being the light and the vibrancy and the joy that you speak about. And also for honoring that it is. It takes something. It takes something to practice this and, you know, not sort of downplaying that our default settings would have us watching Netflix on the couch all day every day. And that's just, it's not good, bad, wrong, or otherwise, but we can actually use our minds to talk to our brains to change everything, um, and it takes something and it's worth it. Listen, you pay a price. you pay a price for turning your thoughts to positive things. You pay a price for turning your thoughts away from Netflix to thoughts of happiness and ease and equanimity. But for paying that price, you get to have real joy. You might not see the entire season, right? You might not see the entire, you know. Season of 24, but you get to be happy.

Roger: 1:01:11

Well, I would also say that, um, for anybody, if anybody who's listening, who has doubts, some of this, just take a look at your life. If you don't look at your life and see that when you've been in a good place, good things have happened. And when you've been in a dark place, dark things have happened. I don't know what to say. Maybe you're the one exception. But when I've been in a good place, good things happen. When I'm in a negative place, negative things happen. And I've learned enough. The Course in Miracles also says I get to learn through joy or through pain. Yeah. I've done a lot of learning in my life through pain.

Robyn Cohen: 1:01:45

Yeah.

Roger: 1:01:46

Uh, you know something, given the choice, I'll learn through joy instead.

Robyn Cohen: 1:01:50

Hear, hear, hear, hear. So beautiful. And that just took my breath away, how simply that was put. But the profundity of Have you ever noticed that when things went well, you were kind of flying high. Have you ever noticed that? Like that's undeniable. That's actually, that's something that I can't argue with that. I mean, I don't want to, but I can't argue with that.

Roger: 1:02:19

Remember when the science, I mean, you probably remember when the science came out, we used to think that I smile because I'm happy, but now we've learned that we're happy because we smile. We've got the whole thing backwards. Yes. I was at my most powerless in life when I was. Um, when I was dependent on outside experiences to tell me how to feel. Yeah. you know, I mean, am I perfect? No, of course not. But am I at the place now where by and large I choose how to feel and therefore externalities line up in my favor by and large? Yeah, I'm there. Took time. It took effort. And anybody who wants to learn more about this or wants affirmation on this process, reach out to me through you. and, uh, I'm delighted to have spent this time with you, Robyn. I look forward to much,

Robyn Cohen: 1:03:16

much more. And if people want to message you or reach out to you where can they find you outside of me? For some reason, my phone's turned off. I'm doing a podcast. Where can people find you?

Roger: 1:03:28

I have a website, rogerwolfson. com. I think this is a way to access me through that.

Robyn Cohen: 1:03:33

Wonderful. Wonderful. Oh, Roger. I'm going to hug my computer. It's really a hug for you. Even though my computer thinks I'm in a relationship with it because I'm always hugging it. Thank you. Thank you. More to come. We're going to call this, um, part one.

Roger: 1:03:52

Fantastic.

Robyn Cohen: 1:03:52

Of a part infinite series.

Roger: 1:03:55

I can't wait for more.

Robyn Cohen: 1:03:57

The R and R show. Okay. Thank you so much, Roger. Thank you for taking the extra time. You're a rock star and a champion. So appreciate you. Much, much love. Be well. And party on, as they say. That's what they say. Party on. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, wow, wow, wow. Well, that was delectable So powerful. Thank you, my cherished ones for joining me in this creative revolution and awakening. Roger's enthusiasm and passion and dedication to fostering platforms for shared insight and artistry and humanity. It just knocks me back. as we continue to explore the vast landscape of art and spirit, remember that your participation in this adventure, lights the path for others. So be sure to subscribe, leave a review, So that everyone can find out about the show, and partake in the daily joyride journey, and become a member of this exhilarating community. Let us weave a tapestry of love and support, hand in hand, heart to heart. and don't forget my door, virtually speaking, is open through February for you to join my upcoming acting classes online. Let's make this journey one of ever growing connection and fulfillment. Until we meet again, may your passions guide you and your kindness lead the way. Let's just go ahead and illuminate the world with our collective spirit. So stay safe, stay inspired, and as always, take the best care of you so that you can go out and be great for the people in your life. For now, sending you all my love, always and in all the ways, and can't wait to see you on the next Daily Joyride. See you soon.