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Episode No. 0007: The Road Trip
24 Plays9 days ago
Two roads diverged… and twenty years later, we’re checking in on the one we chose. In this episode of The GR8TNESS Router, host Zena C. revisits Robert Frost’s classic poem with fresh eyes—and lived wisdom. What does it really mean to take the road less traveled? What if the path isn’t the point at all? Through personal stories, poetic reflection, and powerful questions, this episode explores the importance of who you ride with, how you check in with yourself, and why the ride—not the road—is what shapes you.
Whether you’re a self-navigator, a silent passenger, or an intentional co-rider, this one’s for you.
Tap in. Let’s ride.
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Transcript
Introduction to The Greatness Router
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This is the Greatness Router, where we connect purpose to process one conversation at a time.
00:00:24
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This episode of The Greatness Router is brought to you by Laid Off Lemonade, a book for anyone who's ever had to rebuild from the bottom up, turn loss into clarity, or find joy in starting over.
Exploring 'The Road Not Taken'
00:00:39
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Grab your copy at laidofflemonade.com or on Amazon. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry, I could not travel both.
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and be one traveler long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth.
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Then took the other as just as fair and having perhaps the better claim because it was grassy and wanted wear Though, as for that, the passing there had worn them really about the same.
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And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black. oh i kept the first for another day. Yet, knowing how way leads on to way, i doubted if I should ever come back.
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I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere ages and ages hence, two roads diverged in a wood, and I, took the one less traveled by.
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And that has made it all the difference. That was The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.
Reflections on the Road Less Traveled
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When I was 21, I stood on a stage and told a room full of sleep deprived graduates to take the road less traveled.
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I believed it. i still do. But I've also lived long enough to know it's never just about the road. It's about the trip.
Lessons from a Cross-Country Road Trip
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Years ago, i went on cross-country road trip coast to coast. Okay. So we're talking North Carolina to California and back in an RV.
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RV, gas stations, mountains, flatlands, changing weather, all of it. We packed snacks, curated playlists, had every route mapped out.
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And most importantly, we knew who was coming with us before we pulled off. We weren't picking up strangers. We weren't hopping around or hoping to find a tribe on the way.
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We chose each other on purpose. Because when you're planning to ride that far, you don't just think about the road.
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You think about who's riding with you.
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And here's what I learned on that trip. You can start with the best plan, the best people, and the smoothest route and still hit unexpected traffic, still need to take turns driving, still need to stop, stretch, and adjust.
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Because no matter how clear the path is, the ride changes you.
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That trip had laughter, silence, music, moments where someone had to say, hey, let's pull over. I need a minute.
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Moments where someone else probably said, you good? I'll drive the stretch. And at the end, we made it back. Same crew, more connected than when we left.
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Because the road didn't just show us new places. It showed us new sides of each other. And more importantly, it showed us what it means to travel well.
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I used to think the difference came from the path. Now I know the real difference is how you move through it.
Navigating Life as a Journey
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and who you're willing to trust with the wheel.
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So here's the real question. If life's the road, are you paying attention to the ride?
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So here's the thing. It's easy to romanticize the road, the destination, the aesthetics of movement, But the real challenge is naming what kind of traveler you've become.
00:05:37
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Are you the one always driving, always navigating, always keeping the peace in the passenger seat? Or are you the one who hops in, never asks where you're going, just expected to get there? I've been there too.
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And here's a bigger question. do you ever remember why you started the trip you're on? Something to think about. You ever think about that?
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Why are you doing what you're doing? Because some of us are out here on autopilot, still following a map someone else has handed to us years ago.
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Some of us are rerouting in silence, too scared to say we're lost. Some of us never switch drivers, even when we're exhausted because we don't trust anyone else to hold the wheel.
00:06:40
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And some of us, we're still trying to figure out if we're even going the right direction. Because somewhere along the way, we stop checking in on ourselves.
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So here's the challenge. I'll leave you hanging in the air with this one. What kind of traveler have you become?
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And even more so, what does that say about how you move through this world?
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Because it's never just about the road. It's about the ride and who you become or let become a part of it.
00:07:32
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Now, I'm not here to hand you a verdict on the kind of traveler you should be. Yes, I'm using like air quotes, should be. That's not the point of this conversation. The point of this is to offer perspective.
Traveler Archetypes and Dynamics
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I hold up a mirror or a few mirrors and let you take a look. I'm just giving you perspective, y'all. I'm not telling you what to do. That's not in my job description. Because how you travel, how you move through this life, it says a lot about what you believe, about who you trust, and about where you're really trying to go.
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So let's look at this three ways.
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First one, are you the self-navigator? Possibly believing if I don't drive, it won't get done. Some of us have learned early on that we had to lead.
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We had to hold the wheel, watch the signs, check the fuel, carry the weight because no one else ever did. And somewhere along the line, we stopped even thinking about asking for help.
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We just got used to being the driver. But here's the truth. Even the strongest driver needs rest Even the best navigators get tired.
00:09:00
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And if you're always the one driving, when do you look out the window and enjoy the ride?
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Number two are you the silent passenger? Possibly believing, as long as we're moving, I'm fine.
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Some of us stop voicing where we want to go a long time ago. We sit in the car, let someone else steer and nod along.
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Because speaking up feels like a risk. What if they laugh? What if they don't listen? What if they say we're being too much? Again, another set of air quotes, y'all.
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You can't really see them, but too much.
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So we play it small. We stay silent. We shrink.
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But here's the truth. You can't blame people for not taking you where you want to go if you never say where that is. Let me repeat that.
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You can't blame people for not taking you where you want to go if you never say where that is.
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Moving right along. Number three, are you the intentional co-writer? Possibly believing? Let's do this together.
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Let's check in often. Let's make this trip count.
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This is the traveler who knows the road is long. So they build in joy. They pause when needed. They take turns leading. They hold space, not just for where they're going, but for who they're becoming along the way.
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And no, they don't have all the answers, but they've learned that asking the right questions with the right people makes all the difference.
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So here we have three different travelers and three different ways to move. Not the only ways to move. Again, i just like to give you perspective. So three different travelers and three different ways to move. And maybe three different seasons we all tend to rotate through.
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So circling back, I chose Robert Frost's poem for my valedictorian speech, not because it was trendy Not because it spoke to what I believed back then, that bravery looked like going against the grain, that the road less traveled was where all the magic happened. um And at that point in my life,
00:12:02
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It was true for me. That was true. that That's truly what I believed. That poem validated how I had been moving through the world differently. It made sense.
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So i shared it. I stood on a stage and told my classmates, go, carve your own path, blaze it, own it.
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And I meant every word.
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But now I've lived the poem. as I'm sure you had too. I've taken roads no one expected. I've gone my own way and I've paid the cost of that independence too.
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Because the road less traveled, it's not just different. Sometimes it's lonely. Sometimes it's heavy.
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Sometimes it leads you far, far, far, far off course before you find your way back.
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And here's what I've come to understand. The road isn't what defines you. The ride The truth is, it's not always about choosing the less traveled path.
00:13:24
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Sometimes, The well-worn road is the one that gives you rest. Sometimes the trail everyone avoids is exactly where you need to go to grow.
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The real power in knowing why you chose it and who you let walk it with you.
00:13:49
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Because in the end, It's not just about courage. It's about clarity. It's about intention. And it's about knowing that the people you ride with, the ones in your corner, in your car, in your circle, they'll either push you toward your greatness or pull you away from it.
00:14:18
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So. Maybe it was never just about which road you took. Maybe it was about why you took it. Who you became along the way. And who reminded you of your strength when you felt like you were unraveling.
Assessing Companions and Direction
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Because the roads will always be there. Forking, diverging, calling for decisions. But the real difference is how you move, what you hold on and who's riding with you.
00:15:03
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So here's my charge to you. Don't just travel. Check in Check in with yourself. with your reasons, with your alignment, with your circle?
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Are you still clear on why you chose this direction? Are you surrounded by the people who see you or just passengers who are there?
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Are you driving with purpose or just coasting?
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Because you can always reroute. You can always pull over. And yes, you can always invite the right ones in, okay?
00:15:55
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The road is long, people. Your journey is yours. And that alone makes it worth honoring. And your greatness?
00:16:07
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It deserves a ride that honors all of it.
Promoting 'Laid Off Lemonade'
00:16:15
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If today's episode stirred something in you, if you're reflecting on the road you've taken, the turns you didn't expect, or the strength it took just to keep going, I wrote a book for that.
00:16:27
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It's called Laid Off Lemonade, and it's about rebuilding after things fall apart, redefining your worth, and reclaiming joy on your own terms. You can find it at laidofflemonade.com or on Amazon because no matter where you are on the road, your story isn't over.
00:16:48
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And what you carry still has value. Peace, love, light. I'm your host, Zena C. And I hope you have a beautiful, beautiful day.
00:17:00
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Ciao.
Closing and Call to Action
00:17:06
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And that's a wrap on this episode of The Greatness Router. If you found some value in today's conversation, be sure to subscribe, rate, and definitely share. It helps more people connect to the journey of greatness.
00:17:19
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Until next time, keep moving with purpose.