From Stage to Psychology: How Creativity Can Transform Parenting Practices

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of Women In Motion. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories.

Lee Kantor: Today on Women In Motion, we have Dr. Julie Robinson with Undercover Productions. Welcome.

Dr. Julie Robinson: Hey. Good morning. Thank you so much for having me. I’m happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: I am excited to learn what you’re up to. You have your fingers in a lot of pots, and I’m excited to get an understanding of all of them. But let’s start with Undercover Productions. How are you serving folks over there?

Dr. Julie Robinson: Undercover Productions is my baby. This is my 26th year in business with this company, and I started it because I was a performer in shows. I was a Marilyn Monroe performer in a show, and the event producer was a woman, and she was in the corner crying. Things were not working out, and I noticed a gap that there was a need for someone who understands the performing side as well as the production side. So, Undercover Productions was born out of that.

Lee Kantor: So, what’s the backstory to getting even involved in that level of performing? I mean, that’s not just somebody who’s dabbling. You have to be pretty good to be doing what you were doing.

Dr. Julie Robinson: Oh, thank you. Yes. Before that – actually, I’ll start. When I was 18, I got my first job performing in Las Vegas, and I was dancing and singing at the Union Plaza Hotel downtown when it was called the Union Plaza with Lou Merrick’s Rainbow Express. So, I was singing and dancing at 18, and then I went to my next show with Sammy Davis Junior and Jerry Lewis at Bally’s, and I was a tap dancer in that show. And that show led to other connections that led me to Legends in Concert, where I was a singer and dancer, and also began the Marilyn Monroe impersonation work.

Dr. Julie Robinson: And after that, I danced in the show for years. I danced in Splash at the Riviera Hotel that is no longer there, and I danced in many shows around town, and that is when I made my transition to starting Undercover Productions, when I got pregnant with my first child and was no longer performing, and then started performing as Marilyn. And that’s when I discovered this need for an event producer who’s actually walked the walk, knows what mic you need, knows when you need to show up in your costume and when you don’t so that you don’t waste the professional’s time. I try to treat the professionals as I would want to be treated and it’s worked out very well.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you find that that’s kind of an unusual path that most performers kind of wear that performer hat and they don’t really get into the side of the production side, and that’s almost like a different brain, your portion of your brain you’re using to do that side of things?

Dr. Julie Robinson: Yes, I agree. And it’s interesting because I have a creative brain in that I feel like I have a choreographer’s brain. I love choreography, that’s one aspect of what I do that I love, and it’s kind of the way I feel like I look at the world, is I’ll look at a situation, I’ll look at a business now or a, you know, a client and see what needs to be accomplished and the best way to orchestrate that, to choreograph the event, to choreograph the pieces of it and then pulling all those pieces together is what I really love. So that’s kind of how the performing side turned into the creative business side.

Dr. Julie Robinson: And again, like you say, these are all kinds of different channels in thinking and skill sets because then on top of it, you need to know how to do business. And that’s something I did not know how to do at all. I was creative and was doing my thing and learned the hard way in some instances. And that is truly where WBEC-West stepped in in my professional life because one of my clients suggested I find out about them, and that provided the component that I was missing. It was how to do business with these corporations. How should I communicate? How often should I communicate? What should that communication look like? You know, what’s the process of building these relationships? It was a whole nother area that helped me in my own business, you know, in addition to helping me meet other corporations I could work with.

Lee Kantor: Now, what lights you up the most? Is it kind of on the stage with the adulation of the audience and the energy of fans cheering? Or is it the hey, we just did that killer production and high fives all around, we really made a lot of people happy?

Dr. Julie Robinson: Yes. The second. I mean, who doesn’t love a little adulation here and there, but definitely the second when a team comes together and we’re all standing there, which happened recently because I produced the entertainment for the WBEC-West Convention this past September in Las Vegas, at Lake Las Vegas.

Dr. Julie Robinson: And when you see the audience standing up and clapping and thrilled with what’s going on and feeling it, that is truly the moment that our group effort, the vision that we had, the steps that we took, the months of preparation and then on-site when anything can happen, I love actually, that’s the part that I guess lights me up too, is that I like being able to solve problems in the moment.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So, the last-minute nature of it and needing to fix this and make this work and then seeing it all come together and everyone love it, that truly is the best part.

Lee Kantor: And if it wasn’t enough that you were building a successful performing and production business in your free time, you decided to get a doctorate in psychology. Like, what was the kind of thinking there?

Dr. Julie Robinson: Yeah, it doesn’t hurt anybody to do that. But, well, the path to that was, as my company was doing well in the middle of that process and thriving, I did have more time to focus on other things, and I decided to focus on continuing my education. I had not finished my bachelor’s degree at that point, in 2012 when I started.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So, due to online learning, which I’m so grateful for, I was able to finish my bachelor’s degree. And then once I finished that, I realized I love online learning. I’m kind of geeky in that way that I like posting and then seeing people’s responses and engaging and learning information. So, I went on and got my first master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Missouri.

Dr. Julie Robinson: I love that program. It was a focus on positive psychology, and that really lit me up that, hey, I could actually work in this field and focus in a positive way and not just on the disease model of psychology but on the positive side, the other spectrum. How can we thrive? How can we individually and help others thrive? So that was very exciting.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So, once I finished that program and realized I couldn’t really do anything with it as far as working, I went and I got my master’s in marriage and family therapy from Touro University Worldwide online, and loved that program. Actually, for a year while I was running undercover, I was doing an in-person practicum, which is seeing clients unpaid, learning the ropes before you can actually get licensed.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So, I do like the variety in life, so it didn’t seem like too much. I kind of enjoy it, that part of my brain when I’m over undercover and planning events and I’m coordinating and solving last-minute problems, and then I’m at school, and then I’m actually seeing people in therapy, which was very exciting to be such a personal part of someone’s journey.

Dr. Julie Robinson: And then after I finished and got licensed, I went right on and went into my doctorate in human and organizational psychology. And I just finished my dissertation this May with a focus on explanatory style, which very briefly is just the power that we have as human beings is how we’re explaining what’s happening at any moment. And so when you seize upon that moment and become fully conscious of that moment, you have extraordinary power to create what you want in your life.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So with that program, I’ve actually continued my learning. I’m in another master’s program now in forensic psychology, which I’m really enjoying. It’s fascinating. It’s bringing to life another aspect of psychology that I hadn’t focused on before. So I’m loving that.

Lee Kantor: Now, can you share with the listener, maybe some of your, maybe some advice or some key learnings or low-hanging fruit for an individual who maybe hasn’t gone through therapy, but some nuggets that you’ve learned from going through so much education in psychology and especially positive psychology, which I think is so important? Some advice or some nuggets that can help somebody who maybe is stressed out or is dealing with something that they don’t even know how to process themselves, but maybe something that you can share that can help them get through a tough time.

Dr. Julie Robinson: For sure, and I appreciate that because everybody’s going through a tough time one day or another. So we all are going through our struggles. And what I just spoke about, the explanatory style, that is an easy way to change how you’re feeling at any moment because it’s the explanation you provide of what’s happening that then provides how you feel about it.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So if you’re explaining, let’s say, from a business owner’s perspective, I haven’t received that payment, I have people to pay. What am I going to do? Right? That’s a real-life situation. And you can’t just produce money if you don’t have it. So how can you ease the stress on your body in that moment? And that is to use reframing, which is a cognitive behavioral therapy strategy and ties into the explanatory style. You’re going to reframe how you’re explaining what’s happening.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So, for example, you could say, “This always happens to me. Checks are always late. I’m always in this situation.” That’s very pessimistic. And that is not going to help you feel better. That’s going to lead to anxiety and depression symptoms. Instead, if you reframe it, “I know I’m waiting a long time, but it is on the way. I have taken all the steps that I can to check and make sure it’s on its way.”

Dr. Julie Robinson: So any further focus or worry on this is not going to be helpful. So reframing that that you’ve done everything you can is then going to leave you in a more positive emotional state. You’re not going to be as stressed because you reminded your brain that you’ve taken action, and you’ve done everything you can in the moment, which will then help you to have more space and energy for conscious thought about other things.

Dr. Julie Robinson: And one other tool for decreasing anxiety, it sounds so simplistic, but deep breathing. There are all kinds of breathing strategies. Infinity breathing, where you visualize the infinity symbol to stretch out and elongate your breaths. But we as a culture breathe very shallowly. When you see your chest rising up and down, you’re breathing too shallowly. We should be breathing from our diaphragm, which, if you lay on the ground and breathe, you can see rising up.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So consciously breathing in and out through your diaphragm, in your nose, and out through your mouth multiple times per, you know, throughout the day will genuinely reduce the level of anxiety and stress you are feeling. Biologically, it changes you chemically, breathing in and out. The oxygen circulates and you genuinely do feel more relaxed. So it’s such a simple thing that you can do easily at any time.

Lee Kantor: Well, thank you for sharing that. And that breathing is so obvious in that you’re doing it without thinking every day. And I think you bring up a great point just by thinking about it a little bit and breathing deeper, you could make a big change in your physiology like it’s science. It’s not – this isn’t some woo woo thing. This is just a fact.

Dr. Julie Robinson: Exactly. No. Exactly.

Lee Kantor: It’s involuntary. But it’s very – I mean, you’re doing it whether you’re mindful or not. So you might as well be mindful.

Dr. Julie Robinson: Exactly. No. Exactly. Because when you’re not mindful, that’s when your emotions can take over and then you can become completely dysregulated, say something you don’t want to say, do something you don’t want to do. And the way I’ve weaved all of this together with Undercover, I’m excited about is because, you know, in addition, we offer special event planning. We can create the event of your dreams. Anything you can imagine. We have all types of talent. Of course, Elvis singers, dancers, and again, I’m a choreographer. So any kind of custom show, Cirque performers, any type of talent you can imagine, and the production to go along with it, we do all of that.

Dr. Julie Robinson: And then we also do model hospitality services. So everything to do with your convention coming into town, your – the setup, the event registration staff, directional staff. Any type of talent you need to run your convention, we also do that, and then business and individual development, which is where these skills I’ve learned as a therapist and with my degree in psychology, is to help people thrive. So that can be done in lots of ways.

Dr. Julie Robinson: And the most common problem is how we’re thinking. So I can help people adjust how they’re thinking and looking at situations to then see opportunities where they didn’t see them before, to take their own career, their own life, their dreams, their business to new levels. And when your employees are thriving and feel focused on and feel cared for, the entire business will do better.

Lee Kantor: And if that wasn’t enough, you’ve also found somehow the time to author your first book. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Dr. Julie Robinson: Yes. Thank you so much. I’m very excited about that. And it’s called Parents, Please! Stop Spanking Your Children. And it comes from the lens of living as a therapist and hearing these stories of adults who live with the aftereffects of spanking. It, again, can seem insignificant. “Oh, yeah, I was spanked, but I wasn’t beaten,” people will say. And then they’ll experience anxiety, hypervigilance, people-pleasing tendencies, negative self-talk. Those are all aftereffects of being spanked, physical discipline.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So with this book, I have created a five-step process, which is to help people stop automatic reactions, so not only can it help them not spank. Anybody can use it. Business – anybody to stop an automatic reaction, which our emotions can get in the way and cause us, again, to say something we don’t intend and then cause a bigger problem.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So quickly, the five-step process is to, first, pause. And this sounds simple, but that is your job. And people will say, “Oh, it’s just an automatic reaction, I can’t stop.” Well, nobody else can stop you either. That is your job to become conscious in the moment. I don’t care if a truck runs over your foot. You do not have to respond. You can choose how you react, so your power is in consciously pausing.

Dr. Julie Robinson: Then, breathing. As we just discussed the power of breathing and decreasing your physiological state, so you can have a different reaction. So pause, breathe.

Dr. Julie Robinson: Then, ask yourself, what is actually going on here? So, to help you now reframe the situation, you’re going to say, “Is this a big threat? Do I need to react in this manner? What’s actually happening?”

Dr. Julie Robinson: And then, listen. Listen to yourself. Listen to the situation, the cues from the environment.

Dr. Julie Robinson: And then, reframe. That’s the fifth step, to reframe. Find a different explanation of what’s happening so that it’s not so upsetting. Yes, a truck just ran over my foot, but I was crunching up my toes and it didn’t hurt me.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So, the book is there to help people stop their automatic reactions, and specifically with not spanking, because it breaks my heart to see people dealing with these effects. And parents don’t even really want to do it. It’s – they’re tired, which we can all understand. They’re overworked and their kid isn’t listening, so they just instinctively reach out and swat them or hit them. And that’s not helping anyone.

Dr. Julie Robinson: So I think if we could just stop this one practice and with people stopping their automatic reactions, it will help their lives in general, definitely in big ways.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, a lot of times they just don’t have the tools. They think this is the way to do this, and they don’t even know of an alternative.

Dr. Julie Robinson: Exactly. Because we all grew up with it. It was normalized. And even with comedy routines on TV, you know, “I brought you into this world. I’ll take you out,” or, “I’ll knock you into next week.” It’s made funny and that has been twisted, that the parent, that discipline equals hitting when discipline actually means to teach, to become disciplined, not to hit. So I think it’s been twisted and we can clarify that and help some people, like you said, who didn’t intend to hurt their kids, to realize the impact and to make a new decision.

Lee Kantor: Right. There is another way.

Dr. Julie Robinson: Definitely yes.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team, what is the best way to do that?

Dr. Julie Robinson: Yes. You can reach out to me at julie, J-U-L-I-E, @uplv.net. That’s my direct email address and I’m even – I’m happy to give my phone number, (702) 461-8845. I would love to hear from you and talk to you about any of these variety of things that we do, or anything else that’s going on. I’d love to connect with people.

Lee Kantor: And the website for the company is uplv.net?

Dr. Julie Robinson: Yes, it is. Thank you so much for helping me add that in. Yes.

Lee Kantor: Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Dr. Julie Robinson: Thank you so much, Lee. I appreciate your time and this opportunity to talk with you. And I love WBEC-West, so I’m always happy to be a part of anything that has to do with WBEC-West.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.