Transcript:
You have an MBA, you specialize is organizational and human behavior, and um spiritual life is a part of everything that you do, it looks like. Life strategies, business coach. So how did you, where was the epiphany that brought you into this world?
SASHA LOGHONH: Okay so, I started out coaching without even realizing I was coaching while I was a student as, when I- when I was in … Even prior to high school. I think the first coaching opportunity I was granted was I think around the age of 12.
David Brower: Wow
SASHA LOGHONH: When there would be foreign students that would come to the United States and they would get paired up with students, and I would be the one who would show them around, um help them out with their homework, uh acclimate them with the school environment to uh show them who’s who.
And then through word of mouth, teachers would recommend after school if I wanted to earn extra money. And they would say, “Well this parent has a child, and they need help and if you could help this person,” for example lose weight, which is a true case that I worked on, but to what degree can you be a teenager and help another person lose weight.
David Brower: Right.
SASHA LOGHONH: Because we’re also learning in the process of how to live a healthy life. But it was also an offering companionship and learning how to work with people. And not only do we learn those skillsets as a kid, but I think as we grow older by the time we are in high school and beyond, um, there’s less engagement from adults playing that pivotal role and introducing us to one another. The responsibility falls onto us to know how to, uh, coexist with people of all different lifestyles and differences, and it was one stepping stone at a time.
And then by high school I was also, uh, engaged in sports management. I ran for maybe two, three seasons, but because I grew up with a deviated septum at that time, um, I left and the coach was really inclined to keep me on the team, because I was part of the family. So I ended up helping out in managing boys’ and girls’ uh track teams, cross-country, indoor, outdoor track. And that itself was another form of coaching mechanism.
David Brower: Wow no kidding, yeah.
SASHA LOGHONH: And outside of school I was already working as an academic coach to private child actors, you could say, who were working out of Broadway back in New York City at the time, because I graduated from high school from Jersey … Let me put it this way, every year of school until high school was in a different town or a different state.
David Brower: Welcome to my world, I totally understand that.
SASHA LOGHONH: So I guess we come from the military.
David Brower: (Laughs) My- my dad was a very nomadic man in his career, and uh I was in the radio for a very long time, which is very nomadic business, and so when I- I used to move every two years whether I needed to or not. And in fact … what was it when I was growing up I was thinking about this the other day, from the first grade to the eighth grade I lived in the same town, but I lived in six different houses.
SASHA LOGHONH: I’ve done I think three different houses in one town over a period of two years.
David Brower: (laughs)
SASHA LOGHONH: So as a child I think when you grow up in so many different places, you’re used to having different … uh … You’re view changes every … m- months, or often when you’ll look outside the window that you get to a point where you’re thinking, “Okay, I’ve been here for a bit too long, what do I do next?” So I’ve been blessed …
David Brower: Oh yeah, absolutely.
SASHA LOGHONH: … to travel to different cities, because I also went to Boston University for my first degree. And then I went up and down the east coast, where sine if my stomping ground was also in Washington D.C., that has been a very kind city in my past, where I kicked off uh … some of my career opportunities.
And then I used to go from Boston all the way down to North Carolina, and then I’ve gone from east coast to California, and then in the middle of the country. So it- it’s interesting.
David Brower: But you haven’t been to Colorado.
SASHA LOGHONH: Actually I have been to Colorado.
David Brower: (Laughs)
SASHA LOGHONH: And Denver is a beautiful city.
David Brower: Yeah
SASHA LOGHONH: I’ve [inaudible 00:04:57] from north of Colorado to Colorado Springs. And I will tell you that I’ve driven cross-country from the east to west, west to east. And there are probably only five or six states that I haven’t driven through.
David Brower: Good for you, good for you. Yeah I live about an hour north of Denver, about 30 miles from Rocky Mountain National Park, so … Very blessed to live in this part of the country. Well I’m trying- I’m trying to catch you on my motorcycle, I’m trying to ride my Harley in all 48 lower state, and I still got 21 left to go, so … You’re ahead of me.
SASHA LOGHONH: Oh, okay (laughs). But I’m sure that you know the difference between flying, trains, and driving. All of them are different experiences. But I’ve done the driving, and …
David Brower: Yeah, totally.
SASHA LOGHONH: … I will admit, it is a very beautiful country, only I wish more people would get to see parts of it that gets overlooked in the media.
David Brower: Isn’t that the truth? Yeah, absolutely right. So how does the presence of spirituality in your life enhance uh, the business professional … Or the business profession- professional in you, I guess.
SASHA LOGHONH: I would say more so the spiritual craft was always innate within me since childhood, and I think while growing up where I was more sensitive to my environment and being able to read people in circumstances. And I also come from a background where I grew up with premonitions that would play out over a period of time. So it doesn’t mean that you always get the premonitions for good news, for me it’s usually warnings, or things that I can avoid, or things that I have to go through, even though I don’t want to.
David Brower: Right.
SASHA LOGHONH: That there comes to relationships and opportunities, and uh I thought while growing up all other children were like me. Other people look at the world and feel things the same way I do, but I … found out it doesn’t quite work that way.
David Brower: Yeah, yeah.
SASHA LOGHONH: So I followed a very practical career path. I was gonna become a pediatrician, but then I said, “I don’t want to go to med school.” And I fell in love with economics and statistics, so I pursued my first degree in business school.
And at that time, slowly I was also spiritually opening up, and by opening up I mean I started applying, acknowledging those gifts, more in … going about my day-to-day decisions. Because I feel I had segregated that spiritual part of me and the business part of me, that I started running into problems where I would take up a job opportunity, and in a couple of months I outgrow it, I’m bored. I need to do something else.
David Brower: Right.
SASHA LOGHONH: And it wasn’t even the money problem, it was just … something is not right, and after you go through four, five of those job opportunities it can’t be the job, it has to be something within me that needs to shift or align. And that’s when I started acknowledging that I have to be more open to overall of who I am, and not just apply a part of my craft.
David Brower: When you- yeah, when you have that gift, or that craft, you can’t afford to be selective, right? Even though that is probably a- a natural choice in the beginning.
SASHA LOGHONH: Yes, and I feel that when we’re lead to acknowledge a part of us we leave dormant- and I believe talent is something that we all have. Talent can be improved within us, but it cannot be created from scratch. So I had to respect the talent, and when the economy- right before the economy started going bad, I told myself that I have to come up with creative ways of … Creating a new form of income.
So I started offering my spiritual counseling services offline, and then I found out there is a market for it online. And that is how Sasha Talks came along. And if you had looked at Sasha Talks maybe seven years ago, it was only a one-page website with my picture, and letting people know, uh, the type of questions I will answer, and the type of questions I will not answer for you. Because …
David Brower: Good for you.
SASHA LOGHONH: At the end of the day, you still have to take accountability for your life and your decisions. So it doesn’t matter if you’re to a spiritualist, or a reader, or a lawyer, or a financial advisor, people are too quick to point fingers and say, “This person told me to make that decision.” And I’m not their ideal reader, because I throw that accountability back into your lap.
David Brower: Perfect. I mean, it really … I think a lot of people- I mean we all need to be held accountable, whether it’s in our personal relationships, in our business relationships. And when we try to figure out ways to give up that accountability, that is just self-destructive, right?
SASHA LOGHONH: I think so, and feel that- I- I am a compassionate person, but I don’t wear that part of me on my sleeve, because of what I do for a living. I can’t be emotionally engaged in their, uh, life turbulence, or their challenges, because I have to be impartial and objective. And some people ask me that, “You come from the business world, and you have to be judgemental to make decisions.” And I agree with that …
David Brower: Right.
SASHA LOGHONH: … But I will say I’m very disciplined when it comes to doing my spiritual work. I remove all of the biases and judgment, because I have to tell myself, “This isn’t about you, this is about whatever circumstance the client … presents, you have to just relay the messages.” I’m the messenger, and only if they ask me what I would do, that is when I would tell them what I personally would do. But they have to know that you have to make the decision. I can’t tell you whether you should leave your job, whether you should get a divorce … um ….
David Brower: Right.
SASHA LOGHONH: Whether you should have children. At the end of the day, you are the one living the ramifications of your decision.
David Brower: I have to think that your spiritual gifts … um … You have to be an amazing listener, and I think that would be an understatement. I think you have to be an amazing listener, and I think that skillset has to carry over to your business world, right?
SASHA LOGHONH: Yes. I will say, I am a work in progress myself. Some days I’m a great listener, and other days I feel as I talk too much. Because it depends on the type of people that you’re interacting with. Some clients are very talkative, and I tell them, depending on the type of session they have, let me know your questions and I will relay the messages.
Now if I’m doing business coaching the other person has to engage, because I could only help you to the degree that you make it known that you need assistance.
David Brower: Right.
SASHA LOGHONH: And sometimes people don’t need assistance, they just want to have a conversation with somebody, so they … perhaps are introduced to creative ideas. But no matter what type of service I offer, the person has to be mindful of what they’re signing up for, and willing to improve their life.
David Brower: Mindful is kinda one of the buzzwords of today, isn’t it. I mean being more mindful about your life, more mindful about your eating habits, more mindful about your relationships. And I guess, is that the same as just being aware and being conscious, and being respectful of your surroundings?
SASHA LOGHONH: I think so. There are times where people are self-aware as they know what is good for them, but they don’t need to adhere to it. It’s as do what I say, not what I do.
David Brower: Sure
SASHA LOGHONH: And of course, because of the new year, this isn’t the ideal example I’d like to use, but people come up with new years resolutions, I just am … I just don’t believe in them. I look at it this way: every day you have an opportunity to either, uh, take on a new activity and turn it into a positive habit, or you could walk away from something that isn’t working for you.
And there are time where people start off on a great note, but then they- they put their life on auto-pilot, thinking the relationship will nurture itself. Um, the job will be fine as long as I keep on showing up. And showing up is only part of the ingredient to being successful. And that is where we need to remind ourselves that nothing in life is on auto-pilot. Time doesn’t stop for any one of us, no matter how much pain we’re enduring, or how long we’re waiting for the next opportunity to come along that- make time your ally, not your enemy. And this is coming from somebody who grew up with no patience.
David Brower: (Laughs) Wow. That was- that’s 180 degrees, isn’t it?
SASHA LOGHONH: (Laughs) Yes, and I know that there’re times where people who knew me from my high school and college years run into me, and they laugh. But that’s the irony that until I started acknowledging parts of my spiritual craft, not only to … apply to my own life, but to help other people. And I can’t help other people unless I work on myself in the process.
David Brower: Well, and that helps you learn, not only about yourself, but- but helps give you advice to share with others, because you’ve gone through similar experiences, maybe.
SASHA LOGHONH: Yes, and I- there are times where I see a part of myself in most of my clients when they come for the spiritual counseling. And it’s also therapeutic and healing for me, because sometime I have questions … Where we just go about living our life and we wonder, “What would happen this type of situation?” And I run into somebody who’s going through that experience, and they introduce me to their world.
And that’s one thing that I feel- we’re living in the times where everything is labeled, and I don’t like labels too much, because the more … The type of work that I do, there’s a lot of gray area, and we all have to figure it out. What works for you.
David Brower: Yeah, life is not designed to be black and white as much as a lot of us would like it to be, you know?
SASHA LOGHONH: Yes.
David Brower: What, um … I wanted- so if- if you’re doing all this spiritual counseling to help other people personally, professionally, all those things, who helps you?
SASHA LOGHONH: I have two, three good confidants. And I would say the book that came out, “Catching Karma,” on Sasha Talks, I dedicated the book to my primary life-coach, my mom.
David Brower: Nice.
SASHA LOGHONH: Even though she’s intuitive herself, she doesn’t practice like I do. And I hate to admit this, but my mom has never been wrong in offering me guidance. Whether it’s about people that come into my path, whether it was love prospects in the past, business prospects. There’s something about her, she has very basic education because she grew up in the times where you were homeschooled, and then the most obvious thing to do was get married.
David Brower: Right.
SASHA LOGHONH: So she doesn’t have education more than, uh, I would say past a high school level. And my dad is, uh, more educated in all. So she got paired up with someone who’s all about practicality, and my mom is all about intuition and emotions. So I …
David Brower: My mother was- I gotta tell you, my mother was very similar, even though I’m not sure I acknowledged it until after her passing. I’m not sure it dawned on me, but- but she um, you know, she made it through the eighth grade and that was about it. Grew up on a potato farm, married the, you know, love of her life and- and, uh, went on and had- had me. I was an only child, so her and I were … exceptionally close, and- and any time we talked about- even though she didn’t know anything about my business to speak of, when we would talk about those things or talk about relationships, or talk about friends, she would have such an insightful thought. You know, it was like, “Well, how do you feel about that? Oh, hadn’t thought about it that way.” Fascinating.
SASHA LOGHONH: Exactly.
David Brower: Right?
SASHA LOGHONH: Yes. And I think out of all people in my life regardless of how well they’ve done for themselves or how educated they are, my mom with the most- I think life experience- nothing beats life experience.
David Brower: True
SASHA LOGHONH: Uh, she could make comments that only she could pinpoint intuitively, and I would say the irony that she is the most understanding when I’m going through a turbulent phase, versus all of the people who are practical and they look at it as, “It’s so easy, just resolve your challenge by doing this.” And sometime mothers- mothers cannot be replaced.
David Brower: No, that is a true story. That is absolutely a true story. Well, Sasha, we’re a little bit close to running out of time here, so I want to make sure that we have time to, uh, promote your website, promote your book, promote anything that you would like to get out there for our listeners to be able to reach to you.
SASHA LOGHONH: Sure, if anybody has questions or wants to learn more about Sasha Talks, you could go to sashatalks.com, and drop me a line, and usually I get back within, um- as soon as possible. And you’re welcome to check out the social media. It’s mostly related to business or spirituality. And if you have any creative ideas, feel free to pitch them
David Brower: Very good. So you’re- I mean you’re talk- you’re an expert in business, entrepreneurship, spirituality, self-development, professional development, relationships, life transitions, so a lot of opportunities, folks, for you to reach out to Sasha and- and, uh, ask her some questions that, uh, you may not even have though of the answer.
You have a gift my friend, what a treat to l- to talk with you today.
SASHA LOGHONH: Well thank you, David. We covered a few things that I typically don’t get to share … on air, so thank you for asking those unique questions.
David Brower: You’re very welcome, you’re very welcome. It’s, uh, it’s always a treat to talk to somebody who … is in such a good place spiritually. So thank you so much for the time.
SASHA LOGHONH: Thank you.
David Brower: You’ve been listening to Your Twenty Minute Podcast with David Brower. I want to thank my guest, Sasha Loghonh, for, uh, joining us, and be sure to like us on Facebook, at facebook.com/yourtwentyminutepodcast. Sasha, have a great week.
SASHA LOGHONH: Thank you, you too.
David Brower: And tell your mom- and tell your mom, hi.
SASHA LOGHONH: Will do, thank you.
David Brower: (Laughs)
SASHA LOGHONH: (Laughs)