From Burnout to Billboard – The Spiritual Journey Behind Becoming an International Bestselling Author
- Brainz Magazine
- Apr 15
- 7 min read
Updated: Apr 19
Written by Jayne Robinson, Spiritual Coach & Advisor
Jayne Robinson is a skilled, intuitive spiritual advisor and coach. Director of JR Coaching, Founder of the Good Initiative, and soon-to-be-published author (2025, NYC Times Square)
When my face lit up on a billboard in Times Square, I should’ve felt on top of the world, and of course, I did. But what made that moment unforgettable wasn’t the lights or the accolades. It was the deep knowing that while this moment is incredible, it is not everything. There’s so much more richness, depth, and truth to my life now than the version of success I used to chase.
That moment under the billboards was a full-circle experience, a reflection of everything I’d walked through, shed, surrendered to, and reclaimed. Not just as a spiritual coach and advisor. But as a woman who rebuilt herself from the ashes of burnout, heartbreak, and disillusionment.
This is the story behind the billboard. And it didn’t start with glamor. It started with misalignment and a breaking point in a car park.
The moment of misalignment
You see, I thought I had it all… or so I told myself.
I had successfully escaped the career I once dreaded (teaching) and had built what my dream business that I had dreamt of for so long. I was my own boss. Coaching clients. Making money. Living a life others admired.
But the reality behind the scenes? It almost broke me.
After enduring the most painful breakup of my life, one that left me questioning everything, I unconsciously made a vow: Never again. I became hyper-focused on rebuilding. Coaching became my oxygen. I was like a dog with one of those plastic funnels around its head, tunnel vision sums it up pretty well. I didn’t see anything else. Just keep going. Keep producing. Keep being ‘successful’ until you reach the top.
My Mum has said to me many times throughout my life, “Slow down, Jayne, you’re like a bull in a China shop!” But I couldn’t hear her. I didn’t want to. I was too busy..
The breakdown that birthed a breakthrough
It wasn’t until I found myself sobbing in my car after a healing session that something shifted. And I don’t mean a few tears, I mean guttural, soul-shaking, where-the-fck-do-I-go-from-here* kind of weeping. The kind that comes from finally letting go.
Everything I had once loved, my business, personal development books, even the sound of a marketing podcast, repulsed me. I couldn’t fake it anymore. I was completely burned out and completely done. For a while, I thought I’d never get the fire back. Maybe I needed to leave the industry altogether? I questioned myself.
So I did what I’ve always done in times of transition: I trusted the whisper of my souls calling and I got on a plane. I left everything familiar and found myself in Bali, not for the Instagram version, but to truly go down the rabbit hole of my own soul.
The inner work that changed everything
And that’s where the deeper journey began.
What most people don’t see when they celebrate your highlight reel is the work you do in the dark. The nights you question who you are. The ceremonies where you surrender everything. The ego deaths. The identity unravelling. The spiritual awakenings that make you feel like you're losing your mind, only to discover your truth.
One of the most profound moments of my life came in the jungles of Costa Rica during a sacred ayahuasca ceremony. I lost my vision, literally. I couldn’t see anything. And in that moment, I had no choice but to rely on others. To ask for help. To receive. Mother Ayahuasca showed me the parts of myself that had been resisting love, resisting support, resisting being truly seen.
I had built walls so high around my heart that no one could get in. And while those walls kept me ‘safe,’ they also kept me very alone.
What I learned in that ceremony and in the many moments that followed, was this: surrender is not weakness. It's where the magic lives. And joy is not only fun, it’s a necessity! Over the last seven years I’d had very little of it in my life.
And it again reminded me to stop clutching life with a death grip. To stop trying to orchestrate every outcome. Because honestly? Every time I tried to control the plan; I got in the way of something far more beautiful.
Now, I treat my life like a divine treasure hunt. I follow the breadcrumbs. I take the next right step. I let go of needing to know how it all ends, because the real joy is in who I become along the way. DO I have a plan? Sure I do, but more often than not that plan gets turfed out the window because something even better comes along. It’s great to have plans; in fact, they are a lot of what makes me feel safe. It creates a sense of certainty amongst the chaos and our brains love direction and something to focus on and it’s better to spend your time focusing on what you want than worrying and taking yourself off course by focusing on all that could go wrong, you just don’t have to live and die by those plans or goals.
The book that became a lifeline
The idea of writing a book had danced in and out of my awareness for seven years. I started writing during lockdown, then abandoned it. At one point, my laptop even ate the entire draft in Costa Rica, a cosmic slap if I’ve ever felt one.
But something shifted when I saw Dr. Nicole La Pera post a photo of her book up on a billboard in Times Square. My heart skipped a beat. Wouldn’t it be incredible to have that kind of impact? I thought.
I began to visualize it daily, not just the billboard, but the energy of it. The meaning behind it. And then, like a divine wink from the Universe, one month later I was introduced to Shar Moore, the visionary behind That Impact Book. And yes, that’s what it was called.
The synchronicity was too loud to ignore. It was fate.
This wasn’t just a marketing move. Writing those five chapters was my lifeline. My devotion. My resurrection. It kept me alive and hanging on when everything else around me was falling apart and changing.
Through my words, I documented my journey from disillusioned schoolteacher to burnt-out entrepreneur to spiritual coach and bestselling author. I wrote about what it really means to come home to yourself. To follow your soul, not society. To trust yourself again.
Times Square: A moment that meant more
On March 25th, 2025, I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow co-authors in Times Square. My hair slicked back to replicate the ‘wet look’ I so desired and our outfits sparkling in gold to match the book cover. The energy was pulsating and alive! Sirens blaring. Cabs flying past. Flashes going off. Towering billboards lighting up the sky around us.
It was everything I had imagined. And nothing like I had imagined.
I couldn’t fully take it in at the time. There was so much noise, so much happening. But looking back now, it’s crystal clear: That moment wasn’t about arrival. It was about remembrance.
It was a marker of everything I had walked through to get there. A symbol that I was no longer in the dark. That my voice, my story, my impact, they all mattered. And they were no longer being dimmed by fear or burnout.
I held that golden book up with pride, not just because I was published, but because I was finally free. Free to settle into this new chapter and new me that has been created and one that doesn’t require me to cling to success or validation to feel good about myself and one where I can let those close to me in again and trust that I will be supported and that I can open my heart to the right people. Sure, it won’t always go as planned but I won’t be alone and I’m stronger than ever before. I’m willing to take the knocks and keep standing back up and remaining open. Because living with a closed heart is no way to live at all.
The truth behind the success
Here's what I wish someone had told me before I got on the hamster wheel of high achievement:
Success isn’t what you think it is.
It’s not the dopamine hits. It’s not the followers or the features. And it’s definitely not the bank balance (though I’m grateful for financial stability).
True success is waking up with peace in your heart. It's time to sip your coffee slowly. It’s being able to be present with the people you love. It’s being known and loved for who you really are, not just for what you produce.
To the ‘successful but unfulfilled’ version of me, and maybe you, I say this:
Spiritual alignment must come before recognition because true success is only fulfilling when it’s rooted in authenticity, inner peace, and a deep connection to who you really are, not just what the world sees. If not, you’ll chase every shiny thing hoping it fills the void… and it never will. And you’ll miss out on the heats and souls around you who truly have your best interests at heart.
A final reflection
If you’ve found yourself burning out, questioning your path, or wondering if the version of success you’re chasing is actually yours, this is your invitation.
Not to quit everything and move to Bali (unless you want to of course, it was a magical journey that’s for sure!). But to pause. To reflect. To ask your soul what it really wants. And to trust that the clues will appear once you start listening.
Your billboard moment will come, but only when you stop trying to be everything to everyone and start becoming everything to yourself.
This isn’t the end of the story. It’s just the next chapter. And you get to write it, on your own terms.
If you’re ready to challenge your limitations, embrace transformation, and forge a new path on your own terms here’s the link for my international best selling book and make sure you are the first to know when my second book (coming out soon) the Freedom Experiment, How I white knuckled fear to find myself, can be pre ordered by getting put on the waitlist by sending the word freedom here.
Read more from Jayne Robinson
Jayne Robinson, Spiritual Coach & Advisor
Jayne Robinson is an intuitive spiritual advisor and coach. As the Director of JR Coaching and an avid student of life, Jayne is much like the phoenix rising, leaning into her edge of personal development, emerging from her own transformations and spiritual quests time and time again. As such she is dedicated to helping clients do the same, to create a vibrant new chapter in their lives. Supporting successful entrepreneurs and individuals searching for more to move beyond boredom and burnout, guiding them through a spiritual voyage of uncertainty and fear to a transformative metaphorical death to rebirth. Her mission: embrace discomfort, uncover hidden possibilities, and transform your life.
