Fear List | Motorcycles

Maya Lynne and her motorcycle classmates. | March 2026

I have been very comfortable with my luxury Honda CR-V. But recently, even as early as this time last year, I began to ask myself why I needed a car anymore. What big loads was I carrying, whether human or product? And I came to one conclusion: I didn’t need my SUV anymore. I needed a motorcycle.

And before you ask, Is this a midlife crisis? The answer is no. First and foremost, I hate driving cars. I repeat, I hate driving. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate driving. If I had my choice between a cook, housekeeper and a driver, I would pick a driver first. The idea of a car for me was always in regard to having a big family and community. I’m at a place in my life where I am enjoying my own company or that of one or two more people at a time. 3 or more people can feel draining.

While in Bali, I used to order a rideshare motor scooter to take me from Kuta to Ubud. I only ride that far as the passenger, so I can listen to music while enjoying the wind in my hair. I intuitively ride with the flow. I hang out for the day and then ride back. The round trip takes 2-3 hours by bike, depending on traffic and time of day. There is such freedom when I can feel the wind on my body.

Lifestyle: Won and Done

The motorcycle class was 2 days. 2 ½ hours of classwork and 5 hours of motorcycle training a day. I was on a motorcycle riding, swerving, leaning, quick stpping, turning, weaving, starting and shfiting. The class started with the maximum number of students: 12. There were 10 men and 2 women.

By the end of Day 1, there were 9 men and 1 woman (me). The next day was written and driving practical day, and I found 4 new guys in the class, all had to take the written and 2 also had to take the practical. So here I am, all 5’5 of me little lady in a class with 14 other guys. I cannot show fear or nervousness because I am too excited to be nervous. But, I notice something about the men.

They are very nervous. And it feels palpable in that room. We forget that our men really do have fears. During the break, between written and riding, I told some of the guys that and so I was in a place in my life where I want to do the things I fear because I want nothing and no one, including myself to hold me back.

I was the only person in class who trained on two very different bikes. Day 1, I was on a motorcycle, Honda Rebel, and Day 2, I was on a motor scooter. (Hello Europe and Asia!) these are 2 very different rides. One has a clutch and gear shifts and a back crake on the right and the other… doesn’t. I was the only one learning two styles of riding. On one, my legs are spread wide like I’m riding a horse. The other, the guys were making fun of me saying, I looked like I was driving one of those electric grocery carts in the parking lot. I could not stop laughing.

So, how did I do? I finished in 1st place. I tied with 1 of the guys for the riding practical. That’s right. Not only did I get over test anxiety fear, drigin fear, fear of falling, fear of falling, I finished first in my class. Toot toot! Beep beep!

Intuition: A Lesson in Love

In October 2025, I was afraid to drive a motorcycle. In March 2026, I was licensed to ride internationally.

I love the independence of a motorcycle. When you’re driving a motorcycle, you have to make yourself your number one priority. You have to anticipate the traffic of cars, bikes, animals, and humans. Bali is a place where you drive without stoplights and stop sign. All driving is instinctual. You have to feel the rhythm of the traffic; the other drivers on the road. You are all mentally communicating to make sure that you stay accident free.

The more I drove, and especially when I took the California Motorcyclists Safety Program, I could feel every emotion when people lost their balance and fell, when they stalled. I watched people give up and quit and I watched people rally around each other as we took our practical tests in front of one another.

I realized at that moment, with a smile, that this was something I was doing for me. I have been on journey to find hobbies that I love and love sharing. And this hobby was a lesson in fear and love. And love means making sure that I take care of my safety (helmet), my business (legal paperwork), and my independence (drivers cancel.)

Travel: It Takes Two

There are certain things you just shouldn’t do alone, and one of them is learning how to ride a motorcycle. This experience is a great reminder to not be afraid to ask for help or open to receiving it.

Having no one to tell me this wasn’t something I should or could do allowed me to listen to my intuition and make a choice without the stress of other people’s opinions. Also, the freedom to fail privately, which I didn’t, brought me relief.

Learning from calm and patient people is what I am most grateful for.

Maya Lynne driving in Bali, for the first time, with her instructor. | November 2025

FACT: Many expats ride illegally in Bali. If they get stopped by the police, they pay a hefty fine. And if they are injured or the bike is damaged, they don’t have insurance to pay for it. They have to go in their own pockets and those are also hefty fees. I did not want to put myself that position. Especially in a foreign country.

You don’t need to be fearless to reach your goals, you just need to be willing. Willing to try, willing to learn, and willing to believe that you’re capable of more than you know. The road may not always be smooth, but growth rarely is. What matters most is that you keep going, keep growing, and keep believing in the version of yourself you’re becoming.

Fear List | Solo Travel

Maya Lynne Robinson in the Philippines, November 2023

Happy Birthday month to me! I’m so grateful for another year and another opportunity to learn and teach. I needed one place to bring all of my work together… slowly… deliberately, so that it was not overwhelming to you or me.

Life is a journey about how far we can push ourselves out of our comfort zones to become the greatest version of ourselves. This isn’t a race with any other person or their journey; it’s about individual growth and development.

I made a pledge to myself that if there were things that I feared, the ones with the least physical risk involved, I would do. And solo traveling was high up on my Fear List.

When I had the money, my friends might have had to work. When they had the time off, I might have to work. I was going nowhere and I was going nowhere fast. Something needed to change. My beautiful home felt like a prison. I wasn’t growing. It felt like I was in a pot much too small for me and my roots were be squeezed. The gardening metaphor would not leave me alone. And I was going to have to do this alone.

I was never comfortable doing things by myself because I wasn’t sure I would like my own company. How many of you have had that feeling before? I was good, supportive energy for others, but what about me? I realized I didnt’t focus much on myself. I wasn’t sure , at this point, what my hobbies and interest were anymore because I had spent so much time doing what others wanted.

I had lost myself in my desire to support others. I had become a supporting character in my own life. I realized I would have to move differently, but explain to no one. I am walking around in main character energy. I get to be the most important person in my story. And that doesn’t require explaining to anyone. Let my actions speak louder than my words. And the first action of business was figuring out where I was going to go.

All I wanted to do, for sure, was I loved:

1. Museums, museums, museums. I love art and I love culture. I can tour art for hours!

2. Inexpensive luxury. There is nothing better than luxury on a budget. From spa days to private tours, I love getting the best price for premium experiences.

3. Food, folks, and fun. I wanted to meet cool people, eat yummy food and enjoy the nightlife.

Lifestyle: Go Where You Glow

I chose The Philippines! This was actually my second trip, but the first doesn’t really count. I’ll tell you about that in another story.

The first picture was at the start of my 10-day vacation to the Philippines and the second was one week after I arrived back in Los Angeles. Those 10 days away did something amazing to my spirit. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to keep this energetic glow when I got back, and so, I would go on several solo vacations around the world, including back here, trying to figure out the secret to a vacation glow, which is permanent transformation through clarity in purpose and balance,

My lifestyle requires good food, fitness, and making sound cultural connections and decisions. I realized I was going to have to trust myself and depend on my discernment to navigate foreign waters and find my shine.

10 days later, the light was back in my eyes, my skin had cleared up and the glow of my aura was bright. But I don’t have to tell you that. You can look at the pictures and tell the difference.

Intuition: Get Strong, Get Grounded, Get Ready

I have learned the importance of signs, symbols and synchronicities when figuring out what to do next or what to expect in my life. God may not break it down in the simplest form, but enough for me to become aware that these signs mean something.

Before I left, I told you about the garden metaphor. How no matter how nice my home was, I felt stifled, as if I had stopped growing. I didn’t like it. After heavily moving furniture around my house, I realized that the person sho had to move was me. Not just my body out of the house and on vacation, but also out of that house. I wouldn’t truly understand that second example for another six months, but it was buried somewhere in my subconscious for me to remember it later.

Now, let’s take these three pictures that stood out to me from my trip. I take a lot of pictures and videos because I love to look back an witness my transformation. when we our in transformation, it is hard for us to see the changes in ourselves, thought we may feel like we are chasing. Having media evidence helps the analysis of change.

The gym was not anything I was interested in, but something told me to pack gym clothes anyway. From Day one, jet lagged and all, I was in the gym. The signs were that I would have to toughen up. This was an internal and external wake up call to take better care of my body and also get a tougher skin.

Sitting at a museum and staring at a painting. I was being told to sit and enjoy the culture, history and ability of time this vacation is giving me to relax and be present.

And at a different museum, I thought taking this picture was cute, but the more I looked at it, the more I felt it was a symbol for me facing not my fear, but choosing it. I was in a place in my life where I wanted to confront fear intentionally and reclaim control over what once felt overwhelming.

Travel: Main Character Energy

I consider the Philippines my first solo travel, though I had been to Bali solo already. Bali had been planned, from food to activities, the first 8 out of 10 days of the trip, so I had safe adventure. I wasn’t forced to interact, I had built in conversation with the resort staff.

In the Philippines, I felt spiritually peaceful and present. Once I got to the beautiful beaches of Boracay, I began to intuit messages more clearly. It was the culture shock I needed to understand where you go to grow (Manila/ Boracay) versus go to glow. (Bali)

The lesson I learned with this first solo vacation is there is nothing to fear but fear itself. You don’t learn the unknown by fearing it; only by facing it. I learned to focus on turning fear into something exciting through travel.

Travel also taught me that it’s nice to have a supporting cast. With my love language being acts of service, it feels like it’s the only time I’m allowed, or even expected, to ask for help. Being somewhere where you don’t know the culture, language or laws, it’s important to ask and accept support and help in order to navigate new territory.

I left that 10 day trip a brand new person. I got the travel bug, I fell in love with the Philippines and I remembered how much I loved to learn. I had outgrown my flowerpot. It was time to find a new garden.

Fearless: I am no longer uncomfortable asking for help because I deserve and need it.

Fear List | Welcome

Maya Lynne Robinson

From Fear List to Fearless

Everyone has a list of things they avoid, whether they admit it or not. It’s not always written down, but it’s there. It shows up in the conversations we put off, the risks we don’t take, and the versions of ourselves we hesitate to step into.

This is mine.

But this isn’t just a list of fears. It’s a record of what happens when I stop letting those fears lead me. Every entry starts with something that once made me uncomfortable, something that felt intimidating or out of reach, and then I choose to do it anyway.

Not because the fear magically goes away, but because I’ve learned how to separate myself from it. I can feel it without letting it control me. I can observe it instead of becoming it.

At some point, I stopped trying to figure out how to be confident. That idea never really worked for me. Instead, I started choosing less fear. I realized that if I did the things I didn’t understand, I would begin to understand them and once I did, they no longer had power over me.

This blog is starting out a reflection of that shift. It’s what happens when I stopped avoiding the things that scare me and started facing them, one by one.

We live in a world of fear and hate. And I don’t want to have either of those traits. So, here I am, sharing my personal side, in print. I invite you to hold me accountable, not to the blog, but to its messaging. We all fear something that we no longer want to control our lives. I’m working on mine and I hope it gives you the courage to work on yours, too.