Finding your purpose to accomplish what we are set out to do in our lives may be easier for some over others. Through hard work, proper education, and direction that is granted from the mentors, friends, and family, we are able to define our purpose easily. However, form some, the ways in which this direction manifests comes from unexpected twists and turns that allow us to flourish in ways that we originally thought were not possible. Today's guest, Rebecca Williamson, discusses her "career shift" from postmaster to owner of the Cambre House, which transformed her way of doing business to earn a living, but has enriched her life (& family) in many surprising ways. Her "spooky" ghost tours and offerings as a wedding venue are a tip of the iceberg to this incredible story of transformation through grief and pain, and turning it into something that was not originally the purpose she set out in life. Through careful assistance & determination, learn how this growth journey for her has helped others to push open weighted doors and give opportunities to create long-lasting memories for others, even during this Halloween season.

Guest Bio

Rebecca owns a haunted wedding venue. She talks about the history of the farm, ghosts, and the challenges of starting a business with people telling you how to do it who don't actually own a business. Rebecca went from mail carrier to business owner with a very unconventional business that had a big learning experience!

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/cambrehouse

@Cambre.house on Instagram

Website: http://www.cambrehouse.com

Visit Our Website: https://speaking-from-the-heart.captivate.fm/

Visit Our Business Website: https://www.yourspeakingvoice.biz

Support The Mission Of The Business! Donate Here: https://speaking-from-the-heart.captivate.fm/support

Intro/Outro By: Michael Dugan, Podcast Host: Voice4Chefs

Welcome to the podcast where relationships, confidence, and

2

determination all converge into

an amazing, heartfelt experience.

3

This is Speaking From The Heart.

4

Joshua: Welcome back to a very spooky

episode 164 of Speaking from the Heart.

5

Now, if you're not sure why I think

it's a little bit spooky, you're going

6

to find out today because today's guest

is Rebecca Williamson, and no, she's

7

not spooky, but what she represents

might be a little spooky in itself.

8

Rebecca owns a haunted wedding venue.

9

She talks about the history of the farm,

ghosts, and the challenges of starting a

10

business with people, telling you how to

do it, who don't actually own a business.

11

Rebecca went from a mail carrier to

business owner in a very unconventional

12

business that had a big learning

experience, and you're going to find

13

that today's story, especially of how she

got into this house that she owns, which

14

is a very beautiful place which we'll

talk about, really helps to understand

15

why sometimes, even in our own houses,

trying to be able to build that value,

16

build that consistency, build our

future, might be tougher than it might

17

appear, especially from the surface.

18

Now, I've had other guests on the show

that have talked about not only their

19

adventures when it comes to owning an

Airbnb, maybe even traveling through

20

a variety of different areas of their

lives to get to where they are today,

21

but I think you're going to find that

this story has some twists and turns, not

22

only of opportunity, but also invest in

something that might be scary starting

23

out, but actually might help us in the

bigger scheme of things, being able

24

to learn, being able to shift in the

priorities and direction of our own lives.

25

I think you're going to hear from

Rebecca's story that that purpose, where

26

we find those opportunities, means that

we're not always granted tomorrow, so

27

we should take advantage of today in

order to not only find those ways in

28

which we can make inroads, but even if

it's scary in itself, spooky, that is,

29

you're going to learn so much about

how it's not as spooky as it sounds.

30

But with that, let's go to the episode.

31

All right.

32

We're here with Rebecca Williamson.

33

Rebecca!

34

Thanks for sharing your

heart with us today.

35

Rebecca: Well, thanks for having me on.

36

I'm excited to be here.

37

Joshua: I love what we're going to be

talking about today, but first off,

38

Happy Halloween to all of those that are

listening to this episode, because I think

39

today's guest will give you a little bit

of perspective of why I had this episode

40

air on the date it is airing on, so thanks

so much for spending some time with me.

41

I already let the audience know a little

bit about your story and what you are all

42

about, but I got to ask this question.

43

Why would you buy a historical

house to rent out, and have

44

all these kinds of activities?

45

There's has to be a backstory, and maybe

he can start from the beginning with us.

46

Rebecca: Yeah, so there is a lot of

backstory to Cambre, so the Cambre

47

House itself was built in 1867 by

French immigrants who came to the

48

United States to be part of this perfect

utopian society called the Icarians.

49

The Icarians were kind of like

a hippie commune where you

50

sold everything you owned.

51

You donated it all to this society and

lived in this apartment like complex.

52

The Cambres came over from France to

be part of this idealistic movement,

53

and then they ended up branching

out on their own and bought the farm

54

that I now own in 1860, and four

generations of Cambres live there.

55

They had an apple orchard there, so it

was a working apple orchard until around

56

the 1940s, and then in 1979, the family

ended up selling the home at auction,

57

and my grandmother had come there as a

little girl to pick apples, and she had

58

some really fond memories of being out at

that farm, and so she told my grandfather

59

she really wanted to buy it, and so she

dragged him out there, and said, "We're

60

buying this!', and he fell in love with

it too, and so they bought it, not with

61

the intention of ever living out there,

but because they loved history and

62

antiques, and my grandmother always said

it was exactly the way she remembered it

63

when she was a little girl, and there's

very few places you can say that about.

64

The Cambre family built the home

really well and they actually

65

took very good care of it.

66

They never remodeled the home at all,

and when you're there at the house,

67

you can tell that this home is almost

68

so my grandparents bought it with the

intention of preserving the history.

69

They filled it with antiques, and

treated it kind of like a life sized

70

dollhouse, and then we did craft shows.

71

We did weddings.

72

If there was a big family gathering,

we were doing it out of the farm.

73

In 2015, my grandmother passed

away, and then two weeks later, my

74

husband passed away suddenly, and-

75

Joshua: Oh wow.

76

Rebecca: Yeah.

77

Joshua: I didn't realize

that, so I'm so sorry.

78

Rebecca: Yeah.

79

It was very sudden for my husband, my

grandmother; she'd had some problems

80

for a while and she had a stroke, and so

her passing was slower, and then after

81

she passed, two weeks later, my husband

just literally drop dead, and so the

82

Cambre House was their favorite place.

83

My grandmother loved it, and

my husband loved it as well.

84

He loves spending time out there and being

there, and so in the mongst of all that

85

grieving where I didn't really know which

way was up, they were getting ready to

86

sell the farm, and we had a real estate

person come in, and they told us that

87

anybody who bought this property would

have to completely gut it and remodel

88

it if they planned on living in it, and

having this historic home that all the

89

windows are even the original windows

90

gutted and remodeled was heartbreaking.

91

I'd already lost so much at that

point that I just couldn't bear

92

the idea of losing yet another

thing, and so I bought the farm.

93

No clear plan in mind.

94

Anybody who has been in what is called

complicated grieving, so when you're

95

grieving more than one person, or more

than one large loss at a time, you end up

96

in this space that's called complicated

grieving, which is complicated.

97

You lose a big sense of who you are as

the person when you go through that much

98

grief, and there's a lot of physical

manifestations to grieving that you don't

99

really realize until you're in that space

and thinking clearly is not something that

100

is a possibility, but yeah, like I said.

101

It was one of those things where I just

said, "I'm not going to lose one more

102

thing.", and so I bought the farm, which

trying to explain to your friends that

103

you bought this three bedroom farmhouse,

in the middle of nowhere, over an hour

104

from your house that you don't ever

plan on living in is kind of rough, so-

105

Joshua: I mean, I kind of had that

thought; like this wild proposition

106

that maybe you were doing this for noble

motives, but then hearing this, I almost

107

felt like this was like a triple whammy

of sorts that if you would have bought the

108

house, and you would have been not been

able to fix it, that just would have been

109

another grieving moment for you, perhaps.

110

Rebecca: Yeah.

111

Yeah.

112

It would have been another

grieving moment, like the idea

113

of losing one more thing was just

something I just couldn't handle.

114

I literally couldn't stomach the

idea of losing one more thing, and

115

I bought it, and it was just one of

those things I'm like, " I don't know

116

what I'm doing with it.", so then

I bought it and then said, "Oh my!

117

What on earth did I just buy?

118

What am I going to do with this?

119

I have no clue.", so I kind of

went back and I said, "Okay.

120

Well, what did my grandparents do

with this?", so they did craft shows,

121

and then I'd had a few cousins that

got married over the years out there,

122

and so I had the bright idea that I

could open it up as a wedding venue.

123

Now, I was a mail carrier at this point.

124

I was not a business owner.

125

I didn't know anything about

business, but I'm like, "You know.

126

We've had some weddings.

127

This'll be easy.

128

I'll just tell people we're doing weddings

out here.", and love to show up, because

129

people like outdoor weddings right now.

130

It's a big thing, and oddly enough,

you do actually have to advertise.

131

Joshua: Yeah.

132

Usually that's how it works, and

I've learned that the hard way for

133

my business too, so I can understand.

134

Rebecca: I mean, you come into

these ideas like, "Oh yeah.

135

Slap out the sign, and people will know,

and they'll show up.", and that's just

136

not how that works, and so I was able

to work with small business development.

137

It's a free program through the

government, and they were able to

138

kind of help me learn how to run a

business, learn how to market myself.

139

This is a farmhouse out

in the middle of nowhere.

140

No one will drive by this place

ever, unless they're looking for it,

141

and sometimes they drive by anyway,

so the marketing aspect of it was

142

super important, and I was grateful

for the help for the small business

143

development where they came along,

and were able to kind of give me a

144

crash course in owning a business.

145

Joshua: I've been looking

at photos on your website.

146

For my listeners, I'll have them

in the episode notes too that you

147

can take a look at this house.

148

It's beautiful, and I see the

work that you've done with it.

149

I really am afraid to ask you

this, and maybe you remember it,

150

but I'm kind of cringing a bit.

151

You said that a lot of

work had to be done.

152

How much did it cost to actually

renovate the overall house to

153

make it a functional facility?

154

Rebecca: Not as much

as you'd really think.

155

My grandparents had done a lot of

work themselves when they purchased

156

it from the Cambres, and like I

said, it was really well preserved.

157

A lot of it was just going through

and cleaning; a lot of cleaning.

158

My grandparents had been in the

nursing home for the last six

159

years of their life, so it hadn't

really been used in six years.

160

There was a new furnace involved.

161

I took out some really old carpet in

one room and laid down some new floor.

162

I was really hoping to salvage the

floor underneath of it, but when we

163

pulled up that really nasty old carpet,

there was plywood that had been nailed

164

down like an inch apart, like into

the entire floor, like little one

165

inch squares, and it was crazy, so-

166

Joshua: Yeah.

167

Rebecca: Unfortunately, I couldn't

save the floor underneath, but I

168

found like a floating floor that's

put over the top that a lot of people

169

think looks like the original floor,

so I was able to match that up.

170

One building had to come down.

171

The foundation was kind of giving out

on this old barn, and so we took that

172

down and put in a patio, but as far as

old houses in the middle of nowhere,

173

we got really lucky in that there

wasn't a whole lot of extra stuff.

174

Joshua: Now, I noticed that this is

overlooking the Mississippi River, so to

175

put this in perspective for our listeners

as to where this is exactly located,

176

can you kind of give us an idea, if

you can, draw that map visually for us.

177

Rebecca: Sure, so I am

in West Central Illinois.

178

If you picture the shape of Illinois,

there's a nose, kind of on the

179

side, and I am right on the nose of

Illinois on the Mississippi River.

180

Joshua: It has to be actually pretty

beautiful to be at the house, being

181

able to also see that overlook and then

being able to use it for a variety of

182

different things, so you started to say

some of that already where you converted

183

this into a wedding facility, but I see

that on your website, you have rentals

184

and ghost tours, so I wonder if you

could tell us a little bit about what

185

you offer in terms of general rentals,

and then, what's appealing to going

186

to this house to then do a ghost tour?

187

Rebecca: And now we see why

I'm on the Halloween episode.

188

Joshua: Yeah.

189

I like getting super scared about it.

190

Ooh!

191

Okay.

192

That was my visual

effects for my listeners.

193

Rebecca: Yeah, so I own

a haunted wedding venue.

194

Everybody always asks me like, "Okay.

195

How did you realize the farm was

haunted?", and my answer to that question

196

is I spent the night there for the first

time, so when we were kids, we spent

197

a ton of time out at the farm, but we

didn't actually spend the night, because

198

my grandparents lived about 10 minutes

away from the house and when it got dark,

199

we all just went home, or we went to

grandma and granddad's to spend the night.

200

We didn't stay out there, so I bought

the home, and we're getting ready to do

201

some work, so we went out there for the

weekend, and that particular weekend, I

202

brought my sister and my daughter with me.

203

My daughter was eight, and as the

sun goes down, it becomes apparent

204

that we're really going to spend the

night there, and my daughter panics,

205

so my eight year old is freaking out.

206

She's like, "I am not sleeping

here.", and I'm like, "Yeah.

207

You are.", and she was

like, "I don't think so.

208

You are going to take me home.", and I

said, "Absolutely not.", and so I had

209

the car keys, and she can't drive, so she

is actually staying here at this house,

210

and she refused to sleep in any bedroom.

211

I mean, if that was a flat, hard no.

212

She was not going to sleep in any

of those bedrooms, and we finally

213

compromised in the fact that she was

going to sleep in the living room.

214

We'd brought an air mattress with us,

so I am sleeping in the middle of the

215

living room, on a twin size air mattress,

with an eight year old glued to my side,

216

who is terrified to be in this house.

217

Now, my sister slept

upstairs in a bedroom.

218

She'd brought her puppy with her, and

the puppy was like six weeks old, and

219

was still going outside to go to the

bathroom in the middle of the night,

220

and so in order to do that, she comes

down the stairs, walks right beside

221

my head, goes out the front door,

comes back in, so in the middle of

222

the night, I'm waking up three times

by somebody coming down the stairs,

223

walking past me, and going out the door.

224

I did not open my eyes because I

don't want to get the puppy excited.

225

I finally got that kid asleep.

226

We're not going to make waves here, right,

and so the next morning I told my sister,

227

"You know, your puppy did really good.

228

You guys only went outside

three times last night.", and

229

she says, "Puppy did great.

230

We went outside twice last night.",

and I said, "No you didn't.

231

You went outside three

times.", and she says, "No."

232

Joshua: Oh.

233

Rebecca: We argued, and finally came to

the realization that I really had heard

234

somebody come down the steps that was

not my sister and go out the front door,

235

and so that kind of got us thinking about

stuff that had happened at the farm.

236

My grandparents never

thought the farm was haunted.

237

That wasn't something that we had

actually talked about, that during the

238

eighties, that wasn't really a thing

people did talk about, but the basement

239

door of the house opened so often

when we were kids, if there was a big

240

event out there, a lot of times they

made one of us grandkids stand by that

241

door to make sure it was stayed shut.

242

The attic door opened on

its own a lot as well.

243

They always blamed one of us grandkids,

but none of us grandkids ever remember

244

opening that door, and that door

actually, coming back and looking at it

245

as an adult, that door is weighted so

it swings shut, so if you push it open,

246

it will swing shut, so there literally

is no reason that that door should

247

ever be opened on its own, and so now

we're thinking, "I think we might have

248

something going on here.", and I had

a friend who was starting a paranormal

249

investigative team at that point, and so

I reached out to him and I said, "Hey!

250

I just bought this farmhouse

in the middle of nowhere.

251

Do you want to come and check it out?",

and he did, and that was the point where

252

we realized that the home was haunted.

253

We definitely had a lot of activity.

254

We were able to measure some really

solid cold spots about that time.

255

If you've done paranormal investigating,

there's a lot of equipment they bring, and

256

the lights went off, and they got a lot

of activity, and so then it was like, "Oh!

257

I own a haunted farmhouse!"

258

I had a friend suggest that I should

start doing ghost tours out there, and

259

I did, and it went really, really well.

260

I will say hosting ghost tours

is terrifying, because you can't

261

tell the ghost, "It's time!"

262

You can't have practice runs

with people you don't see.

263

Joshua: It's like, "They paid money.

264

Now it's time to come out!"

265

No!

266

It doesn't come out that way.

267

Yeah.

268

Rebecca: I mean, don't get me wrong.

269

I have walked in the house before a

paranormal investigation and kind of

270

clap my hands and said, "Okay, guys.

271

This is it.

272

Don't make me look stupid.", but yeah,

the ghost tours went really well so far.

273

I had really good luck

getting activity for people.

274

I host my own private ghost tours.

275

It's a two hour tour where I

have a paranormal team there.

276

They bring their equipment.

277

I tell them the history of the location

and the farm, and then they get to go

278

investigate with a paranormal team using

their equipment, so it's a lot of fun.

279

It's like you see on the TV shows,

and then I rent it out to paranormal

280

teams who are looking for overnights at

locations, and so the first year I didn't

281

have a wedding at my wedding venue.

282

Joshua: I didn't have my first client

for a while until like about halfway

283

through the year, so I totally

understand where you're coming from.

284

It takes a lot of persistence.

285

Yeah.

286

Rebecca: It does, and like weddings

are planned at least a year out, so it

287

takes at least a year to really build

up a wedding venue, if not longer.

288

I think I finally hit my stride with

the weddings about three years into

289

it, but the ghosts really kept my farm

going, and for me, having the ghosts

290

there, and doing ghost tours and stuff,

especially coming through all that

291

grieving process was hugely affirming.

292

My grandparents did some interaction

on some of the tours where they were

293

able to like tell me that they liked

what I was doing out of the farm.

294

That was something I was like, since

I hadn't planned on buying the farm,

295

I hadn't been able to discuss that

with them and to do this ghost tour

296

where granddad was like, "Yeah.

297

I really like what you're doing

and I'm happy about it.", that

298

was like, really nice to be able

to get that feedback, you know.

299

Joshua: I actually thought of this, and

this is probably a little far fetched

300

of a question; probably one of the far

fetched questions I've ever asked on the

301

show, but I want to put this in your mind,

and maybe you thought of this already.

302

Rebecca: Okay.

303

Joshua: Do you think that maybe your

husband, and even your grandmother,

304

obviously, they're no longer here,

you think that those are the spirits

305

that might be haunting the house?

306

Rebecca: My husband not as much.

307

We have never really had any

interaction with my husband at

308

the farm, which is like kind of

disappointing, but, I mean, he moved on

309

to wherever he wanted to go I suppose.

310

My grandmother, occasionally is there.

311

Usually before we're getting ready for

a big event or something, we'll smell

312

like this cinnamon smell, which when they

were having the craft shows out there,

313

she filled the house with these cinnamon

broomsticks and stuff, so it had a really

314

strong cinnamon smell, which the last

315

scent is, obviously, no longer really

associated out there, but yeah, before

316

I've had my big craft shows out there, I

will get a little hint of that cinnamon

317

scent, and I feel like she's there, like

she's excited that we're doing this.

318

My grandparents love this farm

so much, and my husband did too.

319

My husband really enjoyed spending time

out there, and so to be able to do this

320

out there, and be able to talk about

them, is so nice to be able to have the

321

opportunity to share their stories, and

carry on this legacy of what they loved.

322

Joshua: That's actually something I

was thinking about is what's the legacy

323

that you want to leave with this house?

324

Obviously, it has been registered with the

National Registrar so that is a historical

325

place that can't be essentially touched

in ways in which that could be ruinous

326

for that place, but I'm wondering for

you, what was your vision when you took

327

over, outside of all the things that

you shared already, what do you think

328

ultimately you want to achieve by having

this space for other people to come?

329

Rebecca: Like I said, originally

there was no plan in mind.

330

Joshua: Yeah.

331

Rebecca: Unlike other business owners

who had worked in Europe for years and

332

years to make a plan, I had no plan.

333

I just had the farm, but like,

as far as legacy goes, I really-

334

Joshua: I'm going to add on to my

question, and I know that you said

335

that earlier too, because I figured

that this was sort of sudden.

336

This sort of opportunity kind of

just sat on your lap and it was

337

here, but even then, you had this

opportunity now, and you've been

338

doing it for a number of years.

339

I'm sure that you have fell into what

you wanted to see as the future for this

340

place, so that's sort of where I was also

thinking when I asked that question too.

341

Rebecca: I think what I really like about

what I'm doing right now is like taking

342

my special place, something that was very

special to me and my family, and making

343

it a special place for other people and

their families as well, so for the wedding

344

couples, this becomes their special place.

345

This is where they got married, and

they'll come back and do pictures with

346

their kids, and things like that, and

so having it become special to them too

347

is usually rewarding, and then like for

the paranormal people, they fall in

348

love with the house too, and like, I

have paranormal teams that will come out

349

here and investigate looking for ghosts

every single year, because they love

350

being out there so much, so that part,

I like to think my special place will

351

live on and be special for other people

too, and I have succession plans, like

352

when you go through a sudden loss like I

did with my husband, you start thinking

353

long term, like what happens after I

go, so I have all of that planned out.

354

There's two options for that.

355

One option is my kids take over,

and they're still kind of like, "Oh!

356

Maybe.

357

I'm not really sure, but maybe.",

so if they choose not to, then I

358

can set this up as a non profit,

and have a board that runs the farm.

359

Joshua: It sounds like there's always

going to be a farm, and a place to

360

go and watch the Mississippi River.

361

Rebecca: That's my plan.

362

Joshua: Yeah.

363

I'm glad to hear that.

364

For you, and I find this

connection really unique.

365

Here you were.

366

You were a postmaster,

essentially, delivering mail.

367

You probably were delivering the

businesses, and now you get the mail

368

delivered at this house as being

a business owner, so you kind of

369

did this 180 in your own career.

370

Rebecca: Right.

371

Joshua: First off, I don't think

anybody imagines that journeys in life

372

could ultimately end into places that

you never thought possible, and I'm

373

sure that even for yourself, you never

thought in a million years, like, "I'm

374

going to be an innkeeper of sorts."

375

you're kind of an events coordinator.

376

You're a jack of all trades when it

comes to just event management, and

377

having pretty much a facility that can

be rented out for a variety of purposes.

378

What has it meant for you to grow

from being that past version of

379

yourself to who you are today?

380

What has that journey been for you, and

what has that meant and represented?

381

Rebecca: Yeah.

382

If you would have told me that

I was going to be doing this, I

383

would have said, "I don't think so.

384

That sounds pretty wild.", but I

really felt like this gave me purpose,

385

so they tell you when you go through

grieving that you lose a sense of self.

386

Your sense of self really gets lost, and

you have to try and rebuild, and re-find

387

yourself again, and starting the business

at the farm really gave me purpose.

388

It gave me goals, and plans, and

gave me something to look forward to

389

and work towards, and which is just

this project that really took on a

390

life of its own, and gave me back

that sense of purpose and self that

391

I'd really lost going through grief.

392

Joshua: Do you think that the grieving

process is still going on, or do

393

you feel that it's just part of you,

and not just what is motivating you,

394

to keep doing better for all your

customers, all the people that rent?

395

What does that look like for you

to kind of work through that?

396

Rebecca: I think it's

just a part of myself now.

397

That is something that happened to me.

398

It was very defining for me, and I

don't think- I know a lot of people

399

say, "Well, I'm past all that now.",

or whatever, but it's not something I'm

400

ever going to really get past, but it's

something I've learned to live with.

401

I've learned to live with that as

a part of myself, and I mean, I

402

will always miss them, obviously.

403

I think as kids, we expect our

grandparents to pass away, and so that

404

loss was one that I had been mentally

preparing for myself from when I was

405

a kid, but, when the actual day comes,

you're just never ready, even when

406

you're expecting it and prepared for

it, you're just never really ready, but

407

then losing my husband very suddenly,

like that was something that we

408

obviously not had planned on, and it

makes you think about life differently.

409

It makes you think about how

much more fragile life is.

410

I mean, we all are born with this

feeling like we're invincible, and, "Oh.

411

We'll live to like 120 or something.",

but for the reality is that you just

412

don't know, and you're not guaranteed

tomorrow, and you have to learn to really

413

embrace living today, so I think that,

to me, it kind of gave me that sense

414

of purpose to go through all of this.

415

Joshua: For you, being that you've gave

this house, the Cambre House, a future

416

for tomorrow, what has that meant for you?

417

I mean, obviously, you've had some

time now to think about it over the

418

years, and I'm sure you've come to

a different conclusion than what

419

you ultimately had set out in the

beginning, because it was sort of like

420

I said earlier, dropped on your lap.

421

What do you think it has meant to be

able to have part of history revitalized?

422

Rebecca: I love the history side of it.

423

I love being able to take the history

of the farm and be able to share that.

424

I love being able to tell my

grandparents story, and the Cambre

425

family story, and even my story, to

people and be able to share that.

426

I think originally, like

I said, I thought, "Okay.

427

Well, I guess we're going to have

a wedding venue, and I'll do all

428

this wedding stuff.", and now,

it's almost about half and a half.

429

I do ghosts, and I do weddings, and

for a long time there, I ran it as

430

two separate businesses entirely.

431

Okay, on one hand, we're going to put

on the wedding hat and we're going to

432

talk about weddings, and over here,

we're going to put on the ghost hat and

433

we're going to talk about ghosts, and

still learning the business process,

434

I went through a business coaching

program where they're like, "Okay.

435

You need to bring these two together,

and put one hat on it.", and I went

436

through and I rebranded everything as the

haunted wedding venue, so, that was kind

437

of my bringing the two sides together,

and now here we are: haunted weddings.

438

Joshua: I have to say.

439

You're one of the more unique individuals

to be able to bring something like those

440

two concepts together, because I always

heard them separately, and here, even

441

in Pennsylvania, we have haunted houses.

442

We have wedding venues, but nothing quite

like combining the two together, so I

443

find your business venture very unique.

444

Congratulations on everything that

you're doing to make that such a

445

success and getting as many people,

many different ideas, out of it.

446

I have been super excited for you

just seeing this and hearing you

447

today; just all these things that

you're doing is incredible, Rebecca.

448

I want to give you the last few minutes

here as we're at the end of our time.

449

Let us know how we can

get in touch with you.

450

Maybe people want to come

visit the Cambre House.

451

Maybe you can give us some information

as to how they can make a reservation.

452

Maybe for the future, they might

want to come and do a ghost tour.

453

Although it's Halloween, they might

be missing out a little bit, but hey.

454

I'm sure you're doing that year round, and

that's an opportunity for them as well, so

455

I'm going to give you the last few minutes

to share all that with our listeners.

456

Rebecca: Yeah, so my website

is cambrehouse.com, so C

457

A M B R E; Cambre House.

458

I'm on Facebook @CambreHouse.

459

I'm on Instagram @Cambre.House, and

then I'm on TikTok too @CambreHouse.

460

At this point, if you type Cambre

House into a search engine,

461

I should pop up somewhere.

462

If you look on YouTube, there's

a lot of videos of people doing

463

investigations out at the house, so if

you like all the ghosty stuff and you

464

want to see what a good investigation

at Cambre looks like, you can

465

definitely check some of those out.

466

Joshua: I think that all of that is

amazing and spooky in itself, so I'm

467

going to put all of that in the episode

notes for you, and also for our listeners

468

to access, but I have to tell you.

469

It is an incredible story of grief,

and turning it into profoundness and

470

opportunity, and I love how you're

creating this opportunity for so many

471

other people, instead of letting it

get the best of you, and I think that

472

is really important in this day and

age to even take a big step back and

473

reflect and I could see this farm

being a great revenue opportunity for

474

not only the emotional revenue that

we need to have, but also what we

475

can generate in our minds as exciting

opportunities, and you've done that.

476

You've continued to do that, Rebecca, and

for all those reasons, and to celebrate

477

those successes, thanks for being on

Speaking From The Heart, sharing with

478

us about all these opportunities, and

I wish you further success in the farm.

479

I love the haunted aspect of

it, and having this venue for so

480

many different people, so thanks

again for being part of the show.

481

Rebecca: Yeah.

482

Thanks for having me

on, and Happy Halloween.

483

Joshua: Again, I want to thank Rebecca

so much for being part of the show,

484

talking about the Cambre House, and

sharing a little bit about her own

485

journey getting to where she is today,

but I have to say, being able to run

486

your own house, being able to run the

opportunities in which you have guests

487

coming in and out, whether they are

scary, whether they are something that

488

falls into your lap, whether that is a

family tradition that you're carrying on,

489

is something that is an experience that

we should never, ever take for granted.

490

Even if everything seems like it's

going to be torn down, including our

491

own house, this is the opportunity that

you can rebuild in whatever direction

492

you want, and Rebecca really did that,

not only in her life, but also with this

493

opportunity that was granted to her.

494

Whether you're going through physical,

emotional grieving, you can build a place

495

where there's many opportunities to start

from scratch, and make it whatever you

496

want, especially in this setting, a place

where people go to escape, be able to

497

have retreats, weddings, whatever the

venture might be, and be able to explore

498

something about themselves that they might

have otherwise never had a chance to do.

499

I think that this story really exemplifies

that we need to salvage part of the

500

processes, part of the things that

go on in our life, even if they seem

501

a little bit scary, and repurpose it

in a completely different direction.

502

Lately, I've been thinking about this,

especially when it comes to the variety

503

of different avenues, opportunities

that I have in my life, even with all

504

the things that happen in my business,

Your Speaking Voice, but I think that

505

we have to learn from these experiences

that even when we are growing, it is

506

okay to shift in different perspectives.

507

It is okay to go in a different direction.

508

It doesn't mean that you have to

test the values of your family.

509

Whatever has happened in the past can

be set in stone and you can't change it.

510

That's not really the case.

511

You can do whatever you want, as long

as you're respecting the fact that

512

it's being passed down to carry on not

only that tradition, which can be used

513

very loosely, but more so about what

the experience can be to one another.

514

That's really how culture begins; being

able to hand down the lessons from

515

generation to generation of the things,

of the places, of the opportunities that

516

others get to explore, and I think that

even when we hear about the feelings, when

517

we are shifting in our own lives, we often

forget about the lessons of our past.

518

Sometimes we are thinking that that

fear, those things that hold us back

519

from really exploring what is out

there, means that we don't want to

520

do what is really the hard work.

521

Rebecca didn't have to fix this house.

522

She didn't have to salvage it for what

it is today, but even then, when you

523

think about all the weighted doors,

all the different hinges that have

524

to be hung, all the photos, all the

experiences that people get to have,

525

just because you're customizing it based

on the experiences that you can show,

526

farmhouses are a great way to explore

those kinds of opportunities, not only

527

for ghosts, but also for yourself.

528

Now, we have to really preface this a bit.

529

I know that for many people,

ghost hunting, that superstition,

530

that paranormal activity,

might not be for everybody.

531

You might be calling bluff on

all those things, especially

532

at your age, and that's okay.

533

There are other people that actually do

genuinely believe in it, and make not

534

only a living off of it, but have also

given some opportunity to reconsider

535

the energy, the spirits that are around

us that help us to feel, or act, on

536

certain things that go and come around.

537

I think those doors, those things that are

oftentimes hard to push and try to open,

538

mean that we have to also explore the

tools that might be even right around us.

539

Maybe that door that we're supposed

to go through isn't ready for

540

us quite yet, and that's okay.

541

What we really need to learn from

experiences such as Rebecca's is

542

that we might be doing something

in one direction, but we can

543

certainly shift it to go a completely

different way, and that's okay, too.

544

It means that we're exploring ourselves,

exploring what the opportunity is

545

to venture outside of those four

walls that we're often entrapped

546

in, whether that is a cubicle.

547

Whether that is your own

work from home setting.

548

Whether that is the manufacturing floor.

549

Whether it's something else

that you are trying to escape.

550

Just know that being able to take a

place at the seat at the table so that

551

you can start to figure out what that

direction is in your life, means that

552

you are oftentimes challenging what

might be in front of you, and not wanting

553

to be part of that process anymore.

554

You want to break down that weighted door.

555

You want to be able to go into a place

of your life that you can explore, but

556

to be able to take a place for something

else, to give somebody else that space

557

so that they can do something that

they might have been dreaming for a

558

very long time, such as a retreat, such

as a wedding, such as escape from the

559

overall stresses of life, that might

be the greatest succession opportunity

560

that could ever fall in your lap.

561

It is a matter of finding

what that purpose is.

562

It's a matter of keeping your nose to

the grindstone to be able to find ways

563

that, for yourself, and for others, you

can keep carrying that torch forward.

564

That, my friends, can be very hard,

even if you're possessed by spirits

565

that are around you that oftentimes

don't have your best interests in mind.

566

Finding your purpose means having

places like this farmhouse that

567

Rebecca has described today.

568

Converting it into something that now

serves a whole different kind of purpose;

569

a retreat of a retreat, if you will,

of being able to find plans, looking

570

forward towards things that you might

be going through, but you need some

571

time away from others, but, even if

you're not quite ready even after this

572

experience, that's what this is exactly

all about: living this kind of experience.

573

You see, we're not always

guaranteed tomorrow.

574

Tomorrow is never granted

to us automatically.

575

We might not ever wake up from our

internal slumber, just like zombies and

576

mummies you might think about around this

time of year, especially with Halloween.

577

It might even portray something of a

completely different nature that you

578

didn't really think was going to happen.

579

You didn't really believe that this

sort of feeling, this thought process,

580

this experience that you are ultimately

having right now in your life would ever

581

come to fruition in the first place.

582

You see, with feeling like you can't

always get tomorrow, you have to live each

583

day with your truest purpose, which is

why breaking down those weighted doors,

584

figuring out what it means to tear down

that house into making it something that's

585

completely different for suiting the needs

for your new house, whatever that might be

586

figuratively or literally, it means that

you have to salvage some of the things

587

that have happened in your life, always

looking back, thinking about what it means

588

to keep pressing forward, to keep seeing

what that end goal is, that even when

589

all the things that happen in your life

happen for a reason, you stay true to the

590

fact that you're never granted tomorrow.

591

During this time of year, it's always

so hard, especially with the loss of

592

loved ones, especially if you've been

experiencing that, and even in the United

593

States, going through some of the toughest

things that you might have ever seen in

594

this country's history, you have to think,

"What is it that we can latch on to?

595

What is it that gives us hope?

596

Helps us experience dreams, aspirations,

to keep working towards that prize that

597

we're ultimately trying to obtain."

598

Does it mean that renting a house,

giving opportunities to others,

599

be able to really suit the needs?

600

Is it something that you really

want to do, but you're not quite

601

sure how to do it financially?

602

Is there something else that you

could do even better than what you're

603

doing today, maybe being able to

create those values in your life.

604

Maybe knocking on those doors that

are weighted, trying to push open, so

605

that you can experience some of the

opportunities to explore ghosts, goblins,

606

other sort of spooky things that might

be happening in your life, whether

607

that is literally or figuratively.

608

Maybe these ramblings today of some

musing that I've had even with this

609

conversation with Rebecca, shed a light

on why it's so important to always do

610

what you always thought you could do.

611

Even if you're told that you can't

do it, you have to refuse it.

612

You have to work harder than maybe

other people have ever worked to be

613

able to bring that value, to bring

that conviction, to bring purpose to

614

otherwise things that people would ever

agree that you can't do, but you want

615

to show them that you are able to do it.

616

You are granted tomorrow if

you're willing to work on yourself

617

and help others to do the same.

618

It's no different than trying to

find purpose in the dreams and

619

aspirations of the job that you live,

and the things that you want to do

620

that have not yet been accomplished.

621

Even if you go through life

struggling on every step of the

622

way, let me ask you a question.

623

Is that struggle helping you to grow?

624

Helping you to rebuild, repurpose

yourself, and what you're ultimately

625

supposed to be doing, but also, if

others are not helping to challenge your

626

status quo, to help you see that light

at the end of the tunnel, if they're

627

not helping you become the best version

of yourself, maybe, in a new way, what

628

exactly are you doing hanging around them?

629

To find this place, to make it special

for so many other people, to create

630

plans to help look forward towards the

other things that you're still learning

631

and growing in, trust me in this.

632

You might be looking not only for those

spooky ghosts, those spooky areas of your

633

life in which you can create that value,

but just like our guest today, you can

634

find new ways to not only help yourself

build that house that you always wanted.

635

Whether it's personal, professional,

business, or whatever the case might

636

be, you are entitled to it, as long as

you believe that you are guaranteed that

637

tomorrow, in more ways than just what

ghosts, goblins, mummies, or any other

638

sort of spirit might say to you, you are

worthy of so much, as long as you believe

639

in what you can be becoming that best

version of yourself, and that might be

640

the best Halloween costume you ever wore.

641

Thanks for listening to episode

number 164 of Speaking from the

642

Heart, and I look forward to

hearing from your heart very soon.

643

Outro: Thanks for listening.

644

For more information about our podcast

and future shows, search for Speaking From

645

The Heart to subscribe and be notified

wherever you listen to your podcasts.

646

Visit us at www.yourspeakingvoice.biz

for more information about potential

647

services that can help you create

the best version of yourself.

648

See you next time.