Evoke Greatness Podcast

Becoming the Creative Director of Your Life with Chelsea Clarke (Pt. 1)

• Sonnie Linebarger • Episode 196

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🎧 Episode 196: Becoming the Creative Director of Your Life with Chelsea Clarke (Pt. 1)

In Part 1 of this grounded and honest conversation, I’m joined by digital entrepreneur, investor, and author Chelsea Clarke for a real look at what reinvention actually requires…not in theory, but in real life.

Chelsea takes us back to the early chapter of her story…graduating from university without a plan, working multiple jobs just to get by, feeling discouraged about money, and trying to find her footing in a season that felt anything but clear. When pregnancy became the moment that forced her to take a hard look at her future, everything shifted.

This episode isn’t about overnight success or a perfectly packaged glow-up. It’s about the slow, intentional work of shedding old habits, releasing shame around past versions of yourself, and building trust with yourself one choice at a time.

Together, we explore how identity-based change creates lasting transformation…and why habits, mindset, and self-belief are the true foundation of growth.

Chelsea shares insights on:

• Why failure isn’t something to avoid…but something to learn from

 â€˘ How habit stacking creates momentum without overwhelm

 â€˘ Letting go of old versions of yourself with compassion, not criticism

 â€˘ The power of identity-based change versus relying on willpower alone

 â€˘ How small, consistent habits quietly reshape confidence and self-trust

 â€˘ Why honoring who you were is just as important as becoming who you’re meant to be

🔑 Key takeaways:

Reinvention happens through repetition, not perfection

Habits shape identity…and identity shapes outcomes

Self-trust is built by keeping small promises to yourself

Failure is a teacher, not a verdict

Growth begins when you stop shaming the past and start honoring it

đź’ˇ Quotes to remember:

“Failure isn’t a dead end…it’s a learning opportunity.”

“You don’t need to hate who you were to become who you’re meant to be.”

“Small habits, repeated consistently, change everything.”

If you’re in a season of transition…

If you’re quietly questioning whether the life you’re living still fits…

If you know you’re meant for more but aren’t sure where to begin…

This episode will remind you that reinvention doesn’t require a dramatic leap…just the courage to take the next honest step.

Part 1 lays the foundation.

 Part 2 is where we step fully into self-reliance, wealth mindset, and becoming the creative director of your own life.

A rising tide raises all ships, and I invite you along on this journey to Evoke Greatness!

Check out my website: www.evokegreatness.com

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SPEAKER_00:

Script out the version of your life that you want to create, writing it pen to paper. Scripting is a really powerful manifestation technique. When you're writing something out, you are creating it. You are creating that potential future for yourself. It's like a timeline that you are literally designing, and it's an opportunity for you to go that path.

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Evoke Greatness, the podcast for bold leaders and big dreamers who refuse to settle. I'm your host, Sonny. I started in Scrubs over 20 years ago, doing the gritty, unseen work and climbed my way to CEO. Every rung of that ladder taught me something worth passing on. Lessons in leadership, resilience, and what it really takes to rise. You'll hear raw conversations, unfiltered truths, and the kind of wisdom that ignites something deeper in you. Your courage, your conviction, your calling. This show will help you think bigger, lead better, and show up bolder in every part of your life. This is your place to grow. Let's rise together. What if the version of you you're becoming isn't found by doing more, but by shedding what no longer fits? In today's episode, Chelsea Clark shares how she rebuilt her life after setbacks by changing her habits, her identity, and her relationship with failure. This is Reinvention Without the Fluff. Let's hop into it. Welcome back to another episode of About Greatness. Today's guest is Chelsea Clark, a self-made digital entrepreneur, investor, and the founder of her paper route. Once a broke bartender during the 2008 recession, secretly living in an office building, Chelsea rewrote her story. Through grit, self-reliance, and unshakable persistence, she turned her laptop into a life-changing business that has helped thousands of women build, scale, and even sell online businesses. Chelsea's the author of Glow Up Yourself, described as a reinvention playbook for rebellious women ready to rebuild their identity, income, habits, mindset, and inner peace after failure or a setback. On today's episode, we're going to deep dive into how to become the creative director of your own life. We will explore how to glow up from setbacks, build habits for new wealth, create a mindset of self-reliance, and design a life aligned with your highest goals, even when we start from nothing. So get ready for raw honesty, tactical strategies, and inspiring truths about transformation.

SPEAKER_00:

Chelsea, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to have this conversation with you.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, likewise. Well, I always like to kind of go backwards before we go forwards a little bit. And so before we dive into reinvention and glowing up, can you take us back to the beginning? What was it like for you before her paper route? And what was that turning point that really pushed you toward becoming this current version of yourself?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, after university, I was making all the mistakes that a young person does. And I was really, I wasn't, I didn't have a budget. I was not keeping track of my spending. I was feeling a little bit hopeless. It was very hard to find a job at the time. And I was a little bit poo-pooing down on myself that I couldn't get a job with my degree. And so I was taking on all of these side gigs and waitressing and just doing that grind. And I realized that this was not a sustainable way for me to continue on. It wasn't going to get me ahead. I needed to have a plan. I needed to have some goals. And a couple years of trying to figure things out, like starting up different businesses, starting with uh drop shipping and trying all these different online things, and nothing was really sticking. And then I got pregnant. And then I had to really make a serious plan because it wasn't just me anymore. I had to be responsible for a tiny human. So that was the big shift for me that kicked my butt into motion. And then I started my business shortly after he was born and grew the business while he was a newborn in my lap. So that's how it started. And I have since launched a uh MA marketplace where content creators and investors buy and sell digital businesses. And that's where I really ended up finding my passion.

SPEAKER_01:

You grew the business and the baby concurrently, right? Yes. Well, and it's, I think so much of life is how we handle the things that come at us, right? Uh the things that we could even perceive as challenges in our careers really can kind of open us up to a whole new level. But it's about how we respond to those things.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, totally. Totally. And there's so many, so much unpredictability, especially when you're starting any type of new venture, whether it be business or in your personal life to make a big change, and kind of being able to accept that you're not going to know it all and you're just going to learn from the process and that failure is actually a good thing. It's a learning opportunity. That's how you're really going to be able to grow by not expecting that you just know it all. Cause we don't. None of us do. Even if we're we've been in the game for a decade or two, we still are always learning. And if we stop learning, that's where we start failing.

SPEAKER_01:

I have a sign that I made uh about a year ago that I have in my office that I can see at all times. And it says, every failure that I've had in my life has led me to where I am today. And it's like it just completely reframes the fact that failure, it's a lesson, right? And it that just really helps us navigate the next thing that we come across even better. Totally. That's perfectly said. When you look back at that earlier version of you, the one working to make ends meet and trying to figure out what was next. Sometimes we have to almost like shed a part of us to kind of get to that new place. What beliefs or habits had to be shed for that first real transformation to begin?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I would say the first most substantial step was before I got pregnant, I quit drinking. And I in my 20s, drinking was just so normal, you know, pub culture, going out with friends. I worked in a bar. So it was just always around. And I realized I was drinking too too much. And if I wanted to get ahead, that was the biggest thing I had to cut out. That made the biggest shift for habit-wise. And then it was habits like, okay, maybe I don't need to sleep in till 11 a.m. anymore. What if I became a morning person and I did it inch by inch by starting to get up a little bit earlier and a little bit earlier? And now I love getting up at 5 a.m. and actually getting to work on my projects at that time. Um, that's that takes time though. So creating these healthy habits, it's not something you can just do once, twice, and then expect you'll be able to stick to it. It takes repetition. And with like anything, good habit or bad habit, the more you do it, the more natural it becomes. So it's really just that practice of, okay, I want to let go of this part of myself that I'm not too proud of, and I'm going to adapt a new version of myself that I will be proud of and just put all of the focus on her. Um, I also like to say, too, that we don't want to look back at our past with, you know, hatred or, you know, oh, she's so embarrassing. How could I do that? You know, that person, that version of us got us to where we are and they survived. And we just need to look back and honor them. And we don't need to act like them anymore, but they did their work and now we can move forward with the version of ourselves that we really want to go into the future with.

SPEAKER_01:

I love what you talk about about the habits and that nothing happens all at one time. Sometimes it's this gradual, sometimes it's baby steps. And that could even be trying to think through what do you want to do next? Like it's not even the action. It's, you know, sometimes it's it's started and initiated by those thoughts that we have. But if you think about it, then it's habit stacking. And it was, you gave a perfect example of that, which was if you stopping drinking, right? Stopping drinking makes it easier to get up earlier in the morning. Getting up earlier in the morning then makes it easier to have a super productive morning routine. That shifts and shapes our tone every single day. And so those things start to like compound and the efforts and the outcomes start to compound as well.

SPEAKER_00:

Totally. And you start to build trust with yourself after a couple times of it, you know, oh, I actually can do this. And then you start saying, well, what else could I possibly do? You're building that trust and realizing what you really are capable of. Well, okay, well, maybe I can actually eat healthy too. And then you start meal prepping or just cutting meat or dairy out and just starting to eat more vegetables. And then that becomes a habit and that becomes part of your identity as you move forward as well. And I'm not saying don't eat junk food because hey, I have a sweet tooth. I love chocolate. But it's all about that moderation, I think. And that all comes into play with that version of ourselves that's living her best life. She eats well, she exercises, you know, maybe just goes for a walk in the morning outside, even if it's cold. She moves. If she's like habit stacking, something that I love to do is I have a walking treadmill that goes under my desk. And if I need to catch up on emails or work on a blog article, I'll just be working while I'm walking. And that those type of things don't feel like too much work. I'm not, you know, breaking a huge sweat. It's not a big deal, but I'm getting two things done that were on my list in less time.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

In your book, Glow Up Yourself, you write about rebuilding your identity, not just circumstances. What does that identity-based change mean to you?

SPEAKER_00:

This is such a huge thing for anyone who wants to change something about themselves, improve their life. You have to believe that you are the kind of person who does that. So if your goal is you want to like the same thing, we want to work out more, then you can't say, oh, I have to work out today. I hate jogging, blah, blah, blah. You start saying, I love jogging. I love going to the gym. I love the outfits that I get to go to the gym. I'm the kind of person who always loves going to the gym because it's fun. So you create, you tag on the identity of the goal that you want to have. You are that person who's just a natural part of that person's life to do that thing. And that makes reaching goals a lot easier because then we're not just focusing on uh the say amount of pounds I want to lose or gain. We're actually taking on the identity of a person who is just a normal part of their day that they work out. Like if you want to write a book, you start saying to yourself, I'm a best-selling author. It's easy for me to get up in the morning and write because that's what an author does. And that makes it easier to do the work when you believe that you are that person that just naturally would do it.

SPEAKER_01:

And our brains are so dynamic that they really do pay attention to the things that we think and say to and about ourselves. And so I love that you said that because it is you are literally training your brain to believe the things that you're saying. And then you're pairing that with the actions that you become like honoring your word to yourself. You're actually keeping your word to yourself and what you say you're going to do. And then your brain then says, Oh, great, like I need to believe these two things because she's saying it and thinking it to herself, and she's following that up with action. And so I think sometimes we forget how powerful our brains are because human nature is we lean towards the negative. Even if we're not saying it out loud, we're thinking some things internally. And we have to be really careful because those things that we think, our brain believes.

SPEAKER_00:

And we can use that fact to our advantage. Right. So I'll give you an example. When uh 15 years ago, when I wanted to quit drinking, I started to just say out loud, I'm not a drinker. I actually don't like the taste of alcohol, which was a lie, but I just started saying it. And then my brain was like, Oh yeah, we don't like alcohol. And it became the truth. And then it was so easy when I was out with friends and they say, Hey, do you want a drink? It was so easy for me to just be like, no, thanks. I don't actually don't like it. And I, and it was true by then. So if you want to uh quit any type of bad habit, or on the opposite, uh uh take on a new good habit, just start telling your brain that it's easy for you to do because that's you.

SPEAKER_01:

I remember years ago listening to a podcast, Lewis Howes, on the School of Greatness, and he was talking about when you're doing things that are hard to smile. And I thought, what can I, where can I implement that and not feel silly about it? And and I hike, and there was, there's always been this one part of the mountain that, like, oh, I dread, even like coming up to it. I'm not even there yet. And I'm like, oh God, I'm almost there. I know, like it's the hardest one. It's the hardest portion of it. And it's just like a straight incline. And I started smiling. Like, I'm sure people passing by were like, wow, this person must really enjoy hiking. But I would smile and and the the psychology behind that is you're like your brain can't believe both you smiling and that you are dreading something. And so it's gonna, so I started smiling. And then the funny thing is, probably 10 hikes in, I stopped dreading that piece. And I was like, oh, I actually am gonna smile through this. And so I've started to implement that in situations where I'm doing things that are hard. And I'm like, my brain can't think that it's hard and I can I'm smiling at the same time. It like confuses your brain. And that's that's another psychology hack to be able to utilize to get through the hard stuff.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that's a good one. I'm gonna try that the next time I'm getting my taxes ready for my book.

SPEAKER_01:

There you go.

SPEAKER_00:

Just smile the whole time.

SPEAKER_01:

Smile through the tears. That's right. Well, you often say no one is coming to save you. Uh, how did you build genuine self-reliance instead of more of that temporary motivation?

SPEAKER_00:

It's a process that is something to continue. It's not, for me at least, it isn't something that I can just do and then I'm set, set it, and forget it. It's something that I have to remind myself often. Um, and that is a big theme in the book where we need to step up for ourselves. If we want to reach any type of goal or try something new, whether it's maybe start a business, write a book, take on a new like cooking skill, dance, something that puts you out of your comfort zone. You really have to know that no one is gonna just come and make you do the work. No one's gonna wake you up early and make you go to the gym or make you write your manuscript. It's all on you. There's no magic fairy, no prince or rich benefactor for most of us is gonna not be around to just pay for us to be able to reach our goals. We are the person that is in charge of making everything happen. So believing in that, knowing that, stop expecting someone to just come in with waving a magic wand and fix everything. We individually are on our own rescue missions. And then when we accept that, everything is possible. Everything can be achieved. You don't have to wait for permission, approval, anything. You're in charge. And I've chatted a little bit on my podcast about being a creative director of your own life. And that really comes into it. So when you step up and you say, okay, I'm gonna look at all of the different areas in my life that I can edit, just like a creative director would of someone who's managing a creative project, maybe for an art show or even a movie or like fashion, whatever it is, it doesn't matter. It's just something that you come in and you say, okay, I'm gonna edit in my life. And there's four sort of areas that I like to look at when I'm sitting down and planning a life upgrade kind of thing. There's the visionary. So that's the version of you that sets up the concept for this season of your life. What do you want to achieve? What do you need to do to get there? What am I creating right now? And then there's the version of you that's the editor. That's where you're thinking about removing what's not working, what no longer fits the vision of your life and of your future goals, the habits, people, because that's a big one. Sometimes there's people in your life that probably don't need to be there, the bad influences or the people who, you know, demand your energy and they have maybe a negative energy that doesn't help you. You walk away from a conversation with them and you just feel uh like that, you know? Those type of people, maybe we limit our time with them. And then there's the producer, that's the third one. So when we think of a movie, usually the producer is the money person, right? The person who's funding the project. So you have to think about that too. What sort of funds do you need to allocate to reach your goals? Do you need to get a gym membership or get some sort of gym equipment at your house? Um, you know, what do you need to do in order to reach your goals that may cost actual money? Other things that a producer would do would be putting systems in place, plans in place so that that vision can actually exist in your real life. And then the fourth is the talent. So the talent is the version of you that shows up daily and actually lives this new life, this version of you. You believe it with your mindset, you're actively doing the things that this current new version of you does. You're sticking to your good habits, you're letting go of the bad ones. That's the talent version of you. And with those four people that we, you know, it's all you, but four different versions of your mind that you can focus on those things, that's a really great way that you can start to uh change your life, edit your life, and put you on the track that you want to be on.

SPEAKER_01:

I love it. And the beauty is you're in control of all of those things. And so if one isn't showing up, one kind of character, if you will, isn't showing up the way that they should be, like it's looking in the mirror. And it's like, okay, how can I tweak what I'm doing to make sure that I am a hundred percent stepping into this, this step of the of the equation? Yes, yes, absolutely. I think routines and habits paved the way, like they're a foundation. What were some of your earliest habits or routines that helped you shift from survival mode to really embracing a mindset of wealth and possibility?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, the first one was believing that making heaps of money was even possible. I did not come from money in any way. I, you know, grew up with a single mom. We were just getting by. You know, I had a good childhood. I obviously was very happy for the childhood I had, but it was not a financially expressive childhood. It was, you know, it was, it was very bare bones in a good way, but money was not in my background. And also financial literacy was not something that I came up with. These were all things that I had to learn when I got older and do that on my own. So reaching out, uh, sorry, watching videos, reading books, getting a mentor when I was ready to. Um, but really it started with sitting down, looking at my finances without being embarrassed, and really just getting used to looking at my bank account every single week or every single day, really paying attention to where money was going, cutting back on expenses. And when I started doing this practice of looking at my money, it became very exciting. Even though I only had a little bit at this time, this was just right out of university. I was like, oh, I can actually see how I could stack money by just not spending on these things and seeing the visual of these numbers. And I didn't use anything fancy, it was just like a Google Sheet spreadsheet. Might have actually been Excel back then, and seeing the numbers increase each month, even in small increments. Gave me this motivation to start believing that I could create more wealth in my life. And that belief is really what changed everything. And then I started being open to new opportunities. When I would see an idea or I'd have an idea for a business, I could just try it. It didn't have to be a big deal, but I could just try it and get something online and, you know, just start doing something and then see what clicked. And if that was all because I had that initial belief that it was possible that before I did not have.

SPEAKER_01:

It's amazing how much we really do have to evaluate closely our relationship with money. Same situation, grew up with a single mom. And I probably didn't know that we were, you know, at like the poverty line. I had no idea because I didn't necessarily go without things. But it was interesting how that played a role in my life as I got older and moving into my career. And at one point in time, I remember feeling like, whoa, I don't like there was this weird feeling was starting to make good money. And it was this a little bit of this kind of insecurity or scarcity, I think, you know, mindset and doing the work to unpack why you felt that way, understanding that there's little seeds that are kind of planted in you along the way, but you really can't unpack that and have a healthy relationship with money. And to your point, feel worthy of that as well. And so I love that you kind of walked through that. I remember the first time I started really paying attention to that, I started gamifying it for myself. I didn't realize that was what I was doing in the moment. But I remember like, okay, when I would get paid, uh, I would have all the bills paid off and I would put some into savings. And then everything that was left over, like I would get so excited when my next check came because I'd take everything that was left over and put that in savings. And then I'd create like a goal for myself. And that started paving the way for having a very different, like a positive spin on my financial, my relationship with money.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, that's so powerful. It's that belief system in yourself when things kind of start clicking. And you made a really interesting point there where you didn't notice that you maybe your family didn't have much money when you were younger, but it started coming up and you noticed it in different ways as you got older. And the same thing happened to me too when I was uh early adulthood or even high school, maybe when I started noticing that my friends and other kids in the school, like, oh, like they got a car for their birthday? Okay, well, that's weird. Or, oh, they have a college fund. Like they can actually just choose what college they want to go to after this. I didn't have that. I didn't even think that was something that people did. That's how I just wasn't financially literate at all. And now that I'm a parent, I've been saving up for my kid's education since he was born because that just seems natural to me that you would want to do that. And when I was uh going through school, I was waitressing, paying my tuition that way. I started to pick up some kind of negative money mindset just by feeling compared, uh comparing myself to my peers who had their tuition paid. And I was taking on some sort of negative, not good money mindset stuff, feeling a little bit like sorry for myself that I had to then work through as I got older to realize that that's okay. Other people should be happy. I'm happy that my friends have that taken care of in their family. I'm looking at that now as that's inspiring. I can do that for my family moving forward. But it's not easy. There were years where I felt bad for myself and had a bad money mindset, and it really is something that you develop over time to get through that. So I'm it's I love that you mentioned that too, because yeah, it's definitely a process.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, time to hit the pause button. Make sure to come back next week for part two where we go even deeper. Chelsea breaks down what it really means to become the creative director of your own life, from self-reliance and money mindset to editing your environment, your habits, and even the people around you. If you're ready to stop waiting for permission and start designing your next chapter on purpose, you don't want to miss what's coming next. See you then. If today's episode challenged you, moved you, or lit a fire in your soul, don't keep it to yourself. Share it with somebody who's ready to rise. Could I ask you to take 30 seconds to leave a review? It's the best way to say thank you and help this show reach more bold leaders like you. Because this isn't just a podcast, it's a movement. We're not here to play small. We're here to lead loud, one bold and unapologetic step at a time. Until next time, stay bold, stay grounded, and make moves that make mediocre uncomfortable.

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Sonnie Linebarger

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