I’ve been a subscriber of Chelsea Clarke’s for more than two years now, and I’m always interested in what she has to say. I’ve blogged here before about her Money Posts and she is definitely someone I look up to in the blogging industry. I mean, she flips websites for a living. She’s amazing. Her main blog “Her Paper Route” is all about getting us woman on a journey to that paper (money). She’s all about women empowerment, and I’ve known bits and pieces of her story, but not all, and hearing all about her life and what she’s learnt has really been enriching for me. She’s someone who has made mistakes and learnt from them and not ashamed to say it. Read her book not only for the inspiring life story, but also for the upliftment of yourself as a woman.
Here are some points I gleamed from her book.
Nobody is coming to save you.
Chelsea makes the excellent point that we are conditioned to believe that a knight in shining armour is going to ride in on his steed and save us woman in distress. Her take?
“No one is going to ride in on a horse and save you. No one is going to hand you your life glow-up. You need to save yourself and ride your own damn pony.“
You’ve got to take personal responsibility for your life and do the work required.
You already have the power
You are not inherently flawed, and you don’t need to fix yourself.
“The truth is, your best self has always been within you. It is not something outside of you, dangling in the future, waiting to be unlocked. It is not something you need to win, like a reward for good behavior. You already have it. It has just been buried under layers of gunk. What kind of gunk, you ask? Oh, you know, just outdated expectations, societal conditioning, and every limiting belief given to you since birth. That’s all!“
I really loved this because it is so affirming. It also reminded me of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and her shoes to get home, which she’d had all along.
Declutter your emotions
A lot of her practical examples in the book involve rewriting the script we’ve been telling ourselves. I honestly didn’t think I had any issues with wanting to be rich but I do have this thing playing in my head that I’m bad with money. And reframing that into a realistic way that works for me “I am becoming more financially savvy everyday.” She had some practical tips about doing a budget audit and decluttering that as well. We’ve actually got to let go of the old and build something new.
The other interesting thing she said on this topic is that we have to climb that cringe mountain (with imposter syndrome, trolls and bullies) and put yourself out there to learn from mistakes and do better. It’s all part of the journey. She also had some valuable advice for all of these which she has experienced.
Rebrand your life with glow up quadrants
Chelsea reached a point where she wanted to start her business but she needed a plan. She drew up these four elements of her life that she wanted to work on and then worked on the steps to get there.
I think that writing down small steps to get where you want is super helpful. Chelsea is also super realistic and talks about even doing one little step (while keeping your kids fed and alive) is something to celebrate.
A business is something that solves a problem
If you can work out what you are good at and what problem you can solve for people (consulting both Google Trends and Pinterest Trends for ideas on the wording) you will have a business.
She encourages us just to get going and make that product, get it out there and sell it. You can work on your branding and your tag line later. Just go out there and sell your thing!
Trust your intuition
Chelsea’s cautionary tale of hiring too many people and signing up for an expensive coaching program against her better judgement is her personal story of how she had to cut back to get back to the roots of what she really loves: creating. In fact, she is content creating content! But she had to learn the hard way to trust in what she loves doing rather than what other people were saying she should do.
I’ve also made mistakes like this (buying an expensive course) but in retrospect, no regrets because it gave me the instructions I needed to build a summit through which I’ve learnt so much from interesting people and had opportunities too. No mistake is ever wasted and we all learn from our mistakes to trust our gut more. I totally agree with her when she says she didn’t want to go the high ticket route only and delete her low ticket offers. That’s not me either.
Look the part
Success is also about looking classy. She learnt this lesson waitressing where the elegant waitress that looked after her appearance brought in the most tips. It’s something we can all learn from.
Chelsea embodies this elegance on her Instagram. Can we just have a moment to admire the elegant whites, beige and tan hues? She is also super active on TikTok. Plus, she’s very into renovating her house and has a whole YouTube channel for that.
Conclusion
This book is not just about how to get your glow back. It’s also a personal story of how Chelsea learnt these things, and honestly, it was a touching one. I laughed and cried with her through her successes and failures.
Read her book not just to learn her mind set shifts, but also to read about her very real story and what success really means to her.
Glow Up Yourself: The reinvention playbook for rebellious women building wealth, habits and confidence in life and business. Available on Amazon.
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