Clarity from the Heart™

Coach Carrie Willis | Confusion is Expensive. Clarity Pays for Life..

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Confusion is expensive, but clarity pays you back for the rest of your life. Join Coach Carrie Willis every week for honest conversations on money, mindset, and visibility that move you forward. gr8finances.substack.com

Sep 5

Carrie Connects™ Apostle Veryl Howard

𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗕𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗡’𝗧 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 Have you ever looked at your age, your circumstances, your setbacks, or how LONG something has taken and wondered, 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵? That was the question I brought into this week’s Carrie Connects™ Podcast conversation with Ambassador Dr. Apostle Veryl Howard, and somewhere along the way, I think we answered it. 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁. Maybe some of what you thought was taking too long was preparing you for something you weren’t ready to carry yet. Veryl is an author, actress, casting director, producer, entertainment manager, humanitarian, Global Peace Ambassador, founder of Faith Management and Talent, and a Women’s Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee. Her work has taken her through ministry, music, television, film, publishing, talent development, humanitarian service, and even the runways of Paris and Milan. That’s a LOT of lanes. 👀 But one of the first things she said to me was that we aren’t one-dimensional human beings. For years, she had viewed herself through individual titles. Then she began recognizing that the different gifts inside of her didn’t necessarily compete with one another. That got my attention because how many of us have convinced ourselves that we have to pick ONE thing and stay there? Then we started talking about 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚. Veryl wanted to act when she was younger. The opportunity didn’t unfold the way she imagined, and eventually she thought that dream had passed her by. It hadn’t. Years later, she found herself stepping in front of cameras and onto international runways at an age when plenty of people would have told themselves, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸. And THAT is where this conversation gets interesting. Because there is a difference between being delayed and being denied. There is also a difference between having a gift and being prepared for the opportunity that gift can create. We talked about what happens when you’re behind the scenes helping somebody else build while knowing there is something inside of YOU too. We talked about opportunities arriving before you’re ready, seasons changing, fear, success, money, faith, grief, purpose, and what it takes to actually move when the door finally opens. At one point I said, 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘄𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗. 🌱 And Veryl had stories that made that hit differently. I’m deliberately not telling you those stories here because some conversations aren’t meant to be reduced to highlights. You need to hear how she tells them, what happened next, and what she believes those experiences taught her. So if there is something you stopped pursuing because you thought your time had passed, WATCH THIS CONVERSATION. If you’ve been doing the work behind the scenes and wondering when your turn is coming, watch it. And if an opportunity is sitting in front of you right now but fear keeps asking whether you’re ready, capable, young enough, connected enough, or qualified enough, you DEFINITELY need to watch it. Because maybe the better question isn’t, 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵? Maybe it’s: 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗬 𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧? 💗 🎙️ Watch my full conversation with Ambassador Dr. Apostle Veryl Howard on Carrie Connects™ Podcast. Carrie Connects™ Podcast is sponsored by Gr8Finances, where confusion is expensive and clarity pays for life. Because sometimes the right conversation really can change the trajectory of your life. Coach Carrie💗 💗 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧: 𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗥 𝗗𝗥. 𝗔𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗟 𝗛𝗢𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗 🌐 Veryl Howard Ministries: https://verylhowardministries.net/ 💼 LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/apostle-veryl-howard-81b18b17 📘 Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/PastorVerylHoward 📸 Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/apostle_veryl_howard_/ 🎬 I Am She, She Is Her:Available on streaming platforms, including Tubi Follow Dr. Veryl’s ministry, books, entertainment projects, appearances, and upcoming work through her official website and social media. 💗 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗦™ 𝗣𝗢𝗗𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗧 Carrie Connects™ Podcast is where real conversations create real connections. Each week, Coach Carrie introduces you to people, stories, resources, ideas, and opportunities she believes you should know about because sometimes one introduction can change the trajectory of your life. 💰 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗚𝗥𝟴𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦 Carrie Connects™ Podcast is sponsored by Gr8Finances, where confusion is expensive and clarity pays for life. Coach Carrie💗 Get full access to Clarity from the Heart™ at gr8finances.substack.com/subscribe
Aug 29

Carrie Connects Michelle Elizabeth Williams

GO THROUGH IT, BUT GET UP. What happens when life gives you more than one reason to quit, but you keep getting back up, rebuilding and becoming somebody new? That was the question I opened with on this episode of Carrie Connects™ Podcast. Almost an hour later, Michelle Elizabeth Williams answered it in five words: “Go through it, but get up.” ❤️ And family, after everything she had shared with us, THAT was a word. You may recognize Michelle as Kountry Wayne’s “Lake House Lady.” She’s also an actress, singer, author of Nobody Ever Told Me, founder and CEO of My Kind of Dad, foster mom, adoptive mom, wife and entrepreneur. But those titles tell you who Michelle is today. They don’t tell you what it took to become her. Michelle took us back to a childhood marked by experiences that could have shaped the rest of her life. Then she said something that became a thread throughout our entire conversation: at some point, she had to decide what would and would NOT continue with her. That doesn’t mean she suddenly had everything figured out. One story about her own parenting made me stop because breaking a cycle isn’t always about identifying what somebody else did wrong. Sometimes you have to recognize what YOU carried forward without realizing it. 👀 And listen, somewhere in there she had me thinking about my twenty years as a teacher and how I could give somebody else’s child all the patience in the world, then come home to my own son yelling, “...two plus two is FOUR.” But parenting was only one part of this conversation. We talked about why Michelle became a foster and adoptive mom, the personal connection behind My Kind of Dad, and why supporting children and families affected by incarceration became part of her purpose. Then we had to talk about entertainment because I needed to understand how the little girl who used to perform by herself eventually became the woman appearing on screens today. 🎬 And I’m NOT telling you how that happened. There are parts of Michelle’s journey where you need to hear the story from Michelle, including what she did when she decided she was serious about pursuing entertainment and how some of those doors eventually opened. Our LIVE audience took us somewhere else I wasn’t expecting when we started talking about being overprotective of our children. That conversation became personal very quickly, and Michelle shared something that changed the way I heard everything she had said before it. I’m not giving you that story either. See what I’m doing? 😂 Because this article is not supposed to replace the conversation. What stayed with me is that Michelle’s story isn’t powerful simply because she survived difficult things. It’s what she has chosen to BUILD afterward. A different life. A family. A marriage she loves so much she introduced herself as “the best wife God has ever created.” 😂 A nonprofit. A book. An entertainment career. Opportunities. Purpose. And she is still building. So if you’re in the middle of a hard chapter, trying to break a cycle, rebuilding something you thought would look different by now, or wondering whether where you started gets to determine where you finish, I want you to watch this conversation. Because when Michelle finally says: “Go through it, but get up.” I want you to know the story behind those five words. 💗 CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST: MICHELLE ELIZABETH WILLIAMS Michelle Elizabeth Williams is an actress, singer, author of Nobody Ever Told Me, founder/CEO of My Kind of Dad, and Kountry Wayne’s “Lake House Lady.” 🔗 All of Michelle’s links: https://linktr.ee/Michelleelizabethwilliams 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-elizabeth-williams-my-kind-of-dad-inc-16311b277/ 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MichelleElizabethWilliams 💗 My Kind of Dad on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mykindofdad/ 🌐 My Kind of Dad: http://mykindofdad.org Connect with Michelle, support her work, and let her know you met her on Carrie Connects™ Podcast! 💗 After you watch, tell me: What did Michelle say that YOU needed to hear today? Carrie Connects™ Podcast is sponsored by Gr8Finances, where we help individuals and families gain Financial Clarity, protect what they’re building, prepare for the future and make informed financial decisions. Real Conversations. Real Connections. Coach Carrie💗 Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get full access to Clarity from the Heart™ at gr8finances.substack.com/subscribe
Aug 22

Carrie Connects Lisa Feveck: Menopause?

YOUR BODY IS TALKING. ARE YOU LISTENING? What does a toothache have to do with menopause? Apparently, more than I knew. 👀 On this episode of Carrie Connects™ Podcast, I sat down with Lisa Feveck RD, a Menopause Dietitian and Coach joining us from Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹, and this conversation had me questioning how much most of us actually know about something every woman will experience if she lives long enough. Lisa told me that one of the symptoms that eventually sent her searching for answers was a toothache so bad she thought she needed a root canal. 🦷 The problem was, every time she went to the dentist, he couldn’t find anything wrong. Then came heart palpitations, anxiety, hair loss and random pains. She went to different specialists, had tests come back normal and kept being told it might be stress. Eventually, she started asking a different question: What if these things are connected? That’s where this conversation got REALLY interesting. Most of what I knew about menopause could probably be summed up in a few words: your period stops, you get hot flashes, your hormones act up and somewhere around 50 you’re officially in menopause. Lisa started explaining the difference between perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause, and I literally stopped her in the middle of her explanation. “Wait a minute. Don’t go too fast. Pump the brakes.” 🛑 She had just said something about menopause that I had never heard in my life. I’m not going to tell you what it was because I want you to hear her explain it. What I will tell you is that once she did, a whole lot of what I thought I understood about menopause went straight out the window. 🤯 And that wasn’t the only surprise. We talked about symptoms women may never think to connect to hormonal changes, why waiting for the stereotypical hot flash may cause us to miss what our bodies have already been telling us, and why some changes can show up physically, mentally and emotionally. Our LIVE audience got involved too, sharing experiences and asking questions that took the conversation into places I hadn’t planned. 🗣️ Of course, somebody asked whether we should all run to the gym. 🏃🏾‍♀️ Lisa’s answer wasn’t the usual “exercise more” advice we’ve all heard a thousand times. We talked about movement, stress and why what works for one woman may not be where another woman needs to start. We also talked about food, and I specifically wanted to know how Lisa works with real women living real lives. Women have budgets. We have families to feed. We have cultural foods we enjoy. Some women are managing other health concerns. Most of us don’t need somebody handing us a generic sheet of foods and pretending we all live the same life. Lisa’s approach is much more individualized, and she said something during that conversation that I loved: “Food shouldn’t stress you out. Enough things in this life stress us out.” 🙌🏾 The conversation eventually went beyond symptoms and food. We talked about relationships, mental health, medical appointments, advocating for yourself and the habit so many women have of taking care of everybody else while putting themselves somewhere at the bottom of the list. At one point I said, “Confusion is expensive, but clarity pays for life.” 💡 I normally say that when I’m talking about finances, but it fit this conversation perfectly. When you don’t understand what’s happening in your own body, you may not even know which questions you should be asking. That’s why I’m deliberately not giving you everything Lisa taught us in this article. I want you to watch the conversation. 🎥 And don’t just think about yourself. Think about your mother, sister, wife, friend or daughter. Men, you’re not excused either. If you love a woman, understanding what she may experience matters too. When Lisa gets to the part where she explains what menopause actually is, I want you to come back and tell me whether you already knew. Because I sure didn’t. 😳 🌎 CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST Lisa Feveck RD is a Menopause Dietitian and Coach helping women better understand and navigate perimenopause and menopause. 🔗 LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisafeveck/ 📖 Your MENO-morphosis Newsletter:https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/your-meno-morphosis-7016224734056980480/ Connect with Lisa, follow her work, and let her know you met her on Carrie Connects™ Podcast! 🎙️ After you watch, I want to know: What was the ONE thing Lisa said that made you stop and say, “Wait... WHAT?” 👀 Carrie Connects™ Podcast is sponsored by Gr8Finances, where we help individuals, families and entrepreneurs gain Financial Clarity, protect what they’re building, prepare for the future and make informed financial decisions. Real Conversations. Real Connections. Coach Carrie💗 Clarity from the Heart™ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Clarity from the Heart™ at gr8finances.substack.com/subscribe
Aug 15

Carrrie Connects Phil Ayles: Veterans & First Responders

WHEN THE UNIFORM COMES OFF, WHAT COMES NEXT? What happens when you’ve spent years knowing exactly who you are, what your role is, and what is expected of you, and then the structure changes? On this episode of Carrie Connects™, I sat down with Philip Ayles, President and Founder of Warrior to Love® and creator of Communication Beyond the Uniform™, for a conversation about what happens after the uniform comes off. We talked about veterans and first responders learning how to stand down after years of operating in high-pressure environments. We talked about identity, family, relationships, reintegration, purpose, and the reality that coming home physically doesn’t always mean you’ve figured out how to be home again. Philip talked openly about his own journey, including what happened when the structure, income, and identity he had known changed. And that brought another part of transition to the front for me. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭. Your income may change. Your benefits may change. Your protection needs may change. Retirement can go from something you’re preparing for to something you’re suddenly living. And a financial strategy built around one chapter of your life may not fit the next one. That’s part of Financial Clarity. It isn’t just looking at an account or a number. It’s understanding what is happening in your actual life, what you need your money to do now, and whether the pieces of your financial house are still working together. But this conversation went far beyond money. One of the most powerful things Philip talked about was learning to take off the armor. After years of being conditioned to respond, protect, perform, and stay ready, standing down can become its own journey. His message to veterans, first responders, and the families who love them is one more people need to hear. 🎙️ Watch the full Carrie Connects™ conversation and connect with Philip: Warrior to Love®: warriortolove.org and LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/philayles 📊 And if this conversation has you thinking about your own financial picture, let’s take a closer look at it. Book your Financial Clarity Session: https://calendly.com/gr8finances/clarity Let’s figure out whether what you have today still fits the life you’re living and the future you’re building. Real Conversations. Real Connections. Carrie Connects™ is sponsored by Gr8Finances. Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get full access to Clarity from the Heart™ at gr8finances.substack.com/subscribe
Jul 18

Carrie Connects™ Community Circle: Fibroid Awareness Month (July 2026)

Aired LIVE Saturday, July 18, 2026 | Replay on demand across all platforms @gr8finances The first Carrie Connects™ Community Circle opened the conversation many women have been having alone. The storm outside tried to steal the show. Screens froze, sound dropped, and the Midwest sky did its best. It did not matter. The message got through, because the women in the Circle refused to let it get lost. On Saturday the Carrie Connects™ Community Circle premiered with the conversation most women have in silence: fibroids. In the expert chair sat Dr. Michelle Jones Singer, a board certified gynecologist, cosmetic gynecologic surgeon, and keynote speaker with more than 20 years helping women navigate the health topics too often misunderstood or ignored. Beside her sat Colisha Amos-Douglas, a licensed professional counselor with over a decade of experience, who came to tell her story to help another woman. She Asked for a Picture. They Removed 19 Tumors. Colisha’s journey started with a pregnancy test that said yes. The doctor said no. She was not pregnant. She had fibroids, four of them, and because she had no symptoms, the plan was simply to watch. Years passed. Doctors watched. She was told to lose the weight first, so she poured herself into that. Still no baby. Still watching. Then her hemoglobin crashed in two weeks, and watching was over. Before surgery she asked her doctor for one thing: a picture. She wanted to see it for herself. Four hours and a blood transfusion later, her surgeon had removed 19 tumors, and left four behind because she could not keep her under anesthesia any longer. Then came the part that made the whole Circle cheer. After recovery, Colisha and her husband conceived their miracle baby. A carefully timed C-section brought that baby safely into the world. Her one wish looking back: that somebody had told her at the start what was true and what was possible. The Host Had a Story Too Coach Carrie did not build the Community Circle from a distance. In 2005, in her first year of teaching, she stood in a school building losing blood and was told by a principal to suck it up until the end of the day. She drove to her aunt’s house because she did not believe she would make it home alone. At the hospital, the paperwork asked for pre-authorization while her blood pressure fell to 70 over 50. A nurse in a hallway caught it, and Coach Carrie woke up from an emergency partial hysterectomy she never got to choose. Four blood transfusions. A choice taken away. Teachers she had never met donated their sick time so she could be paid while she healed. Years later she adopted her son at six months old. He is 16 now. That is why this show exists. What the Doctor Wants Every Woman to Know Dr. Jones Singer spent the hour turning fear into information, and a few of her lines deserve to be printed and kept. “You never have to apologize for asking questions about your body.” “We don’t treat the ultrasound pictures. We treat the woman.” “If we don’t see you, we can’t help you.” She walked through the signs too many women wave off as nothing: tiredness, weakness, pressure, bloating, frequent urination, heavy cycles, deep pelvic pressure. Symptoms that keep showing up deserve to be evaluated. She explained that fibroids are rarely cancerous, that genetics may play a role, that there are no proven home remedies, and that treatment today is a menu, from medication to uterine artery embolization to MRI guided treatment to the myomectomy that preserved Colisha’s ability to carry her baby. And she reminded everyone that yearly well woman exams still matter, even as guidelines change. This hour was education, not a diagnosis. Talk with your own doctor about your own body. The Line Every Employer Should Hear Near the end, Dr. Jones Singer said something every superintendent, HR director, and CFO should sit with. A high performing woman will push, push, push, and it will affect her performance at work and at home. It behooves an employer to encourage a woman to take care of herself and give her the tools to do it, so she can keep being the high performer she is, at the office, at home, and for herself. Most school buildings are full of women. That makes this a staffing conversation, a budget conversation, and a leadership conversation, not just a health one. When health interrupts life, money gets interrupted too. An emergency fund bought before the storm and the right coverage chosen before a diagnosis are the two things that turn a crisis into something a family can survive. The best time to prepare for a health surprise is when there is not one. You do not shop for a fire extinguisher while the house is on fire. The Circle Is Open This was the first Community Circle, and it meets monthly from here. August brings National Wellness Month, and the conversation continues. If this touched you, share the replay. Somewhere a woman is carrying this story in silence, and your share might be the way she finds out she is not alone. Connect with Dr. Michelle Jones Singer 🌐 Website: https://www.indianapolis-cosmetic-surgery.com/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-jones-singer-md-52b37018/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CosmeticSurgeryofIndianapolis/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmeticsurgeryindianapolis/ ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michellejonessingermd5733 Connect with Colisha Amos-Douglas 🌐 Website: https://www.wellnessfirstcc.com/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colisha.m.douglas Confusion is expensive. Clarity pays for life. Coach Carrie Willis | @gr8finances | gr8finances.com Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get full access to Clarity from the Heart™ at gr8finances.substack.com/subscribe
Jul 11

Carrie Connects™ Stanley Greene: PowerThinking

He Was Told to Fire Them All. He Kept Every Single One. Carrie Connects™ | Show Recap | July 11, 2026 Today I sat down with Stanley Greene, president and CEO of Power Thinking Corporation, and I’m still thinking about one story he told. Years ago he was sent into a struggling cable company and told to fire certain people. He kept them all. He didn’t bring in his own team. He just focused on the people he had. That company went from number 11 out of 13 to number 2 in a year and a half. He didn’t do it by chasing numbers. He did it by believing every single person has an area where they’re absolutely excellent, and helping them find it. That belief became Power Thinking. Optimism Is a Skill You Can Build Stanley is a positive psychology expert and co-founder of the Resiliency School of Japan, where he trains business leaders in Tokyo. His work is built on research from the University of Pennsylvania, and he’s brought it to leaders at Aflac, Merck, and Comcast. Here’s the part that got me. Most of us get locked in on who we are by age eight. We decide what we can and can’t do, and we carry that story for the rest of our lives. Stanley says we could be totally wrong about who we can be. He would know. He was once too shy to speak in front of more than four people. Today he trains executives on stages around the world. He built that courage one Toastmasters meeting at a time. The Thinking Trap Most of Us Fall Into One bad moment happens and suddenly the whole day was a loss. Sound familiar? Stanley calls that minimizing the positive and magnifying the negative, and it’s one of eight thinking traps his app helps people catch. His fix is simple. Before bed, write down three good things that happened today. That one exercise, developed by Dr. Martin Seligman, challenges the story that your day was ruined because somebody cut you off on the road this morning. Simple. Powerful. And backed by decades of research. From Philly to Tokyo My favorite part of the whole conversation was how Stanley ended up training leaders in Japan. It started with what looked like a setback. A CEO role that ended after just a few months. But that setback freed him up to focus on Power Thinking full time. He sent one email to a mailing list. The director of the Japan Positive Psychology Association wrote back. His very first Power Thinking presentation was to Japan’s defense forces, with a translator by his side and one Japanese phrase in his pocket: good morning. Sometimes our setbacks really are setting us up for a comeback. What Companies Keep Getting Wrong Stanley didn’t hold back on this one. Companies love to say people are their most important asset. Then they cut the people programs the moment the quarterly numbers get tight, calling them soft skills. He proved decades ago that when you focus on the people, the numbers follow. Not the other way around. Watch the Replay The full conversation is above and there’s so much more in it, including the Power Thinking app, his daily 8 AM and 8 PM live sessions, and why he calls this work a movement. Connect with Stanley Greene and check out the Power Thinking app. His links are Connect with Stanley Greene:🌐 Website: https://powerthinkingcorp.com/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/stanleyhgreene📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1GYwZoaiDx/ Carrie Connects™ airs every Saturday at 2:00 PM CST | 3:00 PM EST Hosted by Coach Carrie Willis | A Clarity From The Heart™ Production Real Conversations. Real Connections. 💗 Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get full access to Clarity from the Heart™ at gr8finances.substack.com/subscribe
Jul 5

Carrie Connects Gina Balaran: Find Your Sparkle

She Told Us to Stop Dimming Our Light. The Whole World Was Watching. Carrie Connects™ | Global Edition Recap | July 5, 2026 Today’s special global edition of Carrie Connects™ with Gina Balarin reached across time zones, from the US to Australia to Canada, and delivered a conversation I will be thinking about for a long time. Gina is an executive speaking coach, TEDx speaker, author, and founder of Verballistics. She has coached leaders at companies like AWS and Adobe. And today she showed us exactly why her clients walk away feeling better than when they arrived. The Sparkle You Cannot See in Yourself Gina’s gift is spotting the thing that makes you special, the thing you take for granted or feel embarrassed about, and reflecting it back until you finally see it too. Her method is simple and powerful. She observes something extraordinary in you. She names it. Then she asks: did you know you were doing that? Most people have no idea. That unseen gift is what she calls your sparkle. And when you stop hiding it, it stops being window dressing and becomes the thing you share with the world simply because of who you are. The Speaking Myth She Wants Gone You can be over prepared. That was the myth Gina busted today. Preparation matters, but clients obsessed with getting every detail perfect often prepare all the delight right out of their talk. Her advice: prepare to the point where there is still room for the possibility of innovation. That is where the extraordinary moments live. And no, do not imagine the audience in their underwear. She was clear about that too. Courage Is a Muscle For everyone who has ever been told to tone it down, Gina spoke directly to you. She has been there. She dimmed her own light to fit in, and it felt like survival at the time. Her challenge: do one tiny thing this week that makes you uncomfortable. Courage, like a muscle, is strengthened by use. Speak up in the meeting. Ask the question. Start small and the strength builds until the big brave moments feel possible. Her closing advice was one sentence worth writing down: give yourself permission to do the uncomfortable thing. Why the Human Voice Matters More in an AI World Gina made the case that as AI floods the world with generated content, being deeply and unmistakably human is what cuts through. AI repeats what it has been given. Humans bring a lifetime of experience, quirks, mistakes, and growth into one unrepeatable melting pot. That is the advantage no tool can touch. Watch the Replay The full conversation is above and it is worth every minute. Gina also shared how she helps clients earn standing ovations, what a year of studying mime taught her about communication, and the story of a three year old girl who walked onto a stage with her arms wide open and never really left. Connect with Gina Balarin: 🌐 verballistics.com.au 💼 linkedin.com/in/ginabalarin 📘 facebook.com/gina.balarin 📸 instagram.com/ginabalarin ▶️ youtube.com/@ginabalarin 🔗 linktr.ee/Gina.Balarin Carrie Connects™ airs every Saturday at 2:00 PM CST | 3:00 PM EST Hosted by Coach Carrie Willis | A Clarity From The Heart™ Production Real Conversations. Real Connections. 💗 Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get full access to Clarity from the Heart™ at gr8finances.substack.com/subscribe
Jun 27

What Happened When a Lab Technologist Taught Us That Money Grows Like a Garden

What Happened When a Lab Technologist Taught Us That Money Grows Like a Garden Carrie Connects™ | Show Recap | June 27, 2026 If you missed today’s episode of Carrie Connects™ with Bobby Clark, the replay is live and this one is full of the kind of wisdom that gets passed down at kitchen tables, not in classrooms. Bobby is a certified financial accountability coach who works with STEM professionals navigating student loans, housing costs, and credit card debt. Before he became a coach he spent 38 years as a laboratory technologist, and today he showed us exactly how those two worlds connect. What 38 Years in a Lab Taught Him About Money Bobby explained that chemistry is built on precision, measurement, and repeatable formulas. If you cannot measure something you cannot use it, and if you cannot duplicate it, it is not a formula worth keeping. He applies that same philosophy to financial coaching. There is no universal formula for everyone. Every client’s plan has to be measured and adjusted to fit their specific attitudes, beliefs, and experiences with money before it can actually work for them. The Barbershop, the Receipts, and the Garden Some of the richest moments of today’s conversation came from Bobby’s family history with money. His grandfather shined shoes for a living at a local barbershop, the kind of place where businessmen came in to talk shop while getting a haircut. Bobby believes his grandfather absorbed money lessons simply by being in that room, lessons he later passed down by encouraging young Bobby to save a little bit of his allowance, again and again. His father ran a business and brought the day’s receipts home every single night. Money was visible in Bobby’s house. It was not scarce and it was not a secret. And his mother grew up on a farm, which gave her what Bobby called a farmer’s mindset, the instinct to make things grow and multiply rather than just survive. The family always kept a garden growing up. Here is the full circle moment that closed out this story beautifully: Bobby has a garden today. Tomatoes, cucumbers, kale, banana peppers, blueberry bushes, and a tangerine tree, tended jointly with his wife. The same mindset his mother planted in him decades ago is literally growing in his backyard right now. The Clothes Hanger Hustle One of the most charming stories Bobby shared was his very first paid job. His father’s best friend ran a dry cleaning business that was always short on clothes hangers. So young Bobby would raid his parents’ and grandparents’ closets, collect hangers, and bring them to the cleaners for cash. It was not a lesson delivered with a lecture. It was simply how the people around him operated, and it shaped how he thinks about earning money to this day. A Joint Effort, In the Garden and in the Finances Bobby was clear that his garden is not a solo project, and neither are his finances. His wife shares the work of growing both. He emphasized how important it is for couples to come to the table together when making financial decisions, since those choices affect the entire household. That is advice worth repeating long after today’s show ends. Go Watch the Replay and Connect With Bobby Lee Clark The replay is live now. Watch it, share it, and then catch Bobby’s own show every Thursday at 12 noon Eastern, 11 AM Central, right after Monday Mixed Live. 🏢 Business: Clark on Money Financial Coaching Service 🌐 Website: accountable.network/bobbyclarkwebsite 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bobbyclarkfinancialcoach 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/ClarkonMoney 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/clarkonmoney Closing Out Men’s Mental Health Month Today’s show landed on the very last Saturday of Men’s Mental Health Month and Bobby offered a perspective that ties directly back to the work he does. Men are wired to solve problems, he said, and that wiring can work against them. The same instinct that says I can fix this myself often keeps men from reaching out for help, whether the issue is financial or physical. A money problem left unaddressed because of pride can snowball into something far bigger, the same way a health issue ignored because of ego can turn into something serious. His advice was simple and direct. Get your annual physical. Get your eyes checked. Get your teeth cleaned. And if you need a financial coach, an advisor, or an accountant, put that person in your circle. Asking for help is not weakness. Sometimes it is the thing that saves your life, your health, or your finances before a small issue becomes an unmanageable one. That is a message worth carrying past the final day of the month. A Quick Schedule Note Next Saturday is July 4th, so Carrie Connects™ is taking a brief pause from its regular schedule. Instead, join us for a special Sunday July 5th edition broadcasting live from Australia. Details will be updated on all social media platforms, so stay connected. Carrie Connects™ airs every Saturday at 2:00 PM CST | 3:00 PM EST Hosted by Coach Carrie Willis | A Clarity From The Heart™ Production Real Conversations. Real Connections. 💗 Get full access to Clarity from the Heart™ at gr8finances.substack.com/subscribe

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Creator

Coach Carrie Willis | Confusion is Expensive. Clarity Pays for Life..
Years Active

2026
Episodes

41
Rating

Clean
Show Website

Clarity from the Heart™

Clarity from the Heart™

Episodes

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Carrie Connects Gina Balaran: Find Your Sparkle

What Happened When a Lab Technologist Taught Us That Money Grows Like a Garden

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