Dr. Shirley K. Clark Talks New Book, ‘Rich Mind Rich Life’

She is a multiple best-selling author, life coach, and business success strategist.

Dr. Shirley Clark is a phenomenal trailblazer in her own right. She is a multiple best-selling author, life coach, and business success strategist. She is also a curriculum developer, ghostwriter, and publisher with decades of industry experience under her belt. BLACK ENTERPRISE caught up with Clark to talk about her life and latest book, Rich Mind Rich Life.

BLACK ENTERPRISE: Briefly share your background and backstory.

Shirley Clark: I’m the youngest of seven and grew up impoverished. For four generations, no one in my family had a higher educational degree. Daily life was simply a survival mode—will I eat or will the water be on when I wake up?

My father was illiterate and an alcoholic and my mother only had a 6^th-grade education. For three years, we were in foster care and abused. When I graduated from high school, I could not write a complete sentence. We had no frame of reference regarding the “American Dream.” Then one day, I was told if I give my life to Jesus, it would be better. I did. The rest is history.

Being that you’re well-accomplished, can you give a synopsis of everything that you’re doing today?

For 25 years, I have been the CEO of Clark’s Consulting Firm, which is comprised of six businesses (publishing, public relations, marketing, branding, coaching & consulting services, a business university, event planning, and a speaker & entertainer’s professional hub). We also own seven digital magazines and under our publishing imprint, we have 400-plus books. I am an award-winning 12x #1 Amazon Best-selling author with over 50 books in print. We have trained and coached over 30,000 entrepreneurs in small business development, certified over 100 coaches and speakers, and have assisted with making 10 millionaires. For me, it has been truly God, so now, I am paying it forward.

What is the inspiration for you to write Rich Mind Rich Life?

In 2009, we were deeply in debt and told by our attorney to file for bankruptcy. But the Lord said very strongly in my spirit, “No!” It was time for me to become a millionaire. I sought Him for direction, and He gave me two foundational scriptures: Hebrews 11:6 (“He will reward those who diligently seek Him”) and Deuteronomy 8:18 (“I’m going to give you power to produce wealth.”). So, on January 1, 2010, from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., I started my transformation journey by “soaking” in His presence and learning what I did not know. I kept this discipline for four years, and God taught me how to create wealth by tapping into divine intelligence. Today, we are tremendously blessed—home and vehicles paid off. It has been my study (increasing my intellectual capital) and the use of scriptures that have garnered me great success. Now, most of our clients are six, seven-, and eight-figure earners. So, today, I pray and grow richer; this is what inspired me to write this book. It works!

What are five (5) takeaways from Rich Mind Rich Life?

1. Rich People Educate Themselves; Poor People Entertain Themselves

It is true: we don’t know what we don’t know. As entrepreneurs and small-business owners, can we all agree that billionaires might just know something we don’t? With that said, self-education is a major key to your success, growth, and sustainability in the marketplace. You want to spend more time acquiring knowledge and skills that keep you relevant in the market.

2. Operate in Rich Habits

The purpose of education is to reframe our mindset with a new “governing” knowledge that positions us for future financial benefits. Your habits and personal values are always connected to tangible achievements. You have to develop a stronger sense of self as a producer, not a consumer.

3. Become Better Storytellers for Our Future

We live in a voice-activated world filled with a lot of noise. To create the world we want for our lives, we must train our brains to focus only on stories that feed our dreams and visions. Therefore, when we speak, we share from the very essence of our future. Your future responds to your voice only. What you say will frame and define your world. We must become better storytellers of our future.

4. Know That You Were Made for More

One of my former pastors would say, “Find out what God wants you to do, confer no longer with flesh and blood, and get it done at all costs.” Inside everyone are seeds of greatness. But it is what we do with these seeds that determines our outcomes. You are made for more, so find out what you are called to do and persevere until you see it in your life. Never give up on your dream. If someone else has done it, so can you.

5. Master the Art of Starting

The common mistakes many people make in fulfilling their dreams and visions are waiting for all the pieces to line up perfectly and expecting everything to be in place before working toward their dreams. According to most wealthy people, if 70% of what you are working toward is in place, start then. Don’t overthink it; just get started. The good news is that Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, and many other successful people started in the same place you are right now. You have to choose yourself to be next.

For more information or to order a copy of the book, click here.