Achieve Your Goals with Hal Elrod

Episode 576: Real-Life Transformations from Two Longtime Miracle Morning Practitioners

Guests: Holly Bertone & Karen Stringer
Date: March 5, 2025

Overview

In this inspiring episode, host Hal Elrod sits down with Holly Bertone and Karen Stringer, two longtime practitioners of the Miracle Morning routine. Both women share deep, authentic stories of personal and professional transformation—Holly from FBI Chief of Staff to holistic health coach, and Karen from a goat-herding childhood in Kenya to PhD, entrepreneur, and mother. Throughout, they reveal how incorporating the Miracle Morning “SAVERS” practices into their daily lives has empowered them to overcome adversity, achieve major goals, and positively influence those around them.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Meet the Practitioners: Powerful Backstories

• Karen Stringer’s Journey ([05:07]):
  • Grew up in rural Kenya, herding goats; parents couldn’t afford school fees.
  • Sought sponsors for her education, earned a scholarship to teach Swahili in the US.
  • Now holds a PhD, runs a company, and has a family in St. Louis, Missouri.
  • “I would find people, walk up to them and say, this is my situation...Are you willing to help me with my school? And somebody was always there.” – Karen ([05:47])
• Holly Bertone’s Transformation ([07:07]):
  • Former FBI Chief of Staff for Counterintelligence, not an agent but rose rapidly post-9/11.
  • Survived cancer, battled autoimmune illness, then shifted to health coaching.
  • Uses pattern recognition skills from FBI work to help women tackle emotional eating.
  • “A threat is a threat. You’ve got Russian spies on one side and you’ve got cake day at the office on the other side.” – Holly ([09:22])

2. Discovering & Adapting the Miracle Morning

• Karen’s Introduction (2013) ([10:51]):
  • Early adopter after hearing about it on a podcast—used it to organize her life during PhD and beyond.
  • Developed personal flexibility with the practices, reflecting life’s changing rhythms.
  • “It just became a way of life for me… Everyone who's ever been around me, they know about the miracle morning, whether they like it or not.” – Karen ([11:39])
• Holly’s Introduction (2019) ([14:41]):
  • Came to it after a “dark decade” followed by a health comeback post-cancer.
  • Rebuilt morning habits and structured her healing and comeback around the routine.
  • “All of those foundational morning habits and even habits throughout the day were just completely gone. The Miracle Morning brought all of it back to life.” – Holly ([14:56])

3. Favorite SAVERS & Customizing the Practice

• Consistency & Adaptability ([17:59], [18:37], [19:59]):
  • Both guests emphasize adapting the routines to fit current life—no guilt about perfection.
  • Karen’s core: reading, journaling (“writing as visualization”), and affirmations; uses prayer for “silence.”
  • Holly’s core: silence, affirmations, visualization—practices these “100% since 2019” ([17:59]) and sometimes adapts reading to Audiobooks/lunchtime.
  • “I journal as if it’s at the end of the day and the day has already happened and the day was the most amazing day ever.” – Holly ([31:28])

Journaling Tips ([23:13]):

• Karen journals nightly (“Dear Diary” as her mental cue), focuses on gratitude, and limits herself to one page.
• “I just talk my heart out...After one page, I say, I think that’s enough for the night.” – Karen ([24:56])

Silence as a Game-Changer ([26:14]):

• Holly describes silence as her “favorite,” noting the struggle to settle her nervous system post-trauma, but now relishes meditation and reflection.

4. Results & Real-Life Outcomes

• Karen’s Highlights:
  • Finished her dissertation on time ([35:48])
  • Launched a real estate business (2015)—retired husband from his job ([36:31])
  • Created a Swahili language learning app during COVID (2020) ([36:46])
  • “Literally, my life is what it is right now because of the Miracle Morning.” – Karen ([37:53])
• Holly’s Highlights:
  • Used routine to build emotional resilience and restart career after divorce ([39:09])
  • Now gifts the book to clients, helps them build new identities around self-care, health, and empowered mindsets.
  • “That routine…was that consistent routine every single day. If even the entire day went haywire, there was one thing that I can rely on.” – Holly ([39:09])

5. Ripple Effects: Influencing Others

• Karen ([43:44]):
  • Husband, originally a night owl, started waking up early and integrating SAVERS by osmosis.
  • Gifts the Miracle Morning, Atomic Habits, and The Compound Effect to high school grads, challenges students with the practice.
  • “Let my example and the results be the biggest factor in [my husband] determining whether he wanted to do that.” – Karen ([44:10])
• Holly ([46:29]):
  • Shares routine with midlife coaching clients, many of whom learn to put themselves first for the first time in years.
  • Shares a client story: “She said she’s excited to wake up every day…I feel like I have purpose. I have a new job. I love how my day begins.” ([47:19])

6. Facing Challenges & Staying Consistent

• When Life Gets Hard ([49:17]):
  • Karen admits motherhood was a “humbling” disruption: “I thought I was going to have that baby, put them on the car seat and just continue with my miracle morning like nothing happened.” ([49:40])
  • Took time to accept flexibility and non-perfection: “Having grace on myself meant I was failing. And it took a lot of maturing…”
• Practical Adaptations ([54:29]):
  • Holly leverages at-home exercise equipment, walking pads, and “walk and talk” phone calls to keep moving during tough winters.
  • Finds that Miracle Evening practices profoundly affect sleep.
  • “On the times of your life that things are the darkest is when you need the Miracle Morning most.” – Holly ([57:21])

7. Rapid Fire Q&A

• Wake-Up Times:
  • Karen: 6:45am ([58:14])
  • Holly: 4:00am ([58:18])
• Favorite SAVER:
  • Karen: Journaling (“I gotta talk to my friends!”) ([58:51])
  • Holly: Silence ([59:16])
• Book Recommendations:
  • Karen: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, Atomic Habits by James Clear ([59:24])
  • Holly: Good Energy by Dr. Casey Means ([59:52])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Karen:
  • “For me, the miracle morning was the turning point. I could always do amazing things, but there wasn’t a pattern, there wasn’t a framework.”
  • “I feel like whenever Sansa said something, did I misunderstand them? So I just – I just talk my heart out.” ([24:33])
  • “My life is what it is right now, literally, because of the miracle morning.”
• Holly:
  • “A threat is a threat. I always like to joke…you’ve got Russian spies on one side and you’ve got cake day at the office on the other side.”
  • “I struggled so hard, so long, for so many years with silence. My body was very sick…I could not be in silence…Now silence is my favorite. I mean, I live in the silence.” ([26:14])
  • “That routine…was that consistent routine every single day. If even the entire day went haywire, there was one thing that I can rely on.” ([39:09])
  • “On those times of your life that things are the darkest is when you need the Miracle Morning the most.” ([57:21])

Important Timestamps

• [05:47] – Karen’s journey from rural Kenya to PhD in America
• [09:22] – Holly’s path from FBI counterintelligence to health coaching
• [10:51] – Karen discovers Miracle Morning in 2013
• [14:41] – Holly discovers the practice, rebuilding post-cancer
• [19:59] – Customizing SAVERS, journaling as visualization
• [23:13] – Karen’s practical journaling approach
• [31:00] – Holly’s “future memory” journaling: writing the day as if already lived
• [35:48-37:53] – Karen’s tangible results: dissertation, business, app
• [39:09] – Holly’s divorce, healing, and anchoring with Miracle Morning
• [49:17] – Karen on balancing motherhood and adapting the practice
• [54:29] – Holly’s practical solutions for staying active in winter
• [57:21] – Holly: Miracle Morning is most needed during dark times
• [58:14-59:52] – Rapid fire Qs: wake up times, favorite SAVERS, book recs
• [60:56] – Where to find Karen (learnswahilinow.com, Swahili Made Easy podcast)
• [61:33] – Where to find Holly (Your Midlife Comeback Story podcast, IG @hollybertone)

Conclusion

This episode delivers a wealth of actionable habits, relatable struggles, and uplifting proof that the Miracle Morning can be an adaptable, lifelong tool—through triumphs, turmoil, new identities, and big dreams. Holly and Karen exemplify the true ripple effect of the SAVERS framework across cultures, careers, and communities.

To get started or reinvigorate your practice:

• Try the Miracle Morning App
• Gift the book to someone starting a new chapter
• Focus on progress over perfection
• Use your preferred approach to the SAVERS—and share your journey with others!

Host: Hal Elrod
Guests: Holly Bertone, Karen Stringer