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Tina Wells18 August 2023

Tina Wells: The Elevation Approach, How to Achieve Work-Life Harmony While Still Crushing Your Goals

8Frameworks
9Insights

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Frameworks in this episode

Mindset3 steps

Choose Joy Over Happiness

Happiness needs the ice cream; joy shows up smiling even when the ice cream is gone.

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Productivity3 steps

Declutter to Get Curious

Clear the canvas first — an empty space is the only place a new idea can land.

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Influence3 steps

Friend Tours Over Mentors

Build a personal board of peers who'll tell you you're not showing up — not cheerleaders who just clap.

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Finance3 steps

Know Your Numbers

Replace 'I feel like' with data you're accountable to — for your business and your body.

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Communication3 steps

Make Deposits Before Withdrawals

Never draw on a relationship you haven't paid into — and guard the energy your big ideas require.

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Productivity4 steps

The Elevation Approach

Four phases that carry any goal to the finish line without burning you out in the middle.

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Peak Performance3 steps

Unstructured Recreation

Play with no outcome is the fuel that gets you across the finish line — schedule the break, not the goal.

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Mindset3 steps

Work-Life Harmony (The Favorite Meal)

Stop balancing work with equal play — build a plate with only what belongs on it.

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Insights & moments

The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.

Myth Buster· 1

Myth Buster24:00

Why Work-Life Balance Is a Myth

Tina challenges the idea of 'work-life balance,' arguing it implies an exhausting trade-off between work and play. Instead, she advocates for 'work-life harmony' — intentionally designing a life where work and personal joy coexist without equal time allocation.

  • Balance implies grinding at work and needing equal 'play' to compensate
  • Harmony is about choosing what goes on your life 'plate' intentionally
  • Younger generations won’t compromise joy for work
  • Some seasons are naturally heavier on work — and that’s okay
  • Harmony allows for recovery and meaningful breaks

“Balance says if you're working your butt off, you gotta add all the play to equal out the work. Harmony is more like creating your…”

Tina Wells · 24:30
#work-life harmony#burnout prevention#mindset

Hot Take· 1

Hot Take47:30

Joy Is a State, Happiness Is a Moment

Tina makes a powerful distinction: happiness depends on external things (like ice cream), while joy is an internal state of engagement. Entrepreneurs should cultivate joy because it’s sustainable, even during tough seasons.

  • Happiness is fleeting and dependent on external events
  • Joy is a sustained state of engagement and presence
  • You can feel joy even during stressful tasks
  • Joy is more controllable and resilient than happiness
  • Critical for leaders whose energy affects others

“Happiness is like I'm eating ice cream. Ice cream makes me happy. What happens when the ice cream goes away? Are you now unhappy?”

Tina Wells · 47:45
#mindset#emotional resilience#leadership

Explainer· 2

Explainer11:00

Why Agency Work Isn’t Built to Scale

Tina explains how her agency, while profitable, required constant labor and client management, making it hard to scale. In contrast, her book business generated passive income and allowed her to focus on content creation without proportional effort.

  • Agency work scales linearly — more clients require more people and time
  • Books generate revenue whether she’s awake or asleep
  • Realized content creation was more profitable per hour than client services
  • Profitability analysis revealed inefficiencies in agency model
  • Transitioned to a content-first, scalable business model

“When you sell a book you sell a book right and so it's a sale... you can move that product whether you're awake, sleeping, at…”

Tina Wells · 12:00
#business model#profitability#scaling
Explainer43:00

Why Recreation Is Essential for Completion

Tina explains that her burnout stemmed from skipping recreation. She now treats it as a non-negotiable phase that fuels transformation. Recreation isn’t structured workouts — it’s unstructured play that recharges creativity and energy.

  • Recreation is not the same as exercise or preparation
  • It’s about unstructured, joyful activities like reading or playing
  • Allows the mind to decompress and return with fresh energy
  • Critical for finishing projects and avoiding mid-process burnout
  • Modeled after how children play — without outcome goals

“Recreation is if you've got to think about it a little more as like play... not to say at the end of this 15 minutes…”

Tina Wells · 46:30
#recreation#creativity#energy management

Story· 2

Story01:00

How a Teenage Hobby Turned Into a 20-Year Business

Tina Wells shares how, at 16, she responded to a tiny ad in a teen magazine to become a product review editor, which led to her launching The Buzz — a youth marketing research agency. Without realizing it, she had started a business that eventually worked with major brands like Dell, Apple, and the Oprah Winfrey Network.

  • Started as a product reviewer for a teen publication at 16
  • Companies began sending her free products and asking for feedback
  • Realized she was doing informal market research
  • Turned it into a formal research agency after college mentorship
  • Grew it into a 20-year award-winning agency

“I was just enjoying being a teenager getting tons of free product every week.”

Tina Wells · 02:20
#entrepreneurship#youth marketing#startup story
Story04:30

Why She Burned Out After Two Decades of Success

Despite running a successful agency for over 20 years, Tina Wells hit a breaking point. She realized she was no longer passionate or challenged by her work, describing a period of depression and emotional exhaustion that culminated in a sabbatical after her father’s health crisis.

  • Felt unchallenged and emotionally drained despite professional success
  • Experienced depression and daily crying spells in 2019
  • Father’s terminal illness prompted a life review and realization of personal regrets
  • Decided to take a sabbatical and ultimately shift her business model
  • Realized she didn’t want to stop working — just stop doing what she was doing

“I decided that I was going to take a sabbatical... I finally got a little bit of time off went to Yellowstone and I thought…”

Tina Wells · 10:00
#burnout#mental health#career transition

Tool· 1

Tool30:30

How Decluttering Signals Readiness for Growth

Tina describes decluttering — physical, digital, and calendar clutter — as the first sign that she’s ready to enter a new phase. It’s not just cleaning; it’s a psychological signal that mental space needs to be cleared for new ideas.

  • Clutter is often the first sign of internal misalignment
  • Decluttering creates space for curiosity and creativity
  • Includes physical, digital, and calendar clutter
  • Helps transition from overwhelm to clarity
  • A precursor to the 'inspiration' phase in her Elevation Approach

“I went and decluttered a space... I realized oh I'm processing what's going on.”

Tina Wells · 31:00
#productivity#mental clarity#decluttering

Takeaway· 2

Takeaway35:00

Why 'Knowing Your Numbers' Includes Sleep and Health

Tina emphasizes that 'knowing your numbers' isn’t just about revenue — it’s about tracking sleep, stress, energy, and health. She uses tools like her Oura Ring to stay honest about her well-being, which directly impacts her performance.

  • Track sleep, steps, stress, and recovery, not just revenue
  • Used Oura Ring to reveal she wasn’t sleeping as well as she thought
  • Honest data prevents burnout and improves daily efficiency
  • Entrepreneurs must be accountable to real metrics, not feelings
  • Health metrics are foundational to long-term success

“I wear my Oura ring every day... every morning looking at a sleep score and saying oh I really didn't sleep as well as I…”

Tina Wells · 35:30
#data-driven decisions#health tracking#self-awareness
Takeaway49:00

Transformation Isn’t the End — It’s a Reset

Tina clarifies that transformation isn’t a final destination. It’s a phase where you reflect, complete a cycle, and then return to preparation with new insights. The Elevation Approach is cyclical, not linear.

  • Transformation includes reflection on what worked and what didn’t
  • It’s okay to pivot or abandon a goal after starting
  • The process is designed to be repeated
  • After transformation, you return to preparation with new clarity
  • Work-life harmony requires constant adjustment

“You can always go back... and say what do I need? Do I need a new ritual? Am I not making time for recreation?”

Tina Wells · 51:00
#personal growth#reflection#continuous improvement