We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marci Hopkins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Marci thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

A defining moment in my professional career didn’t come with an award or a spotlight—it came from a conversation.

I was at a women’s retreat, sharing proudly about my talk show Wake Up with Marci, how it was on TV, how I was interviewing incredible guests, and truly living my dream. And then someone said, “But if you’re not making money from it, it’s just a hobby.”

At first, I was devastated. I felt small. But that night, as I sat in silence, I asked myself why it hit me so hard. And the truth was, it hurt because she was right not in the literal sense, but in the emotional sense: I had built something meaningful, but deep down, I still wasn’t owning my worth. I was still looking for external permission to believe that what I was doing mattered.

That moment changed everything.

It was no longer just about a show, it became a mission. I re-centered my work around helping women move from survival mode into self-leadership.I owned my worth and what I had built. A platform that was helping others. I started working with brands that were helping others and my platform was bringing awareness to the brands. I then created my program Chaos to Clarity: From Stuck to Thriving and the CARE Method to empower women to speak their truth, set boundaries, and reclaim their joy. That moment taught me that clarity is often born in discomfort and if we’re brave enough to face it, it will change the entire direction of our lives.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an award winning TV host, author, podcast creator, motivational speaker and advocate for mental wellness and sobriety. My journey into television wasn’t conventional. I spent years behind the scenes in entertainment—working at FOX Cable Group in Operations, Programming and On-Air Promotions, navigating the hustle, but eventually stepped away to raise my children.

Even during that time, I felt a pull to get back into the media industry. I took a leap of faith in my 40’s and went after a lifelong dream of getting in front of the camera. I worked as a commercial print model and actress. When I got sober in 2015 my life began to change for the better. I began to heal from my trauma, live in gratitude and forgiveness of myself and others. I began to live in joy and my mission became clear. I wanted to connect with others through storytelling. That calling led to the creation of Wake Up with Marci, a talk show rooted in healing, hope, and honest conversations. What began as a platform to uplift others has become a true movement—especially among women navigating overwhelm, perfectionism, trauma, and burnout.

Sobriety plays a central role in everything I do, because it’s where my real story began. I’ve been sober for almost 10 years now, and choosing sobriety was choosing myself for the first time. It forced me to stop numbing and start feeling—to peel back the layers, face my pain, and rebuild my life from the inside out.

What I’m working on now is the next evolution of that: Chaos to Clarity—a course and method designed for women who are stuck in cycles of burnout and self-neglect, who want to reclaim their power, find their voice, and thrive without guilt.

What I’m most proud of in this work is hearing from other women who say, “Because of your story, I finally believed it was possible for me too.” That’s the ripple effect of sobriety. That’s why I share so openly—because someone out there is still struggling in silence.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One of the most defining moments of my sobriety journey came in the early days—when everything felt raw.

There was a night I was emotionally overwhelmed. My husband was out of town, and the kids were asleep, I was alone and my old instinct kicked in: “Just have one glass of wine. You’ve earned it.”

But instead, I chose to sit in it and use a very important tool I had learned, “Move a muscle, change a thought”. This works in any scenario in life.

I sat with the craving, with the discomfort, with the voice in my head that wanted me to escape. I breathed through it. I cried. I got up and found some positive literature and then I wrote on a sticky note: “You are stronger than this feeling.”

That moment taught me that resilience isn’t loud—it’s quiet. It’s in the choice to keep showing up for yourself when no one is watching.

That sticky note stayed on my mirror for years. Every time I looked at it, I was reminded that I had survived something I once thought I couldn’t. That is the kind of strength sobriety and choosing a better life gives you.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest life lesson I had to unlearn was this: Perfection equals love.

Growing up, I experienced a lot of emotional pain. My mother struggled with alcoholism, and as a child, I quickly internalized the belief that if I could just be “perfect”—if I could be good enough, helpful enough, quiet enough—then maybe I’d feel safe. Maybe I’d be loved.

That belief became a blueprint I followed into adulthood: the perfect mom, the perfect wife, the polished professional. I was constantly striving and performing, but inside, I felt empty and unseen.

Sobriety stripped away the armor. Without alcohol, I had to sit with who I really was—not who I was pretending to be. I had to unlearn the idea that love is earned through performance. I had to believe I was worthy just as I am.

That shift has shaped everything I do. Today, I teach women how to embrace their humanity—not just their highlight reels. Because real confidence doesn’t come from being perfect. It comes from being real.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wakeupwithmarci.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wake_up_with_marci/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wakeupwithmarci/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wakeupwithmarci/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtv2M6RTEYmUkLnkGgcg7Rw