There’s a quote from James Clear that has shaped so much of my life and business:

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

That idea guided me long before I ever knew I’d run a fitness business or launch a podcast. It’s also at the heart of why this show exists.

Welcome to Episode 01 of my podcast and the very first blog post in this series. If you’re here, you’re probably trying to build habits that stick. Maybe you’re a mom juggling a lot. Maybe you’ve started and stopped more workout plans than you can count. Maybe you just want to feel like the healthiest version of yourself again.

This podcast will cover all of that, but first I need to take you back to where it started. My story began with the habit of simply not quitting.

2018: The First Step Toward “Fitness” Becoming My Business

By this point I had been slowly falling in love with fitness, getting stronger, feeling more confident, and feeling this pull to share my journey online. Sharing it publicly felt CRINGE. Truly cringe. I worked a corporate job, and a lot of my coworkers followed me on Instagram. If you’ve ever tried to create content while working a 9 to 5, you know that sick feeling of imagining your coworkers finding your “I’m trying to make this a thing” account. Also don’t get me started on family members who already follow you and notice the “shift” in content…

So I avoided it for two years.

I didn’t really know what my end goal was anyway. I just had this dream of being a fitness influencer with a big audience and no clarity on what that would actually look like or what the point of it all would be.

Life in 2018 forced some change. My schedule shifted, and the only realistic time to work out was early in the morning. I could either work out before work or work out super late. We had zero equipment and zero budget, so home workouts weren’t happening. That pushed me into what became the beginning of my early morning era.

September 2018 – the month I started waking up early for the gym. Now here we are seven years later, I still love morning workouts.

October 2018: The Cringe Post That Changed Everything

On October 7, 2018, I posted my first fitness post on Instagram. My heart was racing when I hit share. It felt embarrassing and vulnerable and weird, but I did it anyway. HERE is a link if you also want to cringe.

The caption said: “Tomorrow’s Monday, so here’s your friendly reminder to go pack your bag for the gym 😜…now there’s no excuse to not work out, people!”

It got 199 likes. At the time I had fewer than 600 followers, so that was huge to me.

Everyone has a day one. Day ones feel uncomfortable. It feels awkward. It feels like everyone is watching and judging. BUT if you try to jump to year six without going through year one, you miss the magic. The reward is the work. Throw it out there and refine over time.

“You don’t have to get it perfect, you just have to get it going.”

That first post became the sign I needed. I committed to sharing consistently and providing value through my journey, tips, and workouts. From that day forward, I posted five to six days a week – back when everyone wanted their Instagram grids to look symmetrical. Back when I planned every single square.

Those mornings looked the same for years:

4:30 am – Wake up

5:15 am – Gym

5:15 to 6:15 – Train and film my exercises

7:00 – Ready for work

7:30 – At my desk posting the workout

Then I started my actual workday

It was wild. It was intense. But it was the foundation.

January 2019: My First Fitness Challenge

January 2019 was another milestone. I launched my first ever fitness challenge. And it was free. Not one week. Not ten days. A thirty day challenge. WHY. 😂

I got the idea from Jenna Kutcher’s podcast, and I was hooked on the idea of capturing emails. I didn’t think about creating something to sell afterward. I was focused on showing up and giving people something helpful right then (more long-term planning would have helped). 

HOWEVER…

248 people signed up.

That was almost half of my Instagram following at the time!!!!

Even my parents told people about it. My dad hung a flyer in his office. LOL! One of his coworkers’ wives still tells him I was the reason she started exercising consistently. The wildest part is that back then I had no idea what I was doing. Everything was circuit training and chaos.

People loved it, but when it ended I had nothing for them to purchase. No next step. No plan to turn that momentum into something sustainable. Plus I was burnt out – TRULY burnt out. That challenge nearly took me out, emotionally and physically.

I still remember coming home on MLK weekend after working on the challenge for hours. I walked in to find my husband Erik still asleep around 1 pm. I completely lost it. Stress will do funny things to you. He still tells the story about that day I found him asleep on the couch. HAHA.

October 2019: Finally Charging Money

It took me nine months to decompress before I launched my next challenge in October 2019, and this one was paid.

For context, my first fitness post was October 2018. I posted 5 to 6 times a week for an entire year before making a dollar. When I finally emailed my list again, I sounded like, “Hi, remember me from nine months ago?”

Thirty people joined. THIRTY.

At the time I was disappointed. I thought at least half of the original 248 would return (so sweet of you to think that, Karlee). Now, I look back and want to hug that version of myself. Thirty paying customers is huge. It showed me people wanted what I was creating.

A videographer even made a promo video for me. I felt like I was finally doing something.

The Healthy Habit of Deluluuuuu Delusion.

This is the part where most people quit. It didn’t feel like my dream was “working.” I had posted for a year almost daily and made $1,500.

I kept going. I showed up consistently. I treated it like a long game. I treated it like a part time job. 

Call it delusion or discipline, but it’s the reason this business exists today.

Growth, Setbacks, and the Challenge That Changed Everything →

Fast forward to May 2021. I hosted my biggest fitness challenge yet: 110 participants. That number changed everything for me. It showed me what I offered had real value and real impact.

People needed consistency.

They needed workouts created for them.

They needed a coach who walked the walk.

And I had been showing up long enough that they trusted me.

Imagine if I had quit after the 30 person challenge.

December 2021 to Early 2022: The Moment Everything Shifted

I had my son Rafe in December 2021, and the thought of sending him to daycare made my stomach hurt. The childcare options near the lakehouse we were renting during a transitional season weren’t good. I loved the job I was working in college athletics, but it wasn’t my long term dream.

And that’s when the idea hit: What if I didn’t go back? 

During maternity leave you have these pockets of time where the baby sleeps and you’re just home. I filled mine with research. DEEP RESEARCH. HOURS of learning. This was before ChatGPT existed, so I lived on Google and YouTube.

I reached out to big creators and business owners.

One responded: Ryan Fischer. 

I’ll never forget him.

A huge name in the fitness space – over half a million followers.

He used his time to give me advice.

His kindness mattered more than he’ll ever know.

I researched platforms, filed an LLC, opened bank accounts, bought equipment, hired someone to design my logo, created the first month of workouts, tested everything, and cried many times along the way.

Then on March 7, 2022, the day I was supposed to return to my full time job, I launched my business instead.

Karlee Lynn Fitness was born.

The Years That Followed →

Since then:

I’ve run my business from my laptop as a stay at home mom

We built a 6 figure company from the ground up

I became a certified macro coach

I launched my 1:1 coaching program

I built group coaching cohorts

I had my second son, Vance

I launched my prenatal and postnatal programs

I kept showing up, even when it wasn’t pretty

There have been seasons when I worked more hours than my previous 9 to 5 and seasons where I only had the capacity to check the basic boxes. 

Through it all, the habit of not quitting is what brought me here.

And Now: The Podcast →

This podcast is my next chapter. My biggest focus for 2026. I have a huge list of guests, a huge list of topics, and a huge desire to help you build unshakeable habits in every area of your life.

Fitness

Nutrition

Faith

Finances.

Motherhood

Routine

Mindset

If you have episode ideas or guests you’d love to hear from, message me on Instagram. Use the word podcast so your message can easily be filtered.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for listening. And welcome to The Daily Penny – helping you build the habit of simply not quitting.