The 1% Woman: How Sara D Morell Raised $100M as a Single Mom | EP 70

She was married in a Parisian château, escorted through the Louvre in her wedding dress — and felt like death inside. Five years ago, Sara D Morell was a single mom on food stamps. Today she has raised over $100 million and is building an eco-luxury, self-sustaining mini city outside Austin. What took her from there to here wasn’t what she expected to talk about — until now.

In this conversation, Celinne and Sara go into the parts that never make the stage: 16 custody hearings, hair falling out, crying on the laundry room floor while still building, and the moment on food stamps when a voice told her she would teach people to build wealth. Sara dismantles ego-driven manifestation, offers a radical reframe on co-creation, and speaks directly to every woman who has wondered why the outer success still feels hollow.

You’ll hear how Sara built her discernment muscle to trust the voice that has guided every major move — and why the real secret to everything she’s built is this: trust, and go bigger.

ON THIS EPISODE:

00:00 The version of Sara’s story that never makes it on stage

05:12 Why manifesting from ego gets you a “Miserati” — and what co-creation looks like instead

13:34 How Sara holds grace, shame, and survival terror while still building

19:59 From homeless child to dancing at 17 to channeling a city: the burning ground that forged her

28:25 How to discern the voice of God from your own fear — and build the antenna that tells the difference

40:42 The Paris château wedding where she felt like death inside

49:03 The moment on food stamps when God gave her the ark

51:52 The real data on women and funding (only 1% of VC — and women generate more than double the return)

56:02 Why building community into the architecture of a city is the future

KEY IDEAS:

🔥 Co-creation, not manifestation: The Law of Attraction taken literally can create shame — “did I attract this bad thing?” Sara’s reframe: you don’t manifest from your small self, you co-create with the divine’s will. That’s what takes you from wanting seven Airbnbs to building a city with the address 1111 bought for $11.11 million.

🔥 You build the antenna before you need it: Discernment isn’t a gift — it’s a practice. Stillness, silence, solitude every day. No junk media. Barefoot in the woods. The clearer your vessel, the clearer the signal. Start with small asks, build rapport with the voice, keep a miracle journal of every impossible thing that already happened.

🔥 The real cost of building at scale: Sara’s story isn’t rags to riches — it’s 16 custody hearings, hair loss, crying on the laundry room floor, and getting back on the investor call. Grace, not perfection, is how you hold it all. And purpose — the single moms on her team who need her to succeed — is what gets her through the terror.

🔥 Women are the better investment, and the data proves it: Women-founded companies receive just 1% of US venture capital. They generate $0.78 revenue per dollar invested vs. $0.31 for men-founded companies. The funding gap isn’t just unjust — it’s a genuinely bad investment strategy.

RESOURCES:

Sara D Morell is the founder of Sanctuary, an eco-luxury, self-sustaining mini city outside Austin, Texas. She has raised over $100 million in real estate development, runs Orah Wellness Clubs, and supports nine orphanages globally through her nonprofit work.

Instagram | Orah Wellness | Miracle Cottage 

💡 Ready to stop speaking from your head and start speaking from your heart? Join The Art of Articulation — the free masterclass that teaches you how to communicate in a way that moves people and reflects who you actually are. Watch Here.

Celinne Da Costa is a podcast host, author, and coach for leaders navigating ‘I’ve made it—now what?’ She guides them to redesign their next act: more meaningful, more aligned, more fun… and led by their soul’s truth.

 Website | LinkedIn | Substack | Instagram | Facebook

💡 Sara didn’t build what she built by performing or proving. She built it by learning to speak from her truth. If you’re ready to stop managing how you come across and start communicating from who you actually are — Articulate is the live coaching program where that work happens. Learn More