In this episode, Cat shares the distinction between productive business actions and avoidance tactics -- when you are doing work to avoid the work needed to grow your business. We talk through how to know what to work on in your business and what not to work on. Register to Middle Finger Marketing: Build an Unapologetic Personal Brand that actually Sells: https://catdelcarmen.com/middle-finger-marketing

In this episode, TaSheena Braxton talks about her path from growing up as the oldest of six in San Francisco to building a coaching business grounded in her real-life experience.

We cover the leadership skills she learned early on, the impact of her education and corporate roles, and the challenges she navigated along the way. TaSheena explains how authenticity, relationship-building, and her personal story have shaped her work and helped her grow her business.

She also shares her approach to networking, creating content, and showing up in professional spaces without losing who she is. This conversation is a clear look at how lived experience can become a powerful foundation for your coaching and leadership.

BOOK A SALES CALL FOR 1:1 COACHING HERE: https://calendly.com/catdelcarmen/consultation-call?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAacCUHT_JY55E5a2e-1tbKE7A7Bn_TXtmzPfDh6EZKBPc_MU5zSwpD-GmXS0mw_aem_5LeBLwZfegF56cNg-t-JOQ&month=2025-10

In this episode, I’m breaking down what growth actually feels like — not the highlight reel version, but the real, uncomfortable, messy middle we all have to move through. I call it the river of misery — the space between who you’ve been and who you’re becoming.

I walk you through the four phases of growth:

1. Awareness & Fear – that moment you realize you want more and it scares the hell out of you.

2. Test, Learn & Create – where you start trying things, failing, learning, and doing it again.

3. Discover & Play – when you start trusting yourself and experimenting more freely.

4. Understanding & Becoming – when your new identity starts to feel real.

This episode is your reminder that discomfort doesn’t mean you’re off track — it means you’re evolving. BOOK A SALES CALL FOR 1:1 COACHING HERE: https://calendly.com/catdelcarmen/consultation-call?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAacCUHT_JY55E5a2e-1tbKE7A7Bn_TXtmzPfDh6EZKBPc_MU5zSwpD-GmXS0mw_aem_5LeBLwZfegF56cNg-t-JOQ&month=2025-10

Takeaways:

• Growth is messy and uncomfortable — and that’s the point.

• Awareness often brings fear, but it’s the start of transformation.

• The “river of misery” is where real change happens.

• Discomfort = progress.

• Self-awareness is your best tool in the hard parts.

• Learn to respond to your inner critic, not obey it.

• Self-trust is built in the middle, not at the finish line.

• The goal isn’t to skip discomfort, it’s to move through it.

• Growth feels like chaos before it feels like clarity.

• You’re not lost — you’re becoming.