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What happens when you’ve spent so much of your life taking care of everyone else, staying quiet, people-pleasing, and making yourself smaller that you no longer recognize the woman underneath it all?
In this powerful and deeply relatable episode of Breaking Curses with Excellence, Christina Russell Strong sits down with Kim Brunson, life coach and founder of Breath of Sunshine, for an honest conversation about what it means to go from feeling invisible to finally allowing yourself to be seen.
Kim shares how growing up alongside a sister with significant medical needs shaped her tendency to stay quiet, minimize her own needs, and become the person who could handle everything. Years later, those survival patterns followed her into adulthood—until she began asking a life-changing question: Who am I underneath all of these roles?
Together, Christina and Kim talk about people-pleasing, self-worth, emotional triggers, boundaries, the inner child, nervous-system awareness, grief, forgiveness, burnout, and the ways our bodies can signal that something needs our attention.
They also explore what it looks like to reconnect with the playful, spontaneous, adventurous version of yourself that responsibilities, survival mode, and adulthood may have buried.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
Why people-pleasing can begin as protection but eventually keep us small
What feeling “invisible” can look like in adulthood
Learning to pause instead of reacting when something triggers you
Reconnecting with your inner child and the parts of yourself you left behind
Why rest and numbing are not always the same thing
Simple ways to move yourself out of emotional shutdown
Creating healthier boundaries without over-explaining your “no”
Why professional support can sometimes offer something loved ones cannot
Listening to your body before it reaches the point of complete exhaustion
Giving yourself permission to start again—right now
One of the most powerful reminders from Kim:
Every minute is a fresh start.
You do not have to wait until tomorrow, next year, after the promotion, after the kids grow up, or until life becomes easier to begin choosing yourself.

If you’ve ever felt unseen, unheard, overwhelmed, disconnected from yourself, or exhausted from being everything for everyone, this conversation is for you.
You are seen.
You are valuable.
And you deserve to take up space.

Connect with Kim Brunson / Breath of Sunshine:
Website: breathofsunshinellc.com
http://breathofsunshinellc.com

🎙️ Breaking Curses with Excellence
Hosted by Christina Russell Strong

Therusmix.com 

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Musician: Rizensun
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What happens when one small step becomes a movement reaching people across the United States and beyond?
In this powerful episode of Breaking Curses with Excellence, Christina Russell-Strong sits down with Traci Kasper, founder of One Small Step Walks, to talk about the personal journey behind the growing walking community she created—and the obstacles she had to overcome along the way.
This conversation goes far beyond walking.
Traci shares how her experiences helped shape a mission centered around movement, connection, wellness, belonging, and community. What started with a step has grown into something much bigger, bringing people together in cities across the country and even internationally.
We talk about what it takes to turn an idea into a movement, keep going when the vision becomes bigger than you imagined, and build something that gives other people a place to connect.
In this episode, we explore:
Traci Kasper’s story and what led her to create One Small Step Walks
The challenges and personal experiences she had to overcome
How walking can support mental, emotional, and physical wellness
Why community and human connection matter
Growing a grassroots movement beyond one city
Turning personal experiences into purpose
Building momentum even when motivation changes
Creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and included
Entrepreneurship, leadership, resilience, and personal growth
What it really takes to turn one small step into a global movement
Whether you're building a business, rebuilding your life, searching for community, working on your wellness, or simply wondering whether your small idea could become something bigger, this conversation is a reminder:
You don't have to see the entire path before taking the first step.
🎙️ Breaking Curses with Excellence is about real people, real conversations, breaking cycles, overcoming what tried to stop us, and creating a brighter tomorrow.
If this episode speaks to you, subscribe, follow, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review. Your support helps more people discover these conversations.
👟 CONNECT WITH TRACI KASPER + ONE SMALL STEP WALKS
Founder: Traci Kasper
Organization: One Small Step 

https://www.instagram.com/onesmallstepwalk

LinkTree

https://linktr.ee/onesmallstepwalks

🎙️ CONNECT WITH CHRISTINA RUSSELL-STRONG

Host of Breaking Curses with Excellence
Speaker • Coach • Author • Entrepreneur
🌐 The RusMix:
https://therusmix.com⁠

Follow, subscribe, and join me for more conversations about breaking cycles, building self-worth, healing, mindset, entrepreneurship, resilience, and leading with purpose.

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Musician: Rizensun
URL: https://rzznsnn.bandcamp.com/

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In this powerful episode of Breaking Curses with Excellence, Christina Russell-Strong sits down with transformational speaker, emotional coach, healer, and cancer survivor Halisi Ali aka Wizdom for an honest conversation about emotional healing, generational trauma, vulnerability, parenting, cancer, and breaking cycles.
Halisi shares her personal journey and introduces her Emotional Alchemy Framework, a seven-stage process for transforming pain into awareness, healing, empowerment, and legacy. Together, they explore the pressure to always be strong, especially for Black women, the importance of emotional regulation and honest communication, and how healing can change what we pass down to the next generation.
This episode is for anyone working through trauma, rebuilding self-worth, breaking unhealthy family patterns, or learning how to turn pain into purpose.

Learn more about Halisi Ali aka Wizdom:
https://halisialiel.com/⁠

Learn more about Christina Russell-Strong and RusMix:
https://therusmix.com/⁠

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Musician: Rizensun
URL: https://rzznsnn.bandcamp.com/

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What happens when you achieve the career, the title, the paycheck, and the success you thought would make you happy—but still feel exhausted, overwhelmed, or unfulfilled inside?

In this powerful episode of Breaking Curses with Excellence, host Christina Russell-Strong sits down with Angela Jamieson, former petroleum engineer, CEO, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and creator of the Relaxed Productivity Framework, for an honest conversation about burnout, high achievement, self-worth, perfectionism, overthinking, grief, work-life balance, and redefining success.

Angela shares how losing her father forced her to reevaluate the life she was building and recognize how deeply her identity had become connected to achievement and external validation. Her journey led her from the corporate world to helping high-achieving professionals become successful without sacrificing their mental and emotional well-being.

One of Angela's most powerful reminders is simple:

“Be where your feet are.”

If your mind is constantly racing—thinking about work while you're with your family, worrying about tomorrow while trying to enjoy today, replaying conversations, comparing yourself to others, or wondering whether you're doing enough—this episode is for you.

Christina and Angela explore how to:

• Stop tying your self-worth to productivity and achievement
• Recognize the connection between perfectionism, burnout, and emotional exhaustion
• Manage racing thoughts and overthinking
• Become more present instead of constantly living in the past or future
• Create a “to-be list” alongside your to-do list
• Use emotions as information instead of suppressing them
• Break generational cycles of overworking, people-pleasing, and self-sacrifice
• Reframe rejection, criticism, and negative self-talk
• Navigate grief and loss while rediscovering purpose
• Develop healthier ambition and a more sustainable definition of success
• Create better work-life balance, self-compassion, emotional wellness, and personal growth

Angela also introduces the idea of Relaxed Productivity—a practical approach that combines logic, mindset, emotional awareness, and intentional living to help busy professionals accomplish what matters without allowing productivity to consume their lives.

Whether you're a high achiever experiencing burnout, a busy professional struggling with work-life balance, a perfectionist who never feels good enough, someone rebuilding self-worth, or simply a person whose brain never seems to turn off, this conversation offers practical tools you can begin using immediately.

Success isn't only about what you accomplish.

It's also about whether you're present enough to experience the life you're working so hard to create.

Be where your feet are.

🎙️ Guest: Angela Jamieson
Former Petroleum Engineer | Best-Selling Author | Keynote Speaker | Creator of the Relaxed Productivity Framework

Learn more about Angela and her work at AngelaJamieson.com.

📖 Angela is also the author of Using Number Two to Get to Number One: The Shockingly Insightful Self-Help Book.

🎧 Breaking Curses with Excellence with Christina Russell-Strong explores healing, mindset, self-worth, relationships, personal growth, breaking generational cycles, and the real stories that help us become healthier, happier, and more whole.

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Work with or Learn more about Angela Jamieson

www.angelajamieson.com

Best Selling Book: Available on Audible, Kindle, Hardcover

Using No. 2 to Get to No. 1The Shockingly Insightful, Full-of-Crap Self-Help Book

Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and your favorite podcast platforms.

🌐 TheRusMix.com

If this episode speaks to you, follow the podcast, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a rating or review. Your support helps these conversations reach more people who are ready to break cycles, rebuild their self-worth, and create a life that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside.

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Musician: Rizensun
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What if the biggest thing standing between you and financial freedom isn’t your income—but the story you’ve learned to believe about money, success, and your own worth?

In this powerful episode of Breaking Curses with Excellence, Christina Russell sits down with Dr. Billina Shaw, a triple board-certified psychiatrist, public health physician and financial wellness strategist, for a conversation that goes far beyond budgeting and debt.

After unexpectedly losing a federal government position she deeply loved, Dr. Billina was forced to confront something many high-achieving people experience: Who are you when the title, paycheck, position, or achievement you built your identity around suddenly disappears?

That experience led her to recognize something surprising. Although she was financially secure and had already built significant wealth, her mind was still operating from scarcity.

Together, Christina and Dr. Billina explore how childhood experiences, generational trauma, career pressure, faith, family expectations and cultural messages can shape the way we think about money—and why financial wellness often requires emotional healing too.

In this episode, you'll discover:

- How to recognize a scarcity mindset in your finances, relationships and career
- Why your net worth and self-worth are not the same thing
- How childhood and generational experiences can shape your relationship with money
- Why shame around debt can actually keep you financially stuck
- The difference between chasing credentials and creating genuine value
- Why comparing yourself to others can reinforce scarcity
- How to pursue excellence without depending on titles or outside validation
- The connection between mental health and financial stress
- Why building assets and wealth can matter alongside paying down debt
- How faith and financial abundance can coexist
- Why boundaries—especially financial boundaries—can be a wealth-building strategy
- How to stop over-giving from guilt and start giving from purpose
- Why investing in yourself can create an impact far beyond money

Dr. Billina also walks listeners through her four-part framework for creating change:

1. Align with Purpose
Get clear about the life you're actually trying to build—not simply the title, job or financial number you're chasing.

2. Identify with Abundance
Learn to recognize what you already have while becoming the person capable of moving toward what you desire.

3. Abolish Limiting Beliefs
Challenge inherited beliefs about money, morality, success, worthiness and what you're "allowed" to have.

4. Act with Authority
Make decisions, establish boundaries and take actions that match the person you're becoming.

One of the most powerful reminders from this conversation:

Your past can inform your present without dictating your future.

Whether you're rebuilding after a job loss, trying to escape generational financial patterns, carrying shame about debt, questioning your purpose, struggling to set boundaries, or simply wondering why financial success still doesn't make you feel financially safe—this conversation is for you.

This isn't only about having more money.

It's about becoming healthier, freer and more intentional in the way you think about money, purpose, identity and your future.

🎧 Listen, take notes, and ask yourself:
What would change if I stopped making financial decisions from fear and started making them from purpose?


Connect with Dr. Billina Shaw

Dr. Billina Shaw
Triple Board-Certified Psychiatrist | Financial Wellness Strategist | Public Health Physician

Board Certified in:

- Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
- General Adult Psychiatry
- Addiction Medicine

Dr. Billina also holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) and previously served as a Senior Medical Advisor with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), where her work included supporting the nation’s 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline infrastructure.

Today, she combines her background in psychiatry, public health, strategic planning and behavioral science to help individuals transform their relationship with money, overcome scarcity thinking, strengthen their financial identity and build wealth from the inside out.

🌐 Financial Wellness: FreelyFlourishFinancial.com
📱 Text: Text GROW to 55444
📸 Instagram: @DrBillina
💼 LinkedIn: Click for Dr. Billina Shaw

Dr. Billina offers financial wellness strategy coaching for individuals and business owners, as well as strategic planning and consulting support for organizations.
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Breaking Curses with Excellence explores healing, self-worth, mindset, relationships, personal growth and the work of breaking generational patterns so we can build healthier lives from the inside out.

If this episode speaks to you, follow the podcast, share it with someone who needs this conversation, and leave a review. Your support helps these conversations reach more people who are ready to heal, grow and break cycles with excellence.
Stay connected with The RusMix Insider — your monthly dose of growth, mindset, wellness, and community, created to help you keep breaking cycles, building self-worth, and growing into the healthiest version of yourself. To join, email: [email protected]

Disclaimer: This episode is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, mental health, investment, tax, or individualized financial advice. Coaching is not a substitute for therapy or treatment from a licensed healthcare professional.

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Music: Peachy
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What if the patterns affecting your relationships, confidence, parenting, faith, and sense of self didn’t begin with who you are today—but with what you learned to do to survive?

In this powerful episode of Breaking Curses with Excellence, Christina Russell Strong sits down with Dr. Mylira Cary, PhD, LCSW, CCTP-II, CAIMHP, CEO/Founder of M. Green Enterprises LLC and The Metamorphosis Healing Experience, for an honest conversation about healing trauma, childhood wounds, survival mode, self-worth, emotional triggers, generational patterns, mental health, faith, and discovering who you are beneath what happened to you.

Dr. Cary shares her own deeply personal journey through trauma, depression, suicidal thoughts, sexual assault, struggles with feeling “enough,” and the experiences that ultimately helped shape her calling to help others heal.

Together, Christina and Dr. Cary explore what unresolved trauma can actually look like in everyday life—from people-pleasing, over-functioning and seeking validation to relationship conflict, isolation, defensiveness and repeatedly finding ourselves in the same painful patterns.

They also unpack the difference between therapy and transformational coaching, how childhood experiences can follow us into adulthood, why so many people are surviving instead of truly thriving, and how becoming aware of our behaviors and emotional responses can help us uncover wounds that still need attention.
One of the biggest reminders from this conversation:

You are enough. Your trauma may be part of your story, but it does not have to control the rest of your story.
If you've ever wondered:
Why do I keep repeating the same patterns? Why am I always in survival mode? How do I heal childhood trauma? Why do I need so much validation? How do I stop allowing my past to affect my relationships? How do I rebuild my self-worth? How do I break generational cycles?

This episode is for you.
Listen, reflect, heal—and keep Breaking Curses with Excellence.

💜 CONNECT WITH DR. MYLIRA CARY
YOUR Favorite Therapist
Dr. Mylira Cary, PhD, LCSW, CCTP-II, CAIMHP
CEO/Founder of M. Green Enterprises LLC and The Metamorphosis Healing Experience
📞 Phone: 757-609-0694
📧 Email: [email protected]
🌐 Website: MyliraTransforms.com⁠

🎙️ CONNECT WITH CHRISTINA
Christina Russell Strong
Host of Breaking Curses with Excellence
Founder of RusMix
📧 Email: [email protected]
🌐 Website: TheRusMix.com⁠
💜 Breaking Cycles. Building Self-Worth. Leading with Purpose.

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In this powerful episode of Breaking Curses with Excellence,  Christina  sits down with Dr. Shonda Allen Hill PHD for an honest conversation about money tension in marriage, financial disagreements between spouses, and what women can do when repeated money conversations only create more conflict.

Dr. Shonda shares how financial stress once brought her marriage to a breaking point—and how she changed her mindset, eliminated more than $80,000 of personal debt, and eventually retired debt-free at age 51.

You’ll learn:

• How to stop repeating unproductive money arguments
• Why your first budget may need to be a “mouth budget”
• The difference between financial disagreement and financial abuse
• How to use goals, gains, and gratitude to reduce marital tension
• How the debt snowball method can create momentum
• What women of faith should understand about money and stewardship
• How to move forward financially even when your spouse is not ready

Dr. Shonda is also sharing her FREE Solo Financial Plan worksheet to help women organize their finances, stabilize shared obligations, and begin creating a personal path out of debt.

🎁 Download the free Solo Financial Plan worksheet: 

🎧 Listen to the full episode of Breaking Curses with Excellence at TheRusMix.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Connect with Dr. Shonda Allen Hill: Facebook: Shonda Allen Hill

Email [email protected]

BOOK with DR. Shonda 

Important note: This conversation addresses financial disagreements in otherwise safe relationships. Financial abuse, coercive control, or destructive behavior requires specialized support and should not be treated as a simple communication problem.

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Music: Peachy
Musician: Rizensun
URL: https://rzznsnn.bandcamp.com/

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In this inspiring episode of Breaking Curses with Excellence, Christina sits down with independent artist, mentor, and Boys & Girls Club manager Enaka Betech (NOC) to explore a journey of identity, healing, resilience, and purpose.
After moving from Cameroon to the United States as a child, Enaka struggled to find his voice while balancing family expectations, cultural differences, and the pressure to measure up academically. Those experiences led to years of self-doubt and depression before he rediscovered his purpose through music.
This conversation goes far beyond music. It's about learning to believe in yourself, embracing your unique story, and understanding that your greatest purpose often grows from your deepest pain.
Whether you're a music lover, creative, parent, mentor, or someone searching for purpose, this episode offers encouragement to stop chasing other people's expectations and start living authentically.

One of the most powerful moments of this conversation is our discussion about web usage—how intentionally using the web and the content we consume can shape our mindset, broaden our perspective, and influence the way we think, feel, and heal. The information, stories, and voices we choose to engage with can either keep us stuck or help us grow into who we're meant to become.
In this episode, we discuss:

🎵 Finding purpose through music

🌍 Growing up between two cultures

🧠 Overcoming depression and self-doubt

💜 Healing from childhood wounds

🎤 Using creativity to inspire and uplift others

✨ Why authenticity is more powerful than popularity

🌱 How changing what you consume—including your web usage—can transform your perspective and personal growth
Connect with Enaka Betech (NOC)

🎵 Music:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCbUhqmVa7SH6KsFfQedfhUg?si=3qVhgFluThlowqPt

🎧 Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/noc-beteck/1661647825

▶️ YouTube:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCbUhqmVa7SH6KsFfQedfhUg?si=3qVhgFluThlowqPt

Connect with Christina 

🌐 TheRusMix.com

Follow Breaking Curses with Excellence for more conversations that help you break unhealthy cycles, build self-worth, and lead with purpose.

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Musician: Rizensun
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In this powerful episode of Breaking Curses with Excellence, host Christina Russell-Strong sits down with Sonia Rodrigues, MA, LPC, LMFT, LCADC, ACS, NCC—licensed therapist, speaker, author, and Founder of Transition to Wellness—for an honest conversation about healing, confidence, career growth, and breaking unhealthy cycles.

With more than 20 years of experience in mental health, Sonia shares practical wisdom on helping high-achieving women heal from emotionally unavailable relationships, betrayal trauma, attachment wounds, anxiety, and major life transitions. Together, Christina and Sonia explore how childhood conditioning, self-worth, mindset, and emotional healing influence every area of our lives—including our careers, relationships, and purpose.

In this episode, you'll learn:
• Why mindset can determine your future more than your résumé • How childhood messages shape confidence and self-worth • The connection between emotional healing and professional success • Why rejection isn't always failure—it can be protection • How to recognize limiting beliefs and replace them with confidence • Practical steps for creating a healthier, purpose-driven life
If you're ready to stop shrinking yourself, heal from the past, and step into the life you deserve, this conversation is for you.
If this episode encouraged you, please Follow, Subscribe, Leave a Review, and Share it with someone who needs this message.

Connect with Christina Russell-Strong

🌐 Website: TheRusMix.com

Connect with Sonia Rodrigues

Sonia Rodrigues, MA, LPC, LMFT, LCADC, ACS, NCC
Founder, Transition to Wellness
🌐 Website: www.transitiontowellness.com⁠�
📸 Instagram: @transition.to.wellness
📧 Email: [email protected]

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Musician: Rizensun
URL: https://rzznsnn.bandcamp.com/

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Can your mindset determine the opportunities you attract?

In this powerful episode of Breaking Curses with Excellence, host Christina, author, life coach, speaker, and founder of TheRusMix.com, sits down with Executive Career Coach and Success Strategist Alison Hemmings to uncover how our beliefs, expectations, and internal dialogue influence every area of our lives—from our careers to our confidence, relationships, and purpose.
After spending more than a decade recruiting executives for Fortune 500 companies, Alison learned that success isn't only about talent or experience. It's about how you think, the questions you ask yourself, and the stories you believe about what's possible.

Together, Christina and Alison explore:

✔️ Why mindset often determines success before your résumé does
✔️ The hidden beliefs that keep high-achievers stuck
✔️ How changing your expectations changes your outcomes
✔️ Why the questions you ask yourself matter more than you think
✔️ Building confidence without pretending to have it all together
✔️ Breaking generational cycles around work, worthiness, and success
✔️ Healing from burnout while creating a meaningful life
✔️ Practical ways to think differently so you can live differently
Whether you're climbing the corporate ladder, building a business, feeling stuck in your career, or simply ready to stop repeating old patterns, this conversation will challenge you to think bigger, believe differently, and pursue the life you were created to live.
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Connect with Alison Hemmings LinkedIn: Alison Hemmings
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Connect with Christina 🌐 TheRusMix.com

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone ready to break old cycles and build a life of purpose.
Breaking Curses with Excellence is the podcast where real people share real stories and practical strategies for breaking generational cycles, increasing self-worth, and leading with purpose.

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Music: Peachy
Musician: Rizensun
URL: https://rzznsnn.bandcamp.com/