Week 9 of building my personal brand… and nothing looks like it’s working.

No sales. No engagement. No real traction.

In this episode, I’m sharing the part of rebuilding that no one talks about—the quiet phase where you’re showing up, doing the work, and seeing no visible results.

I open up about what it feels like to build something new while carrying the weight of past loss, why certain seasons (like May) can bring unexpected emotional setbacks, and the pressure of feeling “behind” years after your life fell apart.

I also share what is happening beneath the surface—from identity shifts to mental resilience—and why this invisible progress matters more than early results.

If you’re a woman rebuilding after divorce, burnout, loss, or a major life transition, this episode will remind you that you’re not failing—you’re in the phase most people quit.

And this is where momentum actually begins.

Building beautiful businesses and beautiful lives through our messes.

Work with Messie 1:1: Book Here

Download the FREE Messy to Momentum Framework:

Download Framework Here

Connect with Missy:

Facebook: Facebook Link Here

Substack: Follow Me on Substack

Instagram: Follow Me on Instagram

Youtube: Youtube

Email Me: [email protected]

What happens when the person you planned forever with suddenly isn't part of your future anymore?

In this episode of the I Lost Everything... series, Emma shares the deeply personal story of losing her marriage, losing the identity she'd built around it, and learning how to stop asking, "Why me?" and start asking, "What about me?" It's an honest conversation about heartbreak, healing, boundaries, self-worth, and creating a life that's finally your own.

Emma thought she had found her forever.

After years of searching, she built a marriage that felt safe, joyful, and unbreakable. Then, almost overnight, everything changed.

In this heartfelt conversation, Emma shares what it felt like to lose the relationship she believed would last a lifetime—and the painful journey of rebuilding after the loss. Together, Melissa and Emma talk about grief that isn't always visible, learning to trust yourself again, rediscovering your identity after heartbreak, and why healing isn't about becoming who you were before—it's about becoming someone even stronger.

The conversation also explores the inspiration behind Emma's podcast, What About Me?, and why so many women spend years putting everyone else's needs ahead of their own until life forces them to ask the question they've been avoiding.

If you've ever felt like your life was falling apart, struggled to figure out who you are after a major loss, or wondered if it's possible to start over in midlife, this episode will remind you that your story doesn't end with what you lost.

Because the most beautiful chapters are often written after everything changes.

After losing my home, my finances, my career, and pieces of myself, I'm documenting an 80-day journey to rebuild—not just a business, but a life worth coming home to.

Three years after a devastating ripple effect of divorce, financial loss, job loss, and housing instability, I found myself asking a difficult question:

What if I stopped trying to figure everything out and simply documented the rebuild?

In this deeply personal episode, I'm introducing Project Homeward Bound—an 80-day journey to intentionally rebuild my life, one day at a time. My goal isn't just to move into a home of my own by the end of summer. It's to rediscover consistency, purpose, identity, and hope after years of surviving.

I share:

• How Project Homeward Bound was born
• Why "starting over" feels different in midlife
• The hidden emotional cost of losing a home
• The surprising reason a nightstand has become one of my biggest goals
• Why documenting the journey may be the thing that finally changes everything
• How building a business through life's messes remains the heart of the Messie Missy mission

If you've ever felt like you're rebuilding from ashes, living in the messy middle, or trying to find your way back to yourself after loss, this episode is for you.

This is Day 7 of Project Homeward Bound.

Come walk the next 73 days with me.

Building beautiful businesses and beautiful lives through our messes.

Work with Messie 1:1: Book Here

Download the FREE Messy to Momentum Framework:

Download Framework Here

Connect with Missy:

Facebook: Facebook Link Here

Substack: Follow Me on Substack

Instagram: Follow Me on Instagram

Youtube: Youtube

Email Me: [email protected]

CJ Infantino's wife died on his birthday after suffering from cancer for many years.  She left CJ with young children to raise.  This man has been an incredible hero and role model to everyone around him.  
CJ started sharing his personal story with people and it started a domino effect in a positive way.  He’s a widower, writer and speaker.  He’s sharing his grief story with the world to help others.  The first story he used as a way to initiate change inside of Meta/ Facebook with Sheryl Sandberg.  He spoke up about a missing policy to help care for loved ones battling illness/cancer and the company implemented a new leave.  After his wife passed from a long battle of cancer, CJ started to use his voice and his feelings through story telling.  Losing his wife wasn’t messy enough.  CJ Infantino’s clothing line company had to be completely rebranded, renamed and everything entailed in a new business launch-  just 2 weeks before his official launch.  But it turned out to be the BEST thing that happened to him and his clothing line “Hopeless Mope” was born.  The Day After was founded with his cousin, around how to change the conversation around grief and sharing stories.  Sharing stories of grief around loss at a young age, younger than society would declare a normal life span. He’s diving deeper into grief, grief and loss more than human loss.  Unvoiced is his way of expressing his experiences and other people’s stories “No griever will be alone in this community.”

CJ has done an incredible job and developed a mission to grow a company out of his messes and using his resilience to show up every day.  He uses his messes and his stories to grow his beautiful businesses around his personal grief.

CJ Infantino

IG @CJInfantino

https://hopelessmope.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-infantino-33307976/

This is the kickoff.

The I Lost Everything... series is here — and EVERYTHING means something different to every woman listening.

Maybe you lost the marriage. The plan you thought you'd be living by now. The identity you spent decades building. The career. The home. The savings. The health. The version of yourself you recognized in the mirror.

Your EVERYTHING is yours. And it counts — no matter how it compares to anyone else's.

This episode is where it starts. Not with a highlight reel. Not with a polished comeback story. With the truth of what it actually looks like when life falls apart in midlife — and what it looks like to rebuild through it. Not after it. Through it.

In this kickoff episode:

• Why people expect you to recover quietly — and why that's wrong
• The table you never wanted an invitation to — and what to do when you're sitting at it
• Why you're not starting from rock bottom — you're starting with experience, wisdom, and truth
• The Messy Missy Movement — and how serving others became part of the rebuild
• What dot dot dot means — and why you get to decide what comes after

You don't need more inspiration. You need proof.

Go Fund Me: GoFundMe — Messy Missy Movement: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-our-friend-smile-again-through-cancer-and-dental-work/cl/o?utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_dash&utm_content=amp17_control-amp20_t1&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&lang=en_US

This series is the proof.

. 👉 Work with Messie 1:1: www.messiemissy.com/workwithme

👉 Join the Mess to Momentum Room: https://community.messiemissy.com/communities/groups/messy-to-momentum-room/home?invite=69eebd9144366ed8dbef7c64 

https://linktr.ee/relentlessreinventionhttps://www.instagram.com/dhyllesreinventshttps://www.facebook.com/PassionDhylleshttps://www.tiktok.com/@relentlessreinvention

This one is raw. While researching her upcoming "I Lost Everything" podcast series, Missy found herself drowning in other people's stories of loss — and realized she was getting pulled under instead of lifted up. In this episode she shares the wake-up call that made her close the chapter on her past and choose to define her future instead.

What happens when the research for your most important project starts to hurt you? When you go looking for inspiration and come back with depression instead?

This week Missy got real about what happened when she dove deep into stories of loss for her upcoming podcast series — and the powerful shift that pulled her back out.

In this episode:

• The research spiral that pulled Missy into a dark place
• The moment she realized she wasn't special in her loss — and why that was freeing
• Why dwelling on what you lost is costing you the future you're building
• How to make the turn from grief to forward motion — even on the hard days

Mentioned in this episode:
The Messy to Momentum Session — 90 minutes, one-on-one, built for the woman who is ready to stop looking backward and start building forward. Book your session at 

In this powerful episode of the “I Lost Everything” series, Caren Paskel shares the unimaginable journey of losing the love of her life, watching her husband battle terminal brain cancer during the pandemic, closing her businesses, facing complete burnout, and rebuilding herself from the ground up.

What started as survival mode became a complete reinvention.

Caren opens up about the moment everything changed, the breakdowns no one saw, the pressure of caregiving while falling apart herself, and the unexpected way rebuilding an online business helped save her mentally and emotionally during the darkest season of her life.

But this conversation goes deeper than grief.

It’s about identity. Nervous system healing. Letting go of the life you thought you were supposed to have. Simplifying everything. Learning how to rebuild without pretending it’s pretty.

From moving across the country alone to redefining health, femininity, success, and self-belief, Caren’s story is a reminder that losing everything does not mean your life is over. Sometimes it’s the beginning of becoming the person you were always meant to be.

If you are in the middle of loss, transition, divorce, burnout, grief, or rebuilding your life after everything changed… this episode will stay with you.

Please consider donating to the fundraiser for dental work, for a person who has lost everything and we can help replace some teeth:

Go Fund Me: GoFundMe — Messy Missy Movement: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-our-friend-smile-again-through-cancer-and-dental-work/cl/o?utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_dash&utm_content=amp17_control-amp20_t1&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&lang=en_US

www.carenpaskel.com

https://www.instagram.com/carenpaskel/ https://www.tiktok.com/@caren.paskel https://www.facebook.com/caren.paskel https://www.youtube.com/@CarenPaskel-g1g

Work with Messie 1:1: Book Here

Download the FREE Messy to Momentum Framework:

Download Framework Here

Connect with Missy:

Facebook: Facebook Link Here

Substack: Follow Me on Substack

Instagram: Follow Me on Instagram

Youtube: Youtube

Email Me: [email protected]

What if the things that trigger us the most aren't actually about what's happening today?

In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Angus Nelson to talk about emotional landmines, the unconscious stories we carry from our past, and how those stories can quietly shape our relationships, decisions, and sense of self.

Angus shares a profound perspective on emotional regulation, healing after divorce, rebuilding life after devastating loss, and why curiosity—not blame—is often the key to transformation. Through personal stories and practical insights, we explore how hidden wounds show up in everyday moments, why authenticity matters more than perfection, and how doing the inner work can lead to deeper relationships, greater peace, and a more beautiful life.

If you've ever felt stuck in your past, overwhelmed by your circumstances, or unsure how to move forward after life's messes, this episode will remind you that healing is possible—and that there's often more beauty waiting on the other side than you can see right now.

• Why emotional triggers are clues, not problems
• The "landmine" theory of unresolved pain
• How to stop blaming others and start healing
• Rebuilding after divorce and personal devastation
• The role authenticity plays in creating meaningful relationships
• Why vulnerability without ownership keeps us stuck
• Finding hope, purpose, and connection in the middle of life's messes

Key Takeaway:
Your mess isn't the end of your story. When you're willing to get curious about your pain instead of running from it, you create space for healing, growth, and the life you're meant to build.

Work With Angus:
https://yourepiclove.com/

Connect with Angus: https://www.facebook.com/AngusRScott/https://www.instagram.com/theangusscott/https://www.linkedin.com/in/angusrscott/https://x.com/theangusscottBuilding beautiful businesses and beautiful lives through our messes.

Work with Messie 1:1: Book Here

Download the FREE Messy to Momentum Framework:

Download Framework Here

Connect with Missy:

Facebook: Facebook Link Here

Substack: Follow Me on Substack

Instagram: Follow Me on Instagram

Youtube: Youtube

Email Me: [email protected]

Are you like me? we bought the dream:

Make money in our sleep aka passive income, turn $0 months into $10K months in 30 days, make money online.... I bought that dream, I invested in "myself" and bought the courses, I implemented them and they failed me.

You've bought the course. You've watched the videos. You've followed the steps. You've spent thousands of dollars trying to build an online business. Yet somehow, you're still stuck, overwhelmed, and wondering what's wrong with you.

What if the problem isn't you?

What if the course was never designed for the reality of a midlife woman rebuilding her life?

After spending years rebuilding my life and investing heavily in digital marketing and online business courses, I came to a painful realization:

The problem wasn't me. The problem was the model.

In this episode, I'm sharing the truth about why so many online business courses fail midlife women—not because we're incapable, but because these programs weren't built for how we learn, live, and build.

We're sold stories of overnight success, six-figure months, and simple three-step formulas. But what happens when you're rebuilding after divorce, loss, financial hardship, burnout, or years spent taking care of everyone else?

What happens when you don't need another dream—you need a system?

I share my own experience spending thousands on courses, why so many women end up feeling defeated, and what actually creates momentum when you're building a business in midlife.

This conversation is for every woman who's ever thought:

"Maybe I'm just not cut out for this."

You are.

You just need a business-building approach designed for the season of life you're actually living.

• Why digital marketing courses often miss the mark for midlife women
• The difference between being sold a dream and being given a system
• Why overwhelm keeps women stuck in course consumption mode
• What midlife women actually need to build a successful online business
• How to stop buying information and start creating momentum

Because the answer isn't another course. The answer is building a business that fits your life.