What happens when you take all your childhood trauma, perfectionism, and people-pleasing... and aim it at climbing the corporate ladder?

In this episode, I'm getting real about my years in corporate America, where I was praised for the exact same behaviors that were destroying me. Where "dedication" was code for ignoring my body's warning signals. Where I was building someone else's empire while slowly dying inside.

I worked 60-70 hour weeks. Got the promotions. Earned the raises. Looked successful on the outside while feeling completely empty on the inside. Because I was working from a place of unworthiness, trying to prove I was valuable instead of knowing I was valuable.

And then my body said enough.

Cancer at 35 became my wake-up call. My "change or die" moment. The point where I had to ask: if I survive this, what kind of life do I actually want to live?

You'll hear about:

• Why corporate culture rewards the behaviors that destroy you
• How perfectionism disguises itself as "high standards"
• The difference between working hard and working at the wrong things
• Why external validation never fills the void of not knowing your purpose
• How cancer forced me to choose between transformation and death
• The questions that changed everything: "Am I building my dream or someone else's?"

If you're in corporate burnout right now, if you're climbing a ladder that's leaning against the wrong wall, if your body is screaming at you to change something... this episode is your permission slip.

You don't need cancer to give you permission to transform your life. You can choose it right now.

Your exhaustion is not a character flaw. It's information.

To learn more, visit:
http://www.ericacarrico.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
http://missionmatters.com/author/Erica-Carrico/

What happens when perfectionism finds a new target: your body?

In this deeply personal episode, I'm taking you back to college, where I first encountered eating disorder culture disguised as "health" and "discipline." Surrounded by sorority girls throwing up in bathrooms, taking laxatives, and dating a bodybuilder boyfriend, I learned that controlling my body felt like the one thing I could control in a chaotic world.

But here's the thing about eating disorders: they promise control while actually enslaving you.

I'm sharing how my relationship with my body completely transformed through two life-changing experiences: pregnancy and cancer. How I learned to see my body not as something to control, but as the miracle that created tiny humans, sustained their lives, and healed itself on a cellular level.

And here's the game-changer: once I found my PURPOSE, I stopped obsessing about my body. My thoughts shifted from self-criticism to creativity, from control to impact, from perfection to making a difference in the world.

You'll hear about:

- How eating disorder culture hides in plain sight on college campuses
- Why control is actually the opposite of freedom
- The shift from restriction to nourishment, from criticism to gratitude
- How pregnancy and cancer taught me to love my body in completely new ways
- Why finding your purpose is the ultimate healing tool for self-destruction

If you've ever struggled with your relationship with food, your body, or perfectionism, this episode will show you that there's another way. A way that honors your body as the miracle it is and redirects your energy toward something that actually matters.

Your body isn't the problem. Not knowing your purpose is.

Grab my book Awaken Your Purpose, and in just 28 days you’ll be 100% clear on your purpose and why you’re here, and start your path to healing!
www.amazon.com/Awaken-Your-Purpose-Discover-Prosperous-ebook/dp/B0F1C3MHMM

To learn more, visit:
http://www.ericacarrico.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
http://missionmatters.com/author/Erica-Carrico/

What if the beliefs running your life aren’t even yours? What if they were programmed into you before you could even name them?

In this raw and vulnerable first episode, I’m taking you back to where it all started: childhood. The little girl in New Mexico who learned that safety meant being perfect, that emotions were dangerous, and that wealth was something only men could create.

I’m sharing the patterns that shaped everything from my eating disorder to my million-dollar business collapse, and the moment I realized I could rewrite the rules I’d been living by for decades.

This isn’t about blame. This isn’t about making anyone the villain. It’s about understanding how generational trauma becomes generational wealth when you’re willing to do the work.

You’ll hear about:

• Why perfectionism and people-pleasing became my survival strategy
• The money story that kept me playing small for years
• How childhood programming shows up in adult relationships and business
• The one question that changed everything: “What if I could do this?”
• Why breaking patterns is the greatest gift you can give the next generation

Whether your childhood trauma looks like mine or completely different, this episode will help you start questioning the beliefs that have been running in the background of your life.

Because your mess? It’s not your ending. It might just be your beginning.

Grab your coffee, maybe some tissues, and let’s get real about where transformation actually starts.

To learn more, visit:

http://www.ericacarrico.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

http://missionmatters.com/author/Erica-Carrico/

Welcome to Mess to Millions — the podcast where we turn breakdowns into breakthroughs, trauma into triumph, and pain into serious profit.

In this short trailer episode, host Erica Carrico shares the story behind the show: how a cancer diagnosis launched her into what she calls her “life explosion era,” and how the wreckage of that season became the foundation of a multimillion-dollar, soul-led business.

This isn’t about perfection. It’s about purpose. If your life has ever looked more like a disaster than a Pinterest board — you’re in the right place.

Subscribe now and get ready for unfiltered stories, radical healing, and soul-aligned business strategy — all with a side of grit and heart.

Because sometimes… the mess is the miracle.

To learn more, visit:

http://www.ericacarrico.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

http://missionmatters.com/author/Erica-Carrico/