WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.080 Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:05.960 we explore the journeys that lead to success. 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:10.220 I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:13.859 Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you 00:00:13.859 --> 00:00:17.100 insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:20.820 and experts who will share not just their expertise, 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.120 but the milestone moments that have reshaped 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:27.059 their journeys and led to significant achievements. 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.359 So if you're looking for motivation, you're in 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:33.560 the right place. Subscribe now and discover the 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:40.380 milestones that mark the path to success. Welcome 00:00:40.380 --> 00:00:43.780 to another episode of Milestone Moments in Business 00:00:43.780 --> 00:00:46.880 and Leadership. I'm your host, Sheila Slick. 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:51.600 And today, my special guest is Samantha Catone. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:55.600 Sammy is a former litigation attorney whose high 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:59.780 -pressure legal career led to burnout, and eventually 00:00:59.780 --> 00:01:02.840 a chronic illness that forced her to stop to 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:06.340 rebuild from the inside and out. Welcome to the 00:01:06.340 --> 00:01:09.099 show, Samantha. Thank you so much for having 00:01:09.099 --> 00:01:11.219 me, Sheila. I'm so excited. Well, that's a very 00:01:11.219 --> 00:01:14.680 powerful introduction, very short but very specific. 00:01:15.579 --> 00:01:19.319 Tell us a little bit about what led you to do 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:23.280 what you're doing today. Absolutely. I mean, 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:25.920 coaching and speaking on burnout was never in 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:29.319 my ether until very recently. I spent eight years 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:31.959 practicing litigation, as you mentioned, and 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:34.920 in early 2025, I had a major health collapse 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:38.500 to the point where I was forced to stop and slow 00:01:38.500 --> 00:01:40.620 down and really start doing some reflecting. 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:44.459 The irony of my burnout and my illness was I 00:01:44.459 --> 00:01:46.980 had been really taking care of myself. I put 00:01:46.980 --> 00:01:50.019 myself in the top 5 % in terms of the way that 00:01:50.019 --> 00:01:53.680 I ate, you know, whole foods and meditation and 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:55.920 exercise. I was seeing specialists. I was doing 00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:59.200 supplementation. So I was confused. I'm like, 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:01.079 man, I'm doing all these things right. I've got 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:03.780 a great job. I'm making good money. And I am 00:02:03.780 --> 00:02:07.599 just sick, empty, and miserable. So that set 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:10.319 me on this journey where I learned a lot of things. 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:14.099 Primarily, I had the traits that I had always 00:02:14.099 --> 00:02:16.620 kind of attributed to my success, like perfectionism 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:19.000 and people -pleasing, overachievement. Those 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:21.719 were survival strategies. And that was one of 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:24.020 my first aha moments, that those were learned 00:02:24.020 --> 00:02:26.139 survival strategies keeping me in fight or flight. 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:29.939 So I realized I needed to probably create some 00:02:29.939 --> 00:02:34.159 new belief systems around productivity and rest 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:38.159 and really retrain my brain to stop equating 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:40.289 rest with danger. And that was one of the biggest 00:02:40.289 --> 00:02:43.270 aha moments that I had. I also had to take a 00:02:43.270 --> 00:02:46.430 close look at self -worth and finding spirituality 00:02:46.430 --> 00:02:48.669 was really helpful for that piece. But those 00:02:48.669 --> 00:02:51.129 were kind of the biggest three shifts for me 00:02:51.129 --> 00:02:53.729 that started my healing and recovery journey. 00:02:54.629 --> 00:02:59.460 Was it seven years ago that... I got really sick 00:02:59.460 --> 00:03:01.599 last year, but I've been practicing for eight. 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:03.860 So it was a slow build in terms of my health. 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:06.360 I always had health issues. And then all of a 00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:09.180 sudden, my body just gave out on me where I could 00:03:09.180 --> 00:03:11.719 barely function. I lost 25 pounds in two months. 00:03:11.900 --> 00:03:15.479 So it was definitely a slow burn. And it finally 00:03:15.479 --> 00:03:17.719 caught up to me where my body was just like, 00:03:17.719 --> 00:03:20.560 you got to stop ignoring me. and start listening. 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:22.139 Because, you know, you detach from yourself. 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:24.539 You lose touch with yourself. And I think the 00:03:24.539 --> 00:03:27.120 body has a way of bringing those things to the 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:29.919 surface when you're not paying attention. So 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:32.439 what was the first step in rebuilding yourself 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:36.000 back? I would say the biggest thing was I really 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:38.780 had to evaluate my belief systems, which a lot 00:03:38.780 --> 00:03:41.879 of the time they're operating below our conscious 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:44.419 awareness, right? So we're not even aware that 00:03:44.419 --> 00:03:46.360 we have these belief systems. So I started really 00:03:46.360 --> 00:03:49.189 taking a look at my... typical thought patterns. 00:03:49.289 --> 00:03:51.789 I would have automatic negative thoughts, anxious 00:03:51.789 --> 00:03:54.550 thoughts all day long. And I'm like, what is 00:03:54.550 --> 00:03:57.629 the belief? driving those thoughts. Things like, 00:03:57.669 --> 00:04:00.069 if I rest, I'm going to fall behind. And I kept 00:04:00.069 --> 00:04:02.009 kind of peeling the layers back and realized 00:04:02.009 --> 00:04:05.129 I was really only praised as a child and I was 00:04:05.129 --> 00:04:08.129 achieving in some context. And that became a 00:04:08.129 --> 00:04:10.710 survival strategy. So I would create new beliefs. 00:04:10.969 --> 00:04:14.090 Rest is productive. And I would have to reaffirm 00:04:14.090 --> 00:04:16.430 those things to myself as often as I could and 00:04:16.430 --> 00:04:19.430 start to build evidence to really rewire the 00:04:19.430 --> 00:04:22.930 brain to associate rest and stopping as productive 00:04:22.930 --> 00:04:27.600 and safe for as a threat what has surprised you 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:31.959 the most now being on the other side of it you 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:34.360 know how they say hindsight you can look back 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:38.019 what was your most surprising thing that you 00:04:38.019 --> 00:04:43.540 learned I think for me the most surprising thing 00:04:43.540 --> 00:04:48.000 that I learned was I was completely disconnected 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.500 from myself. And that was odd to me because I 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:52.459 was always somebody that thought like I was very 00:04:52.459 --> 00:04:54.819 in tune with my emotions and my feelings. I was 00:04:54.819 --> 00:04:57.860 very like a self -aware person. But I realized 00:04:57.860 --> 00:05:01.319 you're not tapping into your intuition in any 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:03.800 way. You are not really listening to what your 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:07.879 body is telling you. And I realized. You've spent 00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:09.920 your whole life seeking external validation, 00:05:10.279 --> 00:05:13.699 seeking answers from other people. Despite feeling 00:05:13.699 --> 00:05:16.699 like you're this self -aware person, you're chasing 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:20.819 answers that have been within yourself, but looking 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:22.899 outside of yourself, whether that be through 00:05:22.899 --> 00:05:25.259 medical specialists or doctors trying to find 00:05:25.259 --> 00:05:28.579 a diagnosis. I finally realized when you regulate 00:05:28.579 --> 00:05:31.060 your nervous system, all of the answers that 00:05:31.060 --> 00:05:34.240 you are seeking are within you, and life becomes 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:38.459 so much easier. All right. Let's talk a little 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:40.819 bit about regulating the nervous system. What 00:05:40.819 --> 00:05:44.019 exactly does that mean, Sam? Yeah. So, I mean, 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:45.899 we have two states. We have the sympathetic and 00:05:45.899 --> 00:05:47.980 the parasympathetic state. And this was my aha 00:05:47.980 --> 00:05:49.839 moment when I started learning about the nervous 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:52.639 system because I realized the reason nothing 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:55.779 is helping is because I'm in sympathetic fight 00:05:55.779 --> 00:06:00.290 or flight 24 -7. So when that happens, what happens 00:06:00.290 --> 00:06:02.910 is all of our energy goes to survival, right? 00:06:03.050 --> 00:06:05.689 So any non -essential functions like digestion 00:06:05.689 --> 00:06:09.589 and rest and detox support, there is no energy 00:06:09.589 --> 00:06:12.110 left for any of those really important functions. 00:06:12.230 --> 00:06:14.329 So if you think about it, you're not going to 00:06:14.329 --> 00:06:16.370 digest food. You're not going to sleep properly. 00:06:16.670 --> 00:06:19.050 You can't detox. So that's what happened to me. 00:06:19.110 --> 00:06:21.629 These toxins build up in my body because I was 00:06:21.629 --> 00:06:24.410 not detoxing, never getting into that parasympathetic 00:06:24.410 --> 00:06:27.329 state. So it was interesting because all the 00:06:27.329 --> 00:06:29.870 common advice out there was, you know, set better 00:06:29.870 --> 00:06:32.970 boundaries and meditate more, eat better. And 00:06:32.970 --> 00:06:35.149 I'm like, man, I'm doing all these things and 00:06:35.149 --> 00:06:37.129 none of it's working. So that's where I really 00:06:37.129 --> 00:06:39.350 realized it's your thought patterns that are 00:06:39.350 --> 00:06:42.550 keeping you in that sympathetic state. So I focused 00:06:42.550 --> 00:06:44.990 on my beliefs, which were dictating my thoughts. 00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:48.589 And once I kind of got a handle on that piece, 00:06:48.870 --> 00:06:51.129 those other tools became really, really helpful 00:06:51.129 --> 00:06:54.230 as well. Sitting in stillness. My goodness, how 00:06:54.230 --> 00:06:56.129 many high achieving women can't sit with themselves 00:06:56.129 --> 00:06:58.050 for five to 10 minutes? You know, our brains 00:06:58.050 --> 00:06:59.730 are just all over the place. And that is just 00:06:59.730 --> 00:07:02.889 such an important skill. And the other big piece 00:07:02.889 --> 00:07:05.689 to that was actually rebuilding self -worth and 00:07:05.689 --> 00:07:08.730 learning how to not attach my worth. to my job 00:07:08.730 --> 00:07:11.350 title. Because if your worth is attached to your 00:07:11.350 --> 00:07:14.230 productivity and your output, your nervous system 00:07:14.230 --> 00:07:16.189 is never going to feel safe. You're never going 00:07:16.189 --> 00:07:19.310 to be in that parasympathetic state because anything 00:07:19.310 --> 00:07:22.550 you do counter to pursuing those goals feels 00:07:22.550 --> 00:07:25.850 physically dangerous. So for me, it was really 00:07:25.850 --> 00:07:27.930 more of the mindset work that I needed to do 00:07:27.930 --> 00:07:30.050 to regulate my nervous system than anything else 00:07:30.050 --> 00:07:32.750 in terms of like mindfulness and all that. It 00:07:32.750 --> 00:07:35.610 was my thoughts. And that was a big aha moment 00:07:35.610 --> 00:07:39.360 for me. That's really I'm getting a lot out of 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:42.759 this conversation, how the mind affects the body. 00:07:43.740 --> 00:07:46.399 Absolutely. Well, yeah, you know, I ended up 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:48.839 healing after starting this work and incorporating 00:07:48.839 --> 00:07:51.779 the belief work, self -worth and bringing some 00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:55.639 spirituality into my life, too. I healed without. 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:58.660 seeing doctors, without taking medicine, without, 00:07:58.939 --> 00:08:01.519 you know, I stopped everything and said, you 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:05.360 need to go and work. Listen to your gut. What 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:08.819 is it telling you? And I just needed to rebuild 00:08:08.819 --> 00:08:11.100 myself worse so that I had an identity outside 00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:15.420 of work. That was the biggest thing for me. So 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:18.500 how do you help women today do that same thing? 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:21.800 Yeah, self -worth is the number one, I think, 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:24.180 limiting belief. And it really does set the ceiling 00:08:24.180 --> 00:08:26.420 in our lives for what we can achieve and the 00:08:26.420 --> 00:08:29.860 fulfillment that we can reach. So what I help 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:33.600 women with is one is forgiveness. Forgiveness 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:36.379 is really, really intertwined with self -worth. 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:38.960 And that's because if we can't forgive other 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:41.000 people for things that have happened to us in 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:43.480 our lives, we're implicitly telling ourselves 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:46.399 that we could do something that is unforgivable. 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:49.179 So that is actually implicitly going to really 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:53.059 impact your self -worth. The whole concept of 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:56.600 your self -image too. So visualization is something 00:08:56.600 --> 00:08:58.980 that can be really helpful. If there's an identity 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:01.419 that you want to step into or goals that you 00:09:01.419 --> 00:09:04.289 want to achieve, start visualizing it. visualize 00:09:04.289 --> 00:09:06.669 the person that you want to be because our subconscious 00:09:06.669 --> 00:09:10.269 mind doesn't know the difference between a vividly 00:09:10.269 --> 00:09:12.929 imagined experience and a real one so that's 00:09:12.929 --> 00:09:15.730 a really fun tool there's so many different things 00:09:15.730 --> 00:09:18.509 that go into self -worth and finding spirituality 00:09:18.509 --> 00:09:22.389 can also be really really helpful just believing 00:09:22.389 --> 00:09:24.909 that you are enough because you exist and it's 00:09:24.909 --> 00:09:27.870 unattached to anything else what services do 00:09:27.870 --> 00:09:31.409 you offer to help anyone that perhaps feels they're 00:09:31.409 --> 00:09:35.149 in a position like you were and need some kind 00:09:35.149 --> 00:09:38.649 of coach or support. Yeah, I offer a one -on 00:09:38.649 --> 00:09:40.289 -one coaching program. I have a couple different 00:09:40.289 --> 00:09:42.389 structures in place depending on what the client 00:09:42.389 --> 00:09:45.350 is looking for. I have a four -week program that's 00:09:45.350 --> 00:09:48.269 really about going from surviving to thriving. 00:09:48.570 --> 00:09:50.669 And these three things that I talked about, belief 00:09:50.669 --> 00:09:52.970 work, self -worth, and spirituality are really 00:09:52.970 --> 00:09:55.429 kind of the foundational stuff. That's why my 00:09:55.429 --> 00:09:57.750 approach is a little different because I'm not 00:09:57.750 --> 00:09:59.769 going to tell you to worry about your diet or 00:09:59.769 --> 00:10:01.669 anything else that you're doing until you get 00:10:01.669 --> 00:10:03.769 those fundamentals down. And I think that's what 00:10:03.769 --> 00:10:07.080 some of this space is missing. a little bit is 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:09.919 once you can address the belief systems and your 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:12.360 self -worth, a lot of other things kind of tend 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:14.779 to work themselves out because you're creating 00:10:14.779 --> 00:10:17.720 a new identity and you start taking better aligned 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:20.740 action that is much better for you. So I work 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:22.980 with women one -on -one through that process. 00:10:23.559 --> 00:10:26.000 I also have a longer program for women who are 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:27.759 really feeling stuck, like they don't know if 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:29.700 they're in the right role or if they're looking 00:10:29.700 --> 00:10:33.299 for a career path. a career shift. We do a lot 00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:35.679 of core values work, figuring out what are your 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:37.519 core values, because if you're doing work that's 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:40.360 misaligned with those values, burnout's going 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:42.700 to be inevitable at some point, right? We need 00:10:42.700 --> 00:10:45.559 to be aligned with our soul's desires, our values. 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:49.100 And I also do a lot of speaking for attorney 00:10:49.100 --> 00:10:51.500 organizations and law firms. So I'm teaching 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:53.620 this stuff via speaking engagements as well, 00:10:53.700 --> 00:10:55.200 which is cool because I can just reach a lot 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:58.820 more people that way. So that's what I'm up to 00:10:58.820 --> 00:11:02.980 these days. So where can we find you online? 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:07.659 You can find me on Instagram, sammycatoneburnoutcoach. 00:11:07.659 --> 00:11:10.019 I'm probably the most active there. And my website 00:11:10.019 --> 00:11:13.100 is just sammycatone .com. You can book a discovery 00:11:13.100 --> 00:11:16.159 call. You can take a look at my speaking engagements, 00:11:16.379 --> 00:11:18.100 my one -on -one coaching. There's more details 00:11:18.100 --> 00:11:20.899 on there. And I'm also on LinkedIn. It's just 00:11:20.899 --> 00:11:22.820 Samantha Catone on LinkedIn. So that's where 00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:25.019 you can find me. And I'd love to hear from you. 00:11:25.059 --> 00:11:27.799 If you have any questions, any support, I'm here 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:32.360 for you. And do you only work with women? My 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:35.659 focus is women, but I do not exclude men. I'm 00:11:35.659 --> 00:11:38.919 primarily focused on attorneys and high achievers. 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:41.580 So high achievers are obviously prone to burnout 00:11:41.580 --> 00:11:43.600 and stress because we all run with that kind 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.100 of type A personality, which drives burnout. 00:11:46.580 --> 00:11:49.980 So I do not exclude men or anybody from my program. 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:53.600 I think this is beneficial for everybody. I just 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:56.299 have a real passion for helping women and empowering 00:11:56.299 --> 00:11:59.590 power women. I just wanted to make that clear 00:11:59.590 --> 00:12:02.730 because we kept mentioning women, women. I thought, 00:12:02.730 --> 00:12:05.870 well, maybe she works with men as well, not to 00:12:05.870 --> 00:12:09.029 exclude anyone. And so for anyone that's hearing 00:12:09.029 --> 00:12:12.629 your story today, what is the one thing that 00:12:12.629 --> 00:12:16.409 you want them to walk away with? Take your power 00:12:16.409 --> 00:12:19.950 back. I spent most of my life blaming my burnout 00:12:19.950 --> 00:12:23.110 on my circumstances, my job, toxic work environments. 00:12:23.330 --> 00:12:26.070 And what I've learned is. A lot of this stuff 00:12:26.070 --> 00:12:29.190 is more internal and we have a lot more control 00:12:29.190 --> 00:12:31.409 over this than we think. Use your brain as a 00:12:31.409 --> 00:12:33.909 tool. You can rewire it. And one thing you can 00:12:33.909 --> 00:12:36.250 start doing today is implement a daily gratitude 00:12:36.250 --> 00:12:38.850 practice. There's a lot of neuroscience behind 00:12:38.850 --> 00:12:41.250 that. So if you leave this conversation with 00:12:41.250 --> 00:12:43.990 nothing else, start a daily gratitude practice 00:12:43.990 --> 00:12:46.970 and things are going to shift for you. Well, 00:12:47.029 --> 00:12:49.190 thank you so much for joining me today, Samantha. 00:12:50.049 --> 00:12:52.110 Thank you, Sheila. I appreciate you. Thank you. 00:12:52.750 --> 00:12:55.610 And thank you all for tuning in to another episode 00:12:55.610 --> 00:12:58.169 of Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership. 00:12:58.570 --> 00:12:59.909 Until next time.