Helping online founders overcome the trap of over-working + under-earning | 4 Day Work Week + Resource Optimization to help founders buy back time ⏰ and increase their revenue 💰 | Revenue Accelerator + Fractional COO

Your biggest breakthroughs aren’t strategy problems.
They’re identity problems.

I’ve created 3D identity coaching: the missing infrastructure between where you are and the impossible future calling you forward.

For 9 years, I’ve lived this work.
For 6 years, I’ve coached it: 3,500+ hours with founders, executives, and visionaries who knew strategy wasn’t the problem.

The problem was simpler.
And harder.

They were making future decisions from a past identity.

You can optimize your funnel.
You can hire the team.
You can work nights, weekends, longer, harder.

But if your identity hasn’t expanded to hold what you’re building, you’ll hit the same ceiling again.

Not because you’re broken.
Because you’re operating from an outdated operating system.

This is what changes when identity changes first:

$50K → $1.5M in three years.
W-2 employee → $2M business owner in under two.
Unstable revenue → $125K deals, repeatable.
$95K closed in one week after months of drought.

Not because they hustled harder.
Because they became the person for whom that growth was inevitable.

Here’s the truth most people won’t say:

It doesn’t matter where you started.
Your past doesn’t get a vote on your future.
You can change your stars.

But only if you’re willing to stop making decisions as who you’ve been and start choosing as who you’re becoming.

That gap?
That’s where I work.

I collapse time between the identity you’re holding and the one your future requires.

I help bold visionaries build empires that feel as good as they look…without burning out, without losing themselves, without wondering if they’re enough.

You don’t need another strategy.
You need to become the person your strategy was designed for.

I’m building The Possibility Investor:
A tech-enabled identity coaching platform where leaders upgrade self-trust, expand capacity, and become who their future demands.

This isn’t mindset.
This isn’t motivation.
This is identity infrastructure.

The operating system behind every 10x decision you’ll ever make.

If your future self has been whispering and you’re finally ready to listen:

Don’t take my word this works.
Come experience it for yourself in real time.

Give me three hours and we’ll change your future.

Join the Identity Activation Experience.
February 3rd, 2026 | 11am–2pm PT

DM me “identity” for founder pricing.

Cassie Shea ✨

My business turns 6 this month.
I’ve never sent an email to my list.
I have 1,087 people on it.

Every single one came from a real conversation.
A referral.
A moment of connection that mattered.

That’s how I’ve built this thing—1 person at a time.

And I’m proud of that.

Here’s what the last 6 years taught me:

1. Move toward the work, not the location.

My first client was Intelligent Change, a gratitude journal company in London. I moved there on a whim. Made some of my best friends. Lived 1 of the best years of my life. The work led. I followed.

2. Volume creates mastery.

3,500 hours of 1:1 coaching later, I understand how humans change. How identity becomes the lever. How we future-cast who we want to be, then reverse-engineer everything else. You can’t skip the reps.

3. Your offer will evolve 20 times. Let it.

My first offer was $500/day as a per diem Chief of Staff. Now I run a completely different business. The early versions weren’t wrong. They were necessary.

4. Teaching your work forces you to clarify it.
Last summer, I trained 12 coaches in my method through the Possibility Thinking Certification. Systematizing what I do opened up a world I didn’t know existed. If you can teach it, you actually know it.

5. Become your own best client.

I’ve invested over $100K in my own coaching. Some of it was a total miss (looking at you, $10K Facebook ads course I never used). Some of it returned 6x instantly. My best decision? Joining Dustin Riechmann 🔥’s 7-Figure Leap 3 years ago. That network changed everything.

6. The identity work comes first.

Strategy doesn’t fix an identity problem. I’ve watched this play out in every client I’ve ever worked with. The moment they step into who they’re becoming, everything else reorganizes around that. Including the business.

So here’s what’s next:

This year is about systems.

About stepping fully into my own identity as a guide.

About reaching the people I’ve been building this for.

And I’m starting with a birthday party.

On February 3rd, I’m hosting the Identity Activation Experience—live.

It’s the foundation of the work that’s moved mountains for my clients.

And for me.

We’re setting intention for who we’re becoming in 2026. 

Not from where we’ve been.
From where we’re going.

If you’re a prior client or we’ve worked together in any capacity:
I’d love to gift you a free seat. 
DM me “IDENTITY.”

If you’ve never experienced this work:
I’m offering a founder price. 
Same deal: DM me “IDENTITY.”

Link in the comments.

This is the work I feel called to bring into the world more and more.

If that lands, I’d love to see you there.

Cassie Shea

Identity Coach | Helping entrepreneurs design their legacy through identity-first transformation and coaching | Founder, Possibility Investor | Experiential Facilitator

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Yesterday, 4 adults cried in a room together while planning a business.

(The first thing I do when facilitating is look for the Kleenex box). 

We weren’t sad.

We were expanding.

My client Dave brought me to Poulsbo, an hour and a half outside Seattle, on the sound, to hold space for something bigger than a revenue goal.

We’ve been working together for 8 months.

We’ve changed his positioning.
Restructured his identity story.
Rebuilt his offer stack.
Onboarded team around his zone of genius.
Closed new clients at higher rates.

But yesterday was different.
Yesterday, we asked: What happens when your impact needs to outlast you?

We spent 8 hours at a whiteboard.
We cried, all 4 of us, multiple times.
Tears of humility.
Tears of hope.
Tears of seeing what becomes possible when you stop building a business and start building an institution with a soul.

We mapped a 100-year impact model.
We built a $10M revenue plan for a company still under $1M.

And at the end of the day, the word that landed was expansion.
Not growth.
Expansion.

Here’s what I know:

Expanding what’s possible requires epic vision.

It requires clarity on your goals.

And it requires a team built around strengths that are not yours.

Because identity work isn’t just personal transformation.

It’s structural.

It’s asking: Who do I need to become to hold the size of what I’m building?

And then: Who do I need around me to make it real?

I don’t drink coffee anymore.
But I feel like I drank 17 cups yesterday.
My soul is still lit.
Because this is the work.
Not fixing people.
Not optimizing funnels.

Holding space for people who are ready to claim their giftedness and decide their impact will outlast them.

That’s what gets to happen when you do identity work.

Grateful doesn’t even touch it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

PS -
Dave Raley made us matching sweatshirts and it helped “literally” hold space for our new identity! I joke that identity work is like trying on a new pair of clothes… totally stoked that vision came true!

I want to pay you to put an ad in your next email.

Seriously.

If you:
• Sell a $10K+ service
• Have 1,500-10,000 people on your list
• Can send within the next week

DM me your price.

But first? Drop a comment and brag about your audience. Why are they the best people I could possibly reach?

(Yes, I’m ready to pay now.)

Proof of life, not a robot. 
Me on the ferry to Seattle from Bainbridge island yesterday because my rental Tesla ran out of juice on the way to airport. Theme song: “I’m on a boat.”

9.5 years ago, I was so unsatisfied with my role in the world that I invented a system to escape it.

I hated my title.

I couldn't stand that I didn't have a seat at the table where important decisions were being made.

And I looked at my paycheck and thought: This isn't enough to live the life I actually want to live.

I was a W-2 employee. Entry-level. Talented, but trapped in a role that didn't reflect my actual capacity.

I felt like I was meant for more.

But I had no idea how to get from where I was to where I needed to be.

So I built something.

Not a vision board. Not a goal sheet.

A system that would give me self-agency, skill development, and an exponential growth track for both my leadership ability and my income.

That system became identity work.

Here's what I did:
 
I projected forward five years and asked: Who could I be?

At the time, I was in sales. Partnerships. Account management. Bringing in revenue but not leading it.

So I looked at the next highest role in the org: Chief Revenue Officer.
I pulled 20 to 40 job descriptions and searched for patterns.

Three themes emerged: leadership, change management, and people development.

I listed the key skills in each area. The ones I'd need to not just attain, but master.

Then I gave myself a grade. A through F. On how I was actually doing.

And then I asked the most important question:
What extracurricular project—outside my 9-to-5, outside my current scope—could I take on that would allow me to create change and develop these skills?

I did this every single quarter.

Within the first year, I doubled my salary.

Six months after that, I took another big leap.

Less than 18 months in, I was managing 14 people and a $14M P&L.

I had more than doubled my income and gone from entry-level employee to leader.

Not because I got lucky.

Because I closed the gap between who I was and who my future self already needed to be.

That's the power of identity work.
Getting clear on where you're going. 
Naming the skill gaps.
Asking: What would need to be true for me to act as if I already am that person?

And then identifying opportunities to close those gaps in real time.

That was the genesis.

10 years later, it's evolved into something much deeper.

But it started with a simple, honest question: Who do I need to become to live the life I know I'm capable of?

And then building the skills to match the answer.

I'm curious:

Whatever you're teaching, leading, or investing in now—what was your origin story?

What problem were you trying to solve when you first started?

PS - balance was my lowest rated category 10 years ago. I'm glad I've learned more since then about work-life integration and healthy habits!

What if the gap between top performer and C-Suite leader didn't have to take you years, but six months of strategic focus?

Most high-performing leaders in financial services hit the same ceiling: great results, consistent delivery, yet they watch others move to executive roles while they stay put. 

The missing piece isn't experience or credentials - it's strategic clarity, executive presence, and decisive impact.

I help ambitious leaders in financial services companies leap the C-Suite through coaching that develops what promotions really require: presence, visibility, confidence, and impact.

Whether you're a Senior Manager, AVP, Director, or already in an executive role looking to expand your influence, you're ready for more but tired of hoping change will find you.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗲'𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿:

➥ Strategic Clarity – so your vision lands on the CEO's radar and drives enterprise decisions
➥ Executive Presence – commanding confidence in boardrooms, team meetings, and high-stakes conversations
➥ Decisive Impact – bigger influence with sustainable results, not just longer hours

Through direct, collaborative coaching with leadership assessments, we'll shift not just what you do, but how you show up as a leader.

I've had two career moments that proved these principles:

First-Time Manager: Fresh out of college, given a team before I understood "P&L." No handbook, just people counting on me. I learned: listen first, ask smart questions, deliver results that make everyone look good.

First Executive Seat: Years later, I jumped industries. Seven months in, I earned my first executive title using the same playbook:

These experiences, plus my background as Director of Talent Management & Leadership Development, taught me exactly what separates top performers from C-Suite leaders.

𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀

1.  An executive successor in finance felt overlooked despite his track record. After six months of coaching, he strengthened his communication skills and built key relationships with senior leaders, leading to a director promotion and a salary increase.

2. Another executive successor in financial services who was pre-selected for promotion struggled with emotional and confidence challenges. In six months of coaching, she developed emotional intelligence and strategic influence skills, securing her promotion and increasing her salary from $70k to $100k, becoming a key decision-maker.

Ready to get clear next steps on your path to executive leadership? 

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 𝟭𝟱-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹.

Alicia MBA

In 2019, my son changed everything. 

Not emotionally but strategically.

After years of talking about starting my own business, he completed the registration forms and handed them to me to sign.

I was always too busy to do it myself. 
At least that was what I told myself. 
But it was the right nudge I needed.

The business existed on paper before I was emotionally “ready.” 
And that mattered.

I wasn’t ready to leave my full-time role, but I was ready to declare intent.

So in January, I met with my boss. I shared my passion for leadership and career coaching, my long-term plan, and the fact that I’d taken a real first step.

As I held my breathe, I expected pushback even hesitation. 
Instead, what I got was encouragement.
“Go for it,” he said. 
Then added, “I hope the company benefits from your expertise before you leave.”

That 30-minute call became my permission slip.

Then the pandemic hit.
Experience had taught me something important: when bottom lines are threatened, support roles are usually hit first. I was in one.

I wasn’t panicked, but I was definitely realistic.
Because I’d already started initiatives, I was retained while others were furloughed. I led virtual efforts, supported leaders through uncertainty, and positioned myself intentionally for what came next.

Three moves mattered:
• I told HR I’d started a business and offered my services if needed 
• I signaled direction to my network, not asking for favors 
• I relied on a financial buffer I’d built to make measured decisions

My first major opportunity didn’t come from a cold pitch. It came from a consultant who I had worked with over a decade before. It was a "too good to be true" offer to partner on a major project.

Here’s what people don’t talk about.

I spent more time trying to name the business than I did, preparing to run it. But names don’t start businesses. Decisions do.

I realized consulting aligned better with my background and would fund the growth. Coaching would shape the soul.

That balance wasn’t perfect. It was intentional.

This wasn’t a pandemic success story. It was a life story.

• Declaring intent before certainty 
• Having honest conversations early 
• Positioning value before roles disappear 
• Balancing passion with economic reality

I also made many mistakes.

I learned that being a strong executive doesn’t automatically make you a strong business owner.

Different skills. 
Different journey.

Those are the same decisions I now help leaders make.

Because executive readiness isn’t built when things feel calm. It’s revealed when clarity matters more than comfort.

And sometimes, the smartest move isn’t leaping.
It’s positioning yourself, so when the ground shifts, you’re already standing somewhere stronger.

What leadership move have you been quietly yearning for, but keep delaying? And who in your circle already has the power to change your next chapter?

Alicia Knight,  MBA

Promoted to Executive in Under 7 Months | DM for the Playbook Executive Coach helping ambitious leaders land C-Suite roles, even in new industries, without more qualifications, certifications, or working longer hours.

In 2021, I sent my daughter off to college while building a business and leading through uncertainty I couldn’t yet name.

In 2026, we’re preparing for graduation, and I’ve learned this:
Growth doesn’t eliminate uncertainty. 
It teaches you how to move anyway.


That year, I was deep in my first major client work. 
Still learning the rhythm of entrepreneurship. 
Preparing for college. 
Carrying responsibilities I didn’t yet have language for.

What I couldn’t see then was the full runway ahead.

I didn’t know I’d be caring for a sick child. 
Supporting an ailing mother who would later pass. 
Showing up for family while managing financial uncertainty. 
Leading, without the luxury of waiting until life felt “settled.”

And yet, choosing this path has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Not because every goal has been met. 
But because I’ve been able to show up for the people who matter, on my own terms. Because I didn’t pause my life waiting to feel ready.

The uncertainty didn’t end after 2021. 
It evolved.

And that’s the part senior leaders often underestimate.
Leadership decisions compound, especially when your personal life carries real stakes.

You don’t get to pause life to feel ready. 
You decide while carrying responsibility on multiple fronts.

If you’re a leader navigating ambition at work and responsibility at home, you know this tension well.

What I’ve learned is this:
Readiness isn’t the absence of fear. 
It’s the ability to move while carrying it.

Waiting for clarity before acting feels responsible but often delays the very conditions that create clarity.

Some of the most important moves I’ve made weren’t leaps. 
They were deliberate steps taken before certainty showed up.

So let me ask you the question I now ask leaders I work with - and myself:

If you’re waiting for certainty before acting, are you postponing the growth that would make certainty possible?

What step are you avoiding right now?
• The career conversation you’ve been rehearsing in your head? 
• Raising your hand for an opportunity you already know you can handle? 
• Asking for compensation that reflects the scope you’ve been carrying, without waiting to be noticed?

The question isn’t whether you can handle more. 
It’s whether you’re willing to move before the picture is complete.

And sometimes, the bravest leadership decision isn’t doing more.
It’s deciding not to wait.

Before you scroll, pause for a moment: 

What’s the conversation you know you need to have now to make 2026 your strongest year yet?

Because clarity rarely comes from waiting.
It comes from choosing the future you’re willing to step into.

For a long time, I thought being seen as executive-ready meant having all the answers.

So I over-prepared. 
Constantly.

If I had a meeting, I needed the agenda in advance. 
Not out of diligence, but out of fear of being blindsided.

I researched every angle. 
Anticipated every question. 
Prepared responses no one had asked for.

It was exhausting.

Part of this came from the culture I was operating in. 
One where leaders tried to one-up each other.
Where the reward often went to those who were the loudest, not necessarily those who created the most value.

So I adapted.

I believed credibility came from: 
• knowing more 
• saying the “right” thing 
• never hesitating

But here’s what I didn’t understand then:
Executives aren’t evaluated on how much they know. 
They’re evaluated on how they think, especially when things are unclear.

And in my effort to always have the right answer, I was missing something far more important.

I wasn’t fully present.
I missed cues in the room. 
I missed shifts in energy. 
I missed chances to shape the conversation by asking, not answering.
Or worse, getting defensive.

I didn’t yet understand the power of a thoughtful question.
Not the performative kind. 
The kind that signals judgment, curiosity, and perspective.

The shift came when I stopped trying to prove I was right and started focusing on how I was contributing to the thinking in the room.

Here’s what changed:
I led with curiosity, not certainty. 

So, instead of jumping in with answers, I asked: 
• “What’s driving this concern?” 
• “What risk are we trying to mitigate here?”

That alone changed how leaders experienced me.
I explained my judgment, not just my conclusion. 

I stopped saying “It won't work, even when I know it wouldn't” and started saying: 
• “Here’s what I’m weighing.” 
• “Here’s the trade-off I’m seeing.” 
• “Here’s why timing matters.”

Trust accelerated.

I stopped equating preparation with control. Being executive-ready didn’t mean anticipating everything. It meant thinking clearly in real time.

That’s when my visibility shifted.

Not because I spoke more. Not because I was louder. But because my presence became more grounded, more strategic, more useful.

At executive levels, expertise is assumed. What differentiates you is how well you invite thinking - yours and others’.

Leadership isn’t about having the “right” answer.

It’s about creating the conditions where better answers emerge and being recognized as someone who elevates the room.

If you’re respected but not yet pulled into the biggest conversations, ask yourself:

Are you trying to prove you’re capable… or showing how you think?

That difference is where executive readiness lives.

If this feels familiar, you’ll recognize these moments inside The New C-Suite Playbook, where readiness is built through micro-moves, not performance theatrics.

It’s for leaders who are already capable, and ready to be experienced at the next level.

Many leaders say, “I don’t want friends at work.”

They want things professional. 
Separate. 
Clean.

On the surface, that makes sense.

You already spend long hours working. Add late emails, weekend follow-ups, and mental load, and work easily bleeds into life. 

So, the conclusion feels logical:
No friendships. 
No complications.

But here’s what we rarely unpack:
Avoiding workplace relationships doesn’t make you neutral.
It often makes you invisible.

Early in my career, my third promotion didn’t come from a job posting.
It came from a college friend who was working in the corporate office.

We were young and ambitious, spending nights talking about career goals and the leaders we wanted to become. 

Over time, she began advocating for me, not out of kindness, but because she knew how I thought, how I worked, and how I showed up under pressure.

That advocacy mattered.

Later, I learned the harder side of workplace relationships.

I once had to send a performance memo and eventually demote a friend who wasn’t ready for the role, despite training and coaching.

It wasn’t easy. 
It required boundaries, clarity, and professionalism.

That same person showed up for me during one of the most difficult seasons of my personal life.

Workplace relationships don’t eliminate hard conversations. 
They make honest ones possible.

The problem isn’t relationships. 

It’s confusing friendships with workplace relationships.

Workplace relationships aren’t about social closeness. 

They’re about:
• trust 
• judgment 
• reliability 
• mutual respect

Friendships may grow from that foundation, but they don’t replace professionalism.

Over time, strong workplace relationships have: 
• created advocates for my career 
• supported me through difficult change 
• helped me navigate complex decisions 
• opened doors I could never force open

That’s not networking. 
That’s reputation, reinforced through relationship.

You don’t reach the C-suite on performance alone. 
You get there through trust, context, and advocacy.

And those are built over time, with guardrails.

Workplace relationships don’t mean oversharing or blurred authority. 

They mean being known for how you think, trusted for how you decide, and respected for how you handle tension.

Which brings us to visibility.
Visibility isn’t about being loud. 
It’s about being known.

Known well enough that when decisions are made behind closed doors, someone can say your name with confidence.

So maybe the real question isn’t: “Should I have friends at work?”

It’s this:
Who knows how I think? 
Who trusts my judgment? 
Who would advocate for me when I’m not in the room?

Those answers quietly determine who gets pulled into the next level.


If you’re telling yourself, “I don’t need friends, I just need to do my work,”
there may be a misunderstanding about workplace relationships quietly holding you back from the C-suite.

Senior leaders don’t get stuck because they’re unsure. 

They get stuck because they’re waiting for certainty.

Still trying to figure out your exact next job title?
Because you think your dream C-suite role is out of reach, you’re not in finance or operations.

And you’ve never seen Marketing, Legal, or HR become the next COO.

It sounds responsible. 
It feels strategic. 
It even feels authentic.

But at senior levels, this thinking is often what keeps you stuck.

Here’s the counterintuitive truth you need sooner than later:
It’s not a career sin to be unclear about the next title. 
The real risk is being passive while you wait for certainty.

Many VPs feel pressure to decide first:
“Is it COO?” 
“Is it CHRO?” 
“Is it Group?” 
“Is it regional or global?”

That pressure often stops them from doing the one thing that actually matters:
building visible, transferable executive capability.

I learned this early in my own career.
At one point, I thought the “smart” next step was HR leadership. 
Broader. More senior. More logical.

But every time I talked it through with a close friend, she laughed and kindly said: “You light up when you talk about leadership, strategy, and development. That’s your edge.”

She was right.
I didn’t love HR. I loved strategy, org design, performance, and leadership systems.

The mistake wouldn’t have been lack of clarity. It would have been forcing myself into a title instead of deliberately building skills that gave me options.
That shift changed everything.

Because at VP level, readiness isn’t about naming the role. It’s about proving you can operate above one.

I see this pattern repeatedly with senior clients.
One highly respected leader in a specialist support role believed a COO path was unrealistic. 

Different lane. Different identity. Too much uncertainty.

Instead of chasing a title, we focused on four things: 
• leveraging transferable executive skills 
• being explicit, not defensive, about growth gaps 
• making her thinking visible cross-functionally 
• aligning development with the company’s future, not today’s org chart

She didn’t apply for an operations role. But she earned the conversation and permission to cross-train.
Not because she suddenly became qualified, but because decision-makers could finally see how she thought.

Decision-makers don’t evaluate you when the role opens. 
They evaluate you every time you speak, challenge, or connect dots.

If you’re only visible when you want a promotion, you’re already too late.

So if external hires keep leapfrogging you… If you’re respected but not pulled into the biggest conversations… If you feel “almost ready” year after year…

The issue usually isn’t clarity. It’s visible executive readiness.

And if this hit close to home, you’re not behind, you’re early.

Your next move may not require certainty. It requires being seen.

If this resonates, DM me READY and I’ll send you The New C-Suite Playbook: Get Seen in 15 Minutes.

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Cassie Shea ✨

Alicia MBA

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The Battle

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Alicia MBA

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