EPISODE · Oct 25, 2025 · 31 MIN
The Messy Middle: Sit down with Erik Milligan
from Built this way · host Patricia Muellen
Key TakeawaysDecide > dabble. Identity follows repeated action; commit through the quiet months.Internal > external validation. Likes lag; impact often arrives silently (then all at once).Consistency compounds. Thousands of small reps beat a handful of “perfect” posts.Test & repurpose. Change formats, platforms, and angles; recycle messages for new seasons.Repurpose yourself. Past roles still matter; let go to move to the next “bar.”Support systems win. Accountability, mentorship, and (sometimes) paid help unlock momentum. Chapters00:00 – Welcome back & why this episode matters02:00 – Meet Erik: engineer, minister, coach, new dad05:10 – Persistence, roots, and doing hard things09:45 – Consistency on social: posting daily without the dopamine13:20 – Lurkers hire later: impact without likes16:10 – Decide vs. dabble: identity by action18:50 – Algorithms, testing, and changing what isn’t working22:10 – Shame, starts, and the choice to keep or quit24:20 – Repurposing skills (and selves) for the next chapter28:10 – Entrepreneurship triggers: bad bosses, big bets31:00 – “Release the drafts” challenge & brand evolution32:40 – Real beats perfect: why people want your messy truth35:20 – How to work with Erik & closing thoughtsLinks MentionedErik Milligan Coaching – erikmilligancoaching.comYouTube: Erik Milligan CoachingLinkedIn: Erik Milligan Built This Way, created and hosted by Patricia Muellen - story teller, entrepreneur, survivor, creator, marketing strategist, and owner of agency P. Muellen & Associates, LLCPatricia spends her days helping businesses grow and having honest conversations about what it really takes to build something from nothing.If you liked this episode, follow the podcast, share it with a fellow builder, and come connect with Patricia online.Because around here we believe in hard work, real talk, and building things that last.After all… some of us are just Built This Way.@Patriciamuellen@pmuellenassociates @[email protected]
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What this episode covers
We pick up where we left off on “just starting,” then put it into practice with our first guest, Erik Milligan—engineer, minister, coach, and new dad, who joins us from Huntsville, Alabama. We talk about identity shifts and why your first career doesn’t have to be your last. Erik shares how growing up with little taught him persistence, why hard things are the only things worth much, and how coaching emerged from years of helping coworkers and congregants with mindset, confidence, perspective, and execution. We lean into the creative struggle: buying the gear, scrapping drafts, avoiding the studio, and mistaking external validation for progress. Erik argues we have to decouple our output from likes and algorithms and anchor to internal validation, doing the work successful us would be doing anyway. We swap stories about “lurkers” who hire after two silent years, proving reach often hides in plain sight. We get tactical about content: test different formats, keep posting, change platforms if needed, and accept that the thing you spent five minutes on may outperform the masterpiece you labored over. Erik offers a simple decision rule: stop dabbling and decide. If you’re a coach (or creator, founder, career-changer), act like one today and for the next six, twelve, twenty-four months regardless of instant payoff. We also talk repurposing....of content and of selves. Skills and seasons change; that doesn’t make former versions of us worthless. Let go of the last monkey bar to reach the next. There’s heart here, too: how we met by chance on a mountaintop overlook, why faith and friendship carried us through family, health, and business challenges, and why consistency is still the punchline. We close with permission to “release the drafts,” serve the people already watching, and keep showing up imperfectly.
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The Messy Middle: Sit down with Erik Milligan
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