About Honest Pursuits
It started with a road trip and a fake friend.
Twelve days, one donut tire, and the slow realization that “pursuing happiness” is a full-contact sport when you’re stuck in a car with someone who secretly hates you.
I thought I was launching a travel vlog about chasing joy across America.
Instead, I accidentally created a social experiment in emotional endurance and caffeine abuse.
Somewhere between Arizona and the world’s most awkward Chick-fil-a breakfast, I realized something wild:
Happiness isn’t a mood—it’s a boundary.
While she marinated in misery, I kept waking up happy. Not because my life was perfect, but because I’ve never let other people rent space in my sanity.
That was the first brutal truth of Honest Pursuits. Before all this, I was the corporate girl who did everything right. Years in IT boardrooms chasing “success” that felt like a slow-motion lobotomy. I hit every KPI except joy. I learned to smile through jargon, survive meetings that could’ve been therapy, and pretend that burnout was ambition in heels.
When I finally escaped, I didn’t know what happiness looked like—just what it didn’t. So I rebuilt from scratch: real estate, design, community, chaos.
And somewhere between closing deals and dodging emotional landmines, I realized I’d been living by a framework the whole time.
Not a corporate one—a B.R.U.T.A.L. one:
Boundaries. Reinvention. Unlearning. Truth. Accountability. Liberation.
The Truth
I quit pretending I was fine.
Honest Pursuits isn’t about fixing your life. It’s about finally telling the truth about it—out loud, preferably with sarcasm.
It’s the anti-influencer corner of the internet where we don’t “manifest abundance.” We talk about the raise that cost you your soul, the friend who slept through your dream vacation, and the dating pool that feels like expired soup.
It’s not self-help.
It’s self-awareness with a side of “are you kidding me right now?”
The Voice Behind the Mic
Truth with better lighting.
I’m Cate Brown—real estate investor, Realtor, designer, podcaster, and former corporate escape artist.
I build communities like Atlanta Social, flip houses, design spaces, and occasionally question my life choices into a microphone.
I’m not here to be your guru. I’m the voice in your head when you realize therapy is expensive and denial is free.
I say the things you’re not supposed to say—about work, love, friendship, and the pursuit of whatever-the-hell happiness means this week.
The Invitation
Welcome home, brutally.
If you’re tired of pretending you’re “thriving,” you’re in the right place.
Listen to the podcast. Read the blogs. Laugh. Unpack. Rage a little.
Then rebuild something real—on your terms, not your manager’s or your mother’s.
Because the pursuit of happiness isn’t cute.
It’s B.R.U.T.A.L.
And that’s the point.
🎧 Listen on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you spiral best
💌 Join the List — for brutal truths, free workbooks, and new drops
📱 @Honest.Pursuits everywhere (because repression isn’t a content strategy)
The Podcast
I Say the Quiet Part
The Blog
I Write the Aftermath
The List
I Send the Receipts
🛍️ The Shop
(a.k.a. My Financial Coping Mechanism)
People keep asking where I get my skincare, my mic setup, my dog’s serotonin supplements, and my borderline-concerning collection of notebooks.
So I built The Honest Pursuits Shop—a slightly unhinged corner of the internet where you can grab the exact stuff I use to stay semi-sane.
You’ll also find our Honest Pursuits merch, curated bundles, and free tools like the B.R.U.T.A.L. Self-Inventory Workbook—because reflection should look as good as it feels.
Buying anything from the Shop supports the podcast (and my caffeine habit).
So yeah, it’s mutual aid—with better packaging.
Meet the Team (It’s Just Me)
Wears all the hats, drops all the truths.
