The Everyday Awesome Project

Polly Mertens & Samantha Pruitt
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

The Everyday Awesome Podcast is your mega dose of multivitamins for building your mental muscles, physical body and an empowered life. Your hosts Polly and Sam are on your dream team; lifelong coaches in business, health & fitness and human potential. They are on fire to ignite change in the lives they touch. Subscribe now to your weekly jam session where we walk you through actionable tools, game changing insights and inspiring stories to light the path towards YOUR awesome life.   The Everyday Awesome Project is a movement. We invite you to join our mission to connect and inspire humans to live their full potential and reconnect to themselves and others. Through our coaching programs, live experiences and weekly podcast we explore what is possible for everyday humans.  Their motto is  "Every day is a new opportunity to find your AWESOME!"

  1. 3d ago

    136 : Have You Stopped Dreaming? Stop Starving Your Dreams & Learn to Feed 'Em.

    You can have a good life on paper and still feel like your future went quiet. When Polly Mertens and Samantha Pruitt look around, they keep seeing the same pattern: people aren’t “hopeless,” they’re afraid to hope, and that fear slowly starves the ability to dream. We get honest about what that looks like in work teams, family cultures, and our own inner narratives, especially when we’ve been burned enough times to treat hope like a threat. We unpack the real blockers that shut dreams down: survival mode, burnout, financial stress, grief, health scares, and the constant pressure to just get through the day. We connect it to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and talk about how a nervous system in threat mode makes imagination and long-range vision feel impossible. Then we go straight into the human fears under the surface: fear of failure, fear of success, and the deep need for love and belonging that can keep us trapped in the comfort bubble. From there, we shift into what to do next. We introduce dream incubation, a simple, grounded way to create “optimal conditions” for a dream to grow: set a clear intention, write it down, say it out loud, visualize it with sensory detail, and then back it up with a plan and rehearsal. We also make the case for community as a practical tool for personal growth: spend time with dreamers and dream chasers, because possibility is contagious. If you’ve been in a dream desert, this is your permission slip to start small and start now. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs their spark back, and leave a review with the dream you’re ready to feed next. Send us Fan Mail Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/

  2. Jul 23

    135: Tour Divide: An Epic 2,716 mile race that changed me forever. GUEST Cary Hayes

    A month alone on a bike will tell you the truth about your limits. Our guest, Carrie Hayes, just finished the Tour Divide, the legendary ultra endurance bikepacking race that follows the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Banff, Alberta all the way to the US Mexico border. His final tally is staggering: 2,716 miles with 172,000 feet of climbing in 27 and a half days, often riding 100 plus miles a day through remote stretches of Canada, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.  We talk about what you cannot learn from a spreadsheet: the day one shock of cold rain and isolation, the unsexy reality of saddle sores and hygiene, and the mental shift from planning everything to staying present in two hour chunks. Carrie also shares how he met Jerry, a stranger on the trail who became an unspoken teammate, and why that kind of companionship can be the difference between finishing and folding when the wilderness gets loud.  Then the story opens up into something bigger than sport: trail angels who build trust based resupply havens, the “dot watching” world of Trackleaders and Garmin inReach tracking, and the surprising generosity of people who show up with coolers in the middle of nowhere. Carrie ties the ride to purpose by raising nearly $100,000 for the Honnold Foundation, supporting community solar and clean energy projects where they matter most.  If this conversation sparks something you have been putting off, share it with a friend, subscribe, and leave a review. What hard thing are you ready to try next? Send us Fan Mail Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/

  3. Jul 16

    134 : Why Try Seat of the Soul: A Practice for Living A Purposeful Life

    Your mind can make fear sound like logic, but your body tells the truth in seconds. Polly shares a solo, real-time personal transformation experiment she calls the “Seat of the Soul” practice: noticing when she’s operating from a fear-driven personality and learning how to return to the calmer, truer awareness underneath it. It’s not about deleting your traits or becoming “perfect” it’s about finding authentic power, where your personality becomes a vehicle for your soul. Along the way, we connect four powerful frameworks that surprisingly agree with each other: Gary Zukav’s distinction between love and fear (and his idea that intention is the fundamental creative act), Richard Rudd’s Gene Keys shadow-to-gift spectrum (impatience to patience, doubt to inquiry), Joe Hudson’s Art of Accomplishment “welcoming practice” for emotions, and the Buddhist map of the five hindrances with the RAIN method. The common thread is somatic awareness: locate the emotion in the body, stop identifying with it, and let awareness do the transforming. Polly also gets personal about three default patterns she’s watching closely: rushing, self-doubt, and comparison. You’ll hear a childhood story that reshapes scarcity, plus practical ways she’s changing daily decisions with gratitude, a “flow zone” approach to work, and anchor questions like “What would love do?” If you’ve been stuck in hustle, people pleasing, or defensiveness, this gives you a grounded way back to yourself. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s been living in overdrive, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s the one pattern you’re ready to catch and change first? Send us Fan Mail Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/

  4. Jul 9

    133 : Solo On The John Muir Trail | Preparing to Hike 250 Miles Alone (Sam's Prep)

    Two hundred and fifty miles sounds heroic until you do the math: high altitude starts around 9,000 feet, relentless climbs that add up to roughly 55,000 feet, and the daily reality of moving through the Sierra Nevada with a fully loaded pack. We’re recording right before Sam steps onto the John Muir Trail, and we get painfully honest about what “prepared” actually means when you’re going solo for 20 plus days. We talk through the permit lottery, why she’s hiking northbound from Cottonwood Pass, and how weather windows, resupply exits, and wilderness rules shape every decision. Then we go deeper into the backstory that makes this more than a thru-hike: the grief of losing her brother, the choice to carry his ashes to a specific pass, and the way solitude in nature becomes an initiation rather than just an adventure. If you’ve ever tried to come back after setbacks, this will hit. Sam shares how she rebuilt  her mental and physicial body after gut infections, a major back injury, back surgery, and months of physical therapy. Plus, the training principles that actually translate to mountain travel: strength and mobility first, slow progression, nutrition that supports recovery, and a mindset that refuses “summit at any cost.” We also cover real trail safety, from bears and bear canisters to river crossings, snow travel, Garmin inReach planning, and why trusting your gut can be the difference between a great story and a rescue. Subscribe, share this with a friend training for a big goal, and leave a review with the hardest thing you’re preparing for right now. Send us Fan Mail Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/

  5. Jul 2

    132 : Strengthening Intuition Like a Muscle | Practices & Exercises for Deeper Intuitive Powers

    Your body often knows the truth before your brain can build a convincing argument. We get real about “woo-woo intuition” and make it practical: how to recognize the first clean signal, why we override it, and what it takes to rebuild self-trust after years of second-guessing, people-pleasing, or living from the neck up. We share stories that reveal the pattern fast, including online scams and high-pressure moments where urgency, shame, and isolation push people into decisions they already felt were wrong. We also talk about medical decision-making and why a patient deserves time, space, and support to process information at their own pace. The throughline is integrity: knowing what you stand for and refusing to compromise it just to belong, whether that pressure comes from a friend group, family system, or workplace culture. Then we get tactical. We walk through simple intuition exercises you can use today: pause and breathe when your nervous system gets hijacked, step away and recalibrate, write it down, say it out loud to someone you trust, and use a pros and cons list to get clarity out of your head. We also offer journaling prompts, a mindfulness-based noting practice, and one powerful question that cuts through mental noise: “What would love have me do now?” Finally, we break down intuition vs anxiety, including how panic, urgency, and numb shutdown can disguise themselves as “instinct.” If you’ve been craving better decision-making, calmer boundaries, and a more aligned life, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Send us Fan Mail Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/

  6. Jun 25

    131 : Triggers & Emotional Hijacking | Ways to Learn From Body Wisdom

    Your reaction isn’t “too much” for no reason. Sometimes it’s your nervous system doing exactly what it learned to do a long time ago, then dragging that charge into the present before you can even think. We get real about emotional triggers, why they feel disproportionate, and how to tell when a moment is simply lighting a fuse on an older story. We share two fresh trigger stories that look totally different on the surface: an airport run-in that escalates over bags, an apple, and the threat of being rebooked, and a seemingly safe connection in the ultra-running world that turns into an inappropriate, sexually charged text. Both spark the same deeper questions: What belief just got hit? What boundary got crossed? What part of me felt disrespected or unsafe? We also talk “capacity” and why sleep, food, stress, and timing can make the exact same event feel manageable one day and explosive the next. Then we dig into the science and the tools. We explain the amygdala hijack and the rapid 12-millisecond body response, why the chemical surge can pass in about 90 seconds, and how rumination and reactivity keep it burning. We weave in Dr. Gabor Maté’s lens on big-T and small-t trauma, plus somatic healing and why “the body keeps the score.” You’ll leave with practical ways to name the hijack, find it in your body, buy yourself time, and respond with compassionate inquiry instead of shame. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s working on emotional regulation, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s a trigger you’ve been trying to understand lately? Send us Fan Mail Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/

  7. Jun 18

    130: Permission to Play! Creative Breaks

    You can run a business, raise a family, keep the lights on, and still feel like something essential is missing. For us, that missing piece is often play: the kind that loosens the straitjacket, cracks the mind open, and lets your real self breathe. So we’re claiming it out loud: creativity isn’t a talent you’re born with or without. It’s your birthright, and it shows up everywhere once you know how to look. We talk about what creativity actually is (making, bringing forth, growing), why “I’m not creative” is a story worth retiring, and how creative collaboration includes everything from gardening with nature to building communities and curating experiences that change people. We also share the unexpected places creativity lives, like taking a scooter ride with no plan, turning your home into a sanctuary, sending a song to a friend to spark connection, or making space for ideas to arrive instead of forcing them. Then we get practical about creative breaks: why your brain needs room to wander, how consumption can crowd out creation, and how routines like artist dates from The Artist’s Way or simply leaving your instrument out of the case can make creativity inevitable. We also dig into the mental health side, including why creative activities can reduce stress and anxiety and help you feel more grounded and alive. If you’re ready to stop waiting until you’re “good” and start making room for what lights you up, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs permission to play, and leave a review so more people find the creative reset they’ve been missing. Send us Fan Mail Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/

  8. Jun 11

    129: Must Do: The Mid Year Reset | How to Reboot Your Dreams Anytime of Year

    You blink and suddenly it’s mid-year. If your goals feel stale, your calendar feels crowded, or your motivation feels like it quietly slipped out the back door, we’re here to say: you can restart whenever you want, and you don’t need anyone’s permission. We talk through how we actually do a mid-year reset in real life, not just on paper. On the business side, we break down why a professional review matters before fall, how frameworks like EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) and the 12-week year create clarity, and why choosing one to three priorities beats chasing ten “important” projects. We also dig into the difference between real strategy and survival mode, and how a 60 to 90 day view changes the decisions you make every week. On the personal side, we get into redirects that happen when life happens: health shifts, financial surprises, relationship changes, and training realities. Sam shares the decision to move a 100-mile race goal, not abandon it, plus what alignment and timing really look like when you’re protecting your body and your happiness. We also unpack “capacity” as the hidden variable in goal setting, how to build it, and why accountability communities keep long goals present. If you’re ready for a clean reset and a stronger second half of the year, listen now, then subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reboot, and leave a review with the goal you’re choosing next. Send us Fan Mail Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/

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Trailer

5
out of 5
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About

The Everyday Awesome Podcast is your mega dose of multivitamins for building your mental muscles, physical body and an empowered life. Your hosts Polly and Sam are on your dream team; lifelong coaches in business, health & fitness and human potential. They are on fire to ignite change in the lives they touch. Subscribe now to your weekly jam session where we walk you through actionable tools, game changing insights and inspiring stories to light the path towards YOUR awesome life.   The Everyday Awesome Project is a movement. We invite you to join our mission to connect and inspire humans to live their full potential and reconnect to themselves and others. Through our coaching programs, live experiences and weekly podcast we explore what is possible for everyday humans.  Their motto is  "Every day is a new opportunity to find your AWESOME!"

Information

  • Creator
    Polly Mertens & Samantha Pruitt
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    140
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Everyday Awesome Project
  • Show Website
    The Everyday Awesome Project

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