Be Freaking Awesome Podcast

Send us Fan Mail You've thought about it. Maybe more than once. Maybe every time things get heavy and you tell yourself "I should really talk to someone." But then life picks back up and you don't. This episode is for you. Sami and Angela dig into the part nobody really talks about when it comes to therapy: how do you actually find a good one? Not just "any therapist,&quot...

Send us Fan Mail You have a problem. Maybe a big one. And you keep staring at it like if you think hard enough, the answer will finally show up. But here's what nobody tells you: most problems aren't actually complicated. They're just missing one of three things. This week, Sami and Angela break down a surprisingly simple framework that cuts through the overwhelm and gets you to the...

Send us Fan Mail You didn't do anything wrong. Your brain just got there first. That's the thing about automatic negative thoughts: they don't wait for evidence. They don't ask permission. Something happens, and before you've had a single conscious thought about it, your brain has already decided: of course this went sideways. Nobody ever comes through. Something is wrong...

Send us Fan Mail You have somewhere between 6,000 and 60,000 thoughts a day. Nobody agrees on the number. But here's what most researchers do agree on: a significant chunk of them are negative, and a startling number are repeats from yesterday. Your brain is running the same playlist on loop, and a lot of those tracks were recorded a long time ago by a much younger version of you who was just...

Send us Fan Mail You know that moment when you say something and immediately think, “ Wait, where did that even come from?” Most of us brush right past it. This episode is about what happens when you don't. Angela and Sami are diving into metacognition: the skill of thinking about your thinking. It sounds deceptively simple. It's also the thing that makes every other communication and le...

Send us Fan Mail You sent the text. You waited. Two days passed and nothing. And your brain went straight to the worst possible explanation. That spiral is not a character flaw. It is what happens when a deeper belief is running in the background: the belief that you do not quite belong. And when that belief is active, even the smallest social interactions can feel loaded. Not texting back becomes...

Send us Fan Mail If you've ever thought your vote doesn't really matter, that politics is too confusing, or that the whole system is just... too much, this episode is for you. A lot of us are carrying around this low-grade exhaustion with national politics right now, and it's easy to let that feeling bleed into disengagement. But there's a whole level of government that most pe...

Send us Fan Mail You have expectations of the people in your life. And they have expectations of you. The problem is that half the time, nobody actually said any of that out loud. And then someone ends up disappointed, resentful, or quietly fuming on the drive home. In this episode, we dig into a reframe that might just change how you navigate every relationship in your life: the difference betwee...

Send us Fan Mail Five countries. Six cities. Olympic tickets. A two-star Michelin restaurant. A near meltdown over very expensive seats. And more walking in the cold than Angela would normally tolerate. This is the full story. In this extended version of episode 211, we let you behind the curtain of the trip and of our friendship. We unpack the moments that did not make Instagram, the history nerd...

Send us Fan Mail What if the person you should be trying to impress isn’t the internet, your boss, or even the people around you, but 80-year-old you? Fresh off a whirlwind Europe trip that included five countries, Olympic events, freezing mountain tops, and one very heavy backpack, Angela came home with more than stories. She came home with confirmation that growth doesn’t happen accidentally. It...

Send us Fan Mail You worked hard, you stayed focused, you finally got there. So why doesn't it feel the way you thought it would? Nobody talks about this part. We spend so much time chasing our goals that we never stop to ask what happens when we actually catch them. Whether it's the dream job, the business you built, the house you wanted, or the milestone you sacrificed for, sometimes y...

Send us Fan Mail You've been told your whole life that if you don't call someone out, you're letting them get away with it. But what if that's completely wrong and it's actually making things worse? Most of us are exhausted from trying to change the people around us. Whether it's a frustrating family member, a difficult coworker, or a friend with completely different...

Send us Fan Mail Every time we go after something meaningful, a new goal, a big conversation, a leadership role, or personal growth, fear and resistance seem to show up right on cue. In this episode, Sami Kinnison and Angela Belford explore why resistance is not a sign you are doing something wrong, but often a signal that you are getting close to something important. Together, they unpack how fea...

Send us Fan Mail Ever walked into a networking event or professional gathering wondering if you're wearing the right thing, saying the right things, or even supposed to be there? You're not alone. In this episode, hosts Sami Kinnison and Angela Belford reveal a simple mental shift that can transform how you show up in any room—and it has nothing to do with what others think of you. Angel...

Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever tried to silence your inner critic by sheer willpower, only to end up overwhelmed, anxious, or spiraling into imposter syndrome, this episode is for you. This week, Angela and Sami unpack the truth about the inner critic. Spoiler alert: it’s not about getting rid of it. In fact, trying to push that voice away can sometimes make it come back louder and stronger. So i...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever made a decision and still felt bad afterward? No matter what you choose, there is guilt, second-guessing, or that lingering feeling that you are letting someone (or yourself) down. In this episode of Be Freaking Awesome, Sami Kinnison and Angela Belford unpack one of the most common but least named challenges people face: conflicting values. This is not about being i...

Send us Fan Mail What if growth doesn’t make life easier… at least not right away? In this episode of Be Freaking Awesome, Sami Kinnison and Angela Belford get real about the unexpected side effects of emotional healing, like crying more, feeling stretched thin, questioning your capacity, and realizing that growth doesn’t mean you never struggle again. This conversation is a follow-up to The Nonli...

Send us Fan Mail In this conversation, Olympic medalist and entrepreneur Dominique Blake joins Angela and Sami for an honest, high-energy look at what it means to stay committed to growth when life doesn’t go as planned. Dominique shares how setbacks in her athletic career sparked a powerful evolution—from running on the track to building businesses, leading wellness communities, and mentoring oth...

Send us Fan Mail Let’s be honest. Working with your family can be equal parts beautiful and bananas. And when the holidays hit? Whew. That’s when the lines between pass the gravy and circle back on that project get real blurry. In this episode, Angela and Sami get vulnerable and hilarious about what it actually looks like to navigate work and personal relationships within a family business. From s...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Be Freaking Awesome , Angela and Sami dive deep into the world of coaching, what it is, what it isn’t, and why it can be such a powerful catalyst for personal and professional growth. Together, they explore the difference between coaching and consulting, why your brain naturally resists change, and how nervous system regulation plays a foundational role in leade...

Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever sat through a workplace training that sounded great in theory but didn’t change a thing, this episode is for you. Angela and Sami are pulling back the curtain on why team trainings often fall flat, what “improving communication” actually means (hint: it’s not just talking nicer), and how to approach development that truly sticks. From metaphors about runny noses to...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Episode 200, our first ever live episode! We’re celebrating a huge milestone, giving major shout-outs, reflecting on what this podcast has meant so far, and sharing what’s next for the journey of Be Freaking Awesome. What’s Inside This Episode Live recorded energy and community vibe: This is our first time doing a live broadcast, complete with real-time chats, emojis, a...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful and personal episode, Angela and Sami sit down with speaker, leadership trainer, and PhD researcher Summer Jelinek to talk about what it really means to be neurodivergent in the workplace. From masking and burnout to emotional intelligence and late diagnoses, we explore how modern work culture often fails to support neurodivergent thinkers and what we can do about...

Send us Fan Mail 🎙️ EP198: Mom Guilt: Let’s Talk About It You know that feeling when you're serving up mac & cheese for dinner (again) and thinking, "Am I totally dropping the ball as a parent?" That creeping sense of mom guilt shows up in the quiet moments and the loud ones, making you question if you're doing enough or getting it all wrong. In this episode, Angela and Sam...

Send us Fan Mail When life hits hard— really hard—how do you get back up? In this raw and powerful episode, Angela and Sami sit down with Nick Morrison , a former professional bull rider whose life was dramatically altered by more than 50 concussions. From chasing rodeo dreams to losing the ability to speak, Nick’s story is one of unimaginable setbacks and unshakable resilience. Nick walks us thro...