The Everyday Awesome Project

Your week leaves marks, even when you pretend it didn’t. I’m Coach Sam, and I’m sharing a simple weekly journaling practice I call “Highlights and Heartbreaks” to help you get emotionally honest, feel less numb, and stop letting life blur by on autopilot. We start with one blank, double-sided sheet of paper. On one side, you list heartbreaks from the last seven days without overthinking or overexp...

Loving your mom doesn’t automatically make the relationship safe, easy, or even tolerable. We sit down with Nissa Noble, founder and creator of Planet Gayle (@planetgayle), to talk about the reality so many adults carry quietly: complicated mother-daughter relationships where care, fear, resentment, loyalty, and grief all collide. If you’ve ever hung up the phone feeling drained, ashamed, or weird...

A diagnosis can land like a stamp on your forehead, and if you’re not careful, it starts running your decisions, your confidence, and even your future plans. We’re pushing back hard on that. A diagnosis is a snapshot of what’s happening right now, not a definition of who you are. When we stop treating labels as identity, we get our agency back and we can actually make better choices with less fear...

Coach Polly solo this week- talking FEAR and how it can be totally irrational and still feel completely real. I know that firsthand, and for a long time I kept treating it like a discipline problem: read another book, make a bigger plan, try harder, push through. Then I noticed the same thing many of us notice in private, the loop of “I know better” followed by the same old pattern. That’s not wea...

“Don’t wait” sounds obvious until you realize how many of us are quietly living like our real life starts later. Today we pick up The Five Invitations by Frank Ostaseski and dive into the first invitation, using death awareness and Buddhist wisdom as a surprisingly energizing guide to living fully. We talk about impermanence as a fact, not a philosophy, and why accepting constant change can feel d...

Coach Sam solo this week schooling on the INNER CRITIC!  You know, that “not good enough” voice that can sound like motivation, but it usually runs it's mouth on fear, shame, and moving goalposts. #truthtalk I’m sharing what’s been coming up for me lately: the inner critic, how it sneaks into everything from relationships to body image, and why trying to satisfy it only drains your life force...

If you’ve ever walked away from a hangout feeling like you just donated a pint of blood, we made this one for you. We’re talking about the overgiving trap, that sneaky pattern where “I’m just being kind” turns into over-functioning, people pleasing, and quietly training others to give you less than you need.  We unpack the clear red flags: always initiating, saying yes when you mean no, tolerating...

Odds are- you are probably getting “hypnotized” every day and not in the stage-show way! When you’re half awake in bed, locked into a movie, stuck in doomscroll mode, or deep in a run where everything goes quiet, you’re in a trance-like state that can shape your subconscious mind. We talk about how to stop leaving that doorway open by accident and start using self-hypnosis and hypnotherapy on purp...

Coach Polly solo today! Your resume might look like a patchwork quilt, and you might secretly wonder if that means you are unfocused.  It's more common than you might think.  In this episode you'll learn how a simple comment with a client flipped the whole narrative inside.  Maybe reinvention is not a flaw?  Maybe it is a super power.  This episode is a solo Coach Polly session and I wal...

Your life can look successful and still feel heavy, tense, or unfinished. We get into the kind of personal development that doesn’t just hype you up for a weekend, it retrains how you think, speak, and show up when it actually counts. We talk about Polly’s long arc with the Landmark Forum and what brought her back years later into Landmark’s Team Management and Leadership Program, a yearlong leade...

Coach Sam solo this week! Here to share how a single iPhone memory cracked open a bigger story: what if manifestation isn’t magic at all, but the moment you take full ownership of your life? We trace a straight line from a 2018 desert summit photo to a home within walking distance of that very mountain, and we unpack the real mechanics that turned a distant vision into a daily view. No crystals, n...

What actually changes when you live as if time is short? We open a year-long journey inspired by Stephen Levine’s A Year to Live and the Spirit Rock program led by Vinny Ferraro, Pam Dunn, and Frank Ostaseki, and we get honest about fear, freedom, and what becomes radiant when you stop pretending you have forever. We start with the roots of this work—Levine’s years at the bedside of the dying and...

Coach Sam solo today! Tired of chasing endless fixes that leave you drained and doubting yourself? We flip the script on self-improvement by introducing a sturdier, kinder lens: capacity. Instead of treating your life like a DIY project, we focus on expanding what you can hold, produce, and experience—so your days feel grounded, energized, and truly yours. We start with the nervous system, the con...

A wrecking ball can shatter plans, but it doesn’t have to shrink your future. We dig into the real mechanics of a comeback—how to move from shock and spirals to post‑traumatic growth that outgrows your old life. From job loss to heartbreak to a scary health setback, we share how to separate “what’s so” from the heavy meanings that keep you stuck, then rebuild with a vision that actually pulls you...

Change doesn’t just knock; sometimes it blows the door off the hinges. We dive into the kind of change you didn’t choose—losses that upend your plans, injuries that shake identity, and detours that feel like freefall—and show how to find your footing again without pretending it’s easy. We start with the brain. Uncertainty isn’t neutral; it’s costly. That electric-shock study where a guaranteed sho...

Swipe culture says you’re connected. Your nervous system says otherwise. We dig into why loneliness is surging despite endless “friends,” and how small, trusted circles restore the regulation, resilience, and joy our bodies and hearts are wired for. Drawing on women’s history—from red tents to kitchen tables—we explore how multi‑generational community once kept families strong, and how to rebuild...

Coach Polly solo this week telling you that your goals aren’t failing because you’re weak; they’re colliding with a brain designed for safety, comfort, and the familiar! We dig into the real engine of self-sabotage—how pain and pleasure drive every choice—and show how to flip those circuits so action becomes the easy path. I break down why the brain, an energy-hungry survival machine, resists chan...

Tired of resolutions that fizzle by February? We’re trading quick fixes for a revolution of agency, and it starts with a bold commitment to self. Together we unpack how to stop outsourcing your life to motivation, approval, or trends and start building a direction you actually believe in. This isn’t about more goals; it’s about fewer, truer priorities—and the consistency to make them real. We dig...

Coach Polly solo this week- helping you start strong towards goals without burning out! We take a clear-eyed look at why goals fade—especially right after the new year—and share a practical blueprint for unshakable discipline that doesn’t rely on white-knuckle willpower. From honoring real-life grief and messy timing to dissecting the brain’s energy-saving bias, we map the traps that derail consis...

New Year’s Day begs for a reset, but we’re not selling anti-aging fantasies—we’re building healthspan. We take on the loudest myths about getting older and replace them with choices that actually move the needle: frequent “exercise snacks,” whole and fiber-forward meals, sober or smarter rituals, and the kind of deep relationships that keep your brain and heart strong. The goal isn’t to live forev...

We celebrate the season by granting a bigger gift: permission to be awesome. We unpack why pretending costs so much, how to spot inauthentic habits, and practical ways to find and express your gifts at home, at work, and in community. • energy drain from masking and over-editing who we are • belonging vs becoming and the price of rejection fears • simple tests that reveal inauthenticity in the mom...

Coach Sam Jam Solo this week! Reminding you that the odds that you exist are staggering—and once you feel that, self-compassion stops sounding like fluff and starts feeling like strategy. We break down a simple three-step reset to help you begin again when old patterns of self-criticism flare: remember where you came from, become your own soulmate, and heal what’s still tender while keeping what’s...

Ever felt strangely numb after a big stressor or medical recovery—like your pain is down but your spark is gone? We open up about the odd “flatline” that can follow anesthesia, steroids, and forced stillness, and we map the path back to energy, creativity, and genuine momentum. Rather than only downshifting from fight or flight, we explore the other half of regulation: the skill of safely pumping...

Feeling great in December shouldn’t require willpower marathons or food guilt. We map out a practical, compassionate plan to avoid getting sick and avoid getting “fluffy,” starting with the place your immune system lives most: your gut. From sleep and sunlight to hydration and real food, we walk through the small, compound moves that protect your energy when travel, parties, and family dynamics ra...

What if the real performance edge isn’t tougher discipline, but kind and honest self-talk? Today Coaches Polly & Sam unlock the trap of chasing self-esteem—endless comparison, outcome obsession, and that hollow ego rush that fades the moment you swap it for unshakable self-worth. Drawing on some of Kristen Neff’s Self Compassion research, we share a simple, field-tested framework that turns se...