The Everyday Awesome Project

64: Dreams That Won't Die - Visionaries Alliance Unleashed

• Polly Mertens & Samantha Pruitt • Season 2 • Episode 64

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Have you ever had a dream that simply refuses to die? That spark of an idea that keeps reigniting no matter how many times life's obstacles try to extinguish it? In this energizing conversation Polly & Sam meet up in Big Bear, California to share how a transformative hike on the Pacific Crest Trail became the catalyst for breathing life into a vision we can't seem to let die.

Learn of visionary Catherine Montgomery's seemingly impossible 1926 dream of creating a Mexico-to-Canada hiking trail (WTF!?!). Nearly 100 years later, that vision is now the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The PCT is a powerful reminder that dreams can ignite and connect thousands into action and leave a legacy for generations. 

While hiking a small section of the PCT we dreamed up The Visionaries Alliance – our vision for a community that unites entrepreneurs and dreamers who understand that true prosperity requires balance between life, work, and nature. Unlike traditional business networks that gather in sterile conference centers, we're creating a space where visionaries can connect authentically in natural settings, supporting each other's growth while maintaining the vital link to the natural world that fuels creativity AND wellbeing.

This episode serves as both an invitation and a challenge. We invite you to dust off your own persistent dreams, speak them aloud, and take those crucial first steps toward manifestation. The dreams that won't die are precisely the ones most worthy of your attention – they were planted within you for a reason, and only you can bring them to fruition.

Whether you're already pursuing your vision or it's been silently waiting in the wings, we hope this conversation ignites your courage to follow what genuinely excites you. What vision do you have that won't die? We'd like to hear about it - share it with us! @everydayawesomeproject

Article from Pacific Crest Trail Assn: https://www.pcta.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Visiting-visionaries-dan-ogden-jean-mathews-spring-2016.pdf

Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt

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Polly Mertens:

hey, superstars, welcome back polly here and sam pruitt.

Samantha Pruitt:

What's up, beautiful humans, yo yo guys.

Polly Mertens:

So today's topic pretty interesting title we've given it. What the hell are we talking about today?

Samantha Pruitt:

dreams that won't die. Is that dramatic enough for you?

Polly Mertens:

Totally.

Samantha Pruitt:

I love it. I love it. Where are we? And the hilarity is.

Polly Mertens:

We're in person together right now.

Samantha Pruitt:

We're together in person, which is one of our favorite things to do in the world, and we're in Big Bear, california. So we're up, a little bit of altitude, a little bit of snow, definitely some chilly vibes going on here. It's still winter Altitude, a little bit of snow, definitely some chilly vibes going on here. It's still winter. And we decided to get together in person A because it had been far too long and we both enjoyed doing that. But really I believe we both needed a mental and emotional recalibration. And where do we do that? Polly In the nature.

Polly Mertens:

We do it in nature Wherever we can find it. If it's at the beach, it's at the beach. We do it in nature wherever we can find it. If it's at the beach, it's at the beach. If it's in the mountains, it's in the mountains. If it's in the desert, it's in the desert, but it's always outside, it's always in nature.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's. It's just our home, really. It's where humanity was born, by the way, so it's everybody's home we have some fun things we've been up to.

Polly Mertens:

So today we just got back from a like-hour hike.

Samantha Pruitt:

We're out in the wilderness On the PCT, the Pacific Crest Trail. I couldn't be more stoked.

Polly Mertens:

Seriously Talk about a vision. You've been talking about this. Like I'm on the PCT. So tell people what the PCT is, in case they don't know what it is.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, the Pacific Crest Trail is one of the many classic long trails. This one, in particular, goes from the border of Mexico, california, all the way through the state of California, all the way through the state of Oregon, all the way through the state of Washington to the.

Samantha Pruitt:

Canadian border. Oh my God, it's so awesome and I have had on my radar for a long time to do some of the PCT. You know I never really thought you know, drop out of life and do the whole thing. But I'm never going to say never At some point.

Polly Mertens:

If I have the opportunity I would really be thrilled to do that, but at this point in my life I feel like what I can afford time, energy resources, et cetera is to start doing segments and it's not like a huge, like some people just get that fire in the belly, calling like I gotta, I gotta do the PCT.

Samantha Pruitt:

Six months. They drop out of life for six months. It takes five to six months to do the entire thing.

Polly Mertens:

And what was it you said there's a day that they all start. Tell me about that.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, that's coming up in April and at the Southern terminus. So the beginning of the trail head there in Campo is where they all get together and everybody camps and you know they wish off. Well, wish off the people who are starting their hike, and you can start at different times.

Polly Mertens:

You don't have to start on that day, but it's the official start of the season and you do have to have a permit to do this and so forth.

Samantha Pruitt:

So there's a giant community around Pacific Crest Trail and an entire organization behind it and you should definitely look into this. So we knew we were coming up here. Pct has been on one of my many bucket lists of things to be doing and I'm planning a couple segment hikes this year. So we're up here together. You're definitely up to your eyeballs in the work called Landmark Forum and doing some really incredible stuff right now. So we've got so much energy and creative juices flowing.

Samantha Pruitt:

But we went out onto the PCT. So, of course, as we're heading to the trailhead, you're like well, I have to look up the history of the PCT to see how it even came to fruition, and as we're driving to the trailhead, you're reading the history of the PCT to us. So I want you to share that a little bit with our audience, because this podcast isn't about the PCT, but what it is about and what we're going to talk about today is dreams and how dreams turn into realities. We could never in a million years fathom when that first dream is just sparked, the first idea, the first concept, the first dream, how it goes from that very sleepy little spark into a freaking inferno that changes not only our life but the lives of everybody that we touch. And since you're currently in dream building process and we'll get into that we thought this would be a good way to start the conversation.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, yeah. And it was interesting because it was like, you know, I was just having fun. I fun, I was like, oh, it'd be fun to look up who are the founders of the pcg, with this thing that we you and I just for years have known about. And if you live in anywhere near california or if you're a big hiker, you've well I'm obsessed with the youtube videos.

Samantha Pruitt:

I mean, come on, yeah super fun, super fun.

Polly Mertens:

We're like what's going on? Who? Where did this come from? Like, is it been here a long time? How long has it been around? Come to find out. It's been.

Samantha Pruitt:

Come to find out. There's a story. Can you imagine? Every good thing starts with that, a very simple, simple spark of a conversation between two humans. So share it.

Polly Mertens:

We won't share the whole thing, but what's got us lit up that we you know, you know for three hours we just couldn't stop talking about you know well, we weren't talking about the pct, though.

Samantha Pruitt:

It was simply resonating so deep within us that we were on this magical land, sharing this moment in nature, which you know really lights a sunfire, but that you're also in the middle of this work yeah, the creation of a dream that has been sparked and flamed, and sparked and flamed and just won't die. It's a dream that won't die, and now is the time for it to become real, yeah, and you're bringing it to life.

Polly Mertens:

That's the things dream, yep, yep. So just real, briefly. And you know, please look up the pct. It was fascinating. There's was fascinating. It was like PCTAorg is where we're getting some of this from, but there's like an app for it and all that stuff. But it was like Catherine Montgomery had a woman the female identified human, catherine Montgomery, was up in Washington State.

Samantha Pruitt:

What year is this?

Polly Mertens:

19. Well, they said that she told someone her idea. She's like yo. I think we should consider a trail that goes from Mexico to Canada. Yes, in 1926.

Samantha Pruitt:

1926.

Polly Mertens:

Nearly 100 years ago 1926, Catherine says to a fellow nature lover there weren't even automobiles Like I'm not even sure there was automobiles floating around, like she's like. What do you think about the fellow nature lover? There weren't even automobiles. I'm not even sure there were automobiles floating around. What do you think about the idea of this love trail? There was nothing like this. What the hell was going on?

Samantha Pruitt:

I mean in 1926, people were trying to survive.

Polly Mertens:

Soup lines and stuff like that was on the verge of the Great Depression was around the corner. Little did they know. Bad times, world War II, all that stuff exactly but this 1926 catherine says hey, you know, I think we should talk about this.

Samantha Pruitt:

And then a couple other people sparked with it and she creates, she you know she gets a few others, and then this guy's like we should have a conference so this guy I want to get his name, if I can find him, but anyway, well, if we can possibly do this, we need to have a conference where we can bring all the powers that be together and talk about how to get it done. You know, he's the strategy and the execution, she's the visionary. Okay, keep telling the story.

Polly Mertens:

So we just we started reading the story and there's this one article it was like oh my God, and then this guy did this. And then they got. It was like oh my god, and then this guy did this and then they got you know they went to the president and then it turned into this and then they got the ymca people involved and, like the boy scouts and and then you know lbj and all, and it was like this is fast and it was just beautiful because you and I both.

Polly Mertens:

We love learning and history and stuff like that, but we got to this point where we're just out in nature and we're learning or we're on our way to the trail before we got you know, literally the drive to this. I'm reading you this article and we got to this point in this article and I just want to share one paragraph from it because it was a little bit of the spark like by the time we got to the parking lot, you and I were like, oh my god, this aligns so much with things that you and I have been talking about.

Samantha Pruitt:

I was ready to sprint all the way to the mexican border. We're in Big Bear. That was going to take a while, let's go. I was like I gotta go.

Polly Mertens:

I can't stop.

Samantha Pruitt:

Okay, so some of these names.

Polly Mertens:

Just ignore the reference or whatever. You'll recognize whatever, but anyway, but just get. The context of this is an article that a gal in present day I think it was 2016, was writing about what she had learned about the PCT. So she did this summary article of like, oh, this person did this and they had this influence. She went to interview the visionaries and the people moved that ball down the field.

Samantha Pruitt:

And she's like who are these people? What was going on?

Polly Mertens:

She called, one of them hung up on her you know whatever. Yeah, we're calling her today, by the way, when we were done with this podcast. So in one of those articles, one of the things that you and I got lit up by that has to do with these dreams that won't die. It was like so, um, referencing this person, udall, um, who's a writer, as I understand it, something like that behind the scenes in writing speeches for Congress and you know powers that be and whatnot.

Polly Mertens:

So Udall's ideas about quality, meaning quality aligned with the concerns LBJ Lyndon, b Johnson and his wife, lady Bird, had about ugliness and natural beauty. While these might sound like frivolous concerns in a time of great strife, these concepts had serious implications. You guys, just keep in mind this was the 1960s. We're talking Vietnam. You know there's like struggles, you know all that stuff. Natural beauty was linked to mental health, and mental health was sorely needed by a troubled nation Johnson's natural beauty message of 1965. So he had a speech that he gave to Congress in 1965. Look up the speech. Look up the speech. Yeah, it's beautiful. And so the quote from that that had you and I just about to pull off the road was the beauty of our land is a natural treasure. Its preservation is linked to the inner prosperity of the human spirit.

Samantha Pruitt:

Inner prosperity.

Polly Mertens:

That's why it is precisely at such moments of strife and anxiety that outdoor recreation outlets become so critically needed, and one of the things you and I were talking about before we started this was, like you know, we're hearing that our federal government right now is shutting down parks and firing, you know, people in the national park service.

Samantha Pruitt:

And I was like things are going to start closing left and right.

Polly Mertens:

This is, this is, you know, the direction that these folks in 1965 were like. We need to protect and preserve these natural lands, you know, for people's wellbeing, mental and emotional health, the state of our nation and it's humans.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, yeah, it just was like a foundational right of human beings.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, and they just go on to talk about LBJ recognize that as people had gotten more and more out of the work in nature.

Samantha Pruitt:

you know their work wasn't working on farms, you know they were. Yeah, now it's online, but more indoors, yeah.

Polly Mertens:

We're spending. I mean, look at us now. We've spent Extreme indoors, yeah, screens indoors, all that stuff, disconnected from each other, like we just had a pandemic. Remember that we're deeply disconnected and it's like nature is for our wellbeing, our mental health, our inner, you know, prosperity of our spirit. And I was like holy cow, and this just ties in so much with the vision that you and I have of the things that we've wanted to help people get back into nature, camps that we would like to do and whatnot. So I don't know, do we want to transition to my where we're at now, or yeah?

Samantha Pruitt:

because that's just a little bit of the like background of where we are now, and why we wanted to kind of bring this message home to the audience is you are currently in the middle of doing some really significant life work, which is, you know, taking one of your dreams and bringing it into reality, and ours too.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

Oh, we've been scheming on this idea for a long time, but so we've had, conceptually, these ideas for Wouldn't it be nice if Over five? Years, for sure, quite a long time, maybe longer than that. Longer than that, oh, no, longer than that, no Longer than that. Yeah, and rough concept was we're going to bring people together in circles for outdoor experiences in nature where they can work on their business, their health, their mental and emotional well-being, their relationships, et cetera. So basically like intensives, weekends or week-long retreats, if you will and you know, life happened.

Samantha Pruitt:

We never really got these things off the ground, but we've always had these ideas. We keep talking. You know other versions of it and what? About this and what about that, and you know, maybe we're just going to focus on the c-suite people, or maybe we're just going to focus on this kind of business, or maybe we're just going to focus on this kind of business or maybe we're just going to focus on women or whatever, but you know, life's gotten in the way.

Samantha Pruitt:

However, the dream never died. So here you are, in the middle of this work and you came to me and said remember that dream.

Polly Mertens:

Gotta pull this one off the shelf again.

Samantha Pruitt:

Right. So why are you drawn to bringing this dream back to life?

Polly Mertens:

Well, so a little backstory, and I think we shared a little bit about this in some recent episodes, so I don't go too much into that, but I was reignited by my work in the landmark education world. I spent February of 2025, recently, engulfed in you know, a few seminars, workshops, whatever you want to call it on communication right, speaking, listening. You know a few seminars, workshops, whatever you want to call it on communication, right, speaking, listening, you know, communicating and now launched into a year-long team program, team managers and leadership program. And what's beautiful is it's a structure for launching your dreams. Like launching, like you, literally they call them games. Like you literally get up to games in the world. They call it Like hey, like hey, take a project that you put on the shelf or something that just won't die or is calling you, or it could be in your everyday life. Like you know, you've got a business and you want to grow some sales. You know, or you want to build a team around it, or you want to expand, or, or, or whatever.

Polly Mertens:

And at the time, you know I didn't. I don't have a. You know, other than coaching that I do, we do it's. I don't have a you know, other than coaching that I do, we do. It's like I don't have a oh, this is the programs that I have, or whatnot. So I was like what would that be? And just started envisioning and going back to where we've talked in the past, Like well, if I could do anything, if we could get up to anything, it was like what if we wanted to get up to what do we care the most about? Like what do we?

Samantha Pruitt:

Exactly what do we care the most about? Not where can we make the most money? How can we become famous? How can we do no? Where can we have the biggest impact? Where can we fill the needs of our souls, our life here, our purpose here, as well as the humans that we come into contact with, who we share circles with.

Polly Mertens:

What matters and what's meaningful to us. Exactly Right, and so what the format of this year-long program has given me? They teach us a bit about how to build a team and how to get people enrolled in the game that you want to play.

Samantha Pruitt:

How to get people to buy into your dream Dream To start it? Yeah, so they can be with you, dream weaving.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, yeah, and you know I'll tell you and you know this is, I think, easy to see. So, you know, in MBA school they taught us how to strategize, how to build a business plan, whatever. And I've been marching around teaching people that and I'm like hold up, hold up this. You know, like this back. You know there's a step behind this and it's that vision and getting not super clear, but like getting in touch with the possibility. And as you and I were out on the trail today, it was like you know, I came with two days ago. This is this muddy little clay lump, if you can picture, you know, like an idea or a new vision is like, hey, I threw some mud on the clay table and I'm like, well, maybe it's a little bit like this. And then I kind of molded it over here and I told you a little bit about it. I was like, maybe it's like the.

Polly Mertens:

I wanted to have the word alliance in it and here's why because you know me and definitions I'm like alliance is like people come together for the betterment of each other, right, and I'm like that's meaningful to me. That speaks to how we see collaboration and cooperation, not competition and, you know, angst against each other's more. We'll all do better if we all do better, exactly so I was like, okay, alliance. And then we're like, was it thriving? Is it whatever? And who are the people that come together in this alliance? Yeah, well, because you and I have such a business background, we're like I think we can have an impact on business people. We speak that language makes natural sense.

Samantha Pruitt:

You know we're not community leaders.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, you know it's not like you and I are soccer players. It's like we're not going to just leap over and start being experts in soccer playing, but it's like we've got a long history of, you know, working with people in business and coaching. And then just what naturally arises out of that behind our commitment to our vision, our values, people that we care about, circles that we've already played in and it just started on foot, that little piece of clay was like, and then you put a little bit on it and morph in it and then what did we come up with this morning?

Polly Mertens:

Oh, how did we get the visionaries? Where did that come from? So it was like, oh, I said, the thrive alliance, I think, is where we got to, Cause we're like people need to be thriving in their businesses but we're so committed to getting them outside. Oh, you know what One part of that little clay start was? I had told my so I got a coach in this program and I was sharing with him. I was like, well, you know, it's like there's this organization that already exists in the world for 40 years YPO, young presidents organization, beautiful organization If you're of a certain age and of a certain size, business and whatever young and presidential and, by the way, your business is probably five million ten.

Polly Mertens:

You know, like bigger businesses if you will beautiful suit and tie situation yeah, and they're going to luxury resorts and they're having, you know, cocktail parties and whatever, and you and I are just like nope and there's other visionaries out there that that's just not their cup of tea.

Samantha Pruitt:

Oh my God, the majority of visionaries, that isn't the life that they're living.

Polly Mertens:

Right, and you and I are so committed to what we have seen in our own life that the outdoors and the nature and being in nature has such an impact on us and our mental health. It's got to be a part of it.

Samantha Pruitt:

And our leadership skills and our connectedness within our own physical body and the health of our well-being that allows us to even be out in the world, creating building businesses, building communities, making money, whatever the things are Like. The physical body and the mental body's health are the foundational. You can't build anything without it, and if you're successful and wealthy and famous or whatever all the things are, but you don't have your physical or mental health, you have nothing.

Polly Mertens:

You have nothing. Yeah, you have nothing. You have no fulfillment, no chance of fulfillment. And if you build a billion-dollar business and you wipe yourself off your health game over, like oh well, that was fun, maybe, I mean, come on right. And so you and I've always had this like try. Oh. So here's the thing. We had this inspiration. So the pct has a logo, I'll call it, or an emblem, and it's sort of like a three, it's like a triangle, but a little bit morphed, kind of fat triangle badge, and we're like what? And then you came up with the words life, work, nature. We're like we're gonna put that on that badge, and you know. And so we just started, what about this and what about this? And then we said who are these peoples? And somewhere we came up the visionaries.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yes, because that visionaries, and everybody can be a visionary, but there's a certain type of personality in the universe and you know who you are. If we're talking to you right now, you can't turn that off. It's just like it's in your dna, like you have a vision for not just your life, for getting up to big things, for having an impact on the world, for doing great work that contributes to society, to the natural environment, to animals, to all of it, to the economy other things.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, yeah, children, whatever visionaries, are the ones and we just talked about the visionaries who created the pct out of just literally a conversation, right, you know, as an example of that, and you and I are definitely visionaries and we love to hang out with visionaries, so we're like let's do this work for those people. What could that look like? And we'll start probably with females, since we identify as females, but we also understand how challenging it can be to be a visionary in a female body. And how can we support them? What can that look like? Making sure that all the pillars are being met, you know, and really just creating health in all areas of that human's life so they can really do their best work and fulfill their personal visions.

Polly Mertens:

And I think you know one of the things that, as I looked at the YPO format or business model, you might say I'm like great business model you know I just don't kind of care that they are held in you know big conference centers and you know over you know big luxury places, whatever that's beautiful.

Polly Mertens:

I would love the you know beauty of it and stuff, but it's just people are indoors Over a piece of steak and a cocktail, yeah, and they're just like in you know know conference rooms and they're pretending to be something and dressing up and stuff and I was like let's just kind of not strip that away, but let's turn that or pivot that to people really getting. You know, we were talking.

Samantha Pruitt:

I do want to strip them down and I already told you that. And, okay, I want people to show up as their most raw, authentic self, with all their quirks and bumps and bruises and whatever, and all their background and history and stuff. Because if you really want to get up to creating something big, whether it's your business or whatever your thing is, fill in whatever and you have a dream and a vision for that, the whole you is coming with. So, pretending that you're somebody else whether it's how you dress or how you want the world to perceive you, or how you post yourself on social media, or how you say this or how you do these things, how you want to quote, unquote, be seen that's not who you really are right.

Samantha Pruitt:

That is a part of your image that you put out into the world, but your gifts really lie on that deep, deep level of truth about who you really are. You're really, really perfectly in perfect self. Yeah, and the only way for a human to really get in touch with that and really be able to foster and fully explore that so they can use all their gifts, is just by showing up and being real.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, and you know one of the things that in this article that that we had and I'll have to look it up and see if I can find it again, but it was talked about you know one of the things that you and I in that triad, where it's life, work, nature, it's, they're all important, right? Yes, the the importance of this planet and the creatures on it and the beauty of it feeds this human and and we're not here to take from it and just human gets bigger and the work gets bigger. It's like we work with all three of those the life of the human, the businesses survive and but and nature is Whatever their professional calling is yeah, yeah yeah, and really what we want to create and inspire with this is people's lives.

Polly Mertens:

Are, you know, their health, their well-being, their life, everything, their relationships, all of it? Are they alive? Alive while they're alive, right, so really living their work thrives because they're thriving right, they're showing up their best selves, and nature also is a part of all of that.

Polly Mertens:

in that circle there's not, you know, oh, you know, a lot of people I would say give up maybe their life or their nature for their work to succeed, right, or they ignore their work and they're so passionate in the other ones and then they like run out of money or something or whatever right, or they're not even on the seen, like it's just work is all it is right. It's like business can't be the only thing. There's got to be this balance between nature and the human that's behind it and that's just part of who we are in our values and when we say nature, we do mean the wilderness, being out in nature.

Samantha Pruitt:

We find that's where we do our best work and we're most connected or recalibrated mentally and physically, the health of our bodies, et cetera and creative. But we also mean the nature of the person. So what is your true nature, polly? What is your true nature, sam?

Polly Mertens:

Who are?

Samantha Pruitt:

we at our absolute essence.

Polly Mertens:

I did find one of the other quotes from this article and it says, quote one of the paradoxes of American society is that, while our economics and this was talking about back in the 60s, when they were founding this right Before this hellfire- we're in now Right, like it kind of sounds familiar, like you and I were like wow.

Polly Mertens:

I think we're doing that again. One of the paradoxes of American society is that, while our economic standard of living has become the envy of the world, our environmental standard has steadily declined. We are better housed, better nourished and better entertained, but we are not better prepared to inherit the earth or to carry on the pursuit of happiness like we're out of balance. Oh, that's an understatement. Things are out of balance. Humans like whoa that's an understatement. Things are out of balance. Humans Like whoa let's go, let's go, yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

And for many years I basically used nature and being out in the wild, doing all these crazy things that I have done, as like ways to round myself and kind of try and get back into joy, happiness, you know, connectedness with myself and my own thoughts and ideas and you know like disconnected from the everyday life and all of that kind of stuff.

Samantha Pruitt:

But why should I have to choose? Why should anybody have to choose that it's either I'm doing that or I'm doing this. I'm doing this or I'm doing this. I'm doing this or I'm doing that or someday I'll do that. Yeah, we're talking about the integration of these three things as an everyday way of living.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, yeah, as a way of living, and that's the foundation of where we're going with this is like, all right, we're going to help people, you know, through coaching programs, through adventure. Help people, you know, through coaching programs, through adventure. You know we've got all kinds of fired up ideas and we're seeking, you know, people who want to be on this adventure with us, right, like we're actively recruiting. I might say it's like you know whether you're a visionary that wants to be in it. So the Visionaries Alliance is where we are with the name of it the.

Polly Mertens:

Visionaries Alliance. That's going to be so fun, like when you and I were on the trail and we said that and we both turned around and went, stopped. That's it, the Visionaries Alliance. Because then it got big enough. It was like where is this going? What are we talking about? We're like work and this, and we were a little bit. What I was stumbled upon was that strategic level and we needed to go up above it a couple thousand feet, 10,000 feet, like what is it that? The game? We're really up to right. It was like the Visionaries Alliance and it's holding space. We picture the business owners, people that have visionaries in their own life. They've created something or they're wanting to get up to something, but most likely they have a business, and we feel that the people that are going to be attracted to this already understand that nature is important. Yeah, I mean, I don't think we're convincing people, but they'll be attracted to this because you know giant conference centers in las vegas or you know dallas or something that's not attractive to them.

Samantha Pruitt:

But take me to the outdoors and they either have a curiosity there or they know that that's a powerful place for them and they want to get back to it.

Polly Mertens:

All right, yeah, and they recognize if their health isn't a priority, they want to put that leg under the table and they want to make it a priority. But in this alliance it's we support all of that. You know, you being in the outdoors, you being well thriving, your business is thriving. So it's like, with all of that, like what could we get up to?

Samantha Pruitt:

you know, like, how can these people play with others like them?

Polly Mertens:

yeah, hence alliances, right yeah, alliances, I'm gonna look that one up again, but I know yes yes, so alliances is well, I'll look it up again, hold on. And then we? Then we said what was it? The aligned? What are we calling it?

Samantha Pruitt:

Aligning things yeah.

Polly Mertens:

A union or association formed for mutual benefit especially between organizations.

Polly Mertens:

So especially between businesses. So it's an alliance of business owners. So we picture, you know, the start of this. You know, like I said, this is clay on the table and we're morphing it as we go is like in the YPO organization. How they do it is each entrepreneur has other members of the organization on their board virtual board, if you will, not, their technical board or whatever. They could have that also.

Polly Mertens:

But these people um, give them direction and strategy and ideas and network and resources, and in YPO they don't give suggestions. They tell stories that help people find their own way, because they're all empowered, you know. But then they give them trainings and coaching and all this stuff, just like pouring into each other's business. So you have a playing field of people at your level these are all business owners, and then you're helping each other's business. So you have a playing field of people at your level these are all business owners, and then you're helping each other's business. Then you're in a wider web of the alliance of the the greater good. Coaches are surrounding you, programs and then adventures to get you back out into nature. Remember your vision, you know, get more training and stuff like that and create an awesome network of friendships and, exactly yeah, supporting the whole human right super fun, super fun.

Samantha Pruitt:

So why we think this is so important? I mean, we're not, you know, launching the program tomorrow, I'm telling you, trying to sell you on this idea. We're basically showing you a first-hand example iterative, yeah exactly. We're living it in the moment, in real time, of the rebirth of a dream and the continued nurturing of this idea. This spark, we're fanning it, we're adding oxygen, we are really looking to pour some gasoline on it pretty quick. But why is it so important that everybody do this?

Samantha Pruitt:

Like it's not acceptable to us that people have their own dreams and they let them die within them. Right, right.

Polly Mertens:

Or they go to the grave without it. It breaks my heart just thinking about it.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, I grew up. My parents were immigrants and my dad was a total character where he was always inventing something in the garage with scraps of whatever, and then, if he wasn't doing that, he was figuring out what business he was going to open next. Wow, awesome.

Polly Mertens:

I mean just a total character Going for it.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, Trying to figure out, you know. And that's just how his mind worked and what brought him joy, you know. But it's in all of us. I mean, I've had countless businesses, right, you've had countless businesses and experiences too, where we've had a dream, we launched a dream. I mean, everybody has something. It doesn't have to be work specific, it can be a passion around you know, youth or the environment or their own community or whatever, we don't care. You have a damn dream and we know you do.

Polly Mertens:

You cannot hide from us, yes, yes, and if you're listening to this, this is your reminder. Wake up, ding dong. Hello, your dream is still there. Yeah, I say, if you had that dream, it was given to you for a reason.

Samantha Pruitt:

Exactly, it was planted in you. You're exactly, it's planted.

Polly Mertens:

It was planted in you. You're the one that holds it right. It's yours to bring to fruition. Only you can do it right. So let's walk them through the steps a little bit well, and you know, here's us just iterating it ourselves. You know, and one of the things that you were saying is this program that I'm in through landmark, the team, you know, manager and leader program is giving me structure, right, it's. It's giving me structure, accountability, like get up to those things.

Samantha Pruitt:

It's gasoline. You're pouring the gasoline now.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, it's like, oh, you're doing this thing, right? So when I used to teach my entrepreneurship classes right? So people would be out in the world and like have an idea or whatever, and they just didn't have the structure. So they'd sign up for my classes it was like I'm going to have a business plan, like that was my promise. You'll have a business plan when you walk out of here, walk you through each week. You got to do your homework. If you do your homework, you will have a business plan at the end, right? And that's a little bit of what this 90-day team is like Get in, start having conversations, whatever, and then in 90 days, you know, putting it on the back shelf, right. So one of the things we talked about is the first step Dust it off.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, like get that. Speak it out loud.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yep, exactly, speak it into reality, speak it into the dang world. Don't keep it in your freaking brain. Just tell some people yeah, one person, anybody, anyone, a friend, a family member, a total stranger. Hey, I got this crazy ass idea.

Polly Mertens:

Want to hear about your thing exactly and you and sometimes I think people have a fear of like oh, then I gotta be on the hook about it. What if you just start talking about it and see how it made you feel? Does it enliven you? Yeah, if it scares you, you probably need to get up to it. I mean, that's where you and I would be like like I think about this thing, and as you and I were talking about it and it just got bigger and bigger, I was like this is a freaking global thing. What the hell are we like? All of a sudden, it went from let's just get 20 people and then it was like I could just see this so much bigger. And that's where it's like this is like the start of the movement, yeah, and you don't have to go there.

Polly Mertens:

But if it scares you, it's probably something you should be getting up to, so talk it out loud. Share it with another that care, that you care about and we'll keep that, will support you, not somebody that pooh-poohs everything. You say like oh yeah, I mean, you know who to share your dreams with people.

Samantha Pruitt:

Come on, or share them with us and then start doing some outreach. Is there anyone doing anything like this? Is there anyone that I could connect to in the entire globe? By the way, you don't have to just think about your own damn backyard or your co-workers or whatever, wherever you're at your family members. Yeah, like think big, who could you talk to? Yeah, who has maybe done something similar or something not similar at all, but they inspire the hell out of you, and that's one of the things.

Polly Mertens:

So I wanted to double click on that for a minute. So one of the things that started to like in the back of my mind. I don't want people to get into the rut of like oh, I found a forum and I just talked to other people about talking about things, Not what we're talking about. Or you know like oh, there's this thing I've been thinking about for 20 years and I'm still thinking about it and talking to you guys about it, but I'm not doing anything about it.

Samantha Pruitt:

It's like people are just puking their ideas left and right.

Polly Mertens:

So we're going to get your neck out there a little bit, Right. So I think, joining a circle or um, you know, there's uh, you know, you and I've done with like a, maybe a coach that you start working with, like kind of put that clay on the table and start working with a coach about it. Or maybe there's meetup groups in your area.

Samantha Pruitt:

That are about those things.

Polly Mertens:

Or you and I said you know well, maybe you go join somebody else's movement, maybe you're lit up by it, but you're like I don't really want to head this thing, but I want to be in the conversation and maybe I can share my dream inside of that and it can grow. It's like I don't think I want to get up to creating the whole thing, but if I go over there where a lot of these people are like-minded and there's a little momentum, I share my dream in there and I can build a team around it, inside of it as well.

Samantha Pruitt:

It could be a shared experience. Collaborations are the best and you're doing all this work right now. Just on the team piece, I mean you have to have people that buy into this vision and this dream for you and it can be a shared vision, and but there's a team that it's going to take an army to get this thing to become reality.

Polly Mertens:

it's going to do yeah, but don't be overwhelmed well, and the first thing you and I were thinking about on their trail today we're not first thing but, like one of the things we said on the trail say okay, so part of the structure that they teach us in this program is you need six people to be on your team and you start talking to them and meeting with them regularly and they can be who knows what they are to you? Yet you may not have a clue. You're like, ok, I just need six people. All right, could it be this and that and make a big, long list of who those six people might like?

Polly Mertens:

You know the possibility of you know one of our, some of our words were like like my big word this year that I'm just giving me lots of juice is aliveness. I'm like imagine the visionaries alliance and inside of that people feel like we the aliveness. Because you and I were like well, you know those businesses, that things are happening in the business, but the people aren't very alive. It's not, the business is alive right, there's no energy there.

Samantha Pruitt:

Right, if anything, it's an energy drain.

Polly Mertens:

And what if the people that out of the visionary alliance, their business and the people inside of it, felt aliveness, like if the people in your business felt aliveness, what could your business create?

Samantha Pruitt:

Exactly Imagine if your coworkers, irrelevant of what your position is, or your team, under you or above you or whatever, they're just like whew.

Polly Mertens:

We're fired up. Every day they're like fired up, I'm alive. Seriously, sales through the roof Unbelievable, yeah Well. Performance, ideas, creation and metrics who, yeah Well?

Samantha Pruitt:

performance, ideas, creation and metrics. Who gives a shit You're going to crush that People are so overwhelmed by like this is our goal this week or month or quarter or whatever.

Polly Mertens:

No aliveness. How are we going to get there? This sounds awful. Let's go talk about it.

Samantha Pruitt:

By the water cooler yeah.

Polly Mertens:

No aliveness, no aliveness. So, like sharing that possibility of aliveness, we said prosperity because we want people to prosper. Like businesses need to be making money, need to be thriving, these humans need to get paid people. Yeah, you're going to create jobs, you're going to create opportunity, all of that like there needs to be prosperity, right, and then you and I are all about adventure, so we're like adventure yeah, we've rebuilt our bodies and brains using wilderness, as you know, our playground basically.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, I mean today, literally walking on the pct, I felt like I'm walking on the land of gods like this is to me magical soil, yeah. Yeah, the whole planet is full of this if we take care of it. Yeah, and the animals are out there and they need us. There's just so many reasons for us to be outside, connected to ourself and to mother nature.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, and you know, and who knows where this little lump of clay that we're starting to form is going to go. Like we're speaking it right now oh Picasso. This is going down. Oh yeah, stuff's going to be flying colors. Woo yeah, fly the flag, all of that. So you know some art of living. I will say that. Say more about that, tell them about that well, I'm studying buddhism and I'm going to a monastery.

Samantha Pruitt:

This next weekend and I'm reading about this author right now that I discovered anyway, um, in this current book that I'm reading of hers and sister d. Some people might know who that is, but you can just Google that. Anyway, she doesn't know. I'm about to be her new best friend when I roll on into this. If I come back with a shaved head, don't freak out about that.

Polly Mertens:

I'm all for it. I'll donate my hair. I'm all for it. I say get it off, go for it.

Samantha Pruitt:

But I have not been attracted to religion for a lot of reasons, personal reasons and otherwise. And she states in there very clearly Buddhism is not a religion, it's a practice. And it's simply a practice in the art of living.

Polly Mertens:

Let that sink in for a minute.

Samantha Pruitt:

It's simply a practice in the art of living. Well, last time I checked, that's what we're all doing. Well, some of us us sometimes we're not practicing we decide to sit on the damn bench of our own life, default. I can't have it. Yeah, I feel so alive with that, but also like for my fellow humans I. I'm coming for you. Nobody's going to sit on the bench. This is the one life that they get. It's the one body, the one chance. Oh it just, yeah, like that, shit lights me on fire dude, liveness dude.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, big time. We're just like all right. So if you get behind this, so I'm studying Buddhism and you're over here doing this totally radically- different thing and we come together for three days on the PCT in Mid-Bear and we go ba-bam, yeah, yeah, because dreams don't die.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, and we both felt that when we were out there. You know the PCT. I think we were talking about the Appalachian Trail, which is the East Coast version of the PCT, you might say which is I think you've done part of that as well, as I remember and it's a lot of wooded trees, not a lot of vistas and views, right? Well, pct is wonderful because it goes up and down and over here and around there Through all the different climates all the different mountain ranges, desert, everything, all the extremes.

Samantha Pruitt:

Right I mean up to Washington with all the beautiful trees, common life. It goes through all the extremes.

Polly Mertens:

We're doing the PCT. I think we might be at the end of this. We might talk ourselves into it. I think they're all coming with us.

Samantha Pruitt:

Well, we decided we were going to have a relay on the PCT. We'll get back That'll be a fundraiser for this new nonprofit, but a relay on the PCT? We never even heard of that damn thing. But in studying the history we found that that was actually a thing that happened at one time. Yeah, with the ymca you know.

Polly Mertens:

So that is freaking happening.

Samantha Pruitt:

I gotta do it I have to do it so good, and we should wrap this party.

Polly Mertens:

So we're on, while we're on these, the, we're looking at these vistas and views and just the ideas are just bounding out of us, right, and that's, I think, what I love about getting up higher outside of your you know, like, yeah, you can sit in a conference room and a boardroom and you can have bounce. You can we're all for bouncing ideas around in a conference room and a bit or whatever, and God bless zoom calls right.

Polly Mertens:

Whiteboarding stuff. But, like you know, we had our phone with us, so if we got an idea I could capture it Right.

Samantha Pruitt:

And the more we walked and looking rocks and we're looking at the trees and the sunlight and look at that, Just the vistas, the open space. We just feel open, Freaking, magnificent. Yeah, yeah, Our brains literally opened up and we're pretty open on the regular yeah, but our heart, our soul, our spirit, our brains just went ba-bam.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, and that's the beauty of the and so you guys, we can't wait.

Samantha Pruitt:

There'll be an invitation coming soon.

Polly Mertens:

We can't wait. So the the Visionaries Alliance is coming together. It's happening. We would love for you guys to share about that. If you listen to this and you're like I don't know what I should do, or here I want to, I want to like raise my hand and be a part of that, or maybe they want to be part of it.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, we're all for it. And what is so? Visionaries, alliances, and you know, alliance of visionaries, whatever, and we're all can be that, because we all have a spark, a dream or something like that. But we just want to invite you to dust off yours, so like what's your thing, what's your thing, what's what's? And maybe you're already up to it, fantastic. Or maybe it's been quiet and you know it's like a silent skeleton in your closet. That's like, hey, bring me out, bring me out Like I want to. I want to play, I want to, I want to bring this to life. There's a dream in there.

Samantha Pruitt:

Every person has at least one, if not a handful.

Polly Mertens:

There's no doubt in my mind, yeah, yeah, and which one just excites you a little bit more than the other ones right now, and maybe a little fear, like, oh, I don't know if I did that one, you know whatever. Okay, well, we just ask you to take the first step, start sharing it. Share it with a couple of people, share it with us. Share it with us, yeah, totally, speak it, share it with us.

Samantha Pruitt:

Speak it out loud Post about it.

Polly Mertens:

If you have an audience or a platform.

Samantha Pruitt:

Message us, tell us what the heck it is.

Polly Mertens:

Talk to some friends, talk to whatever. Right, we'll throw some pixie dust on that. Yeah, hell, yeah. And can you start getting around people that that conversation would be welcomed Like this?

Samantha Pruitt:

week, when I was talking to the guy who's been through all this trauma and death and really hardships and recently bought a business, and he's like I want to be a standup comedian what the heck? I was like, yeah, pixie, everybody has something, it's so beautiful, it's so good.

Polly Mertens:

I can't wait to hear from these people what theirs is. Let's hear it. So you know. Dust it off, speak it out loud to a few people, get in a circle, get around. Some people like get, get, get into action. Dust it off, speak it out loud to a few people, get in a circle, get around. Some people like get, get, get into action, get into something. Something that like and there's a mentor I'm listening to right now that says follow the excitement, what, what is just, even if it's like 10% more exciting than the other thing you could do, it's, it's. You know.

Polly Mertens:

So when I was so literally well, it can be 1%, but if it just excites you a little bit more. So when I was coming up with my game in the world, you know, batting around little ideas and I can tell you, for 24 hours I was like what is my game in the world? What's my game in the world, what's it going to be? What do I want to play with? And I kept thinking oh, this, and it just feels resistance and resistance.

Polly Mertens:

I'm like that's not it. It just didn't feel enlivening, like aliveness wasn't present. And then, when I opened the door to well, what if it's like a YPO for people who love nature and we're thriving and we're all doing it, I was like oh.

Polly Mertens:

I felt energized. There was no resistance. I was like, oh, I could do that, or what's this idea. But there wasn't that like I didn't shrink back, I actually leaned into it and I was like, well, I'll tell two people and then I'll go over here, and then you know. And then it's only been like 48 hours since this is starting. But follow that excitement.

Samantha Pruitt:

I mean, there really are no bad ideas here.

Polly Mertens:

There just aren't Because they're your damn ideas and it'll take you I'm sorry, there's no bad ideas and it'll take you to the next thing, the next thing. But follow the excitement, follow the right and, as far as you can go with it, and then how it starts is not how it's going to end.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, we don't even know where this is going to go. We are just literally scratching at the door, and everybody deserves to scratch at the door, yeah.

Polly Mertens:

So what? What steps can you start with? Take those steps. What accountability can you give yourself right, or can you be accountable to somebody that's like? You know what I'm going to call my friend, cause I know that friend will tell you know if I say we'll keep you accountable.

Polly Mertens:

You want to make some traction, so, and maybe you join a team. Maybe it's like I don't want to do all this stuff, but I want to join a team that's up to something, because I want to be a part of a bigger thing than I have been. So, whatever that looks like, it could be a work team, it could be a nonprofit something. Start now, get into it, get into it. We hope this has been fun for you guys. We are just. You know. It's good to be together, as we always enjoy it. It's good to be.

Samantha Pruitt:

We're pouring gasoline on the freaking inferno. Boom, yeah. Oh, it's a thing, it's coming. Bring the fire and the stewardship. Stay tuned, stay tuned.

Polly Mertens:

So all right. So what's your thing? Yeah, what do you want to remind our beautiful humans? I want to remind our beautiful humans.

Samantha Pruitt:

I don't care what your life looks like, I care how it feels.

Polly Mertens:

How your life feels is more important than how it looks, and every day is your opportunity to find your awesome.

People on this episode

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Polly Mertens

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Samantha Pruitt

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