The Everyday Awesome Project

96: Willpower Meets Wonder: Coach Polly Climbs Mt Whitney!

• Season 2 • Episode 96

Share episode

Bagging the peak of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain peak in the contiguous United States, is hard as hell for any human. But what happens when you get invited to climb this beast with only three and a half weeks to prepare? Our tenacious Coach Polly said YES, and then redesigned everything—her training, her time, and most importantly... her mindset, to turn a daunting summit into a living lesson on wonder, focus, and self-trust. This isn’t a highlight reel of hero shots at 14,505 feet; it’s a candid, strategic walk-through of the choices that made her success possible. 

Let's start with the real constraints: a packed calendar, sub‑ideal fitness, and a permit date that wasn’t moving. From there, we map a minimalist plan— two weeks of specific training, acclimating in Mammoth, planning water and gear, and last minute packing microspikes after scanning current trail snow reports. The 2 a.m. start under a near super moon set the tone: steady pacing over ego sprints, calm breathing over nervous chatter. When whitecaps on the lake and a wind-chill slap threatened to unravel the team, we used small levers to regain control—layers, shelter, and music to manage the pain cave on the infamous 99 switchbacks! 

On cliff exposure, we trade bravado for protocol: eyes on the next step, not the void; simple cues; quiet leadership. The summit is cold and fast—photos by the hut at 19 degrees with 25 mph winds—and the descent becomes a masterclass in risk reduction with microspikes. Along the way, wonder shifts from a postcard mood to a daily practice. Constraint sharpens decisions. The A‑team proves priceless. And the real win becomes the journey itself, not the last step at the top, but WONDER. 

So if you’ve got a big goal—whether it’s Mount Whitney, the Camino de Santiago, a business launch, or a creative leap—this conversation is your field guide. Coaches Sam and Polly share the tactics that matter (acclimation, gear, pacing, mindset) and the invaluable inner work that sustains them (agency, community, and a commitment to process). Subscribe, share with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review telling us the mountain you’re choosing next.


-xoxo Coach Polly & Sam 

@everydayawesomeproject 

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/


Samantha Pruitt:

Hey superstars, welcome back. Polly here. And Sam Pruitt. What's up, beautiful humans? Hello, hello. We have a fun topic, Miss We always do.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

We always do. Well, what is it this week?

Polly Mertens:

Mount Whitney, the wonders discovered on Mount or on the way to, on the way to and on Mount Whitney, right? And you might be surprised. So yeah, you can obviously think like, oh, beauty and you know, this and that, but there were more surprises than that, right?

Samantha Pruitt:

Well, of course, you know it's gonna be a wonder and a wonderful experience, well, with a lot of suffering, slash, uh, climbing Mount Whitney. But also what you really want to dive into today with your story, since you're the one that just climbed this big ass beast, is the amount of wonder you discovered inside yourself and through the process of preparation and just you know, internal reflection now about what that really was for you, what that looked like. And so we're gonna walk through it together. But I'm so excited for you to share this story. Mount Whitney is freaking awesome.

Polly Mertens:

Well, we have to tell them what it is, because I didn't even know what it was until you told me about it years ago. But what so Mount Whitney is the tallest mountain in the continental lower United States, 14,505, 6,000 feet of elevation gain. If you take the route that that I took, which a lot of people do, that's like the Whitney Portal one. Um, and it's pretty challenging. She's a she's a bit of a beast, you know. And she is a beast, isn't she? Yeah, yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

I climbed it on my 50th birthday. Oh, is that what literally on my 50th birthday? It was August 2nd. Yeah, super fun. That that I did that with a group of people. That was my Whitney experience. I haven't been back since. But when you said to me that you got invited sort of last minute, I was like, what was my first response? I said, You said yes, right? Yeah, yeah. You're like, you're that's a good idea. That was my meeting. That's a yes. Zero, zero hesitation. That's a yes.

Polly Mertens:

Okay, so this is this is from my experience. So I so I have a friend that I work out at the gym with from you know, for years, I've known him and stuff like that. And I hadn't seen him in a while because I'd been on my RV trip this summer. And I go into the YMCA, and you know, it's like 6 or 7 a.m. in the morning, and I hadn't seen him. I was like, Oh, hey, how are you? Right. And he has his Spartan shirt on, and we're like, Oh yeah, Spartan, you know, because and um he's like, Well, you know, I have a spot on my Whitney team. You should do Whitney with us. And I was like, and I had known, you know, months ago he had gotten the permit for it because you have to have a permit to do this, you don't just climb Mount Whitney whenever you feel like it. It's like, you know, it's pretty hard to get, right? He had been trying. He actually had a permit for it the year before. They were gonna go, and I think the night before the weather was negative 20 degrees and 30 degree, 30 mile an hour winds, and they canceled. They said, okay, detour. Yeah, yeah, not good, not good. And that's just the nature of big ass mountains like this is you know, stuff comes through and or it's super hot, you know, like some people have too much heat and too much wind, too much cold, whatever, slicky ice, all sorts of stuff, right? So yeah, so he's like, you should do this. And I was like, uh, yeah, that that's I mean, you and I have talked about Whitney. It was like, okay, it was on my radar, but not like, I can't wait to go to Mount Whitney. I can't wait to go to Mount Whitney. And when he said this, I was like, well, when is it? And he's like, October 8th. And this was like three and a half weeks. I was like, there's no way. I was like, uh, all right, send me the date, you know, let me let me think about it. He's like, you can do it, come on, you should do it with us. And I was like, all right, so I walked out that morning, texted you, and I was like, Alan just invited me to go to Mount Whitney. And you're like I didn't even hesitate. That's a yes. Yeah. Okay, you're going. So part of this is the, you know, part of the what I wanted to share is where my mind stopped me. You know, it was like it didn't stop you. You hesitated. I hesitated, or it would have stopped me if I didn't like reach out and say, you know, reassure me, is this a crazy thing to take on? Like, is this m pure madness, or is this like, yeah, it's gonna it, it'll teach you something, you know? And you're like, you're hell yeah for that. And I was like, and then it was like, I'm launching a program, I've got, you know, this pro other program I'm in, I'm in a leadership. I was like, where is the time? Yeah, you have all this spare time, zero, zero time for any of this nonsense, right? Totally, totally what was beautiful is like only having three and a half weeks. I was like, okay, can I just like squeeze this big rock into my life? Right? Literally.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, totally. That was part of the challenge, really, right? Yeah, and so how did you process this?

Polly Mertens:

Well, and part of it I just want to say is I hadn't, you know, the elite athlete that I am and have been for years, you know, I'd keep myself in good shape. Well, this summer I was on a nice little RV trip having a little more fun and working on the road and not doing a whole lot of hiking and exercise. You know, it's a little bit hard. A lot of driving. Yeah, a lot of driving. Like three days of 10-hour day driving sometimes, right? So I was like, not in my peak fitness. It was like, well, maybe this would have been good, you know, if I was working out every day. But that was just nonsense. That was just nonsense. So good to just go, okay. And I just like bit it off and went, all right, I don't know how it's gonna get done, when it's gonna get done, if I'm ready for it, but you know, just click yes.

Samantha Pruitt:

So and you did get strategic right away because that's who you are. You're one of the most organized, dedicated people that I know, super disciplined. So you're like, okay, I have this much time. What can I do and what will work, and that's what I'll be doing. And you got right on task doing that. You didn't fuck around, excuse my French. You were like, okay, I'm committed, and I now I go all in. That's your nature.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

And it was like, but most people wouldn't have three and a half weeks, and that includes tapering, to get them out with me.

Polly Mertens:

I know. And I the big message for me and for everyone, I would say, of that, like what that created, that confined time. That no, you don't have time to do it perfectly. You don't have time to do the training that six months, you know, like I would have normally said, you know, like when I trained for Trans Rockies, A, this happened a little bit like what happened for Alan is I trained for six months, it got shut down during COVID. Next year, trained again, you know, and okay, I was per I was ready and whatever. It was challenging or whatnot. But but this time was like, okay, can you and I was like, you know what? People get up to some amazing stuff and they don't like boast about it, or it's not just, you know, like I see the people who were posting videos that I learned from and um that were just out hiking and sharing their hikes, and it was like it's it's it's not as hard as we set ourselves up to think it is, right? I mean, I do want to say 16 and a half hours is what it took us. If you had told me it's gonna take you 16 and a half hours when Alan said, I didn't even want to do this, I've been like, ouch, right? But yeah, it's yeah, it it's surprising how not that those hours just fly by, but um it was not pure suffer fest for 16 and a half hours at all by any stress. Exactly. By any stress.

Samantha Pruitt:

I guarantee you had your points, and we'll, you know, that were, and we'll get into that and how you recovered from those moments. But during this short training window and you getting on task and doing what you could do physically, you know, you did some physical preparations, but again, that's not a lot of time to be doing big miles without getting injured or burned out. And you know, you have to, it's very nuanced when you have a small window too, right? You have to be very strategic and intelligent and use your body wisely because you can easily push yourself over the edge and end up with an injury or a burnout cycle or overuse and all that kind of stuff. But you were very wise and tactical about it.

Polly Mertens:

Well, I was a little naughty too, because I remember the first time I went out on a trek and and you know, I hadn't hiked more than like two hours for the whole summer, you know, for like six months or something, like two hours like the max I was out. And I was like, okay, I know this is probably a minimum 10, it might even be a 12 hour. This is before I really started looking into it. I was like, okay, so like that kind of time on your feet takes being on your feet, like being used to that endurance of like moving your body, not just lightly, like a walk, but like up a mountain and down a mountain. So I was like, I need to push my body a little bit right away and see where I'm at, right? And so you're like, I think you had told me, don't be out more than four hours, maybe five.

Samantha Pruitt:

I said, yeah, five, no more than six, and then go the next day two or three.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, I think that's right. And so I was out on a hike and it was a little bit warm. It was this wasn't like 90s or anything, but you know, hiking in 70 degrees with the sun beating down on you, it was it was pretty warm that day. Um, and I wasn't at the 10,000 feet elevation, I was in my my local beep, you know, beach community. So I was maybe at 1,500 feet above sea level or something. And, you know, I was just like, I'll go a little further. And also I end up I'm out there for seven hours. You know, I came home, I was like, oh, whoops, I I went a little farther than I thought. But it was good, you know. A, it was good to be on my feet that many hours. The heat definitely was more of a factor than any of the other training that I did, even on Whitney, like being hot, it's draining. You know, it was surprising how draining that was. Um, but that showed me I was like, okay, I was a little beat, but like felt good next day, felt great. I was all, look at me. And then I was like, okay, what else can I do as a stepladder to that? And I think the next weekend we planned a trip. I think yeah, it was the following weekend. We're like, okay, we're going up to 10,000 feet and we're gonna do a 10-hour hike. And I was like, like, I'd never I don't think I think Iron Man was the most I'd ever moved, and that was nine hours, right? And I was like, 10 hours at 10,000. What the okay? And and we did it, and it was magnificent, you know.

Samantha Pruitt:

You loved it.

Polly Mertens:

You loved it. I think that's when you came back with your wonder. I I it wasn't, it was actually like in between those two weeks, the first training week and the second. I was out on a hike in my local area, just on a morning hike, and I was listening. I'm so into like philosophy lately. Like Alan Watts is my new little happy place to hang out on the, you know, down one of my rabbit holes. And his experience of metaphysics and Taoism and Buddhism and Zen and all things why we're here and consciousness, it just gives makes my mind so happy to just be off in that while I'm moving my feet. So I'm in my little church and I'm walking up this mountain, and he starts talking about wonder. And the way he explained it and expressed it as like consciousness and like all these things. I just like stopped on that trail. I remember like it was yesterday. I stopped on that trail and I just went and I just started crying. I was like, wonder. Like, and then I re and then I got present to like the the immensity of that word and how I was just in wonder right then and there. And I was like, This is my word for the year. Okay. It it took oh yeah, I was inside of wonder, and then and then I just put on those glasses of wonder 360, inside, outside, 360 in every area, like I did with Joy Beauty and Magic, you know, a few years back. And I was like, wow, and so I hiked up that mountain, and I was just like walking around in wonder, like childlike, like pure nature, show me your beauty. People show me how wonderful you are, you know, like and me, like wondering about myself and could I get up to this, right?

Samantha Pruitt:

Exactly. Well, by having that opening in nature and how that swallowed you into that idea, that concept, that experience, that feeling, that emotion, absolutely did that internally. You know, so we think of it as external, like wow, everything's beautiful, and look at nature and the birds, and da-da-da. And we do that and we love that, and that's why we're nature freaks, right? But we're really doing that internally at the same time, with maybe not as much awareness generally, but you had full awareness at that moment of like, hey, I am a reflection of nature, and nature is a reflection of me. If there is wonder outside of this physical body and this brain, it's inside me because we are one and the same. It's so freaking amazing. And I mean, we can't really express to people enough how important these experiences are. Why in the hell do you freaking exist? How do you even know who you are if you don't go out and explore these things?

Polly Mertens:

Yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

It's so powerful. I love this.

Polly Mertens:

I think we're gonna do a whole series or something on the teachings of Alan Watts and some of the things, the concepts that he comes up with, like the way he play he metaphorically tells stories about what humanity is and what this whole game is that we're up to. It's you know, he's like, well, you know, um, you can't have an organism without a background or like, you know, like a setting, right? And so, you know, it's like black and white, like you can't see the light without the darkness, like it that it creates it, it creates that background to see it. And so this this planet is part of our backdrop for us to see who we are, and vice versa, you know, for us to see the backdrop of a tree or or whatnot, you know, the landscape.

Samantha Pruitt:

It's and these are all living things around us, and we're part of this living, you know. We're an extension of this planet, yeah. Exactly. Yeah, we're the leaf on this tree. A hundred percent. Yeah. Anyway, we could go off on a riff. Let's keep on your story for now, this wonder.

Polly Mertens:

We will, yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

First of all, you wondered if you could do this insane thing, and then within a week or two of these two training events that you put yourself through that were totally fucking next level. I love that. You're like, yeah, let's just go. You had you went from I wonder if to a sense of wonder.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

As you really uncovered your own beliefs about what was possible for you and about you didn't know how it was gonna go. There was no guarantee of success or ever making the summit and all those things.

Polly Mertens:

70% don't.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah. Didn't matter, fully committed to the process.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah. And that's where I think you know, the underlying message that you and I are conveying here is not about go do Mount Whitney or do something that it looks anything remotely like that. If that's your thing, if that's your jam, if that lights you up, do it. If it doesn't, what lights you up? Is it creating a community event? Is it ecstatic dance? Is it, you know, spending time with your family on a family vacation that's really magical or something, you know, like whatever lights you up, creating those experiences, creating that thing, and then the journey along the way. Like I thought Mount Whitney would be like, you know, it's kind of like people going to the race to get the metal. And it's like, yeah, there's gonna be other things going on, you know, like you as an ultrarunner and all their ultrarrunners out there know it's a fucking spiritual journey. I'm sorry, metal, buckle, whatever that's in the background, right?

Samantha Pruitt:

Totally. You don't you don't even care about that at that point, right? You're just trying to get 50% of people are not gonna finish this thing. Can I just get to the starting line?

Polly Mertens:

Yes.

Samantha Pruitt:

Can I just get to the starting line?

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, because my, you know, and as we say, you know, in the work of landmark education, they say that you're when you buy your transformational weekend or your program or something, that's when it begins. Like you you buy the ticket and you'd be surprised whether it's a it starts in a weekend or it starts in six weeks or six months. The transformation starts to happen, right? It's like I said yes to Whitney. I wasn't on the top of Mount Whitney or had completed that or you know, anything, but like it was already backwards transforming me, having me see new things about myself of what was possible, having me uh discover the word wonder and like this whole new opening that was part of the journey, not physically on Whitney, but to Whitney. And I was like, that's what all this is about, is like we we set up these random seemingly random challenges, challenges or experiences, or go on vacation, or join a a club or a paint group, or you know, whatever. But to stay in the curiosity, don't you know, like one of the Alan Watts quotes is like we don't listen to a symphony to get to the last note. That's not why we listen. Like the the joy of the symphony is like I'm going to the symphony and the experience of it, not because I want to get to that last note and then walk out and go, I knew what the last note was. Who cares? Right.

Samantha Pruitt:

Exactly. Exactly. What I love about the process is that you're through these things. And I would say from my experience, is like an accumulation of these things, starting from small and getting progressively bigger. Because you and I started small when we started making challenges for ourselves and picking these grand adventures or committing to new business endeavors and all the things that we've done, right? We started small and then we chip, chip, chip, chipped away at building this muscle of possibility. This muscle got progressively stronger through all of these experiences, and that's why at three and a half weeks you can say, Whitney, yes, right? Okay, but for the listener, they might be starting at whatever point. But we're here to build this muscle because that muscle is imperative as a structural element to actually you living your best life. If you don't have these muscles and this connective tissue, it will not manifest, it's not gonna be magically happening that you'll have your best life. You're in charge of your damn life. Okay, you're in charge of all of these decisions, and then taking the actions to make it happen. So, this is really an invitation, what you're giving the audience today of like, here's my experience. We're gonna get into what you experienced and learned along the way, also. But like, it's so beautiful to make that commitment to yourself one step at a time. I'm worth this.

Polly Mertens:

You know what it reminded me, I don't know why this metaphor just came up, but like this morning I went through the car wash, right? And they you pull up and then they say, Oh, put it in neutral, and then it'll coast you through the car wash, one of those kind of things, you know, do-do-do, and like the things are going by, and you know, I'm like, do-do do, versus getting in my car, opening up the glove box, finding a map, and saying, Where am I going today? Okay, this is where I'm going, or in whatever, or planning a trip, however you want to say, but like the difference between living your life in neutral and just having the little swooshy things go by, the TikToks, the life experiences, the people in your life, or getting your damn map out, your inner compass, where am I going? And what journey do I want to be on? And navigating your way there with the breakdowns and the breakthroughs and all that transformation is why we go on these journeys, not to get it done, right? And you've got to stop sitting in these little coasting cruising lives and expecting light the swishy things to go by to like light us up. It's like much more fun when you put it in drive, you've got a destination, you get lost, you meet people along the way. It's not all just brought towards you. Yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

Totally. I mean, just uh I don't want to get too far off topic, but with me having my gut injury that if or gut uh illness, if some of the people have heard the podcast, this has been a weird health year for me. But then that getting out of that and then going immediately into this back and hip injury that I currently have has been really crazy, wild year for me emotionally, because I have a certain lifestyle and all these things that I do, and this has really been, you know, changing all of that for me. Um, but now being at a point where I just finally got a real diagnosis as to what's going on structurally with my back and hip, many people would take the path of, well, that's happening to me, and I'm going to just, you know, survive the process until I somehow heal and get out the other side, and then we'll just take it from there. That's not a proactive way of living. It's not going to ever be how I live my life, but I want to also impart, this is similar to kind of what your story is like I'm consciously now going to choose how this is going to go and take control to, and not control in a controlling way, but empowered, be empowered to do the right actions, make the right decisions, do the right things in order to facilitate healing. So I can still then go about reaching my goals of next year, having my 125-mile race in May. And many people would say that's ludicrous for me to even have on my radar be thinking about, but I made a commitment to doing that race because I like to have these big audacious things hanging out for me because I will stay on task and work myself towards that goal. Do I know whether I'm going to actually make it to the starting line and to the finish line? I mean, what the fuck? I don't know about any of that. That's not even important. What's important is I'm committed to the journey. And that's showing that I'm invested in myself and the process. That's really what it boils down to for me.

Polly Mertens:

And I think this is the first time you've mentioned that you're in your, you know, you signed up for that race. So we will do another podcast in the future because you have a disc out of place that is causing tremendous pain that needs to get healed. And so your window, like my six-month training window for Whitney, ideal, is gonna get shrunk to some level of shrunkness, right? And what we talked about before we hit record was you've got the ultra mindset, right? You know what it takes to get through a race like this. You've got the preparation, you know. And it's just like, oh, guess what? Mount Whitney, you don't have six months, you have three and a half weeks, you know, and you're gonna be like, oh, guess what? You don't get nine months. Oh, you get whatever you get, 48 weeks or third, whatever it turns out to be, right? And it's like, holy shit, okay.

Samantha Pruitt:

I'm lucky I'll get 20 weeks, but that's still fine by me.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

I mean, that but I built that muscle and you built that muscle.

Polly Mertens:

And it's right, and it focuses you right. It's like, okay, well, you know, and you know, there's a line in management's theory that's the project will grow to the size of the time allotted to it. You'll dick around, add things to it, so much more money will get spent, like all this stuff if you have a lot of time. It's like, nope. And I used to say this to my startup students, is like, well, okay, if you had a million dollars, great, you'd you'd probably spend a million dollars, you know, getting your business off. But like, what if you had zero dollars? What would you do first? Like constrain things as much as possible to be as strategic and as smart, as focused as possible. So you're, you know, you can do efficient. Yeah, efficiency. So yeah, it was surprisingly efficient. I was like, okay, you know, clear the decks these three weekends, this is what I'm doing. All right, gotta make that checklist. And I consulted with you a couple times. Thank you, sister, for you know, you you hire those you hire those professionals, you bring people in on your team that give you exact that injection that you need, you know. Like I could have spent, like Alan was my my my friend who invited me, God bless him, had studied so much about altitude sickness because he'd had it, right? Like he had this big fear of it and all this stuff. And I was like, let's talk to Samantha. I was like, let's get the nutrition thing and uh whatever. And like, because you've got this experience, you talk to people that are professionals or have had the experience, and you get that injection of strategic guidance. So it's like, woof, right?

Samantha Pruitt:

And it it basically diffuses the fear because a lot of these ideas are just ridiculous emotional chaos we have raining inside of our heads, ruminating over and over and over. You have to diffuse that, you know, release that, and then talk about okay, strategically, let's do XYZ, and then you're gonna be fine. You're gonna be fine. Yeah, some shit's gonna happen, and here's how you're gonna deal with it when it does, and then you're gonna keep moving.

Polly Mertens:

Next, next.

Samantha Pruitt:

You might not be smiling for a little bit of it, but you can do this and keep moving. So for you, walk me up to you went to high altitude before a few days to acclimate, and you were still working and you know, keeping up with things and doing some hiking and stuff. But that was really when you had gotten through this very short training window, and then all of a sudden, get in the car and go. Get up.

Polly Mertens:

You know, I I so the so there's five people that were gonna do this hike together. One lived in Denver, so and she hiked five 14ers like in her sleep, right? So I was like, all right, not worried about her. The other ones had been with Alan several times in the prior months. They had been doing treks up the a sister to Mount Whitney. Literally, like you could see the two mountains, uh, forget what it's called. Mount Langley, which is like right near it. That was a shit show for them. Like, as anything that could go wrong, not a confidence booster. Yeah. So he was like, uh, not sure how I'm gonna do it. This altitude thing. And so um, you know, me having done races in Colorado and just had done a lot of spent a time at altitude, whether I was acclimating for this or that, I was like, you go there as early as you physically can, financially can, whatever you want to call it, to help yourself with that. You know, what they did with Langley is they literally went from sea level to, and Langley is 14,000. It's not 14.5, but it's 14,000. So very close. The night before they got in at like 10:30, 11 o'clock at night, slept, got up, and did Langley, started to sni uh hail, whatever, rain, all sorts of nasty things. He was sick, altitude sick, all this stuff. Um, and I was like, well, so I looked at my week beforehand, and they were gonna get there on like Monday night late. So it was like Tuesday and then Wednesday at 2 a.m. we're gonna hike. I was like, I ain't doing that. I was like, you know, if I could, I would have gone a week before. You know, that just would have felt spacious. But there's like, nope. So I had a commitment Friday night, uh, locally. Okay, can I get in the car Saturday morning? Yep, great. So we went up to, and I was like, how high can we go? Like Alan and I was like, all right, what else can we? Can we go up to Lake Tahoe? Who do you know that has a house? You know, we were like looking left. I was like, maybe we should go down by Samantha, get up high up there, you know, like whatever. Like, like just speculate what was possible. And I've been to Mammoth a year before, and I was like, Mammoth is pretty damn high. So, and it's two hours away. And so I was like, it's like two hours away. It's at almost 8,000, the base of it. So you'd sleep at eight, and you could go up higher if you wanted. I was like, hey, Alan, I think we should do this. Leave on Saturday. And he's like, Yeah, I think you're right. So they, you know, they did their thing. They came in on Monday night, and Alan and I got all day Saturday. Well, we drove Saturday, but like we were there Saturday afternoon. So slept Saturday night, Sunday night, Monday night at Mammoth. Tuesday night we were down in 4,000 where the base of it was, and then we got up to Langley or sorry, Mount Whitney the next morning. So it was and he thanks me. He's like, you know what? I think that made a difference in him being able to complete it, you know.

Samantha Pruitt:

Dude, it does require strategy and some knowledge and wisdom and understanding and support, right? Like getting, oh, is this the right decision? Let's discuss it, come up with consensus or whatever. We're not just pulling it out of our rear end, right? And everybody's different, they're gonna do their own thing their own way. God bless you, okay. But if you want to stack the chips in your favor of succeeding, then there's no shortage of information and knowledge available to you to make these wise decisions. So kudos for you for not just going along with the crowd and doing whatever the hell they're doing, but being like, hey, this is what I'm gonna be doing, this is what I'm comfortable with. Yeah, it was good. It was good. So you get to uh lone pine, you stayed the night in Lone Pine, and then what time did you start this epic day?

Polly Mertens:

So we were up at midnight, or I was up at midnight. I think they got up a little bit. So we were to be on the mountain, like chart, you know, like let's go at 2 a.m. And it was about a 30-minute drive. Uh so up at around midnight, final packing, a little bit of nutrition, and then off we went and we just raced up that mountain. I literally, I think we started at 1:59 a.m. I was like, sell your flocks, and here we go. I was like, check us out. I was like, this is a great.

Samantha Pruitt:

It's one of my favorite places to go because you know I love Death Valley, and of course Mount Whitney, that whole area or whatever. But when I think about like the Mount Whitney portal, and that's where this hike starts. So you know the road that you drove to get up to Mount Whitney. Well, you know, I did that at the end of the Goodwater 135. Yeah, that's where I finished was at the portal of the Mount Whitney trailhead. Oh, dang. And I have some just amazing memories and just some great pictures that my husband took of me, just literally going up this fucking road at the end of after going 134 miles or whatever it was. It's so incredible there. Don't you feel like you dropped into this magical portal literally of like, what the hell is this? You go through the Alabama Hills and you start hiking to the portal, and it's just so the beauty. So, didn't you just feel like you were going into this magical bubble of I don't know what's gonna happen today, but like there's something so the energy.

Polly Mertens:

Well, so the I'll say two things about that. One is so we drove down from Mammoth to the Airbnb on Tuesday afternoon. Afternoon. So we came in in like early afternoon time. And we're driving in, like you said, the Alabama Hills and our Airbnb was a little bit kind of 10 minutes outside of town, windy road. And I'm just looking around at the all this geology. And I was like, what's going on here? Like, you know, you know, like Vortex. That's what's going on. I was like, and and Alan's like, wow, this is really cool. And then so that night when the the other folks came and I was like, do you guys know what the story is about the geology? Like, because right outside of our Airbnb, like within like 200 yards, was like this huge, beautiful rock formation. I was just like, this is amazing, right? Yeah. And they're like, I have no idea. I was like, you haven't even like been curious. I was like, Alabama Hills, what is this Alabama Hills place we're in? You know, why is it called that? Yeah, what are these rocks made of? You know, here I am just fascinated. Yeah. And thankfully, because I was like, it's so weird to see that kind of beauty, just this deserty pink dust, and then these giant, you know, rocks coming out of it. And started to be houses. I was like, oh no, no, no.

Samantha Pruitt:

Why are we having houses right up against but then the extreme of looking up and seeing Whitney and that whole range, and but yet you're down here in Death Valley, really. You're I mean, you're just exiting Death Valley. You're so you have this really it's so extreme and it's so magnificent.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah. So I didn't I didn't have the experience because I didn't see it during the we thought it midnight. Yeah, it was midnight going up, but coming down. I was just like, whoa, this is yeah, so beautiful.

Samantha Pruitt:

So you get to the portal and you got on at 1 59 a.m. a.m. Okay.

Polly Mertens:

And I just, you know, I like so Alan, I could feel his, you know, a little bit of anxiety and like what was going to happen, how is this gonna go? And the other guys were just like a lot, they're like, we're good, you know. Like I never had a well, I had a little bit of doubt because I did hear the dad um he had struck he had torn his calf muscle about a month before. So I was like, oh, is he gonna be a risk to a thing? You know, is that gonna flare up or whatever? Um, so you know, we're in the dark, and I know from lots of races, people get out way too fast. You know, I was like, here we go, up the mountain, and they're just like fueled and fired up and whatever. And I was like, you know what? I'll I'll be the leader, you know? And so I stepped up out in front and I just set a just I was deliberate about the calm, consistent pace. I was like, okay, there's no rush, like you've told me before, you'll do it in however long it takes you to do it, right? And I knew the backpack of nerves that a lot of us had, you know. I was like, okay, let's just make some consistency here and get into a groove. And that's where we did for four hours in the dark, you know, and it was magical as it sun started to rise and you start to see glimmers of the mountain. This is where the awe and the wonder just started to be like, where are we? What is happening? You know, and it's dark, so it's like, I know there's beauty here, and you're just like, I don't know what I'm missing yet. And then it you could and oh, and we had one day off of a full moon, super moon. Oh, that's right. Super moon.

Samantha Pruitt:

That's right, that's right. So it was almost like and I know you're gonna get into the weather, but like you didn't have a storm coming in. Between so lucky.

Polly Mertens:

We went up on a Wednesday, it had stormed the Friday before, so there was snow, and then we're like, oh shit. Right. Exactly. So I'm like, what do what else do we need? You know, and so Alan was actually the gal from Denver had said, Oh yeah, we don't need clamp ons or anything like that. And I was like, I'm back. I had a friend who's an REI, whatever, not you, but like my friend is like, she's got all the REI gear. And I was like, Okay, I need this, this, and this, you know, micro spikes. I borrowed a micro spike, so I had them, right? And this gal, I had watched her. There's a great Facebook group about this, just so you know, you can learn all the things like what's going on to the day, right? People are here's my experience.

Samantha Pruitt:

Whitney.

Polly Mertens:

Yep, for Whitney. You get you join the group, and so we joined the group, and I was like, this guy was like, the 1.2 pounds of micro spikes was fucking worth it. And I was like, you know what? Packing those bad boys. So as we get there, reading people's review of like how the trail was and stuff like that, and they're like, sure glad I had my micro spikes, bringing the micro spikes, and I never worn my, I didn't even know how to put them on. The night before I was like, I think I should try these on, just you know, just to make sure, you know, like that was probably that could have anyway. But Alan didn't have them. So he they were the team was uh coming over from San Luis Obispo, but they went to REI that morning, bought him some just in case. Uh-huh. He's like, he's like pretty conservative. He's like, Well, I'll keep them in the pack in case I don't need them and then return them if I don't need them. We got up, you know. So we we actually didn't do micro spikes, so we we hit the 99 switchbacks and it started to get icy and you know whatnot. I was like, okay, just go slow. I think we can do this. And and it was okay coming down though. It just felt yeah, it felt sketchy coming down. So I put the micro spikes on about you know, right after the summit, and they were like a godsend. I was like, How do I not know about these things? This is amazing. Like, I I wasn't like flying down the mountain after that, but I was so much more assured because it's like exactly.

Samantha Pruitt:

I mean, and you can get really hurt. You slip off one of these trails, and you know, when you went to the saddle to the summit, that trail literally you're like, What the hell am I doing on the side of this mountain? Right, yeah, uh a couple slips or a trip, big time, you're really injured or worse.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, there was guys saying, Um, that on the switchbacks a couple days before, people hadn't had them. And he's like, People, prepare for what you're coming out for, like know what's on the mountain, you know, as best you can, or like get some intel and like be prepared. People were slipping and sliding all over the place, he said. I was like, I'm not gonna be that, right? Because that's one of the things that like my fear is like you just you know, you can be strong, or you can be courageous and stuff, but if you make a false move or if you're not paying attention, or you you know, you think you're on it and you're not, off you go. Yeah, and it's it's there's some danger, some real ass danger if you miscalculate up there. It's not totally not just like, oh, I fell and I hurt my knee. Like you could go down 1500 feet, you know.

Samantha Pruitt:

But if you do fall, hurt your knee or whatever, you can that's the end. And by the way, how are you getting off the mountain? Yeah, you know how much it costs to get helicoptered off a mountain unless you have one of these insurance policies. So, anyway, all right, not to be negative, but here you are. So you're going up the mountain, 99 switch packs. How fun was that?

Polly Mertens:

Well, I'll tell you two things I want to talk about in the hard part. So we so four hours in the dark, you know, just looking at this little trail with a light and whatever, and we get to the point where it was the final place to get water, right? And it's very strategic on this mountain about like how heavy, like, do you bring all the water for the whole thing, or do you bring whatever? So I brought enough water to get to that point and a little more. And then he was like, Oh, you got to get in this, not in, but like get into this lake. And I swear, uh like you know, two minutes before we got to this lake, the wind, like some people were coming down and they were just like, like you could tell they just had all way more layers than we had on going up, A, because we're going uphill and they're going downhill. And I was like, Oh, how's the weather? And you're always asking people like conditions, right? Which is smart, right? He goes, Oh, when you get to trail camp, wind really picks up, right? And then it picks up again at the saddle, right? And I was like, Oh, shoot. So we get to the saddle, or sorry, we get to the trail camp lake, and the I swear you could see crests on the water. It was like almost white caps. I was like, what is happening right now? I mean, just wind, you know, I'm like throwing on layers and pulling my gloves out of my pack. I'm like, I have to go down to this lake now and like get my water.

Samantha Pruitt:

Filter water takes forever. It's like and I, you know.

Polly Mertens:

So I get down there, dig my hand and, you know, getting water, getting water. Comes up, wind just whips it and it just freezes it. I was like insta freeze on my hand. I was like, oh I'm like, okay, let me go back and like huddle up with you know the team. We're hiding behind this big rock, and we're just, you know, like the wind's whipping by and everybody's throwing on laders, putting hoods on, putting on gloves. And I'm like, oh my god. And you just we did the wag bag, that was a first, you know, like pooping out in nature into a plastic bag and storing that up and good times.

Samantha Pruitt:

That was my favorite. But that moment of being sheltering behind the rock in the crazy wind, you and the team there, right? Filtering water, that's a come to Jesus moment. Okay, where many people would assess I don't think I can do this. Did you have that thought?

Polly Mertens:

We uh I had been talking to Alan, we both did. Like, we didn't talk about it right there.

Samantha Pruitt:

Nobody verbalized it.

Polly Mertens:

Nobody well, one uh one gal, um, she said she's is her sixth summish or sixth attempt. I think she'd made it like three or four three times or something. She's like, Y'all are gonna earn it today because like this wind is gonna take something to and this chill factor is gonna take something. And I was like, oh dang. I was like, man, if it's this cold, because that's like one of my things is can I stay warm enough in the conditions, right? Like, did I pack enough? Am I warm enough? And because not that I don't like I'll be okay on with some uncomfortable cold, but is it dangerous cold kind of thing?

Samantha Pruitt:

And when we're, you know, menopausal females. So to be honest, we're very, very heat and cold sensitive because our hormones have changed and lots of things within our body chemistry. And you know, you learned from your Iron Man experience that once you get cold, there's no coming back. And I mean that real bone chilling to your core.

Polly Mertens:

That Iron Man experience. You know that. It took me two hours to warm up after that one swim I did. Yeah. So I was like, whoa, I was all okay. So, and like we talked before we recorded, is like that wasn't the moment to give up. Nope. That wasn't the moment to give up, it was the moment for the brain to go, what the fuck? But I was like, all right, let's just go. And I had knew about the switchbacks, and everybody talked about how they were just mind-numbing, you know, all this stuff. And so I was strategic and I said, Well, my hands are freezing, but I'm gonna put my damn earbuds in. Nice, put my earbuds in. I oh, and this was the other thing.

Samantha Pruitt:

So get ready for the pain cave. That's an indicator. Well, here's the thing.

Polly Mertens:

So I had so like in all of our preparations, we had all these notes. I was like, I'm a Pandora user, and my Pandora was crap on some of these hikes because it like the offline mode would sometimes work and not work. I'm like, I there are some places on this mountain where I am not gonna want to just be like hearing my breath for two hours, right? Kind of thing. I was like, all right, how can I help myself through that pain cave? We're driving up to Mount Whitney, up that road you talk about, and it was like, shit, I didn't download Spotify. And so, like, you know, we're getting less and less, you know, signals. And I'm like, here, Alan, download Spotify for me, you know. And I'm like, he's like, what songs do you want? You know, we're like rapidly downloading just all these, you know, hopefully pump up songs or whatever. So put in my earbuds at that point, and that you know, everybody put on gloves and more layers and all this stuff. And I was like, earbuds and locked and loaded. That was a piece of cake for me. Like it never bought, like I was just I was listening, the sun was coming up, and it was getting a little bit warmer, the lake, the view, like the I was watching the snow on the mountains. I was just in awe and wonder for two hours listening to YouTube, Beautiful Day, and all these like amazing songs. I was like, this is nothing.

Samantha Pruitt:

Like if the funny thing is, this is two hours of climbing without stopping. 99 switchbacks means 99 switchbacks. Okay, most people are not really sure what we mean when we say when you get to the 99 switchback. No, that's the real count of the switchbacks climbing the mountain. So for two hours, you dropped into the pain cave willingly, okay, and just said, This is gonna take something from me, but I am showing the hell up and capable of delivering the goods.

Polly Mertens:

And I took care of myself. I made my, you know, I made sure I had my water before we left, got my earbuds in because I know that I'm better, you know. Like anytime I'm whatever, doing something that's strenuous like that, hearing my breath and like the dysfunction that the brain could be like like that's like that's not motivated.

Samantha Pruitt:

For other people's suffering. Other, yeah. For me, that's part of it too. If you're in a group thing, I'm like, oh I can't listen to Sally because she's unraveling and I just energies too much. Yeah.

Polly Mertens:

So I was like, so I just set myself up for success. I like not glided up that part, but super careful. I was like, this is you know, because we didn't have the I didn't think I was like, well, maybe I won't take out the micro spikes. Nobody's really wearing that. Well, some people had them on coming down or whatever. Anyway, I I think I was fine. You know, it was good to experience that. Like I never felt unsafe with those without them. And then, yeah, we glided up that, but uh yeah, it was it took something. And then you saw this couple coming down, and they were in another level, and they were taking jackets off. And I was like, they're like, Oh yeah, right up here is where it gets super windy again. I was like, Damn.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah. And you'll be on the side of a big mountain on a very small trail that basically one person can be on this trail at a time.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, and this is where I would say, you know, the the coach in me, the the leader servant was like, okay, I'll I'll be nervous about this, right? Like, because I've done Angel's Landing and I've done some other high trucking kind of moments, right? And I have some strategies that work for me. And I just knew that Alan, like he had a fear of heights. Like, I'm I'm scared, but he has a fear, like a phobia-ish. And so he was right behind me and I said, Alan, your job is to look at me and behind me. Do not be looking down this mountain right now. It's not gonna serve you at all. Me and the steps in front of you, and that's all you want to do. And we just, we just, you know, and I was like, I look off to the left and I'm like, Fuck, that's pretty, you know, that's pretty gnarly down there.

Samantha Pruitt:

And you don't need to do that to yourself, right? Too, you know, some people in the little saddle because you know that's where the John Muir trail comes in and connects. So when you see the John Muir trail exiting off the saddle, and then all the lakes down below and whatever, so you're dropping into the whole John Muir wilderness and all that. Oh my god, that area is pure magic, dude. Pure magic.

Polly Mertens:

Unreal. Yeah. Awe, wonder, beauty. Yeah. And we got to the top, you know, and I think your summit and various people's summits I see are like, oh, they're out there in shorts and whatever.

Samantha Pruitt:

Mine was August 2nd. It was the middle of summer. So by the time we got up there, yeah, we were like in a, I think I was in a sleeveless shirt, and I don't know if I had shorts on, but yeah, whatever.

Polly Mertens:

It was windy. So it was uh 19 degrees, 25 mile an hour winds, you know, that little hut up there. We were like huddled up there. I was like, just want to get out of the wind. Like it's amazing how when you're in the wind for that many hours, you're just like, I just want to get out of it for a little bit.

Samantha Pruitt:

You know, it wears on your nervous system, that's why it's uh really heavy energy for your nervous system regulation.

Polly Mertens:

Somehow, yeah, it was like, you know, I I I've been in heat and I've I've flipped the switch for myself what heat means to me. And you know, like I don't get as disempowered by it. Like I can, you know, kind of get through it. Wind, I haven't had that much experience with. So this was like, oh, so it's like, take the pictures, take the pictures, okay, let's go, you know. And I'm thinking of my social media gal. She's like, take lots of pictures. I'm like, this damn foot, you know, I can't, I've got two layers of gloves on, I can't use my phone. I'm like, screw it, yeah. And it's like, I get the pictures and video I get, and the rest gonna be what it's gonna be. Yeah, so and then you worked your way back down, and then put the my I was like, I'm putting these damn micro spikes on, I'm gonna try these bad boys out, and I was so glad. And then uh Alan also did, you know, and he was he's a little cheap about the money. He's like, Oh, well, you know, I'll just take them back. And I was like, dude, you're putting these on. And then he was like, I'm he goes, those were a lifesaver, you know. So it was huge, it was huge.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, and we just when you got down, it it took you hours and hours to get down, so it's not like you can climb up and then be down, people. It's this is an all-day affair. Yeah, going down, you have to be careful, and it's very technical and all that.

Polly Mertens:

It's like seven hours down, I think, still.

Samantha Pruitt:

Hell yeah, hell yeah. So at what but but when you have summited and you know you know you're on your way back down, there's this, you know, like deep breath of the hard work's over, even though it's not at all. But psychologically, you have this release that is allowed to happen, you know, like I've made the summit, and many, many, many people, I don't remember what the numbers are, you said whatever they were, but you don't make the summit. And the group I was with, two of us made the summit out of I think seven of us. The rest only made it to the saddle. And due to altitude sickness and all kinds of other things, basically you had to go back down. Um, so I think that's very common. So to be able to even make the summit, fucking kudos, dude, congratulations, because it's legit. It's legit.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah. Well, and you know, I, you know, and I think I've said this on a previous episode where I told some friends, I was like, I have a body that is supposed to be doing these things because I don't get affected by some of the things that people get affected by. I don't get hot spots, I sometimes get sore muscles and things like that. I don't get out, you know, or I prep and I don't get altitude sickness, like all these things. Um, I've never had heat. Well, I had dehydration, but never heat stroke. So it's like either I'm good at preparing, I have a good functioning physical body, I take good care of it, I do the preparations, all that stuff. And I'm like, bring it fucking on. Like, let's go. Like, what's next? What's next at least is the Camino. And that's not like some the Santiago.

Samantha Pruitt:

So people, you you want to tell them what that is, real quick?

Polly Mertens:

Uh briefly, and I'm learning about it. So this is uh uh this is all discovery. It's like Mount Whitney, like I know a little bit about it, you know. Um, so the Camino is it's a pilgrimage, and it's pilgrimage. I think the original one was from France into Spain to the town of Santiago. I don't know enough about it yet, but I just I've had multiple friends that have done it, and it is like it's epic, it's worth it, you know, and it's it's um uh spiritual, very spiritual, just like the you know, Whitney can be, or you can turn anything into that. And so the friend that had invited me, she's doing 40 days on it. I'm like, okay, let me see how I'm gonna like fit that into my life.

Samantha Pruitt:

She's gonna do the whole length from village to village and stay in the little hostels or whatever they go.

Polly Mertens:

Like there's six possible routes, I think, or maybe a little bit more. And there's like this one or this one, and so you you know, pick one, and there's one that's like very populated, like a lot of people, and then there's ones that are like a lot of freeway or like on a busy road, and so we're trying to pick a quieter, you know, less people route to allow us to drop in instead of you know, it's not like the social hour or something. But yeah. So I love this. That's next June, May, May June time frame. So, and then you've got Coca-Dona.

Samantha Pruitt:

Well, for your Whitney experience, so before we end that conversation, yeah. What are your key takeaways? What's the most valuable insights that you discovered either within yourself that were new revelations and or maybe just some rebirths of what you already knew to be true?

Polly Mertens:

I think the the having wonder glasses on, um, like that being part of this journey, this this discovery that I discovered on another trail, not on Whitney, and I took it to Whitney and into the Sequoias. Um, I know it's gonna make a profound difference in the next 12 months, or if I continue this word beyond that. So having something that lights you up, because there's so many years of my life, Sam, that were words like progress or success, or like, you know results, results, results. Well, you know, there's this theme of like um, I saw a women's like big, big, big women's conference, and it was like, be unstoppable or something like that. And I was like, is that what really women want to be right now? Like is that or me, like maybe you know, I'm just in a different face, season, whatever. Um, but I thought about being unstoppable. Was I unstoppable and winning? Fuck yeah, like look out. Like I I wouldn't have wanted to do it twice, but like my body was like, we got this, right? But having wonder while I was doing something hard and scary instead of I'm unstoppable, like that's already like kind of baked into me. I've had maybe that's it. Maybe I've had those years of challenge, and I'm just in a different place of what is true meaning and joy in these hard challenges instead of just grinding it out, if you will. Yeah, yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

I mean, having the unstoppable mindset can be um self-destructive and it can be problematic, right? But having a mindset of resiliency and capability and an inner knowing of like, I can do this, I believe in myself, I'm committed to this, and I could do this, is very compassionate and loving at the same time as it is a call to freaking action to show the hell up and get the shit done, do the work.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah. I wonder if I can, I wonder if I can do more than Whitney. Like, I'm not, you know, like, oh, that's it. And all I'm like, what else could I get up to? Like Whitney was right, it was a challenge, right? You know, Jill also wants to do the John Mirror Trail, right? Oh, that's happening next summer. Off we go. I know. So that, and I would say um I love how only having three and a half weeks and just getting the damn focus. I'm like, where else can I apply that in my life that I'm expanding, you know? It feels like right now with my program coming out in December, Return to the Light. I hope you guys, if you haven't read seen that, check out, you know, there's all kinds of stuff I'm promoting about that. Like, I feel like I've got this compact window, you know, to promote it. It seems like, oh, you've got like more than a month, but all the things that it takes, it's like, holy smokes. So I feel like I'm doing a uh a six-month thing and about four months, right? So I've compacted it, it's like get to the heart of it.

Samantha Pruitt:

So people should take that program with you that's open now for registration if they're interested in getting up to something epic next year. Because in order to make space bandwidth capacity for the epic things, you need to let go of the past year, you know, with respect and appreciation and gratitude and all the things, take the lessons, clean the plate, move forward in the right direction, and you take them through that process. So if people are interested in like an epic way of being next year, then sometimes it's gonna require this little bit of housekeeping first to make that transition, right?

Polly Mertens:

Yeah. And I would add, you know, that's that's a big part of it. And what I'm like, I was out on a hike this morning and I was like pumping up with some teammates, and I was like, get that light turned the fuck on inside you and take that into your life and into your day. Like, so many people are depleted and just like stretched and like overgiving and people pleasing and not resourced, right?

Samantha Pruitt:

It's like, girl, girlfriend, please do they're not resourced because they're giving away their power on the daily in so many different ways, shapes, and forms that are unnecessary. I mean, that's why you get coaches like you and I, right? Like there's so much unnecessary, but until like a uh outsider, if you will, can compassionately, lovingly walk you through taking that inventory and doing that process of elimination and creating capacity, you just don't know. You get stuck in the wheel, right? And we're saying that that's not necessary.

Polly Mertens:

So and don't wear it like a badge of honor, like I'm so I'm so busy, and you know, like that, like hold up, hold up.

Samantha Pruitt:

No, that's yeah, that badge of honor is not gonna be um feeling very good or very attractive when you're laying in a hospital bed. Yeah, or something else happens in your life where things fall apart and they can't be repaired.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, resource you and then bring that light out into the world for sure. That's a biggie. Yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

So, Mount Whitney, congratulations. I'm stoked for you. I never had an inkling that you weren't gonna get it down done and sum it 100%. And I'm so thrilled that you gave that gift to yourself.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, thank you. And thank you for believing in me and just being that reflection and that moment of doubt. Like, oh my god, three weeks. You're like, that's a yes. Okay. I texted him, I was like, Samantha says I'm doing this. Yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

It speaks to having your A team, which we talk about all the time. Right? Your A team is your very small core group of people who believe in you 1000% when the minute you hesitate or you just don't know, or you have any hesitation or confusion or whatever, the A team is like, I got you. We got this, we got this, whatever it's gonna require. Yeah, we're doing this. Yeah. You know, it's we have to have our own back, and that requires time, investment, self-compassion, process, growth, the work, right? But you gotta also have people who have your back.

Polly Mertens:

So yeah, hang out with eagles and you will soar, right? They will always keep you at an elevated state and soaring. If you hang out with ducks, you're gonna swim on the pond. If you want to be soaring, it's like get up there where the eagles are, and like people who are like, Oh, you want to do what let's go to Whitney. And I was like, Oh, okay, there's an eagle moment. Let's go. There's an eagle moment. That's good.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yes.

Polly Mertens:

So I love it. Thank you, sister. All right, what do we want to wrap our wrap up with our beautiful humans and remind them as we always do?

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah. Well, we have to remind them of the basics, how their life feels is more important than how it looks. That should be foundational at this point, and literally they should have that tattooed on their arm right here.

Polly Mertens:

Yes, and every day is your opportunity to find your awesome.

Head Shot

Polly Mertens

Co-host
Head Shot

Samantha Pruitt

Co-host