Some of the hardest battles aren't the ones people can see.

In this episode of The GRITT of the Matter, I sit down with Kim Staples as she shares her deeply personal story of childhood trauma, loss, healing, and becoming a cycle breaker.

We talk about:

• Breaking unhealthy family patterns• Nervous system regulation• Parenting through healing instead of survival• Learning to replace fear with love• Why being kind to yourself changes everything• How one person's healing creates a ripple effect for generations

This conversation is honest, emotional, encouraging, and filled with hope for anyone who's ever felt stuck in survival mode.

No matter where you've been...
Healing is possible.

🎙 Listen now and remember:

Your journey is yours...but you never have to walk it alone.

Connect with Kim Staples:📖 The Two Lanterns by Kim Staples — available on Amazon📸 Instagram: @Kimberly_Staples📘 Facebook: Kim Staples / Kimberly Staples🌐 SacredlyUnhingedMom.com🎙️ Podcast: Unapologetic Uplift

🎵 Music: Treaty of Tripoli

Sometimes the biggest changes in our lives don't begin with giant leaps.

They begin with one small decision.

In this solo episode of The GRITT of the Matter, I share a personal realization about changing my own schedule after recognizing that constantly pouring into others was slowly wearing me down.

We often believe slowing down means we're giving up. But sometimes, making one small change is exactly what allows us to keep showing up for the people and purpose that matter most.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Recognizing burnout before it happens
• Why small changes aren't signs of weakness
• Protecting your peace without guilt
• Letting go of unrealistic expectations
• Creating habits you can actually sustain

If you've been waiting for permission to make a small change, maybe this is it.

Remember...
No pressure for perfection...just progress.

🎵 Music: Treaty of Tripoli

What if one difficult season was actually preparing you for everything that came next?

In this episode of The GRITT of the Matter, I sit down with Jami Killinger Milburn for an honest conversation about resilience, purpose, leadership, mentorship, boundaries, entrepreneurship, and learning to keep moving forward through life's hardest moments.

Jami shares her journey through military service, construction leadership, starting her own business, and one of the most personal chapters of her life when she struggled with thoughts of suicide before finding hope through a veteran support program.

We also talk about:

• Why every battle has a purpose• Finding mentors who challenge you• Learning to set healthy boundaries• The power of resilience• Building confidence through failure• Entrepreneurship and Warrior Outfitter Coffee• Why your story can become someone else's hope

If you've ever questioned why you're walking through a difficult season, this conversation is for you.

Remember...

You don't have to move forward alone.

Connect with Jamie:• Warrior Outfitter Coffee• Website: WarriorOutfitter.com• Instagram/Facebook: @WarriorOutfitter• Jamie Killinger Milburn on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram

🎵 Music: Treaty of Tripoli

Have you ever caught yourself saying...

"I only walked for 10 minutes."

"I only got one thing done today."

"I only made it through part of the workout."

That one little word — only — has a way of making us forget everything we actually accomplished.

In this solo episode of The GRITT of the Matter, I talk about why progress doesn't have to be perfect to matter and how all-or-nothing thinking can keep us from recognizing the steps we're already taking.

Whether you're rebuilding your strength, adjusting to a changing body, starting over, or simply trying to make it through another day, this episode is a reminder that every step forward counts.

In this episode:

💚 Why "only" steals our progress

💪 Comparing today's abilities to yesterday's

🪑 Why modifying doesn't mean you've failed

🚶 Every step forward still matters

✨ Progress isn't about perfection—it's about continuing to move forward

If you showed up today, even in a different way than yesterday........It counted!

🎙 New episodes every Saturday

Available on Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Amazon Music • iHeartRadio • Pocket Casts

🎵 Music credit: Treaty of Tripoli

#TheGRITTOfTheMatter#ProgressNotPerfection#KeepMovingForward#MindsetShift #StartingAgain

Have you ever wondered if the very thing you struggle with could become part of your purpose?

In this episode of The GRITT of the Matter, I sit down with musician Ian to talk about anxiety, faith, purpose, and creating music that encourages people instead of simply following trends.

Ian shares how music became more than a creative outlet. During some of his hardest seasons with anxiety, it became a place to process his emotions, strengthen his faith, and remind others they aren't walking through life alone.

Rather than creating music for popularity, Ian made the decision to create music that brings hope, encouragement, and connection to people who may be facing their own struggles.

🎵 How music became more than a hobby

💚 Living with anxiety and learning to manage it

🙏 Leaning on faith during difficult seasons

✨ Choosing purpose over popularity

🤝 Why kindness can change someone's day

🌱 Encouraging others through your own journey

Ian's story is a reminder that sometimes our greatest struggles become the very thing that allows us to encourage someone else.

Connect with Ian

YouTube: ic15SoundCloud: ic15

Have you ever looked around and felt like everyone else was ahead of you?

Ahead in life.
Ahead in their goals.
Ahead in their health.
Ahead in their journey.

Maybe you've wondered:

"Why am I not there yet?"

In this episode of The GRITT of the Matter, I'm sharing a reminder that I think we all need sometimes:

Maybe you're not behind at all.

Sometimes life simply takes a different path, and those unexpected turns may be teaching us, shaping us, and preparing us for things we can't see yet.

Different does not automatically mean behind.

Your story is still unfolding.
Your growth still matters.
And your journey still has value.

You are not in this alone.

Have you ever looked back at a part of your life and wondered if you could ever move forward from it?

Your past is part of your story, but it does not have to define your future.

In this episode of The GRITT of the Matter, Cass Luzzander shares her powerful journey through addiction, recovery, forgiveness, and rebuilding her life.

Cass opens up about her experience with meth addiction, alcohol addiction, difficult relationships, motherhood, and the moment she knew something needed to change.

But this conversation is about more than addiction.

It’s about learning how to forgive yourself, rebuild trust, find healthy outlets, and use your experiences to connect with others who may be walking through their own difficult season.

In this episode:

💚 Breaking the cycle
Recognizing when life needs to change and taking the first step toward recovery

💪 Learning to forgive yourself
Moving forward while carrying lessons from the past

🎨 Finding healthy outlets
How creativity, makeup, faith, and community became part of Cass’s recovery journey

👩‍👧 Rebuilding relationships
How healing impacted her role as a mother and the people around her

✨ Turning your story into support for someone else
Why sharing what you’ve been through may help someone who feels alone

Cass’s story is a reminder that your hardest chapters do not have to be the end of your story.

You can rebuild.
You can move forward.
You are not alone.

Connect with Cass:
TikTok: The Cassandra Complex
Clapper: The Cassandra Complex
Instagram: Beauty by Cassandra

🎙 New episodes every Saturday
Available on Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Amazon Music • iHeartRadio • Pocket Casts

🎵 Music credit: Treaty of Tripoli

#TheGRITTOfTheMatter
#BodiesByDezine
#KeepMovingForward
#ResilienceJourney

Have you ever felt like you had to start over because life changed in a way you never expected?

Starting again does not mean you failed.

Sometimes your body changes. Your circumstances change. Your plans change. And you have to learn how to move forward in a different way.

In this solo episode of The GRITT of the Matter, I share pieces of my own journey, from a life-changing ankle injury in 2007, learning not to take my steps for granted, supporting my mom through her breast cancer journey, completing a 60-mile walk, and facing new physical challenges that changed the way I looked at strength.

But this conversation is not just about injuries.

It’s about learning that starting again doesn’t mean starting from nothing.

In this episode:

💚 When life forces you to adjustWhy unexpected changes don’t mean you did something wrong

💪 Learning to work with your body
How limitations can change the way you approach strength and movement

👣 Never taking your steps for granted
How a simple piece of advice became part of a bigger purpose

🎗 Using your journey to support others
Why our struggles can sometimes create deeper connections

✨ Starting again with experience
A reminder that everything you have walked through still matters

If you are rebuilding, adjusting, healing, or learning a new version of yourself, this episode is your reminder:

You are not starting over.You are starting with experience.

🎙 New episodes every SaturdayAvailable on YouTube • Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Amazon Music • iHeartRadio • Pocket Casts

🎵 Music credit: Treaty of Tripoli

#TheGRITTOfTheMatter#BodiesByDezine #KeepMovingForward #ResilienceJourney

Have you ever gone through a season of life where you look back and realize you don’t feel like yourself anymore?

In this episode, Hero Haji shares her journey through grief, change, and rebuilding after losing pieces of the life she knew.

After losing several of her beloved dogs, including the one who helped her through some of her hardest moments, Hero realized she had slowly slipped into a place where she no longer recognized herself.

That realization became the beginning of a new journey.

She packed up, started traveling across the country with her dogs, began reconnecting with who she was, and started rebuilding physically, mentally, and emotionally one step at a time.

In this conversation:

🐾 Losing the companions that helped her through difficult seasons

💚 Recognizing when she no longer felt like herself

🌎 Leaving a place that no longer felt healthy and starting again

💪 Rebuilding strength, confidence, and trust in her body

🐺 Traveling with a wolf dog and the lessons learned along the way

✨ Learning that sometimes moving forward means finding your way back to yourself

Hero’s story is a reminder that starting over doesn’t mean you failed. Sometimes it means you finally listened to what you needed.

Connect with Hero:
Facebook: Achilles Haji

🎙 New episodes every Saturday
Available on Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Amazon Music • iHeartRadio • Pocket Casts

🎵 Music credit: Treaty of Tripoli

#TheGRITTOfTheMatter #FindingYourself #HealingJourney #StartingOver #Resilience

Bodies change. Routines change. Energy changes. And after a while, it can quietly make people feel like something about them is “broken".

In this solo episode, Denice talks honestly about adapting through physical struggles, burnout, identity shifts, aging, changing expectations, and learning how to stop fighting yourself through every season of life.This conversation is about redefining strength, rebuilding trust with yourself, and understanding that different does not mean broken.

#TheGRITTOfTheMatter #BodiesByDezine#MindsetShift #Resilience#RealLifeStrength #PersonalGrowth

🎙 The GRITT of the MatterGrace • Resilience • Intentional Living • Trust • Thrive

🎵 Music Credit: Treaty of Tripoli

If this episode resonates with you, follow on your favorite podcast platform and share it with someone who may need the reminder today.