Protect your peace. Cut off toxic friends. Match their energy.

You’ve seen these all over Instagram. So have I. And they make my skin crawl. I’m not a Pollyanna about it. I’ve just read your surveys. Hundreds of them. And your answers tell a different story.

This is a solo episode. Just me, a stack of printouts, and the data you’ve given me through The Best Friend Project. I walk through the three friendship memes that drive me up a wall. I read from your surveys, including a note from Lucy in New York that I have permission to read. I share a story about an extrovert, an introvert, and a party invite list that almost ended a friendship. And I ask you to guess a number. Most of you will guess low.

I also push back on two of the biggest names in the friendship conversation right now (scary!) Adam Grant’s new book Vibe, and Mel Robbins empahsis on on proximity.

Plus, we go behind the scenes! I share the reality of launching this project using postcards in bathroom stalls across the country. Find out which airport bathroom I’m convinced never gets cleaned, what doors convert higher and how I handle bathroom attendants.

If you’ve been ghosted by a best friend, let a friendship fade, or wondered if you should reach out to someone you miss, press play.

Books I mention:

The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis (https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Four-Loves-Audiobook/B08ZNZW464?)

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/376130-the-four-agreements-a-practical-guide-to-personal-freedom)

Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World by Adam Grant (https://www.audible.com/pd/Vibe-Audiobook/B0GPKJWX93?)

Stay Golden, Girls: Friendship Is the New Marriage by Rachel Steinman and Rachel Winter (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJMVJYPB?)

Fighting for Our Friendships by Danielle Bayard Jackson (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0306830612?)

It Didn’t Start With You by Mark Wolynn (https://markwolynn.com/it-didnt-start-with-you/)

Episodes I reference:

Shameless Elle (https://youtu.be/O_czSELnWrw)

Melanie Curtis (https://youtu.be/CYo1viN5k3w)

Danielle Young (https://youtu.be/pDZpA4r6ER4)

Barb Braaten (https://youtu.be/RDuLfG5ZFWg)

Ali Lohman (https://youtu.be/dVLK5yV34uQ)

Beth Pacunas (https://youtu.be/pn_mw4hvrz8)

Take the survey: thebestfriendproject.co
Want postcards for your town? DM me or email hello@thebestfriendproject.com

Every friendship has a story. What’s yours?

Chapters:

00:00 — Cold Open

01:36 — The Friendship That Ended With a Text Message

02:11 — Why I Started The Best Friend Project

07:46 — 7,000 Miles of Friendship Stories

12:59 — The Friendship Table That Changed How I See Friendship

17:32 — Three Friendship Myths on Social Media That Get Under My Skin

21:59 — Cutting Off “Toxic Friends” and the People We Still Miss

26:02 — “Match Their Energy”: The Friendship That Almost Ended

33:02 — Should We Really Be Ranking Our Friendships?

36:57 — Are Friendships Really About Proximity, Timing, and Energy?

44:33 — The Lessons That Could Change How You Show Up in Friendship

48:17 — The Best Friend Project Is Heading to TEDx!

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Rachel and Cami revisit a conversation about adult friendship, vulnerability, and the unexpected ways meaningful connections enter our lives. They talk about the courage it takes to approach someone new, why meeting in real life still matters, and how letting go of jealousy and comparison can help us appreciate the beauty in ourselves and others.

Connect with Cami:

Website (https://www.camianntalbot.com/)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/camianntalbot)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cami.talbot/)

Learn more about The Best Friend Project:

https://thebestfriendproject.co

Discover your Friendship Archetype:
Take the Friendship Survey:
https://thebestfriendproject.co/signup

Stay in touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebest_friendproject/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBestFriendProject

Questions? Hello@TheBFProject.com

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Why is it so hard to make friends as an adult—aren’t we supposed to know who we are by now?

When professional makeup artist Cami Talbot left the Mormon church at 14, she lost more than her religion—she lost her childhood tribe. Years later, an unexpected encounter with a stranger would challenge everything we assume about how adults make new friends.

But this conversation starts somewhere even more personal—the face in the mirror. Your face. After 15 years working as a makeup artist, Cami has noticed that what women dislike about their appearance sometimes has very little to do with beauty, and more to do with the features—and stories—we inherit. If your mom was always critical of you and you have her same eyes, do you see yourself or her when you look in the mirror? If your father was distant but you have his nose, is it really your nose you don't like—or the absent feeling it reminds you of?

Self-esteem, confidence and even the grace we give ourselves are deeply connected to how we think we look. And some of that may be tied to the relationships we had with our parents.

How much of who we think we are actually belongs to us?

This conversation explores what happens when we begin questioning the identities we inherited—from our parents, our religion and our past—and how changing the way we see ourselves can change the friendships we lose, the ones we keep, and the new ones we're brave enough to make.

Connect with Cami:

Website (https://www.camianntalbot.com/)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/camianntalbot)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cami.talbot/)

Learn more about The Best Friend Project:

https://thebestfriendproject.co

Discover your Friendship Archetype:
Take the Friendship Survey:
https://thebestfriendproject.co/signup

Stay in touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebest_friendproject/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBestFriendProject

Questions? Hello@TheBFProject.com

Chapters:

00:00 – Cold Open

01:20 – Why Even the Most Beautiful People Struggle to Feel Enough

07:29 – Why We Need to Be Our Own Best Friend First

11:22 – The People Who Miss Someone but Won’t Make the First Move

17:29 – What If Another Woman’s Beauty Didn’t Threaten Your Own?

23:08 – Leaving the Mormon Church at 14 and Finding Her Own Way

33:59 – The Note That Started a Nine-Year Friendship

41:30 – Are We Too Quick to Walk Away?

45:39 – The One Thing Women Need Most From Their Friendships

50:01 – What If We Started Going to Therapy With Our Friends?

50:18 – The One Conversation You Might Need to Have Before It’s Too Late

Coming Next Week:

Rachel goes solo for Episode 20 of The Best Friend Project, reflecting on what she’s learned and why social media relationship experts may be doing more harm than good.

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