My goodness.

Have you ever noticed how some words have smells?

Yellow. Christmas. New.

Close your eyes. Breathe them in. (No, really. Try it.)

“Yellow” is lemon bars and summer air. “Christmas” is pine candles and sugar cookies. New is…

For me, “new” is something between a car and a couch. Neither one is a particularly pleasing scent – couches with that note of just-unwrapped upholstery and cars with a slight musk of faux-leather dashboards. Fun fact, I had a tree-shaped ”New Car Scent” air freshener hung religiously from the rearview mirror of my 1993(?) maroon Ford Tempo in college. The hood was a gorgeous shade of rust and it had a bum motorized passenger seatbelt you had to forcefully pelt with your fist to stop it from whirring like a dying lawnmower. It was a miracle that thing got me home on weekends. And that air freshener, in fact, did not smell like a new car.

“Ford Tempo.” Two words that definitely have a smell.

I’ve really lost the point of this whole thing, which may be the brand of my substack. Ok. Bringing it back to new.

March 1st has become a day of new in my life. 3 years ago, in a mix of panic, hope and adrenaline, I became a co-founder of a new marketing agency. This came on heels of the unexpected closure of the agency I was working for at the time. So with little time to think, I grabbed the virtual hands of two dear friends and we took a giant leap of faith. One of my proudest moments. During those three years together, I experienced a whole ‘lotta new. New skills, challenges and learnings that washed over me as I shed skin and grew miles taller. Forever grateful. ❤️

And then, this past March 1st… I did it again. A new warp pipe in the Mario game of life emerged, and I jumped in. On the other side? My new firm: GoodWolfe.

Timing is funny. Three years + a few weeks ago, I would have never imagined I’d be running a business, let alone my 2nd in under 5 years. And while I remain incredibly fond of the team and work we did these last three years, God had other plans for me. I started to do this dance between wanting to run a business with the kinds of clients I’d loved working with most, but also really wanting to do things that support my spiritual growth and doing more nonprofit and ministry work. It was like a melody stuck in my head that I couldn’t kick. Coohh-stanza.

It started to feel like I was holding these two giant hula hoops, each with a different world inside of it. I’d keep slamming the hoops together, waiting for a magic trick to happen where they’d connect, creating the ultimate Venn diagram with me in the middle. But I couldn’t do it. I’d slam them, my hands would go numb, I’d put one down. Switch. Slam. Numb. Switch. Repeat. A delicate dance.

Then, a few weeks ago, one of the hoops bounced up and knocked me upside the head. The magic trick happened. I knew it was time to stop forcing them to overlap, and just let the worlds become one. My ears were ringing as I stared at what I’d found. The call I had to answer.

And so GoodWolfe was born. A way to put my gifts to work, but also focus on building relationships with more organizations I want to partner with, and the impact I want to make. Good people. Good work. Exactly what I was made for. (Ephesians 2:10)

This was a transition, that by all intents and purposes, should have been terrifying and overwhelming. In reality, it happened quite seamlessly. A clear, straight path. (See again: good people). And by zero coincidence, It’s also the first time I’ve ever completely surrendered something of this stature to God and said, “this is yours now. Please take care of it.”

Not just said it, but meant it.

And He did it.

Affirmation is where it’s at.

Just two weeks in, I can say I’m overjoyed and overcome with gratitude as I stare through this new world view that’s opened up in front of me.

So cheers to new. Cheers to March 1st’s. Cheers to following calls with trust and hope and surrounding yourself with goodness.

And cheers to feeding the good wolf.