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A New Chapter: From LA to Minneapolis and the Future of The Goode Guide
29 Plays6 months ago
In this episode of The Goode Guide, I’m kicking off season three with a personal update and a look at the exciting new direction for my career and my brand. After a season of growth and change, I’m finally settling into my new home in Minneapolis and reflecting on the journey that got me here. From moving across the country to realigning my life and career, I share what led to this bold decision and what’s next for The Goode Guide.
In this episode, I open up about why I made the move from Los Angeles to Minneapolis, how the decision to leave LA came with its own set of challenges, and how trusting my gut led me to the city that feels like home. The process of settling in, the struggles of unpacking and adjusting to a new routine, and even the surreal experience of watching LA face the devastating fires from across the country are all part of this new chapter.
I also take the time to discuss what’s next for The Goode Guide. I’m excited to announce that I’m expanding the brand beyond the podcast to include webinars, one-on-one coaching, and—my personal favorite—a community space for women in business to come together for support and growth. This episode marks a major pivot, and I can’t wait to share what the future holds for The Goode Guide.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Welcome to Season 3 of The Goode Guide: A fresh start and personal updates.
00:02:15 - My Decision to Move from LA to Minneapolis: Why the decision felt right and how it’s aligning with my career goals.
00:06:35 - The Challenges of Relocating: The emotional and physical journey of unpacking, settling in, and adjusting to a new life.
00:09:50 - The Impact of LA Fires: Watching from afar and the sense of community that arose during a time of crisis.
00:13:10 - Reflecting on My Time in LA: How my relationship with the city evolved and why I felt ready to move on.
00:17:00 - Introducing The Future of The Goode Guide: Expanding the brand with webinars, one-on-one coaching, and building a community for women in business.
00:21:00 - What’s Next: How The Goode Guide is evolving into a space where women can connect, share, and support each other’s leadership journeys.
00:23:30 - Wrapping Up: Feeling settled in Minneapolis and looking forward to the future of The Goode Guide.
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey there! Welcome to The Good Guide, your ultimate career companion. I'm Shannara Good, and I've been on quite the career roller coaster. From the trenches of entry-level positions to the boardrooms as a now more seasoned professional.
00:00:15
Speaker
Believe me when I say i have been there and know that I've acquired some wisdom over the years that I cannot wait to share with you. Ever felt like you're on your career journey solo?
00:00:26
Speaker
Or maybe you're curious about conquering career plateaus, overcoming imposter syndrome, or leading with unwavering confidence. Well, I promise you are in the right place.
00:00:38
Speaker
Every week, my guests and I will share our own challenges and successes. We'll talk about everything from career development to leadership to even work-life balance. Expect a healthy dose of authenticity and, of course, our tips and tricks that will have you navigating your career with a newfound confidence.
00:00:58
Speaker
Don't miss out on the knowledge drop, y'all.
Personal and Professional Updates
00:01:01
Speaker
Hit that like, subscribe, and follow button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Trust me, you won't want to miss an episode.
00:01:12
Speaker
Because this is The Good Guide, where we're not just chasing success, we're defining it. Are you ready to elevate your career game? Let's dive in.
00:01:26
Speaker
Oh my gosh. We are back, baby.
00:01:35
Speaker
The Good Guide Podcast Season 3. Like, what? Who are we? As usual, i am so excited to have you guys here, have you listening, supporting me on this journey. I mean, i feel like there's so much to update you guys on um And so I'm going to be spending the first couple of episodes of season three updating you guys on what is new with me in my personal life, what is new in my job, and and what is new with The Good Guide, my brand.
00:02:15
Speaker
I mean, oh my God. Okay. So first and foremost, let's jump in where I essentially left off, which was basically preparing for this cross-country move to Minneapolis.
Reasons for Moving to Minneapolis
00:02:31
Speaker
I am very happy to say that I have made it. i have been here for just over two months now, and i am beyond happy that I made the decision to relocate.
00:02:50
Speaker
um So for those of you guys who maybe didn't listen to season two or didn't get this update. I essentially, back in the fall, made the decision to opt in to relocating from Los Angeles to Minneapolis.
00:03:10
Speaker
And what I mean by opt in was that I was very fortunate in that like none of my leaders, my company, no one said Shanara Janelle Good, you have got to get your butt back to Minneapolis. No one said that. In fact, when I made the decision and shared with my leaders that I was ready to relocate, they were like, please know that this is not something that we are requiring requiring of you.
00:03:37
Speaker
Now, at the time that I'd made the decision to move, there were a couple of things that really ultimately influenced my decision. Number one, i am not somebody that likes to travel for work.
00:03:50
Speaker
There is a reason that i did not go into like ah a big four or big whatever consulting firm and to start my career. like I was very much like, I absolutely do not want that to be my path.
00:04:07
Speaker
That is not my vibe. I love a routine. All right. I love and not like a just a normal, regular, shmegular, not needing to travel type of job. So um At the time that, you know, kind of throughout last year, as I moved into a new role, I was traveling quite a bit.
00:04:24
Speaker
And it just was really disruptive to like my balance and like my lifestyle. And so that was a part of it. The other part of it was when I was promoted back in, ah you know, kind of early last year,
00:04:40
Speaker
I had moved into a completely different um segment of the business. And that required me to have to basically grow my network from scratch. And me being the person that I am wanting to really be engaged and involved, like I knew that that wasn't going to be easy remotely, which was a part of the reason why I was traveling so much.
00:05:04
Speaker
But I just knew that to continue to grow my network, like I i just needed to be in person. I needed to be in person to selfishly grow my network, but also to be a present leader for my team and be in and have a presence on my broader team.
00:05:23
Speaker
um And then lastly, really, the the final decision for me was that I had spent six years in
Reflections on Time in Los Angeles
00:05:30
Speaker
Los Angeles. And while it was a six years filled of ups, downs, I mean, you name it, I went through it.
00:05:39
Speaker
I really did feel like my time in l L.A. had come to an end. I didn't feel like there was like it was my forever place. you know i i did so much growing and healing in l a which was fantastic.
00:05:54
Speaker
And I'm so grateful for that time that I took to really kind of take a beat and sit still for a little bit. But I i knew it wasn't my place. And i didn't want to spend you know one more year, especially as I get into my 30s. I didn't want to continue to spend time somewhere. Yeah.
00:06:18
Speaker
knowing that it wasn't like my forever home.
00:06:23
Speaker
So those were ultimately like the deciding factors that went into it. and And for a second, I want to dive a little bit deeper into the forever home kind of conversation or the feeling that I had when I knew l a wasn't my forever home.
00:06:43
Speaker
So as you all know, I've done some moving in my life. It started off in high school when I went to boarding school and then I went to college and then I moved to Minnesota then I moved to New York City and then I moved to l LA. So like I am not new to moving around.
00:06:59
Speaker
Now, when I left Minnesota and in 2017,
00:07:04
Speaker
Oh gosh, I was sad. I was sad, but I knew i was making the right decision for what I wanted in my life at that time and professionally. And so I moved to New York and though it was bumpy to start, i would say without a doubt, New York changed my life. Like it changed me on like a cellular level. I'm i am not even exaggerating.
00:07:32
Speaker
The Shannara that walked into New York or or or stepped off the plane um in New York like was not the Shannara that left New York.
00:07:45
Speaker
And in fact, when I made the decision to move from New York to LA, it was a much different feeling. I mean, leaving New York was probably one of the hardest breakups.
00:07:58
Speaker
And I say that all the time, but it was quite frankly traumatizing. And it was traumatizing because and don't think I realized how not ready I was to depart New York.
00:08:16
Speaker
What now what had happened was no, but in all seriousness, um I thought at the time that I left New York, I thought that all the signs were pointing to.
00:08:28
Speaker
ah right, it's time to leave New York. It's time to leave New York. ah My lease was about to be up. um One of my gyms that I was working at was closing. And I was like, oh, okay.
00:08:39
Speaker
um It must be time for me to move on. And as someone who's moved every two to four years, like it it wasn't abnormal for me to kind of just like up and make that decision.
00:08:50
Speaker
But then when I got to to l a I realized was not ready. I was absolutely not ready. And in fact, like i was so upset with myself. I genuinely, like I had to go to therapy.
00:09:06
Speaker
Now, i i didn't have to go to therapy just because I moved from New York to LA, but I had to go to therapy because it was the first time that i was fake I had to face one of my decisions that I thought I had made so thoughtfully.
00:09:21
Speaker
you know i thought I had really taken the The steps to like, yep, this is the this, you know, I'm sure about this decision. And instead, i'm a I take convenience and ease with readiness.
00:09:37
Speaker
And that was a hard like for my ego. That was a really hard thing for me to swallow. And so what that looked like was that was a life that I kind of started to create in in New York was disrupted and exchanged for a life in in l LA, which quite frankly, I instantly did not click with.
00:09:58
Speaker
Like l LA was not a city that I fell for quickly at all. In fact, it took me about two years, maybe year and a half, two years to even feel like, okay, yeah, I like LA, I can tolerate LA. And guess what? That was during COVID.
00:10:12
Speaker
Yeah. Like I fell in love with the four walls that I inhabited that happened to have a Los Angeles address. That is what I fell in love with. um And over time, like I forgave myself and and kind of like um dealt with the fact that like, hey, I would probably be in LA for a little bit. But at the end of the day, like there was always this this feeling deep down that like,
00:10:38
Speaker
While I loved the home that I created in LA, I loved the the friends i had made, the routine that I had started, my neighbors. like I loved all of the little pieces that the of of a life that I'd built in LA.
00:10:51
Speaker
i was not in love with the city of LA. Not like I was New York and not like I was but not like i was um with New York and not like I was with the city of Minneapolis.
Settling into Minneapolis
00:11:05
Speaker
And that ultimately is what drove me um you know in the fall to be like, LA is not my my forever city. And so Minneapolis, being that I had spent basically since I had left um up until you know i moved, I'd spent so much time going back to Minneapolis, v either visiting friends or eventually you know um traveling with my company.
00:11:34
Speaker
And I'd always had such a a, almost just a warm and like familial or or familiar even um feeling when I went to Minneapolis. Like I would, I just felt, it just felt so so safe so and so right.
00:11:57
Speaker
I guess that's the word that I would use. So it really, it almost became hard for me to not make the decision to move back because all signs really were starting to to point back to Minnesota. And so ultimately those three kind of categories of, or areas are what ultimately um kind of allowed me to feel like, all right, I was ready to make this decision.
00:12:22
Speaker
to move back to Minneapolis. And when I tell y'all that the last two months have not felt, like there have been zero feelings of anxiousness, loneliness, um regret, sadness, like it just felt, it it feels right being here. and And it's reaffirmed the fact that like I ultimately made the right to right decision to move back.
00:12:52
Speaker
Now, here's what was hard. The move itself was hard. And only because, the time i think because between the time of year um It was around the holidays.
00:13:07
Speaker
It was freezing cold in Minnesota. the the here's Here's the good news. I had assistants. I had movers. um that was you know They moved my belongings. They moved my car, which was fabulous.
00:13:19
Speaker
But child, when I tell you I had way too much shit, excuse my French, but I just had a way. And and this was me consolidating. I lived in a three bedroom house in in California and um I had two roommates, but I had furnished basically two of the bedrooms and then all of the common areas.
00:13:44
Speaker
So like I had stuff to get rid of and I had a shit ton of stuff to pack. um And so luckily there was a moving company that that assisted me in the move, but what they didn't assist me in, which like they wouldn't have, was the unpacking.
00:13:59
Speaker
And the unpacking, i have never in my life felt more single than I did the week I spent unpacking.
00:14:11
Speaker
So I finally arrived in Minneapolis around the 2nd of January. i um I left my dog Tonks back in l LA because i knew between errands and renting a car and just like unpacking in general that like it would not be fun having her here while I did all of that.
00:14:32
Speaker
So I left her in LA with my neighbors and they took her to Palm Springs. I mean, that girl had a vacation. She was fine. So I move here and i I get here around the second and i essentially take that whole next week off of work to unpack.
00:14:48
Speaker
I think by the second day I had gone crazy. Like I'd for sure lost my mind because I just didn't know what to do. Like, it's like when you open one box, you had to move things around. And i my place is only about 800 square feet. It's only a one bedroom and it's open concept. So like, I can't, I couldn't really move stuff, quote unquote, like out of the way.
00:15:12
Speaker
um you know, I was accumulating boxes. Like it was, oh, honey. That was hard. That was hard. And I was going absolutely mad. um I wasn't working out that week because I didn't have a gym yet. Like I wasn't eating like normally, like I was barely drinking any water.
00:15:31
Speaker
i just, it was, it was trying, it was trying. And again, I felt single as hell. And so that was, that was a hard week, but by like the fourth or so or so day, like I was unpacked and for the most part, like had everything in its place.
00:15:47
Speaker
What was so wild, though, just to kind of sidebar real quick, what was so wild about that week, though, is that if you guys remember dates, that week was also the week of the LA fires.
00:16:00
Speaker
And that was so surreal being here in, you know, the frozen tundra and literally watching l a burn. Like it gives, I like literally have goosebumps right now even just like thinking about it because I just I could not put into words like seeing texts from my friends and the nearby and like nearby neighbors and things like that talking about evacuating and, you know, hearing about Runyon Canyon, which was a mile away from my house, like lighting up.
00:16:35
Speaker
It just was, it was crazy. It was ah so eerie. what i What I did find, and I hate to use such a positive word in this, like to talk while I'm talking about the fires because it was so beyond devastating.
00:16:50
Speaker
But what did bring me a lot of pride is that LA may not have been my city, but like to watch the community of folks that were still in LA and were so unbelievably, like so tragically impacted by the fires,
00:17:05
Speaker
come together and support each other, like it just, it made me so happy. Like it genuinely made me feel so proud of the Los Angeles community.
00:17:18
Speaker
l la has a reputation of kind of being shallow and and all about the glitz and the glamour. And like, sure, there is some of that. there's there There's a lot of that. But you can never say that
00:17:32
Speaker
Those that live in L.A. don't have like a sense of community and a desire to like keep L.A. what it is. And at the end of the day, L.A. is a bunch of people that have moved to a city to pursue their dreams and oftentimes dreams that some people have called crazy like it was just really lovely to see everyone rally behind each other and support each other in whatever way, shape and form that they could.
00:18:01
Speaker
um And so that was, while I was far away watching that, it it was just really rewarding to see um to see that. um So yeah.
00:18:11
Speaker
So I did eventually, you know, hard pivot. I did eventually go back to LA um after the fires, which was odd, um to fetch Tonks. And then we made our way back to Minnesota. and that was shocking for her because she went from 60 degree weather at the time to single digit weather.
00:18:33
Speaker
And for the first couple of weeks, it was even negative. So we we had some some trying moments together. Let's just say I bought maybe 20 different pairs of booties. She refused to wear all of them.
00:18:46
Speaker
and So we've we've had to make some concessions, but, um, yeah, to be here now in March, um, two months later, it's just, it's crazy to, to feel like, um,
00:18:59
Speaker
I don't know. We're settled. We're settled in and and and really doesn't feel like it it just... it I can't believe July 1st or excuse me, January 1st, I was living in LA. It feels like I've been here for a while and um I feel really comforted in in my decision to to ultimately make the decision to move.
00:19:17
Speaker
Okay. So I'm not going to get into too much detail about this because i'm going to save this for the next episode. But one of the things that I am beyond excited for is...
Future Plans for The Good Guide
00:19:27
Speaker
I am deciding to expand the good guide beyond the podcast.
00:19:35
Speaker
You know, when I started the podcast, I really did feel like it would just make remain a podcast. You know, I wanted to share my voice and my experiences and I wanted to talk to different people and blah, blah. blah And I've done that and I'll continue to do that. But I really started to feel like there was so much more that I wanted to do with, you know, under, I should say, the umbrella of the good guide, because to me, it's more than just talking about something. And it's also putting action behind the words.
00:20:11
Speaker
And so I'm so unbelievably passionate about um leadership development and helping especially women um in the business space like succeed and and and accomplish their dreams, whether it's, you know, being a leader of people and or being an individual contributor. Like I i want you to lead in any which way that you deem, you know, possible. And I want you to do so authentically and with courage and And with conviction and with so much pride.
00:20:45
Speaker
And so I've made the decision to um expand the good guide. And again, I'll be getting into this a little bit more in in our next episode. But i am excited because i I'm going to be launching um some webinars I'm going to be launching some one-on-one training.
00:21:05
Speaker
And one of the things that I'm most excited to launch, and this is something that will come at a later date or a much later date, is eventually my goal is to broaden the good guide and create a community.
00:21:20
Speaker
of women that come together for support in their career decisions, pivots, hardships, et cetera. I would not have been where I am today without the help of my network and community and anyone that would listen and offer me some form of guidance or a different point of view. And I just think that community is so important when you're making big decisions, bold decisions, scary decisions. And so I eventually also want to um create a community platform for women um in business to to come together.
00:22:00
Speaker
So there I'm so excited because this is something that, again, like if you were to ask me six months ago, maybe eight months ago, if this was the direction I was going in, I would i would have probably been like, probably not. But this is something that I'm extremely passionate about. And i can't wait to share more on the next episode. So stay tuned because I'm going to be getting into all of the little details about um what you can expect from the good guide or the future of the good guide.
00:22:30
Speaker
And then um in a future episode, I'm also going to be bringing on the branding specialist that i worked I've worked with for months as we have um brought the good guide or or the new good guide to life. So I'm really excited to take you guys on that journey as well um because it'll really give you some insight um into what the last like how intentional I've been about um the decision to to take the good guide into this direction. so Anyway, um key takeaways from this from this um episode, just in general, y'all, i'm I'm settled in Minneapolis. I feel so good about, um you know, where I'm going, what I'm doing. um I feel really solid in my career. i just, I feel really good and really optimistic about the future.
00:23:18
Speaker
And I, you know, i'm i'm I'm so glad that I ultimately kind of listened to my gut and listened to like that internal conversation you know, voice of of telling me like, it's time, but it's time to, you know, spread your wings and fly and do something new and and pivot. So, so yeah.
00:23:38
Speaker
Thank you guys so much for listening in on this conversation. I hope you enjoyed this update. I know it's a little different this week, but I just feel like so much has been going on that I wanted to keep you guys in the loop with what life has looked like the last couple of months. But um I will catch you next week um for the much anticipated conversation um where I share a little bit more about what to the new good guide will look like. So talk to you later.
00:24:04
Speaker
Bye. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of The Good Guide, the podcast dedicated to guiding you through every twist and turn in your career journey. If you loved this episode, make sure to leave those five-star reviews and share this podcast with a friend, loved one, or hey, even a colleague.
00:24:24
Speaker
If you have a topic that you'd like for me to tackle, check out this week's show notes for links to where you can submit your question. It might even be featured during the Q&A segment of the next episode.
00:24:35
Speaker
But first, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a beat. Take care, y'all.