Grateful, Growing and Glowing
If you’d told us a year ago that we’d be drafting a blog post about happiness and gratitude, we probably would’ve laughed, or cried or both. At the time, everything was shifting underneath us and nothing about it felt like a blessing.
One morning last December, we woke up to an email that said our paychecks weren’t arriving. It was a pretty sobering email to receive at the start of the holiday season. We cycled through every emotion— worry, anger, guilt, confusion — while doing our best to keep things steady. We kept asking questions, trying to give clients honest answers and wanting to believe our boss had good intentions. But before long, it became crystal clear that we needed new jobs. And fast.
The Gift We Didn’t Recognize at First
Nothing about that moment felt like a gift. For the most part, we both bobbed between anger (at the loss of a friend and colleague we trusted) and stress (caused by the ripple effect of a missed (last) paycheck just before the holidays). But somewhere in the fury, our thoughts changed from “everything we built is ruined and gone” to “Should we just rebuild it? The right way?”
As Bob Dylan famously said, “When you ain't got nothin', you got nothin' to lose." And in that spirit, we stepped out on a ledge and built something radically different.
Before long, our good karma started pouring in tenfold. Long-time acquaintances, friends, former colleagues and clients all seemed to show up at the right moments. Our families stepped in when we needed support. The work felt lighter, clearer and less performative. It didn’t take long to realize that what we’d been looking at as an ending was actually one of the greatest beginnings.
The Year That Changed Us
This past year stretched us in ways we couldn’t have predicted, but it also helped us breathe again. Our confidence came back and we fell back into our groove. The business grew at a pace that made sense to us, rather than demanding everything we had. We poured time into a cause we cared deeply about, something we never could have done with our old schedules or that old environment.
The clients we’ve partnered with are aligned with the kind of work that fuels us, and the conversations feel grounded instead of rushed or transactional. The momentum has been real, but it’s been steady rather than frantic, a kind of quiet confirmation that we’re moving in the right direction.
What We Understand Now
We won’t say we’re necessarily grateful for the chaos that started this journey. That part still stings when we think about it. But we are grateful for what it made possible. It pushed us to build something that matched our values, not the ones thrown up on a whiteboard to check a process box.
The support we’ve received has mattered more than words can tell. Every referral, every encouraging message, every person who showed up for us — it all added up. It helped us trust that we are creating something real and that the universe wasn’t working against us after all. It was steering us in a direction we couldn’t see from inside the wreckage.
We didn’t choose the timing or the way things unfolded, but we’re deeply grateful for the life that’s grown from it. And for the first time in a long time, the year ahead feels full of momentum and purpose, and has an energy of confidence we’ve truly earned.
🎵 Blog Soundtrack: “Life in the Fast Lane” by The Eagles
