The Good Stuff

Have you ever looked at a repeat situation and thought to yourself, “Maybe I am the common denominator here?” This episode walks you through how to handle that feeling. Caitlin talks about the importance of self-awareness, when she realized it was time to do a real audit of her life, lessons she has learned in her professional and personal life by becoming more self-aware, and even divulges the things about herself that need the most work. Self-awareness helps your skills in conflict, but also in seeking confidence. What do you like about yourself that you are already doing? What do you not like that you can change? Being sure in the person that you are will help you navigate life’s most exciting, uncomfortable, and importantsituations. And it will also help you determine who in your life should stay and who you are not willing to change for. Looking in the mirror does expose our flaws, but in this case, knowledge is power. Hope you enjoy!

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:12 About The Good Stuff + today’s word: self-awareness

04:36 When conflicts linger: low self-awareness & no accountability

05:22 “Let Them” theory (Mel Robbins) and removing yourself

11:10 Framework: mirror check, zoom out, then get feedback

15:26 Bring in a trusted truth-teller

17:56 Decide what to change vs what to keep

21:18 Strengths I own: loyalty & celebrating people

22:58 Weak spots: taking over, being too loud, story-hijacking

35:01 Business lens: knowing what to outsource and why

38:21 Friendship lens: proactive accountability

40:17 Dating lens: wanting vs needing in a partner

48:07 Keep it up: ongoing pulse checks & feeling more yourself

50:10 Wrap-up, how to share, and where to reach me

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.good.stuff.podcast

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/the.good.stuff.podcast/?hl=en

Visit The Good Word, Co.: The Good Word, Co.

You can only be part of a race that you sign yourself up for. During this discussion, Caitlin talks about the word competition. She details where she has seen it in the world, particularly in recent events. You learn about her studies of political media in the United States, why she feels compelled (and qualified) to lead this conversation, and how her knowledge influences her perspective of the “competition” we experience within each other over our beliefs.  Didyou know your host could have been a published researcher? Next, she talks about her personal relationship with competition of many types. She focuses on her time showing horses, as it has kept her in organized competition for morethan 20 years. This has taught her many life lessons that she utilizes in all areas of her life: business, relationships, friendships, and more. You’ll hear her take on participation trophies and why she once tried to give one of her own away. This episode is a thoughtful journey. Listen closely for the thingshe hopes even just one person takes from it. As always, we hope you enjoy!

Episode Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

0:36 About The Good Stuff & Guest Criteria

2:52 Today’s Word: Competition

3:49 Growing Up in Competition (Horses & Dance)

7:28 Media, Politics & Competition Online

12:32 Tragedy Isn’t a Scoreboard

19:39 Why Extremes Win Online (Media Incentives)

27:25 Youth Nationals & Lessons Learned

35:49 Being a Gracious Winner & Loser

41:40 Choosing Your Races + Final Takeaways

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.good.stuff.podcast

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/the.good.stuff.podcast/?hl=en

Visit The Good Word, Co.:

The Good Word, Co.

In this episode Caitlin talks about the importance of being consistent. She was inspired to talk about this word after reflecting on what she has learned after four years as a business owner. What is something she is proud of at this point? The fact that her work ethic has become consistent. She promised herself in the early days of The Good Word, Co. thather work ethic would be the most impressive thing about her as a professional. She showed up for herself when the client book wasn’t as full as it is now, because she wanted to strengthen that muscle. When nobody was watching, she was working – no matter what. She also talks about how consistency has served her in friendship, why it’s “one of the hottest things in a guy” (sorry, Dad), her real-life inspiration to get physically stronger, and why Ross and Rachel are the worst TV couple ever. Caitlin also discusses her newfound rule of just doing 10% more to reach her goals in an attainable way. This is a classic The Good Stuff episode. Enjoy!

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 –Introduction

00:49 –One year of the podcast!

02:51 –What The Good Stuff is (and how it ties to The Good Word Co.)

06:35 –Today’s theme: Consistency

10:40 –Solo-founder life: building your own structure & accountability

18:31 –A model of consistency: fitness routines, small daily reps

26:28 –The “10% more” trick for sustainable habit growth

30:12 –Relationships: consistency = reliability; be the same person in every room

37:54 –Wrap-up & final thoughts

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.good.stuff.podcast

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/the.good.stuff.podcast/?hl=en

Visit The Good Word, Co.:

https://www.thegoodwordonline.com/

Have you ever wondered why this podcast art reads “broughtto you by The Good Word, Co.?" This episode should answer that and then some. September 6 will mark four years of Caitlin’s business The Good Word, Co, so she came to the podcast to celebrate! The Good Word, Co. is a full-service business that focuses on supporting nonprofits with their communications and fundraising efforts. In addition, TGW offers editorial writing services and hosts The Good Stuff (duh!). During this episode, Caitlin and her mom Alison (a familiar voice on the pod) have a fun, nostalgic conversation about how she got to this point professionally. Caitlin also gives some of her best advice for communicating well, talks about her timeas an in-office nonprofit employee, shares her tactics for constructing “the ask”, and explains why she tells most people “no” when they ask her if they should start a business. You also get her mom’s perspective as Alison talks about her initial surprise when Caitlin told her about her idea to start a businessin the height of the pandemic. This is a lot more lighthearted than most episodes, but a great way to get to know your host! Don’t miss it.

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro00:49 – Meet today’s guest: Caitlin’smom (and #1 PR rep)
01:14 – Celebrating 4 years of TheGood Word Co.

02:27 – The Good Stuff podcast hitsits one-year milestone
03:13 – How Caitlin’s mom explains “whatshe does” to friends
06:09 – Caitlin breaks down what TheGood Word Co. really is
08:24 – From nonprofit roots tofundraising expertise
10:49 – The art of confidently askingfor donations
27:31 – Writing heartfelt stories(including the horse community)
36:20 – Why Caitlin launched The GoodStuff podcast
53:19 – Final thoughts & Caitlin’sbig takeaway

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Tik Tok: here Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Instagram: here

This is one of those episodes that everyone can (unfortunately) relate to in some way. Grief gets to all of us, at one time, or another, or another. Most of us will feel the depths of grief multiple times in our lives. It is a promised pain of loving someone or something that much. Caitlin was finally ready to record this episode after attending an event honoring the life of someone who passed in early 2025. She’s been active in her grief of that person since then. In this conversation, she reads a quote that changed her perspective on grief entirely, shares advice her mom has given her, reflects on her grandmother’s passing from a couple of years ago, and tries for herself (and her listeners) to find the good things to cling to when missing someone or something feels overwhelming. This episode is important, sensitive, and deep.

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.good.stuff.podcast

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/the.good.stuff.podcast/?hl=en

Do you feel like you are living a life that is authentically yours? In this solo episode, your host Caitlin gets right to the importance of doing just that – living a life that aligns with your values, for you. This doesn’t eliminate outside influence on your life, quite the contrary. It simply only allows room for people who genuinely want the best for you. This means they expect the best for you as well. She talks about where she has seenauthenticity play out in the world, like in the recent nationally-televised trial. And she goes on to talk about what authenticity means to her, including a “full-circle” work moment that she wishes she could tell her 10-year-old self about. Listening to this episode will be a good use of 40 minutes. It’ll be validation for those of you who feel like you are right where you are meant to be. And it'll be step one towards making that change for those of you who may not. Give it a listen and then share it with a friend!

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.good.stuff.podcast

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/the.good.stuff.podcast/?hl=en

In this episode of The Good Stuff, Caitlin talks about loyalty. Your host goes through the different parts of our lives and society that are synonymous with this concept. Everything from dogs being “a man’s best friend” to soldiers defending their country and the complexities of loyalty in romantic and personal relationships makes this a universal concept we all can relate to. You’ll hear her personal feelings about loyalty as a pertains to both personal and romantic relationships. Your loyalty can be both energizing and energy-depleting, making how you spend it a super important decision. Choose who gets your loyalty wisely. Caitlin reflects on her loyalty being tested, including cheating romantic partners and friendships ending. She’s had to walk away from people because of how they’ve violated her loyalty or that of someone close to her; and she assumes you’ve all felt the same. This episode may be shorter than some of the others, but it’s just because she gets right to the point. We hope you find this to be a relatable listen!

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.good.stuff.podcast

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/the.good.stuff.podcast/?hl=en

After recently chopping (and donating) 10 inches off her hair, Caitlin realized that she was very attached to her long hair and furthermore, that it was a way she felt beautiful. With that gone, she was faced with the question of “do I still feel beautiful?” Her answer is “yes”, but not for the reason you might think. It made her evaluate her own vanity. She realized that she has tried hard to not let her physical appearance – and the attention she may get for that – be a measure of her worth.This episode gets very personal for as Caitlin tells her experience with bullying in middle school. She was a late bloomer and ridiculed for it in multiple ways. But, it is only in looking back on her experience that she sees how that impacted her relationship with her own looks and vanity. Overall, she wants people to see that their face, hair, body, clothes, or anything else external, are not the most beautiful things about them. This is one of those episodes that’s full of lessons, leaving you feeling better than when you hit play.

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.good.stuff.podcast

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/the.good.stuff.podcast/?hl=en

With Father’s Day just behind us, Caitlin thought this would be a good time to (re)introduce her dad, Jim, to the podcast. If you are an OG listener, you will remember him from “Let’s Talk About … Sacrifice.” Father’s Day can bring up a lot of different emotions for people. Some people no longer have their dads here with them, others have a strained relationship, and the lucky ones (what Caitlin considers herself to be) have a great figure who protects, guides, and supports them through life. She knows people who fall into every category of those relationships. In her personal life, she often “shares” Jim with others. He is the quintessential dad. So, she felt like it would be nice to share him with this audience as well. In the first part of this episode, Caitlin reflects on some of the life lessons her dad has taught her. Including the life lesson that resulted in her teenage self giving him the silent treatment for hours. The second half is a chit-chat between Caitlin and Jim where he talks through his best dad wisdom and even answers questionsthat some of you sent in. Jimbo is not being gate-kept any longer. Enjoy!

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.good.stuff.podcast

Follow The Good Stuff Podcast on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/the.good.stuff.podcast/?hl=en

When looking around her recent birthday party, Caitlin saw more than 30 of her friends mingling – some had known each other for years and some were meeting for the first time. But, all are people who she admires and is beyond grateful to have in her life. She was hurrying around, trying to make sure she was spending time with everyone when she realized they were all plenty content with each other. Everyone felt seen and was having a good time because the room was full of great people. It made her reflect on the type of friends that she has in her life. She has friendships that have lasted more than 20 years and some that have sparked in the last 12 months. In this episode, she talks about some of the lessons in friendships she has learned, like why it’s important to have a friend who you call when you need to cry. She also talks about what makes her friend group unique and how they maintain a drama-free dynamic. Enjoy this reflective chat with your grateful host!