nwv brief #35: lifelines

dear founder,

back in june 2023, i needed help.
that was the moment i learned what a lifeline really is.

they say there’s a difference between people who advocate for you in rooms you're in vs. rooms you’re not.
i’ll go further: there’s a difference between people who show up when it’s easy, and those who stay when it’s not.

some i was certain would be there… weren’t.
and others, unexpected but unwavering, came through.

what i realized?
i was pouring into relationships that weren’t pouring back.

since then, building real lifelines has become the priority.
not connections. not contacts. community.
it’s an art form—messy, intimate, & alive.
it demands time, attention, & discernment.

over the past two years, some of the most spectacular people have entered my life.
making space for them meant showing up differently—
as the visionary i am, the non-conformist i’ve always been, the resilient one who keeps going,
and the empowered version of me who refuses to settle for surface.

that june moment?
it taught me this:
nothing is worth building if, when things fall apart, you’ve got nowhere to go.
i’ve made a promise to myself:
never again.

the people who’ll be at the table for my greatest wins
will be the same ones who sat with me through my greatest losses.

because truthfully?
i care far more about who’s in the front row
than i do about the size of the stage.

i’m now grateful for the scariest chapter of my life.
it handed me a clarity no classroom could teach.
it reordered my values from the inside out.

so—
who will you choose to build with & around?

with purpose, vision, & appreciation,
Brooke