After ending a long-term relationship Katie Goyette went on a quest to “find herself”. The result of Katie’s personal journey was the release of her first book, “Flush the Toilet!” Eliminate the Crap holding you back! An adult self-development book written with a Dr. Seuss vibe.
Like all great ideas the book started as a Post It on Katie’s wall and she then partnered with a local comic book artist in Nashville to illustrate the book. “Flush the Toilet!” Eliminate the Crap holding you back! is an illustrated self-empowerment book to help people eliminate the crap holding them back in life and it is now sold at Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart and in over 15 countries online.
“When COVID-19 happened, I wanted to use my creativity and make something that would spread joy and positivity in others while helping them reclaim their own personal power. I decided I wanted to make something FUN, easy to read, sprinkled with some humour and personal development knowledge. Publishing the book has made one of my lifelong dreams come true,” said Katie.
But there is another passion in Katie’s life; cars! When Katie turned 40 her birthday gift to herself was a brand new Electric Yellow 718 Porsche Boxster with a manual transmission. This gift was a reminder to “never dim” herself, something Katie felt that she had done previously to make others happy.
“I don’t think the Porsche dealership has had a female walk in and say ‘I need a stick shift, yellow convertible!’”
“I name all my cars something beginning with Z… so I pre-named my Porsche Zelda! When I went to pick her up, they had a picture of Zelda (Nintendo fans will appreciate) printed in the trunk. I got to pick out a Porsche Keychain and they had hidden the car in the showroom with a cover over it. I had no idea that my car was next to me as I signed the paperwork and when they unveiled her and it was SPECTACULAR. Every part of the Porsche purchasing experience was pleasurable and memorable,” Katie told me.
“I feel like the female James Bond meets Power Puff Girl when I drive her. She’s so sporty, fun, fast and turns many heads because of her vibrant colour. Zelda is super sexy with beautiful curves!” added Katie.
Katie loves car shopping and finds the experience exhilarating, fun and so exciting! Being a woman who knows what she wants Katie has always taken on the task solo. Katie fully takes control of the process and has very strict pre-requisites when choosing her automobiles: Manual transmission and convertible!
In February of 2020 (pre-Covid) Katie ended up on a car lot in Florida and there sat a shiny Silver Cobra, a 1965 replica of her favourite car featured in Ford v Ferrari. After taking the Cobra for a spin Katie fell in love and named her Zirconia and had her shipped backed to Nashville.
Katie says the difference between driving the Boxster and the Cobra is like night and day, “They are two completely different driving experiences! The Shelby is a classic beauty who’s a little rough around the edges with drum brakes, 4-speed, no top, side pipes that will melt your pantyhose and is LOUD! You can hear me rip roaring through the streets a mile away. There is no stereo and you are truly “driving” – she needs you focused and all attention to driving. The Porsche is pure luxury and like butter, she’s got the bells, whistles and is so comfortable and practical. Lots of space and hugs the twists and turns of back roads.”
The best part about driving two cars that are traditionally seen as ‘men’s cars’ for Katie is knowing that she is worthy. It took Katie a few weeks to feel comfortable driving each of them because she had to overcome her own personal limiting beliefs. Katie was worried about how people would perceive her and the judgements that would be pre-made. But now she just laughs when she pulls up at Home Depot, only to have men’s mouths drop when they see the Shelby and Katie shoving an oversized plant inside. On more than one occasion men have walked up to Katie’s Shelby only to tell her some childhood story about what the car meant to them followed by “my wife won’t let me get one!”
“Both cars are very me and just bring me joy from appreciating their beauty and curves. I apparently have a thing for bubbly convertibles! I love both my cars because they exude a sense of HAPPY! Driving them gives me a feeling that I am sprinkling a little bit of invisible glitter as I drive by which is why I have a glitter license plate on each of them,” smiles Katie.
Katie reached out to Driven Women Magazine after a past client posted our ‘Women in Porsche’ article on LinkedIn. Katie told me that her reaction on finding Driven Women Magazine was “I’m not alone!” Indeed, you are not Katie and bringing women together who love cars and telling their stories is one of the reasons why I created Driven Women Magazine.
Happy Driving!
Photographs supplied.