Seeds of Wisdom: The Unseen Intelligence at the Heart of your Work

I used to think that I was not so special.

When I started my business 35 years ago, I almost couldn't believe people would pay me for coaching and advising them about how to improve their professional circumstances.

The options, solutions, and course of action were as obvious to me as the noses on their faces.

But some people don’t even know they have a nose, even if they are looking in the mirror.

This ability of mine, to SEE past their challenges and into the future where they are successfully living into their goals and visions, is the magic, or Essence, I bring to my clients.

This is what makes me special. This is why people trust me and hire me as their coach.

If you’re struggling to name what makes you special, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there — it usually means you’re too close to see it.

Why Your Greatest Gift Is Easy to Miss

The irony about your Essence is that you live in a world imbued with it.

Just as we don’t hear the true timbre of our own voices until we hear a recording, we’re often too close to our Essence to recognize its power.

Before Anything Becomes Visible

Like the moment in early February when life is already stirring beneath the surface of the soil but nothing has yet broken the surface, your Essence is fully present long before it becomes visible. It is the fully realized intelligence (aka DNA) of the SEED before it even sprouts.

There is an innate intelligence embedded in every seed that helps them shift from a state of dormancy to sprouting. You can’t see or hear it, but you know there is a spark that ignites the True Nature of that seed. No matter if that seed is placed in the most ideal conditions or not, it will express its Essence.

This same intelligence is at work in your business, shaping how it takes form, invites people in, and stays alive over time.

In the S.E.E.D. Code™, your Shape gives your business form and helps you create a recognizable structure that holds your work together. Your Entry point gives your clients access to your Sphere of Brilliance and allows you to focus your energy. Your Essence gives your business its coherence and vitality.

What comes so naturally to you that you’ve never thought to name it as your gift?

How This Shows Up in Your Work

Your Essence is why your work always “feels like you” even as your business evolves. Throughout the past 35 years, I have shifted my focus, changed my services, relocated my office, cycled through various staff members, and adapted my marketing to new platforms and venues. But through it all, one thing remained constant. I have always been helping folks build careers and businesses that are in alignment with their True Selves. No matter if I was helping a seasoned professional find a new job, support a business owner in building their leadership team, or supporting women entrepreneurs in creating business they love and that love them in return, I was always acting from the organizing intelligence of my Essence.

Essence exists before you choose your words, shape your offers, or decide how you’ll be known — it is the source from which all of those expressions arise.

Your Essence is the stabilizing force beneath the evolution of your business. When you don’t understand and claim your Essence, your business feels scattered, your brand voice feels performative and you feel like you have to constantly reinvent your messaging.

Why Pricing Starts on the Inside

When you experience your internal alignment, your value is easier to name. Your Essence governs how you and others value your wisdom, expertise, and experience. It provides the confident space you need to price your services so that you get paid what you’re worth.

It is not your brand, your credentials, or your personality — it’s the underlying coherence that remains even when all of those change.

It’s part of what distinguishes you from all the other people who offer similar services. If you have ever wondered why a potential client select you over a competitor, it wasn’t about the tools, degrees, and certifications you possess. When you build your business in alignment with your Essence, you don’t need to convince anyone to become a client. Your best fit clients will resonate with your Essence and engage with you.

The hard part is being honest with yourself about your Essence and staying true to your Nature.

When Everything Comes Together

When you are rooted in your Essence, your business no longer relies on performance or persuasion. It becomes an expression of who you already are. This is why the elements of the S.E.E.D. Code work together — not as tactics, but as a living system that allows your business to grow without losing its integrity.

· Shape lets people recognize you

· Entry Point lets people enter your work

· Essence lets people stay, trust, and deepen

Essence is what makes your clients say: “This feels like home.”