“This morning before my day started I listened to another one of your podcasts. Loving it. It is the water to a seed I planted that is desperate to grow but is still finding its roots. (talking in metaphors is so much easier!). Taking it all in to grow, improve and explore my work as a nurse and my teaching and guiding students and thinking of what new roads to explore. So again, very inspiring, thanks.” Focus on WHY podcast listener and nurse, Amsterdam This is part of a longer message I received just after launching my podcast in May 2020. This is the type of impact you can make by sharing your message via the podcast airwaves. However what I want to pick up on here is the use of the metaphor “the seed I planted” and that she said “talking in metaphors is so much easier”. Metaphors help you to articulate what it is you feel in different circumstances but cannot quite express or explain without making a comparison to something else. The seed metaphor is a universal one that we all understand and it is no surprise to me that seeds have featured in 32 Focus on WHY episodes as a popular metaphor to communicate thoughts around purpose. All your thoughts are potential seeds and it is up to you which ones are discarded and which ones you enable to take root. Make sure that you filter out the weeds though as they will take over and suffocate the other plants or thoughts that you want to keep to survive and thrive. In episode 237, Who Thinks Wins, Marcus Dimbleby said, “It's just a small seed that plants into someone's mind and very quickly grows into something effective.” Why is it that we use the metaphor of the seed so much in our language? In essence, seeds symbolise life, change and reproduction with their potential to dramatically transform. Seeds represent trust, hope and growth. They represent dreams, goals and possibility. Seeds are the future. They are both creation and transformation in one. The transformation of a tiny seed into something so incredible represents what is possible when the right conditions line up. Water, sun and soil are what are needed for a seed to thrive. Then it is a matter of time. “So my advice about purpose is create the soil and then the purpose will manifest itself.” Davide Pagnotta, episode 006 Wise Humanity Professional Speaking Association President Dr. Lynda Shaw chose a theme Going for Growth for her presidency with several subthemes of growing with a team, growing it alone, growing new seeds, growing with collaboration and growing the whole you. Speaking at the summit in October 2021, my role was to show people how to podcast with purpose, how to stand out from the crowd, and how to grow a podcast from a single seed. Focused on innovation, creative thinking and opportunity, I shared my story with the audience of how Focus on WHY had once just been a seed in my mind yet I sowed the seed and it has been growing ever since. “Accept that to achieve your goals, you have to keep sowing the seeds. If one door closes, the other one will surely open. Be inquisitive and never miss an opportunity to learn something new. Be clear about your guiding principles, because they will guide you like a lighthouse when you're lost and they work when the going gets tough. Remind yourself of your first, second and third level WHY.” Manj Mahal, episode 094 Be Something in Your Life Seeds are your future. Be mindful of what seeds you sow, how you nurture them and when it is time to harvest and plant more seeds. Focus on seeds. ACTION POINT Remember nothing will happen until you actually plant your seed so what seed will you plant today?
Amy