The Seeds of Potential

Growth that can’t be contained

Linda Clark

Jan 17, 2025

A photo of a forest floor covered in leaves and looking down at your boots in the leaves. The title of the blog post is on a brown background and says Seeds of Potential: Growth That Can’t Be Contained | Linda Clark
A photo of a forest floor covered in leaves and looking down at your boots in the leaves. The title of the blog post is on a brown background and says Seeds of Potential: Growth That Can’t Be Contained | Linda Clark
A photo of a forest floor covered in leaves and looking down at your boots in the leaves. The title of the blog post is on a brown background and says Seeds of Potential: Growth That Can’t Be Contained | Linda Clark

Growth doesn't happen in a straight line. It doesn't fit neatly into a corporate leadership model, and it sure as hell doesn't follow a five-step process.

Real growth (the kind that transforms you, stretches you, and makes you into something you didn't even know you could be) is unpredictable. It happens in spirals, in surges, in moments of gut-wrenching doubt and electrifying clarity.

The Curious already know this.

You don't grow by force. You don't grow by following someone else's script. You grow like a forest: wild, expansive, interwoven.

The Seeds of Potential aren't a map. They're the nutrients in the soil, the rain that shows up when you least expect it, the conditions that turn a fragile sapling into a towering force of nature.

And whether you know it or not, these seeds are already in you.

This is what happens when you start cultivating them.

The First Sign of Growth: Restlessness

It starts as an itch.

Not the kind you can scratch. The kind that sits just beneath your ribs, whispering:

"There's more than this."

"This can't be it."

"Something doesn't fit."

At first, you ignore it. You tell yourself to be grateful. To be realistic. To stop asking so many questions.

But questions are exactly where it starts.

Inquisitive: The Hunger to Know More

Curiosity isn't just about learning. It's about unraveling.

It's about pulling at the loose thread no one else noticed, even when you don't know where it leads. It's about asking questions that make people uncomfortable, because the right question is more powerful than the best answer.

And here's the thing. Curiosity doesn't make life easier. It makes it bigger. Messier. More alive.

When you cultivate this seed:

  • You stop waiting for permission to ask the real questions

  • You stop accepting "because that's how we've always done it" as a valid response

  • You stop being satisfied with easy answers and start chasing better questions

And once that starts, there's no going back.

The Struggle That Almost Kills It: Fear

Here's what they don't tell you about growth. It's terrifying.

The moment you start pulling at the thread, the moment you stop accepting the surface-level version of things, you have to face what's underneath.

That's where most people stop.

But The Curious? They step into the storm.

Improvisational: Learning to Move in the Uncertainty

You don't get to know how it ends before you begin. You don't get guarantees. Growth isn't a well-paved highway. It's a trail you carve as you go.

Improvisation isn't about winging it. It's about trusting yourself when the path disappears. It's the art of making decisions with incomplete information, adapting without losing momentum, and thriving in the unknown.

When you cultivate this seed:

  • You stop waiting until you "feel ready," because you never will

  • You get comfortable making bold moves without perfect plans

  • You learn that every misstep is still forward motion

And then something shifts.

Fear stops being a stop sign and starts being a compass.

The Breakthrough: Making Something New

Eventually, you realize you aren't just breaking things down. You're building something up.

Inventive: The Power of Creating What Doesn't Exist Yet

There's a moment where curiosity collides with courage. Where instead of just questioning, you start inventing.

You see possibilities where others see problems. You stop waiting for someone else to build what you need. You turn "what if?" into "watch me."

And suddenly, you realize:

  • You don't need someone's approval to create something meaningful

  • Your ideas are worth speaking into the world

  • The things that make you different are the exact things that make you powerful

This is when your work, your leadership, your very presence starts changing the room.

The Shift: When Growth Stops Being Just About You

Something happens when you reach this point.

At first, you were chasing something for yourself. Your own clarity. Your own purpose. Your own path.

But real leaders (Guides) know that growth isn't just personal. It's communal.

Intuitive: The Art of Knowing Beyond Logic

At some point, you stop leading with just your head. You start leading with your experience and practice and intelligence

  • You stop relying on just facts and data and start trusting what you know.

  • You see what's possible in people before they see it in themselves.

  • You create spaces where others feel safe enough to take risks.

  • You don't just lead. You elevate.

And when you do that?

People follow. Not because they have to, but because they want to.

The Arrival: Moving with Purpose

There's a moment where you wake up and realize:

"I'm not waiting anymore."

You're not waiting for permission, for the right time, for things to be perfect. You're not waiting to be good enough to take up space.

You own your choices. You move with intention.

Intentional: When Every Step Has Weight

You're not chasing growth for growth's sake. You're moving with clarity.

You're not trying to do everything. You're choosing what matters.

You're not playing small. You're stepping into full power.

And that's when you know. You're not just growing. You've become the kind of person who helps others grow too.

The Seeds Are Already in You

If you've ever felt restless, like something inside you is waiting to wake up, this is what's been calling you.

You don't have to force it. You don't have to prove anything.

You just have to start paying attention.

These seeds have been in you since the beginning.

It's time to start growing.

Categories

Talent Development, Executive Leadership

Tags

seeds of potential, leadership identity, executive leadership, authentic leadership

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