Our essence is that part of us that is significant and unique.
My colleagues Jim Cathcart and Glenn Capelli would say Nurture Your Nature (Jim) and Quiddity - the basic nature or quality of something, that makes it different from other things (Glenn).
Stephen Covey said Voice and the Japanese say Ikigai. One of my all time favourite presenters Sir Ken Robinson said element. The great dancer Martha Graham would have said a vitality, a life force, a quickening.
In the book that has greatly influenced my life, Hero of a Thousand Faces, author Joseph Campbell said Follow Your Bliss.
And in a sentence that sends shivers up my spine every time I say it Steve Farber says “Do what you love in the service of people who love what you do.”
In my work since 1991 I have often used Gift because that was how I learned a proven principle called ‘Enhancing Their Gifts’ from its originator and my best friend Terry Jenner (TJ). Terry saw his role as a cricket coach primarily as a mentor who ‘enhanced the gift’ of his pupils whom who called masters.
I sometimes use Music to reference Gift because it’s deeply personal to me as I explored in the video above.
I love all of these wonderful insights into our essence and being the best version of ourselves, that one-of-a-kind human being that each of us is.
Nature, Quiddity, Voice, Ikigai, Element, Vitality, Bliss, Love, Gifts, Music, Essence.
Which word resonates the most with you?
What does the word you chose mean to you in terms of what is significant and unique about you?
When I first took this action myself I chose Music as the word that resonated with me and wrote down that my Music was that special part of me that noticed what other people often didn’t.
Over several years as I explored this with family, friends, colleagues and mentors, I began to favour the word essence and started articulating my essence as "I sense what most people don’t, say what I sense in ways that inspire people, and shine lights on possible pathways for what’s next."
How would your sentence read?
This year our journey so far in this newsletter has looked at wisdom as being true to yourself no matter the situation. We've explored doing whatever you do from a place of love. Last month we added the dimension of seeking the collective wisdom or shared-view as a way of being in our world. This of course is in stark contrast with many leaders who say "my way is the only way".
Now we have added essence or whatever word you chose to signify what is significant and unique about you.
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