Listening is the Strategy: A new way to grow a business—rooted in reverence, not performance

In my last piece, I shared the story of an eagle I encountered on the side of the road—regal, still, standing over a bed of carrion. She appeared as an omen for March, carrying a message in a form I hadn’t expected: increase your capacity for abundance.

But what she offered wasn’t inspiration wrapped in gold foil.

It was something quieter. Wilder.

A reminder that abundance often arrives through the back door—disguised as decay, discomfort, or delay. It doesn’t always arrive in beautiful packaging. Sometimes, it shows up in mess, in grief, and in the things we’d rather avoid.

That moment stirred something in me—not just personally, but in how I understand abundance and growth itself.

Because the same principles apply to business.

We don’t grow by pushing harder.

We grow by listening.

Listening as a Practice of Growth

Richard Rohr writes that awe is the only solid foundation for the spiritual journey.

The same tenet holds true for creating a soulful business.

You can build on formulas. On performance metrics and productivity hacks. But those are scaffolds—they are not soil. A business rooted only in performance will always hunger for more.

A business rooted in listening, by contrast, learns to grow with the seasons. It deepens, adapts, and expands—without forcing.

This kind of listening isn’t passive. It’s devotional.

It’s a practice of attunement to what is quietly calling from underneath the noise. To the whisper of intuition, the pattern in synchronicities, the shift of energy in your body when something feels off—or profoundly right.

I pay attention to the weather. My nervous system. Animal encounters. Dreams. The ideas that make me come alive. The ones that leave me brittle.

This is a different kind of intelligence than we are taught in schools.

Nonlinear. Intuitive. Alive.

It can be learned. It isn’t something you’re born with or left without.

Everyone can access this wisdom.

It starts with noticing.

And choosing to respond.

 

Listening as the Way Forward

Listening isn’t just a quiet inner practice—it’s a strategy for navigating change.

In a rapidly shifting world—economically, environmentally, collectively—listening is how we stay nimble. Responsive. Solvent. Sane.

It’s how we begin to work with the energy of the moment instead of fighting it.

Listening helps us discern what’s truly needed—not just what’s trending. It shows us where to focus, when to pause, what to tend, and what to let go. It’s the key to creating offerings that are relevant and alive, instead of pre-scripted and flat.

In many ways, listening is the new planning.

Because what worked five years ago may not work now.

The old models are cracking. Hustle is burning people out. Audiences are craving truth, resonance, and depth. Business isn’t just about products anymore—it’s about relationship. Integrity. Presence.

And to do business this way, we must develop a deeper kind of discernment.

That doesn’t come from a spreadsheet.

It comes from paying attention.

Learning to listen in ways that aren’t always taught—through body, intuition, synchronicity, dreams, resonance, and energy. Through noticing where you come alive, where the friction is, where the path is opening, and where it’s closing.

It takes practice.

It takes trust.

But it’s learnable.

You don’t have to get it perfect.

You just have to begin.