EP 322 - Seeds Grow in the Soil: Why the Most Important Progress Is Invisible (Yet)
- Govindh Jayaraman
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
There are seasons where doing the work feels strangely unrewarding.
You’re showing up. You’re staying consistent. You’re doing what you said you would do.
And yet — nothing obvious is happening.
No external validation. No visible breakthrough. No clear sign that you’re “on track.”
That’s usually when doubt starts whispering questions we don’t want to answer: Is this actually working? Am I wasting time? Shouldn’t I be further along by now?
This Edge of the Napkin episode is about that exact season — the one where growth is real, but hidden. The phase where progress exists, just not where you’re looking for it.
Because one of the hardest leadership lessons — in life and in business — is this:
Seeds grow in the soil, not in the spotlight.
The Cost of Misreading Silence
We live in a world that celebrates what’s visible. If something can be measured, shared, or announced, we trust it. If it can’t, we question it.
But growth doesn’t care about appearances. Growth cares about conditions.
And when you don’t understand how growth actually works, you don’t just slow yourself down — you often sabotage the very thing you’re trying to build.
Most people don’t quit because they lack discipline or intelligence. They quit because they misinterpret silence as failure.
A Parable of Two Farmers
Imagine two farmers working identical land with identical seeds.
The first farmer prepares the soil carefully. He removes obvious rocks, plants the seeds, waters the field — and then waits. Not passively, but patiently. He understands the process.
The second farmer does the same thing at first. But after a few days, he grows restless. Nothing is visible. So he digs.
“Just checking,” he tells himself.
He covers the seed back up. Waits a little longer. Digs again. Adjusts the seed. Adds water. Worries he’s added too much. Keeps checking.
One farmer looks inactive. The other looks busy.
Only one of them will harvest anything.
Why?
Because every time the impatient farmer digs, he destroys the fragile roots forming underground — the very roots that make growth possible.
Growth requires stability before it earns visibility.
Seeds Don’t Grow in Clean Places
Seeds don’t grow in sterile environments. They grow in dirt.
And dirt isn’t punishment. It’s nourishment.
Pressure. Moisture. Time. Stillness.
Ironically, these are the exact conditions most of us try to escape. We want reassurance before commitment. Proof before patience.
But seeds don’t get reassurance.
They get buried.
And here’s the part most people overlook: soil grows weeds too.
When Waiting Turns Into Planting the Wrong Things
Many of us say we’re waiting — but what we’re really doing is planting.
We plant doubt: Maybe this isn’t working.
We plant fear: What if this fails?
We plant comparison: They’re so much further ahead than I am.
Weeds grow faster than seeds. Left unchecked, they steal oxygen from the soil and weaken what’s trying to grow.
Later, when progress struggles to surface, we blame the seed — not the environment we allowed to form.
We quit right when the roots are taking hold.
The Invisible Phase Is Where Growth Is Decided
Most real progress doesn’t feel like progress.
It feels like:
effort without feedback
repetition without reward
discipline without dopamine
And that’s why so many people abandon good ideas, meaningful businesses, and strong leadership paths — not at the beginning, and not at the end, but right in the middle.
Right when the roots are forming.
The Seed Must Crack to Become What It’s Meant to Be
Here’s the deeper truth most people never consider:
A seed doesn’t become a better seed.
It becomes something else entirely.
Before anything can grow above the surface, the seed must crack. Split. Break apart. In every meaningful sense, the seed is destroyed.
The shell that once protected it would suffocate it later.
And this is where growth gets uncomfortable for us.
We want expansion without loss. Success without surrender. Becoming without breaking.
But growth doesn’t negotiate.
Some versions of you must end so that something stronger can emerge.
Looking for Progress in the Wrong Places
Another trap we fall into is looking for progress where we expect to find it.
More revenue. More confidence. More clarity.
But often progress shows up sideways — in calmer reactions, stronger boundaries, better questions, or fewer emotional decisions.
Because that progress isn’t flashy, we dismiss it.
Meanwhile, everything is reorganizing beneath the surface.
The Bamboo Lesson
Bamboo is famous for a reason.
For up to five years, nothing visible happens. No shoots. No stalks. No proof.
But underground, an enormous root system is forming.
Then suddenly, bamboo can grow several feet in a single day.
Not because it rushed — but because it was ready.
Bamboo bends without breaking. It survives storms. It lasts.
That kind of strength can’t be rushed.
What This Looks Like in Business and Leadership
In business, this shows up when founders pivot too early. They’re learning, refining, building trust — but abandon the work before momentum compounds.
In leadership, it shows up as hovering instead of trusting. Interrupting culture instead of letting it form. Digging instead of stabilizing the soil.
Strong businesses and strong teams aren’t built in visible moments. They’re built quietly, long before results show up.
How to Support Real Growth
Real growth requires restraint.
Less digging. Fewer fear-based decisions. More consistency.
It means pulling weeds early — naming doubt, challenging fear, and refusing to rehearse failure.
It means watering the soil with small, boring fundamentals done well over time.
And it means giving growth intentional time, not infinite time.
Final Thought
Seeds don’t grow because they’re watched.
They grow because the soil is right.
So ask yourself:
Where are you digging too often? What weeds are you letting grow? And what might already be forming — quietly — beneath the surface?
You don’t need proof.
You need patience.
The soil is working.
Even now.
5 Key Takeaways
Silence doesn’t mean failure — it often means roots are forming.
Take Action: Commit to staying with one meaningful effort one season longer than feels comfortable.
Growth begins underground before it becomes visible.
Take Action: Identify one habit you’ll continue even without feedback or validation.
Doubt and fear are weeds that must be removed early. T
ake Action: Write down the doubts you’re rehearsing — then question their truth.
The seed must crack to become something greater.
Take Action: Name one outdated identity, role, or habit you may need to release.
Strong growth is patient growth.
Take Action: Shift your focus from results to tending the soil consistently.
✍️ Your Turn What are you growing right now — quietly, beneath the surface?
Write it down on a napkin. Protect it. And when you’re ready, share it using #PaperNapkinWisdom.