"Cultivate and inhabit the emerged lands, discover the submerged lands."
We live on the surface.
We live by images, by roles, by constructed narratives.
We live exposed, often under pressure: communicate, perform, position ourselves.
Yet, every identity (personal, corporate, territorial, and product) is also made up of what is not seen… of seabeds, of layers, of silences.
In my work — halfway between humanistic coaching, strategic identity design, and storytelling — I often meet clients who ask me:
“How can we tell our story better?”
My answer is always the same:
“First you need to rediscover what lies beneath.”
THE EMERGED LANDS: WHAT IS SEEN OF US.
The emerged lands are everything that appears:
- the logo;
- the website;
- the corporate photos;
- the product shootings;
- the way you present yourself;
- the services you offer;
- the words you use.
They are the visible part of your identity.
But also the part that is most often taken care of without deep coherence.
Because many start from there: from the image, from communication, from the surface.
But cultivating what is seen without knowing what moves us inside risks generating incoherence. And incoherence… is perceived. Always.
Inhabit what you show. But do it with strong roots.
THE SUBMERGED LANDS: WHAT MOVES US.
The submerged lands are the unspoken emotions.
The deep intentions. The forgotten stories. The unresolved experiences.
The real values (not the ones written on the website).
The wounds. The dreams. The questions still open.
They are the submerged part “of the identity iceberg.”
And often they are also the real transformative lever.
In my approach, I accompany clients and teams on a journey of listening, exploration and slowness.
Because only when you have the courage to “go below”… something begins to rise up.
And what emerges has a narrative and strategic power that no artificial positioning can ever offer. You can’t truly tell what you’ve never looked in the face.
IDENTITY WORK IS AN ACT OF CULTIVATION.
“Cultivate and inhabit the emerged lands.”
It means: take care of what you already are.
But do it with awareness.
Make your identity space livable.
Don’t communicate out of duty but out of coherence.
Don’t be recognizable for strategy but for truth.
“Discover the submerged lands.”
It means: ask yourself new questions.
Accept not having all the answers.
Open breaches. Let the unexpected emerge.
Because often, right down there, we find what we were missing to be truly authentic.
A COACH, A DESIGNER, A STORYTELLER: ALL AND NONE.
Sometimes people ask me what my job is.
Coach? Strategist? Copywriter? Identity consultant?
I say I’m someone who helps people truly tell their story.
But to do that, you first have to learn to recognize yourself.
And to recognize yourself, you have to dive in.
Listen. Pause. Resurface.
True storytelling is not born from creativity.
It is born from deep coherence between inside and outside.
We live in times that demand speed, visibility, positioning.
But I, every day, choose depth.
I choose silence before the word.
I choose immersion before storytelling.
I choose to work with those who have the courage to get lost for a moment… and then come back to the surface with new eyes.
Because those who have the courage to explore their own submerged lands,
will then be able to inhabit their own emerged lands with presence.
And there, finally, they will be able to truly tell their story.
Do you need to bring order to your personal or professional identity?
Are you also tired of communicating “what works” and want to communicate “who you really are”?
Do you want to build a coherent, honest, deep narrative?
Not to please others but to recognize yourself.
