Have you ever had that moment when you realize something in your life or business just doesn’t feel right anymore? That’s exactly where I found myself about a year ago, staring at The School of Mom’s branding and feeling… nothing. Four years into this journey, the colors and logo that once served their purpose now felt flat, lacking the depth and soul that our community had developed.

When Your Brand Outgrows Its Container

The original branding for The School of Mom was created back in 2019 when, truthfully, I was still figuring out what this community and its offerings would become. I remember laughing during meetings with the design team because I had so many unknowns. And kudos to them as they did a wonderful job creating something from that uncertainty.

But as our community evolved, deepened, and found its true voice, that initial branding no longer reflected who we had become. There was so much heart, soul, and personality to The School of MOM that wasn’t being visually expressed.

When Challenging Relationships Become Unexpected Teachers

Like many entrepreneurs, I turned to my network and found a designer who seemed aligned with our values. The process started with meditation as part of the brand discovery, which was very appealing. 

What unfolded, however, was one of the most difficult professional relationships I’ve experienced. Without diving into all the details, there was a fundamental disconnect between my vision and the designer’s interpretation. Communication became strained, feedback was taken personally, and what should have been a joyful process became a source of self-doubt and frustration.

The breaking point came when the designer suggested I “should have a better idea of your brand” before attempting a rebrand. For someone who had spent four years pouring my heart into building this community, those words felt like a slap across the face.

Walking away from that contract—and the 50% deposit—was painful but necessary. It became one of those business decisions that teaches you to trust yourself, even when it costs you financially.

Turning Inward When External Solutions Fail

In the midst of this challenging experience, I turned to a practice that has since become central to how I make decisions: meditation that connects me to my intuition.

What began as a “Hail Mary” attempt to find clarity has now become my first step in any important decision. I sat down to connect with the soul of the brand—yes, the soul of the brand—and asked what it wanted to look like.

During this meditation, I had a vivid visual experience. I was lying in the sun when suddenly things began falling all around me—not snow, but Maple seeds (also known as “helicopters”). Those playful, spiraling seeds that children love to watch twirl to the ground.

When I opened my eyes, the answer seemed obvious: why not go with the Maple seed? It felt playful, connected to nature, and reminded me of being fully present in my body as a child—all themes central to The School of MOM.

When Synchronicity Confirms Your Path

With my new designer (an absolute breath of fresh air who truly “got it”), we moved forward with the Maple seed concept. Out of curiosity, I decided to research the symbolic meaning of Maple seeds.

What I discovered made my jaw drop as I couldn’t have picked or found a better fit if I tried.

Maple seeds represent courage and hope—the courage to release what’s familiar and the hope that the winds of change will carry them to fertile ground where they can truly flourish. Yes, flourish—the exact name of our signature program!

These seeds symbolize resilience and transformation. They’re designed to auto-rotate perfectly, even when their “blades” are torn or misshapen. They take root in surprising places, instinctively knowing how to grow into something strong and beautiful.

But first, they must let go, bravely releasing from their mother tree to spiral through the air toward new beginnings.

Maple represents unity, quiet transformation, and peaceful inner work. It stands for balance, strength, longevity, and abundance. Known as the “Peaceful Friend,” Maple supports transformational inner work—the very work we do in The School of Mom as we learn to mother ourselves mindfully.

Could there possibly be a more perfect symbol for our community?

The Lesson: Trust What Wants to Emerge

This experience taught me something profound: my brand isn’t really “mine” at all. The School of MOM is a movement that’s channeling through me, and my job is to surrender to what it wants to be rather than forcing my own vision.

That difficult designer relationship became the pressure cooker that pushed me into deeper trust. Had I not faced that challenge, I might never have turned inward and discovered what was waiting to emerge.

Where We’re Heading Now

This lesson of surrender continues to guide my business decisions. Recently, in another meditation, I connected with the “Flourished Mother” archetype that guides our work. The message was clear: close enrollment for Flourish and write the book that wants to come through.

So that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re closing the doors to new FLOURISH members for now, focusing on our current community, and I’m channeling my energy into writing the book that wants to be born.

The Wisdom in Feeling Our Way Forward

In business and life, especially in marketing and motherhood, we’re taught to think our way into decisions. But increasingly, I’m discovering that the ultimate solutions come when we feel our way into things.

When we tune into whatever we’re wrestling with and perhaps even ask it directly what it wants to become, we tap into wisdom far deeper than logic or “shoulds” could ever provide.

The Maple seed reminds us that sometimes, we need to let go and trust that we are “perfectly auto-rotating” exactly as we need to be. We won’t crash—we’ll simply float to exactly where we’re meant to land and grow.

What in your business or life might be waiting for you to surrender to its true nature?