Edition 17 | What They’ll Never See: The Inner Life of Purpose

Opening Note

You’ve carried things no one ever saw.

You’ve wept in silence after smiling in public. You’ve shown up to lead with shoulders heavy from battles you’ve never named.

And still, here you are.

Not just surviving, but stretching. Listening. Growing.

This edition is a pause. A reverent breath. A return to the truth that your deepest influence was never shaped on stages, it was formed in silence.

Let’s talk about that.

Purpose doesn’t shout. It whispers.

And the most purpose-filled people are often carrying stories that never made it into their bios:

-Grief that almost silenced their gift

-Rejection that redirected their vision

-Silence that refined their voice

You’ve built systems while carrying scars. You’ve poured into others while nursing wounds.

Your power isn’t in your polish. It’s in your presence. The way you keep showing up. The way you keep pouring, not because you’ve never been empty, but because you remember what it felt like to need someone full.

This is the sacred interior.

Where what almost broke you became what built you.

And where what they’ll never see shaped what the world now receives.

Story Feature: Quiet Power — The Viola Davis Journey

Viola Davis is an Academy Award-winning actress, producer, and author, but what defines her most isn’t her accolades. It’s her interior life. Her silent strength.

Born into extreme poverty in South Carolina, Viola grew up in a rat-infested apartment where hunger was a daily reality. She endured bullying, abuse, and racism, not in tabloids, but in the quiet corners of childhood that often form our deepest identities.

She didn’t just act to perform; she acted to survive. Her silence, her pain, and her unspoken fears became the very reservoir from which her power flows today.

Even at the peak of her success, Viola tells the truth that others avoid. She has said, "The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity."

But beneath that statement is the weight of a girl who was told she was too dark, too poor, too quiet, and who turned that pain into presence.

Today, she speaks with unwavering vulnerability about trauma, identity, and healing. Her memoir Finding Me is not a story of fame. It’s a study in reclaiming silence.

And that’s the point.

She didn’t wait until she was healed to start building.

She built while hurting. She led while healing. She created while questioning.

Because grace, the kind that leads to lasting purpose, doesn’t need applause. It just needs permission.

Viola’s life is a testament to what we carry quietly, shaping what we offer boldly.

And in that, she echoes the heartbeat of this entire edition: What they never saw became the reason she leads differently.

Summit Spotlight: AFRICA DUBAI BUSINESS SUMMIT(ADBS)

There’s something sacred about showing up, even when unseen. And sometimes, that quiet strength positions us to build bridges that others only dream about.

The AFRICA DUBAI BUSINESS SUMMIT(ADBS) event will take place on 12–13 November 2025 at Atlantis The Palm, Dubai, under the theme:

“Connecting Africa and the Arab World with Global Opportunities.”

In a world that celebrates noise, this is a moment for visionaries who have been building silently to step into the rooms where legacy is shaped.

From Presidents, Ministers, and Sovereign Wealth Funds to Industry Captains and Visionary Innovators, this summit is where purpose meets policy and legacy meets leverage.

Key Areas of Focus Include:

1. Agriculture: Pairing Africa’s fertile lands with Arab agritech and food security investments.

2. Finance: Bridging Africa’s fintech rise with Islamic finance and sovereign wealth.

3. Energy & Green Tech: Aligning Africa’s renewable potential with Arab clean energy funding.

4. ICT, Mining, Real Estate, and Manufacturing: Forging new trade corridors and innovation hubs.

Why It Matters:

1. Because what Africa brings, its people, its vision, its potential, has long been underestimated.

2. Because what the Arab world seeks, diversification, resilience, and real partnerships, can be found in Africa.

And because sometimes, what you’ve been building in silence finally finds its platform.

Chambers of Commerce, Associations, Industry Leaders, this is your invitation to rise into the global conversations your work has prepared you for.

Express interest as a delegate, sponsor, or pavilion partner here: https://lnkd.in/dedEFVeW

Reflection Prompt

If the silence in your story could speak, what would it say?

What part of your past still holds a message you haven’t yet allowed to rise?

What would happen if you stopped hiding it?

Purpose in Practice

1. Write the Letter: Draft a note from your past self to your current self. What have you survived? What have you forgotten to honor?

2. Let Silence Speak: Identify a part of your life you’ve never shared, and write down what it taught you.

3. Reframe the Fire: What nearly broke you? How can it become a lesson, a system, or a strategy for someone else?

Catch up on past editions of Holistic Influence here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/holistic-influence-hi-7316476760437497856?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base%3BPWbVSyH3TOWFsMA6OLJ3Og%3D%3D

Order my book, Chains of Grace: The Gospel of the Unspoken, where legacy meets healing: princessmutisya.com/books

Invite me to speak on regulatory vision, policy influence, and strategic law for Africa’s emerging future: https://princessmutisya.com/book-consultation/

Final Whisper

What they never saw became the reason I lead differently.

Your story doesn’t need a stage to matter.

Let grace do the storytelling.

With purpose and precision,

~ Princess Caroline M.

Grace wins every time.