Member since January 2026
Joie Seldon, M.A., is the founder of Emotional Evolution Institute and author of EMOTIONS, an Owner's Manual. She has been a transformative coach for professionals seeking greater success and personal fulfillment. She’s worked with clients from NASA, AT&T, Wells Fargo, Blue Shield, Dolby, and many more.
She created the Emotions at Work online course in 2020 after 12 years as a leadership and career development coach.
Her inovative work in Emotional Intelligence stems from 25 years as an actor and acting teacher, 10 years as a somatic psychology therapist, and a lifetime of personal growth endeavors. She teaches folks how to stop limiting behaviors and utilize their emotions as the powerful guidance system they are meant to be.
I love shedding light on misguided beliefs and myths about emotions that keep people unhappy and unfulfilled. I bring a new perspective about emotions, sparking "ah ha" moment that shifts people's experience of their feelings from being a liability to one of their greatest assets. Emotions are not the problem; they are a profound guidance system. When you understand the language and purpose of emotions, you will experience the greatest joy possible.
"Jane" had achieved a certain level of success in her career working at a Fortune 500 company. After a serious illness, she lost her confidence and was constantly worried that she'd be fired. She also struggled with how to deal with a difficult colleague. In our work together, she gained a new perspective on her fears. She then learned tools and techniques for building emotional strength and agility and ways to communicate effectively. As her self-awareness and EQ skills grew, so did her confidence. She began speaking up, being more assertive in sharing her ideas about how to improve things. in her department. Two things happened. Her difficult colleague became more open and less controlling. And, when her boss was transferred to a different position, she was promoted into his role, the one she had been afraid of being fired from.
I spell my name J-o-i-e, but it's pronounced J-o-y. I changed the spelling in high school French class because “Joy” felt like a lie. I wasn’t joyful. I felt like an outsider in my family, different, unseen, and alone.
I left home at 18 and found my way to Hollywood, where I had dreams of becoming a movie star. My insecurities and lack of family support compounded my cluelessness as to how to succeed.
After a few years of some hit-and-miss success, I found myself one day unable to pay my rent. Having no clue as to how to change my life, I was so despondent I literally couldn't move. That's when I heard a voice in my head say, "You are not meant to be miserable." That's when I became a seeker.
Something that consistently moved me forward was my willingness to feel my emotions fully. My emotions became my teachers. They helped me recognize old patterns, make better choices, and trust my intuition.
Eventually, I built a life I loved living in San Francisco, earning my living as an actor and acting teacher, and, most meaningfully, having an emotionally honest and happy marriage. I no longer felt alone.
Thinking “I’ve arrived!” I was surprised to once again hear that voice in my head say, “Now what?”
I met with a counselor and she posed her own simple yet terrifying question: “What do you do better than anyone else in the world?” Intimidated at first, I suddenly said, “I feel.”
In that instant, I knew my purpose. I was meant to teach people how to feel—without shame, judgment, or fear.
That realization led me to create classes, earn a Master’s degree in Somatic Counseling Psychology, and develop a practical system for understanding emotions and using them as a resource rather than a liability. This system is laid out in my book, “Emotions: An Owner’s Manual.”
Now many years working with clients and students, I’ve witnessed—and lived—how emotional health supports physical healing, deepens intimacy, fuels meaningful work, and creates a fulfilling life. Having worked with clients in many countries around the world, this is true no matter the culture, religion or gender.
With all the troubles in today’s world, I decided to establish the Emotional Evolution Institute to promote emotional awareness, intelligence and well-being.
After more than forty years on this path, I know this to be true: learning to feel your emotions honestly, with a few essential tools that help you express them appropriately, is one of the most self-loving and life-changing things you can do.
"Jane" had achieved a certain level of success in her career working at a Fortune 500 company. After a serious illness, she lost her confidence and was constantly worried that she'd be fired. She also struggled with how to deal with a difficult colleague. In our work together, she gained a new perspective on her fears. She then learned tools and techniques for building emotional strength and agility and ways to communicate effectively. As her self-awareness and EQ skills grew, so did her confidence. She began speaking up, being more assertive in sharing her ideas about how to improve things. in her department. Two things happened. Her difficult colleague became more open and less controlling. And, when her boss was transferred to a different position, she was promoted into his role, the one she had been afraid of being fired from.
I spell my name J-o-i-e, but it's pronounced J-o-y. I changed the spelling in high school French class because “Joy” felt like a lie. I wasn’t joyful. I felt like an outsider in my family, different, unseen, and alone.
I left home at 18 and found my way to Hollywood, where I had dreams of becoming a movie star. My insecurities and lack of family support compounded my cluelessness as to how to succeed.
After a few years of some hit-and-miss success, I found myself one day unable to pay my rent. Having no clue as to how to change my life, I was so despondent I literally couldn't move. That's when I heard a voice in my head say, "You are not meant to be miserable." That's when I became a seeker.
Something that consistently moved me forward was my willingness to feel my emotions fully. My emotions became my teachers. They helped me recognize old patterns, make better choices, and trust my intuition.
Eventually, I built a life I loved living in San Francisco, earning my living as an actor and acting teacher, and, most meaningfully, having an emotionally honest and happy marriage. I no longer felt alone.
Thinking “I’ve arrived!” I was surprised to once again hear that voice in my head say, “Now what?”
I met with a counselor and she posed her own simple yet terrifying question: “What do you do better than anyone else in the world?” Intimidated at first, I suddenly said, “I feel.”
In that instant, I knew my purpose. I was meant to teach people how to feel—without shame, judgment, or fear.
That realization led me to create classes, earn a Master’s degree in Somatic Counseling Psychology, and develop a practical system for understanding emotions and using them as a resource rather than a liability. This system is laid out in my book, “Emotions: An Owner’s Manual.”
Now many years working with clients and students, I’ve witnessed—and lived—how emotional health supports physical healing, deepens intimacy, fuels meaningful work, and creates a fulfilling life. Having worked with clients in many countries around the world, this is true no matter the culture, religion or gender.
With all the troubles in today’s world, I decided to establish the Emotional Evolution Institute to promote emotional awareness, intelligence and well-being.
After more than forty years on this path, I know this to be true: learning to feel your emotions honestly, with a few essential tools that help you express them appropriately, is one of the most self-loving and life-changing things you can do.
