The Dishwasher & the Truth About Leadership

When my son was little, I found him inside the dishwasher. Not broken—just taken apart.

He wanted to know how it worked.

🛠️ That was my first clue: this kid was born with an engineering mind.

So when he declared mechanical engineering as his major in college, it felt like destiny.

I imagined innovation. Invention. Patents. Maybe a TED Talk or two.

I believed he was going to set the world on fire with his brilliance. 🔥

Then he moved to Michigan.

And found a different passion: horticulture. More specifically—cannabis cultivation and mycology. 🪴🍄

And I’ll be honest — my heart sank a little. 🫤

Not because I didn’t love him. But because I’d built an image in my head of what his greatness should look like.

I was comparing his path to the one I’d imagined for him.

And comparison, as I know and teach, is just a dressed-up form of judgment.

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Let’s Unpack It 💼

That moment — where my heart sank—wasn’t really about him.

It was about my attachment. My expectations.

The version of success I’d quietly mapped out for him… without asking.

But here's the thing:

Judgment sneaks in when our hopes or reality get tangled up in expectations.

So I paused. Took a breath. Looked deeper.

And chose to shift above the line — to a powerful perspective.

💗 Acceptance is letting go of the need to control someone else’s path.

💗 Love is wanting for them what they want for themselves.

💗 Appreciation is trusting that the unfolding is on purpose, even if it looks different than we pictured.

Turns out? My son is thriving.

He’s fused that engineering brain with a deep love for cultivation and entrepreneurship.

He’s respected. Successful. And fully alive.

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He didn’t follow the map his parents drew. 🗺️

He followed his own compass. 🧭

And that’s what real leadership looks like.

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What This Taught Me About Leadership

✔️ The dishwasher moment was real.

✔️ So was the fear when his path shifted.

But so is this truth:

Living above the line means accepting what is—not just what we hoped it would be.

And acceptance? That’s the doorway to peace.

In leadership. In parenting. In life.

📌 [The Powerful Perspective]

What if the real measure of leadership—and love—isn’t guiding people toward our version of greatness, but creating space for them to discover their own?

When we lead with acceptance over assumption, we stop managing outcomes — and start trusting the process.

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Leadership doesn’t always show up in a boardroom.

It shows up in how we respond to detours.

To dishwasher discoveries.

To destiny that doesn’t look the way we planned.

You might be there right now.

You’ve outgrown the old plan. You feel something new emerging.

People around you still see “the engineer,” but deep down—you’re craving something else.

That’s not confusion.

That’s growth.

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👉 If this hits home, let’s talk about how to honor what’s emerging for you.

The Leadership Pathway Program is designed for people exactly like you — those ready to lead from a higher place, with clarity, compassion, and courage.

Let’s walk your next steps together — on purpose, above the line.

🪴 Lead with love. Trust the unfolding. Build something beautiful.