My husband and I got my daughter 8 chickens for her second birthday. (She's very serious about taking care of them).
Every morning she grabs a handful of feed, and throws approximately 40% of it at the chickens and 60% of it at herself. She narrates everything. "Pollitos. Comida. Pollitos."
We got the flock a few months ago because I wanted her to understand a few things early.
That things need you to show up for them every single day. That you do not get eggs without doing the work first. That something alive depends on your consistency, not your convenience.
These are the things my grandfather built this company on. He came from Japan in the 1970s, planned to retire, and instead planted something. Not because the timing was perfect. Because he showed up.
I have been working inside this business since I was seven. I did not understand then what I understand now: the most important thing my family ever passed down was not a strategy or a portfolio. It was the disposition. Work hard. Take the long view. Do the unglamorous thing every day.
My daughter is learning that from chickens right now. Which is honestly the right level of complexity for a two-year-old.
(She has also learned that chickens do not want to be hugged. We are still working on that one.)
What is the first thing that taught you patience as a kid?
