Learning from My Son (and Finally Listening to My Wife)

For years, literally years, Christina has been telling me the same thing:

“Just share what you’re doing.”

Not polished.
Not perfect.
Not fully figured out.

Just… share it.

And for years, I’ve nodded, agreed, and then proceeded to do the exact opposite.

Because in my mind, if I was going to put something out into the world, it needed to be:

• complete

• correct

• thoughtful

• edited

• and, ideally, tied up with a nice bow

It wasn’t about being inauthentic, it was actually the opposite. I wanted everything to be so right, so dialed in, that it would truly be worth your time.

But the reality is, that mindset kept me from sharing some of the most interesting, exciting, and meaningful parts of what we do: the process.

Shane filming Bill during an Ancestral Table class on Sourdough Shaping

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Returned from Ireland to find this in the backyard - complete with the demo on the lawn!

Enter Billy (and a questionable boat)

Fast forward to recently.

Our son Billy has started documenting a project he’s calling “Dream Duck Boat Build” on Instagram.

He bought a used boat (while we were in Ireland) . . . and let’s just say it came with character.

And by character, I mean:

• things that don’t work

• rotten wood

• and a need for a complete overhaul

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And what Billy has done is just start filming.

No overthinking.
No polishing.
No waiting until it’s perfect.

He just:

• hits record

• shares what he and his buddies are working on

• talks through what’s going right

• what’s going wrong

• what’s funny

• what they’re figuring out in real time

And the result?

It’s incredible.

Here’s some raw unedited footage he sent us while we were in Ireland.

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The part that really got me

Our proud son with his new project boat

Billy is already incredibly skilled - he’s great with tools, great with his hands, and not afraid to get dirty.

But this project? It’s new.

He’s learning as he goes.

And instead of hiding that, he’s bringing people along for it.

And people are showing up.

Over the past week, no matter where Christina and I go, we keep getting asked:

“Are you following Billy’s boat project?”
“What do you think about Billy’s boat?”
“How’s Billy’s project going?”

And I just stood there thinking:

This is it.

This is what Christina has been trying to tell me all along.

Billy and Landon have taken over the backyard with the Dream Duck Boat Project.

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The lesson (finally landing)

People don’t just want the finished product.

They want:

• the process

• the experiments

• the wins

• the failures

• the learning

They want to be part of the journey.

And Billy - without overthinking it, without strategizing it, without trying to perfect it—just started sharing.

And it’s working.

Not because it’s polished.

But because it’s real.

Day 1 of the Duck Boat Build

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A small confession

Christina has been right about this for a long time.

(There. I said it publicly.)

She has been encouraging me, pushing me, to share more of what’s actually happening day to day:

• what we’re working on

• what we’re experimenting with

• what’s working

• what’s not

• what we’re learning

And I’ve been hesitant.

Not because I didn’t believe in it but because I wanted it to be just right before putting it out into the world.

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That changes now

So I’m committing to you, right here, that I’m going to start doing exactly that.

More:

• unedited

• unscripted

• uncurated content

More:

• behind the scenes

• experiments in progress

• ideas that aren’t finished yet

More of the real work.

Because that’s where the story actually is.

And credit where it’s due

This shift didn’t come from a book.
Or a strategy meeting.
Or a marketing plan.

It came from watching my son.

And I think there’s something really powerful and honestly, pretty humbling about learning a lesson from your child.

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If you want to follow along

If you’re not already, I highly recommend checking out what Billy is doing with his Dream Duck Boat Build.

It’s creative, it’s honest, it’s funny, and it’s exactly the kind of thing that reminds you why making things matters.

Give him a follow here: Billy’s Instagram: billy_wbs

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Final thought

Food has always been, for us, the ultimate storyteller.

But I’m realizing now that the process, the making, the experimenting, the figuring it out, that’s part of the story too.

And it’s time I started sharing more of it with you.

Here’s my first of many new, unscripted videos coming your way!