💚🔥🐉 Leadership doesn’t start with titles.

It starts with the humble work that no one notices.

I know this firsthand.

I grew up in California and had to pay my own way through university. And in America, that’s no small feat, tuition is expensive. So I worked hard from a young age, saving every dollar.

My first official jobs were humble ones: cashier, lab assistant, conference housing, office support. Those roles taught me patience, service, and the dignity of work, no matter how small.

After graduating in Computer Science & Engineering, I moved to Switzerland, hungry to explore new cultures. I spent most of my twenties there, traveling, working in engineering roles at companies like Alcatel, MondayCoffee, and Smarcom AG. Eventually, when financial struggles at a company forced me into contracting, I founded Avagasso GmbH. That survival pivot became the seed of entrepreneurship.

In my thirties, life shifted again. I started a family, became a mother of three, and later moved to the Netherlands. Between motherhood and a hard marriage, my confidence was broken. I took jobs far below my ability, quietly supporting others and helping teams grow long before I was recognized as someone who influenced.

But I learned many things in all the humble roles I held throughout the years. They were my narrow cave. They taught me empathy, resilience, and how to notice the quiet fires in others.

📖 Today’s dragon truth from Breath of the Dragon:

“Humble work shapes the leader within—the patience and empathy you build in small beginnings prepare you to guide people with wisdom later.”

(From The Leadership Leap, Chapter 5: Shedding Skin — where I explore how leadership is forged in the unseen seasons, when you’re still curling small before your wings stretch wide.)

Even mountain-sized dragons start small. 🐲

💬 What did your humble beginnings teach you about leadership?

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