The Why

There is a quote by Steve Jobs that I’ve always gravitated toward. He says, “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards…”

He then goes on to say, “So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”

It’s another play on hindsight is 20/20. Yet the message is more closely tied to letting go – and takes it a step further in embracing the unknown – as opposed to trying and craft it.

When I look back on my life thus far, it’s easy to spot all the decisions, people, places, and things that have brought me to today. Carly’s story, while different in twists & turns, has done the same thing for her. And I imagine each person who reads this could point to their story as well. All of this to say we are here now, in this moment. We have an idea of what we want to build, but we are also aware that life has its own idea. So we move full steam ahead, in faith it will move the direction it should, not necessarily the direction we believe is right today.

You might be thinking… great. This is great, Kyle. Truly. But, what does this have to do with Carlyle Center? Well, I am glad you asked. The purpose of today’s blog is to discuss the why. And, I don’t think we can accomplish the why without the realization of what Mr. Jobs said about those dots.

So, why are we building Carlyle Center? Why have those dots led us to today? The answer is actually pretty simple: We want to elevate families, so they feel the knowledge & power to do what is right for their child, should they be in – or thinking of – ABA therapy.

Currently, we do that through Education, Awareness, and Transparency.

  • Education – when Carly gets behind the keyboard, she is sharing detailed information that is so important to daily progress for children diagnosed with ASD.

  • Awareness – we’ve made social media an important piece to our strategy, because we want to be discussing this. We want people to be thinking about us, and as a result, Autism.

  • Transparency – this field isn’t about squashing the competition. This field is about propping up the competition. It’s about letting people know what is out there, and how to take the next step.

And today’s version of elevating the knowledge & power of families is just the start. It’s been our founding principles from the start though – principles we intend to grow, evolve, and sharpen as we grow ourselves.

As we look into tomorrow, a part of us knows we can’t commit to anything too much. However, we can plan for what we believe (at this moment in time) is the right next step. And as that currently stands, we see a center in our future. One in which parents are taken care of as much as their children. A center that has learned how best to work with the education system. A center that strives at detailing the right process, the right conversations, and the right decisions. A center that doesn’t chase being the largest, rather chases being the very best place for children.

We have a long way to go until that day. And that day may very well change. That is okay if it does, because we have our why down. We know there is a need in lifting up families, bringing them behind the scenes, and educating them.

When it comes down to it, Carly and I are just a married couple with a vision for doing something better. We can’t tell you what tomorrow will bring, but we can tell you the only direction is forward. We can tell you that whatever happens, it is exactly what should happen.

We can tell you to trust the dots. And we’ll do the same.


Kyle Steiner