Hello Everyone.  I am excited to say that I have a guest contributor to Mr. Rodge’s Neighborhood.  This writer shares their various personal and professional experiences to provide down to earth, practical insights into our daily lives.  Please welcome Sam Choi of Simple Wisdom Web and Blog.

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Now, besides cooking, there was a few things I learned during my times as a chef in a 2 Michelin Starred restaurant.

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Some Back Story

Before people jump to conclusions, I was never considered an exceptionally gifted child. I had some talent in writing and drawing, but what child didn’t? And I never really harvested that talent, and so by the time I was in the fifth grade, my reading comprehension level was two years behind, at the 3rd grade level.

 

However, later on in life, I got tired of being considered average, and so I pushed myself. I put myself in situations that were uncomfortable, because I knew that I would grow. To give you an example of my somewhat obsession, one of the times I was homeless(and there have been several), I became homeless on purpose because I thought there was something to learn there, and I was right.

 

And if there was any overarching theme in my life, it would be that growth comes from experience, and you do not have to wait for life to give them to you. As we get older, our focus becomes more narrow, and we start to worry more. We focus on our careers, and we worry about retirement or rent. We lose sight of something much more important than financial security.

 

We forget to be better people. And that doesn’t only mean being smart or “intelligent”, it also includes our morals, ethics, and principals. How do we become more grateful? How do we become happier, and how can we spread that happiness? The genre of self-improvement has a narrow scope of being more productive or more active. A lot of the material out there tries to motivate you to be more successful and sexier, which is great, but what about our morals?

 

I think we should focus on our inner state of mind, as much as we focus on our outwardly success. But I don’t want to preach that right now either. Back to what I learned from being a chef.

 

If you lift weights, this idea will come easy for you as well. When I was a chef, everything was about repetition. I have probably cut 100,000 mushrooms, peas, tomatoes, and scallops. I have probably cooked the same 3-5 dishes over 1000 times each. And what I have learned is, that is mastery. If you want to truly master something, get closer to a goal, it’s all about repetition. Arnold Schwarzenegger thought the same thing when he was a bodybuilding champion. For him, every rep was a step closer to his goals. Getting better slowly, but surely getting better.

 

But just blindly repeating something is not enough. You also have to reflect. Every time I cooked a dish, I looked back, and saw what I could do better the next time I cooked the same dish. Perhaps the flame was too low, and I could save some time at a higher heat, or the dish tasted to salty, and so I should put less salt next time. You have to reflect and see what you can improve on every time. And then, the final and most important step is to actually make the change.

 

So if there is something you want to learn or improve upon, however you practice the skill, habit, or craft, remember: it’s all about repetition. And who cares if it takes you longer than a week to master a skill? Too many people overestimate what they can do in a week, and underestimate what they can accomplish in a year. Give yourself some time, you deserve it.

 

Here’s an outline

1. Find your path
2. Get closer to mastery through repetition.
3. And reflect every step of the way.

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Now if you guys want more from me, you can find my info below~

Thanks for reading, and special thanks to Mr. Rodge!

-Sam

 

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