My Infinitely Renewable Source of Motivation
Inspiration can strike in the least expected of places.
At some point during the early months of the pandemic lockdown, around the time my son graduated high school over Zoom in 2020, he and I found some shared solace in an unexpectedly sublime streaming series on Netflix called Chef’s Table.
Captivating our mutual love of culinary creativity and inspiring design aesthetics, the show is more a poetically unfolding biopic of a contemporary artist who happens to be a chef than the reality cooking show that it sounds like.
Allowing ourselves only one episode per night, we slowly devoured multiple seasons of the cinematically shot series and then discovered Chef’s Table France – la piéce de resistance.
The episode about Alain Passard, the chef and owner of triple-Michelin-starred L’Arpège in Paris, left the most extraordinary impression on me that continues to inspire me daily, nearly four years later.
Chef Alain Passard of L’Arpège in Paris at one of his culinary gardens.
This man is a mystic who thinks about food more lyrically than any other chef I’m aware of, takes risks that would give many entrepreneurs hives, and never writes any recipe down.
“That forces us to keep looking,” Passard says. “Next year, I don’t want to make the same recipes that I did this year. I want things to continue to evolve, because without that, there’s nothing.”
But what stayed with me the most is his most exquisite ethic of all:
“My only ambition is to love what I do more each day.”
Mic drop.
On the surface, this axiom might very well come across as hedonistic, entitled or selfish.
But what hit me immediately was that this man understands that if he approaches his work – his calling – with the challenge of loving it more every day, he will hold himself accountable for looking at it with fresh eyes, with deep, nuanced appreciation, searching for novel ways to source, grow, combine and transform ingredients, and create exquisite dishes that surprise and delight himself first and foremost.
If Passard can do that (and he certainly does), then he can contribute his maximum potential genius to the world to enjoy. Everyone wins.
What I love most about his M.O. is he’s not putting the doing of his work before the being of it, which is the key.
See, many people only focus on goals, tasks and outcomes while numbing themselves to or suffering through the grind of the execution.
What if it could be different?
Passard instinctively knows the enchantment he creates for others all starts with his own feeling of enchantment.
And he sees that his mindset must first be connected to his heart and soul to sustain both (external) excellence and (internal) fulfillment over a lifetime.
So he has committed himself to romancing his own muse, day after day.
From that place of being, he trusts the doing will follow.
And it does, along with his tremendous ongoing success.
***
After I saw Passard’s episode of Chef’s Table France, I was so inspired that I began to apply his axiom to make loving what I do more each day my only ambition and it has led me to so many wondrous, meaningful experiences:
Traveling the world solo for 14 months in 14 countries as a digital nomad which forced me to step out of my comfort zone in a million new ways and conquer several fears;
Becoming certified in Jungian coaching, the most accelerated method of transformation I’ve discovered yet;
Doing the deepest, most life-changing personal development work I’ve done so far with some leaders who are creating life-changing technologies for all of us;
Starting to research and write my second book (which is still under wraps!);
Buying a captivating fairytale property in Europe;
Pro bono coaching of post-conflict and current war zone peacemakers and leaders;
Starting my Masters and Ph.D. in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute this spring;
Creating a new category with Jungian Executive Coaching;
Creating new, effective coaching tools and techniques of my own like the Prima Materia Mindfulness Meditation and Spiral of Transformation;
Visiting L’Arpège in Paris for a sublime lunch – but missing Chef Passard as he, true to his principles, was creating a new pop-up restaurant with Louis Vuitton in Seoul!
And, last but not least, feeling the most joyful I’ve been in memory.
Lunch at L’Arpege…one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. I only remember scallops, mushrooms and sweet potatoes were involved but otherwise it was like being happily abducted by aliens then dropped off with little recollection of the experience.
Yep, Passard’s casual utterance of his little motto on Chef’s Table France has been my renewable energy source for several years and counting now.
Activating our greatest potential requires integrating the whole of us, starting with how we feel about what we do and the intention we bring to it.
So…how will you love what you do today even more than yesterday? Share your ideas in the comments below!
