Are You A Cook or A Chef?

There was a line in a book I read recently that jumped out at me that went something to the tune of: the difference between a cook and a chef boils down to one merely following (orders / recipes) and the other who innovates and trail-blazes. A cook is a cook out of necessity, perhaps even a bit of ambition, but has a limited vision and is afraid to think outside the box. A chef, on the other hand, has a solid foundation of the basics and is not afraid to experiment and create.

A cook will throw the ingredients together and plate, catering more to the hunger than anything else. A chef wants to seduce your mind, vision, and palate when you are presented with the dish. Which one are you? The cook who is complacent with the status quo and afraid to take the risks and explore the unknown? Or are you the daredevil who throws caution to the wind and dances with uncertainty, following your own passion?

It is never easy to think and move outside the comfort zone, and the majority of us will merely settle instead of fight for what you really want, be it at work or in life. How many of you settled for the career you were handed down by the family or followed the peer group, the pressure of several generations on your shoulders and forced to shelve your own dreams, afraid of being laughed at or scoffed by the general population?

My father never wanted me to be a writer and photography was deemed a mere hobby. He insisted that I study something more “substantial” like business administration or management, the traditional path. But I had absolutely no interest in it and was awful at accounting, statistics and math in general. When I expressed my desire to become a journalist or a psychologist, he flipped and was convinced I would end up becoming a radical. It became a major fissure in our relationship and he never quite forgave me for choosing Political Science in the end, and then began a long path in development work, something as far away as possible from the corporate world he had envisioned for me. I know he would never understand my choice to become a life coach or even a light worker, but this is my path, my life, my choice. My dream.

Sure, I’ve stumbled and snuggled along the way, but I can look at myself in the mirror without regrets, knowing that I chose the road less travel to become a chef in my own life. Are you ready to do the same?