Monthly Archives: October 2017

Oct 30 2017
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art, Awareness, Books, Business, Change The World, Creativity, Discipline, Focus, Imagination, Leadership, Marketing, success

A letter from what you want

Good morning.

With only 1,440 minutes available for you today, it’s best if we keep this short.

We typically are found in the realms of what is hidden and unseen.

Many call the avenues that lead to us boring and lacking with any entertainment value. Unless, of course, you understand the beauty of the human experience. If so, you’ll find our music, poems, and metaphors quite liberating.

Spamming your way to us looks like an effective approach. Trust us, it isn’t.

You won’t find us where everyone is. We hang out on the fringes where one can actually see the forest for the trees.

There’s a few things we love: seasons, humanity, sustainability, rest, connection, unity, art, friendship, and simplicity. We hope you’ll learn to love them too.

The few that have found us will always share what they feel, what they felt, and what they have found. But they won’t shout it aloud. Sharing and shouting never have danced well together. Hint…hearing starts in your eyes.

So don’t forget to ask others about us along the way.

Remember to seek beauty, flavor, meaning, love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.

Knock on many doors and know who you are so you can answer ‘Who’s there?”.

And always onnect with contribution and consistently sow with the seeds of generosity.

We hope to see you soon.

 

Truly yours,

Success – Satisfaction – Fulfillment – Wonder – Awe

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Oct 28 2017
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art, Business, Creativity, Focus, food, Imagination, Leadership, Let The Music Play, success

The Chef Sessions No. 3 with Chef Dean Fearing

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Creator of Fearing’s Restaurant and author of The Texas Food Bible, Chef Dean Fearing is known as a “Father of Southwestern Cuisine” and has spent his life cooking for people who love good food.

The son of a Kentucky innkeeper, Dean grew up with grandmothers who knew all about food and who appreciated the finer details of Southern cooking and barbecue. He still uses and treasures their recipes, and they remain one of the most important inspirations of his culinary life. In fact, some of them receive their own unique spin in The Texas Food Bible – which Dean published in 2014.

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America and following 20-plus years at The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dean opened his own Fearing’s Restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas in 2007. Since then, he and his popular menu favorites have been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Food and Wine, Southern Living, Forbes, Fox News, Bon Appétit, Garden & Gun, Robb Report, The Food Network, Guitar Aficionado and more. He was recently recognized as a “Pioneer of American Cuisine” by The Culinary Institute of America, and was also presented with the Silver Spoon Award for sterling performance by Food Arts.

Dean is a restaurateur who likes to spend as much time as possible at his restaurant. Most days, he can be spotted in Fearing’s wearing a signature crisp white chef’s coat with colorful boot embroidery, blue jeans and brightly-hued, custom-tooled Lucchese cowboy boots. When not in the kitchen, he is often found strumming his vintage Fender Telecaster guitar, one of a collection of several dozen guitars and amps, playing songs from the album created by his all-chef alternative country group, The Barbwires, or by his Dallas-based Lost Coyote Band. He is also known to spend his spare time searching the countryside for Texas culinary inspiration. The state’s rich variety of peppers, dried chilies, jicama, cilantro, tomatillos, fruits and vegetables, cheeses, Gulf seafood and Hill Country wild game play a major role in Dean’s ever-changing cuisine.

You can stream or download this episode and all other episodes of Let The Music Play Podcast in iTunes or at AshtonGustafson.com.

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Oct 27 2017
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Awareness, Focus, Imagination, Leadership, Let The Music Play

Good words on repeat.

In our home we have mantras, sayings, and guiding beliefs.

They are our ladders, our telescopes, our magnifying glasses, our life vests, our candles, and our vehicles for hope and beauty.

“Life is happening for us.” (Robbins, Gilbert, Tolle, and more have quoted this)

“Big Love has our back.”

“We don’t keep score.”

“All there’s left to do is enjoy.”

I offer these to you today.

Please use them, share them, repeat them, and practice them.

PS – Here’s a podcast I shared on this topic last year.

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Oct 23 2017
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art, Awareness, Business, Creativity, Discipline, Focus, food, Imagination, Leadership, Let The Music Play, success

Listening…

…takes time.

…seeks to be connected over being correct.

…requires empathy.

…comes from a place of generosity.

…and starts with a desire to understand.

What if we started comparing, connecting, and commingling our questions in lieu of staging battles with our answers?

I imagine the music cue up as our questions started to dance.

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Oct 20 2017
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art, Business, Change The World, Creativity, Discipline, Focus, food, Imagination, Leadership, Let The Music Play, success

The Chef Sessions No. 2: Chef Michael Tusk of Quince and Cotogna – San Francisco, CA

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Michael Tusk is the Chef and Owner, along with his wife Lindsay, of two of San Francisco’s most critically acclaimed restaurants, Quince and Cotogna. His approach to Italian and French regional cuisine is refined and modern, taking inspiration from the seasonal bounty of Northern California and his close relationships with local purveyors.

A native of New Jersey, Tusk graduated from Tulane University with a degree in Art History and attended the Culinary Institute of America
in Hyde Park, New York. After completing his studies, Tusk left for Europe to gain experience in Michelin-starred restaurants throughout France and Italy. His experience in Italy’s Barbaresco region resonated most profoundly and was the catalyst for his sustained interest in Northern Italian regional cuisine.

Tusk returned to the United States in 1988 and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area where he contributed to the success of some of the country’s most pioneering, influential restaurants including Stars and Chez Panisse. In December 2003, Tusk and his wife Lindsay opened Quince, and the restaurant quickly became one of San Francisco’s top fine-dining destinations. In November 2010 they opened Cotogna, a bustling, rustic Italian restaurant adjacent to Quince.

The James Beard Foundation has recognized Tusk’s contributions to the industry and named him “Best Chef: Pacific”. Under Tusk’s helm, Quince has also been awarded four stars by the San Francisco Chronicle, three stars from the Michelin Guide and is a distinguished member of Relais & Châteaux.

You can stream this episode and all other episodes in iTunes and at AshtonGustafson.com.

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