I’m watching Andy Murray vs. Novak Djokovic in a live US Open match right now.
Every bit of positive and negative momentum is connected to what the player is telling himself.
I hope you’re still up to watch and think about what you say to yourself about yourself in the matches you find yourself in everyday.
You can ignore the world’s noise, but you can’t mute your own personal dialogue with yourself.
Isn’t it great when a film sneaks up on you and leaves you with more than a head full of Milk Duds? That is what happened to me this weekend with Jiro Dreams of Sushi. (Streams for free for Amazon Prime customers)
The documentary follows an 85-year-old sushi master, Jiro Ono, in Japan. It gives the viewer a look into his seventy-plus years of showing up everyday, studying his craft, getting better, and learning the art of sushi.
If you are purist, you’ll love it. If you’re a foodie, you’ll want to book a ticket to Japan to experience Jiro’s restaurant. If you aren’t either, you’ll be both by the time the credits roll. And if you think you’ve learned enough about your business, art, craft, and life, it will ask you to open another book and learn some more.
I had one major takeaway: don’t allow good to keep you from better.
(Pardon two posts about sushi in one week. When the student is ready, the teacher appears)
The Japanese have a word that means “leave it to me.” The word is omakase.
The beauty behind omakase is the theme of trust and creativity it offers when communicated. Mostly, you’ll find the word in sushi restaurants on the menu when the guest wants the chef to do his thing, his art, and his craft with freedom and fish in-lieu of ordering random selections a la carte.
Omakase is a two-way street. It’s an offer of ‘leave it to me’ and it’s a trusting acceptance of ‘I’ll leave it to you’.
However, you’re probably not going to be given a blank canvas until we’ve seen what you have painted before. Most omakase is earned.
Or put another way, you probably need to start dazzling before you’re asked to dazzle.
Ashton.Gustafson 