Where To Get Inspiration From
“A recipe has no soul. You (as the cook) must bring soul to the recipe.”
– Thomas Keller
Inspiration, many pursue while others just get them in the blink of an eye. I live a life full of inspiration, one that benefits the people around me, thanks to my creative nature. I am one of those who upon hearing a trigger word or a keyword, an idea pops in my head and I immediately start creating. Inspiration motivates me to wake up early and start moving. My typical Sunday starts at seven in the morning. I will assess whether I feel like going to the gym or to just take it slow. I’ll prepare breakfast. Then, we would start planning where to go or if we have any errands to accomplish. We’ll spend a couple of hours out, driving and enjoying the sun. If we really are in the mood, we drive up to West Palm Beach and enjoy the beach for an hour or two. When the afternoon hits, we decide whether we go to E.R. Bradley’s-a tiki bar, True Food Kitchen-a healthy-eating advocate restaurant, or BICE-an italian restaurant. After having a good lunch we then head back home. I’ll pop open a bottle of red or white and ask my wife what she would like to have for dinner. I’ll be cooking supper while sipping wine, dancing to the tune of whatever I play on my Alexa, mostly 80’s music or Toto’s Best Hits. We would sit down, talk and reminisce while bossa nova plays on the background. This is what I call a good day.
Now, you may be wondering what does all of this have anything to do with inspiration? Well, I am motivated to maintain this level of lifestyle. My lifestyle keeps me sane and always refreshed. This motivation fuels my inspiration to keep on doing a good job at work so I can continue living in Miami, which is expensive by the way, and get to enjoy what I love doing. Sounds tricky, I get it.
As the time of writing, I just got out of the gym and suddenly thought about this topic. My inspiration is to enlighten people who are feeling lost or who think that they are stuck in a loop, waiting for an idea to pop in their heads. How’s that for inspiration? This is one of those articles where I could just not stop typing because all the ideas are overflowing and people are going to relate to it.
Before I share the sources of my inspiration, I would like to help you out first. By any means, I do not possess magic that keeps me inspired all the time. Nor do I have all the answers in the world to know what to do when an idea comes to mind. It will be an article encompassing the thought of just being inspired in every aspect of life, regardless of your career path. Before you even find the sources of inspiration, you MUST first be inspired.
HOW TO BE INSPIRED
Find A Reason
Many ask, what do you get up for? Have you questioned yourself about this? What makes you move once you get out of bed and start your day? Because people wake up and not have a single drop of enthusiasm running in their veins, I don’t blame them. They may be going through a tough time in their lives. But in general, you need to have a positive (or at least a neutral) view of life, regardless of what’s happening. I have been through a lot of phases. I was not like this all the time and I am sure that it will not last forever. There will be times when you will struggle with what you are currently doing and from then on, you will find something that will inspire you again. This cycle will continue on and on because it is human nature. You MUST FIND SOMETHING that will inspire you. Not acting upon it is like a chef who has all the good ingredients at his disposal but decides not to cook. It can be the simplest of things, something that you do not have to even think about, like I want to make good coffee.
Once you find that reason to be inspired, you need to think about these questions in this particular order :
Does it make me happy?
Does it bring satisfaction to me?
How much do I know about this idea and how can I develop myself?
Do I inspire people and make them happy by doing this?
Focus on the first two questions. These questions are asking yourself, if by doing this act, would it make me happy or would it bring satisfaction to me. Why did I put these on top of the list? Because if something doesn’t feel right, then there is no point in doing such a thing. It will only be short-lived and the honeymoon-phase will eventually fade away. Why would we do something that we don’t like? If you are currently in this type of situation, then that means, you don’t really love what you are doing in the first place. The mind will not carry on and force itself to do such a thing. You need to put yourself first before anything. If you love what you do, then the rest doesn’t even matter. Most importantly, you need to love yourself while doing what you choose to do. When you love yourself doing something, it’s not only you who can feel it, people feel it, people see it and people smell it. I always tell my friends that in whatever you do, you always give your best. People are not dumb, they know when a chef is being stingy with an ingredient or when you are trying to sell an inferior product.
Next, in order for you to be consistently inspired, you need to have development or progression. This is the secret. This is the reason why most people get motivated at first and then give up after a while. It’s because they are not evolving. They get stuck with what they know and they plateau. There needs to be a driving force to become better. You need to continue learning until you become good at what you are doing. Having an open, learning mindset will allow you to be more exposed to things, thus help you become a well-rounded individual. For example, as a chef, I can say that I am very well familiar with Asian and French cuisine. One day, a dear friend, that I haven’t seen for a long time, gifted me an Israeli cookbook, which you can see in the picture under the title. Upon opening the cookbook, I got goosebumps. I know so little about Israeli food and made a commitment of learning from it. This will help me further expand my horizon and cater to more clientele.
Finally, when you put in the work and become good at something, you let the world know about it. This answers question number four, do I encourage people, am I influencing anybody. You then start questioning yourself whether people find interest in what you do or plainly, if you make people happy. There is no better feeling than knowing that you are making somebody’s day better. Inspiration works both ways. You motivate people first through your concept and the more people get inspired, the more you keep on continuing what you do. You now have an audience, you are their role model.
In my field, I always invite my colleagues or friends to try my private dining services. I always tell them that I will take good care of them and to put their trust on me. Once these folks get to try it, they couldn’t stop talking about it for a couple of days in utter astonishment of how I can pull off something like that. These guys then spread the word to other people. So if you are reading this, you got to book an event while I’m still available. Because, there will come a time when you will knock on my door and I can’t accommodate anymore. Back to the topic, do you see where I am getting at? Through your skill, you inspire people and make them happy. Through them, they encourage you back and you strive even more to keep on growing.
There Needs To Be An Action or Stimulation
The easiest way to get a spark is to find something that you love doing. Is it listening to music? You can learn to play an instrument or be a good DJ and create a fantastic playlist for people to listen to. Maybe putting on makeup motivates you, why not showcase your talent on how well you stroke the brush and layer different colors? Bring it to the world so that people can see. Once people start to notice your skill, then they might find value in it and motivate you to continue on making videos or photos.
But the most important question is, When are you going to start doing it? You have the best idea but you haven’t lifted even a finger. Nike’s slogan is very powerful. Just Do It. Regardless of circumstance, just start doing it. Doesn’t matter if your makeup is just over-the-counter or a generic brand. You start small and you work your way up, at least you are already in motion. Once you get those gears moving, then it is difficult to stop it. You will learn from your experiences and eventually use those as a motivation. This will propel you to greater heights. Stop procrastinating and worrying that you are not good enough and just move. The world is filled with talented individuals who are not doing anything about their gifts. Do not be one of those who are stuck in a reverie waiting for something to happen, act now.
Find A Purpose
Write this on paper:
I have a talent/interest in _____________ and I am doing this because ______________ .
When you are done writing, keep it somewhere and read it occasionally so you get reminded of the reasons and purpose of doing something.
What is your purpose? Let me make this easy for you.
I have a talent in cooking and entertaining people. I am doing this because I love seeing my family and friends happy over at dinner, exchanging conversations and laughing. I want to create wonderful memories with them while they are at my dining table. Because to me, those memories will be remembered for a long time.
Notice how being inspired is not being centered on you anymore. It is the natural progression. When I cook, I don’t think about myself, feed my ego or how they are going to praise me after, that’s on them. What I think about is whether this individual had a good time and if I touched his or her heart. I had a client who I completely knew nothing about. I just met her that day, she took a spoon of the soup that I made and told me that “This reminds me of my grandma’s cooking.” Well, she was born in Brazil and I’m from the Philippines. I would never have expected that I was able to remind her about something so precious.
WHERE I GET INSPIRATION FROM
Now you have the basic steps on how to be inspired, let me share to you the possible sources of inspiration. Hint, these may not work for you because of how our brains are wired differently. This works for me because of my chosen career path and personality. If you haven’t figured it out yet, then you must find it.
Emotions and Memories
Emotions and Memories are by far the most superior sources of inspiration for anybody. This can be a childhood memory or an instance where you felt so much emotion about something-whether good or bad. Here’s an example.
I know of a person who always gets raises and promotions within a short period of time. Recently, within a 6-month period, she was able to get two (hefty) raises and got promoted to be a manager-WITHOUT having any experience in that field, and she’s not even a year in! Same thing happened at her former job, within a year of working for a service-based kitchen maintenance company, she got multiple raises, four times to be exact, while her co-workers were making the same hourly for the past two or three years. She then started to learn other departments and became an integral asset to the company because people value her effort. She mentioned to me that her inspiration to continue doing her best at work was her childhood memories. When she was still a kid, they did not have money for her parents to give her a wonderful childhood. They were only buying stuff that were on sale and could not afford the things that she really wanted. There came to a point where they had to knock on somebody’s door and ask for food. Imagine, how something so negative of a memory can be used as a motivation to become better? Now, I give credit to this person for doing a good job. Mind you, she is an immigrant, but she thrives here because she always does her best.
Can you imagine what most immigrants go through? They leave their past lives behind, nullifying all of their achievements once they step on American land. They start all over again. Check out David Tran and his story. Immigrants, especially who come from developing countries, carry a certain hope with them to somewhat make their lives better. They have sources of motivation and inspiration to do good and show it to the world. Where is it coming from, you may ask? It’s coming from the will to not encounter or come across the same hardship, poverty or deprivation that they onced experienced. These memories, as I tell you, are really strong.
I draw inspiration in emotions and memories, especially when it involves my mom’s cooking. I have the best gravy recipe in the world thanks to her. It’s still not as good as hers but i’ve come a long way. I remember my mother telling everybody to sit down and get settled for dinner. She would start serving individual cast iron sizzling plates with a piece of steak, mash potatoes and some greens. Those sizzling plates were piping hot and she would tell us to raise the flap of our plastic table covering so we can use it to guard our faces while she pours the gravy all over the dish. This memory is still so vivid in my head. I can still smell the gravy getting caramelized while it starts to crust up on the sides, that was the best part. Now, every time I cook, I cook the way my mother does, full of heart and soul. I taste everything, I taste whether what I’m making carries a soul to it. Once people taste it, close their eyes and nod their heads, then I know that I did it right.
Family and Friends
Imagine all the single-parents, who day and night, are motivated to find ways to make ends meet. How about a mother longing for her children’s hugs and kisses knowing that she still has a couple of months away from finishing her contract to be able to come home and see their smiles. How about your best friend who you haven’t seen for years suddenly telling you that he’ll come by and visit. You look forward to that very rewarding day when you just want to see the familiar face(s) and enjoy them. Family and Friends also draw a strong source of inspiration because they are closely related to the memories which you have. For those who are longing for their families but cannot act on it now, I feel you. I’ve been away from my family for years now. Video chatting them one by one is not enough. My nieces and nephews are growing up rapidly and I feel like I’m missing out on the most important things in life. But instead of looking at it as a loss, I always tell myself “Some day, I’ll be well-off to fly all of them over here whenever I wish to.”
I do not see myself retiring in the Philippines anymore. My life is here. But just the thought of having the capacity to go back and visit whenever I want to and not worry about a single day, is a strong encouragement.
Travel Experiences
Contrary to the picture above, I do not find cookbooks to be a source of inspiration for cooking. They are just guides. If I need to remind myself how to make a Paté a choux for example, then I would consult my cookbooks for that. A chef needs to put his touch or his signature to a dish. I start drawing inspiration from a travel experience or from a memory. Oh, I had the best Tiramisu in Florence, maybe I can create a tiramisu-flavored cream puff. Travel experiences are compelling inspirational sources, because these events transport you back to a specific time and place that is not accustomed to you. It then reminds you of how well you valued your time when you visited that place or country. You get to immerse yourself to a different culture and way of living that you can compare yours with. It reverberates even more if those memories include “The Best” Title. The best steak, the best gelato, the best excursion, the best etc. I’ve had the best meal of my life in Barcelona. Dear lord, I’d kill to come back to that place right now. Let me tell you about the experience.
We just landed in Barcelona at around four in the afternoon. Starving, we were looking for a good restaurant to try. My wife found a place on google that had good ratings. It was a small, twenty-seater, chic restaurant, no Michelin stars. We were greeted by the GM or owner, I assume. He had his assistant next to him upon welcoming. We were conversing and he began asking our names-we were six in the group. We mentioned that we come from Miami and had been on a trip for the past thirteen days. No menus were given, they let us try a red wine that fit our palate. They started calling us on first-name basis. The moment the first dish came out, they knew right away that three of us were left-handed and had set up the silverware accordingly, INSANE attention to detail. Then, each course started to come out, while they deliver the explanation with grace and clarity. Mind-blowing flavors, electric combinations, I couldn’t even fathom how well-executed everything was. None of the dishes needed more or less seasoning. It was the perfect meal and it was a perfect night.
To this day, I still dream about that meal. I’m looking forward to sit down again and have another lovely meal at that restaurant.
Daily Life
Learning from daily life or how things are done on a daily basis are good sources of inspiration. It may not be as strong as memories and travel experiences, but it sure does give one an idea to think about. Just by going to your local bakery and finding out how good the bread is can give you inspiration. Getting a promotion today will set your mood and motivate you to do better. Finding out that your favorite clothing shop just opened at a nearby location can rekindle your love for fashion. The sky’s the limit. It’s all a matter of perspective.
The best source of daily life inspiration for me is when I converse with people-daily conversations. I mentioned that I’m one of those who if you mention a trigger word or a keyword, then my mind just starts formulating ideas. I love talking to people, I wish I can be better at it. Picking somebody’s mind is like a well of knowledge waiting to be utilized. When somebody approaches me about my private dining service, I start talking like crazy and begin to create a menu for them on my iphone. I base the menu according to the host’s personality, everything is customized. So far, I haven’t gotten a bad review.
To Sum it all Up
Whatever I outlined here is just the basic steps and ideas of finding what can inspire you. I think about life as a cookbook and adding your own twist as inspiration. A cookbook is just a collection of structured thoughts and memories. It’s plain and basic. Now, it is up to us what to do with it, how to put our own twist and make it exciting. Most importantly, you want to keep that interest running all the way to the very last page by learning along the process, that way when somebody reads your cookbook, they will say, “It’s a book well written.”