Are you doing what makes you happy? 11 Ways to Choose Yourself...Inspired by the movie Chef

I stopped doing art for almost 10 year's, just started getting back into it the past 18 mos. I tried doing other things in tech to try and make more money, nothing ever came out of it, mostly because of lack of passion for the work. Going back to something you love is worth it, a second chance I deserve. This is an inspiration from the movie Chef starring Jon Favreau and for anyone who is not following the dreams...go do you. Here is what I learned:

1- Don’t get comfortable - At the beginning of the movie, Chef spends 10 years cooking for someone else, eventually becoming too comfortable to care. But deep down inside he his angry and resentful because he is not living his dream.

2- Don’t just play the old hits, be true to your creative self. Experiment, play and create your vision, not someone else’s.- Chef was asked by his boss to cook the same old bland classics for a food blogger who comes to review the restaurant. He eventually gets a bad review because he wasn’t true to his own creative heart. When he cooks for himself and his friends you see the best of his work come out.

3- Have a supportive spouse or significant other who believes in you even when you don’t believe in yourself - Even when Chef is down and doesn’t believe in himself, his ex-wife comes to the rescue and helps push him forward in following his dreams.

4- Go back to basics and find your passion again - After being fired and not knowing what to do next, Chef goes to Miami to visit where he started and clears his head.

5- Find a wingman who’s got your back - After chef is fired his old lineworker flies down to be by his side and goes along on the journey to be the best number 2 around.

6- Your trending bro. Don’t plan your social media. Be organic and show your authentic self and your work, people will respond. As Gary Vaynerchuk says "Document don't create".

7- Hands-on projects with others can build stronger lifelong relationships - Chef is given the gift of an old food truck, which becomes the blank canvas of his dreams. With his son helping, he pulls it apart, cleans it, buys the best equipment and builds the truck back-up as he builds himself back-up and his relationship with his son.

8- You don’t need to be original, just great - Throughout the film we see chef cook other people’s crap and his own creations. He really doesn’t find his niche until he visits Little Cuba in Miami and gets inspired by some classic Cuban cuisine. This becomes the main focus of his food truck and while it is not his original creations, he believes in quality and cooks the hell out of it.

9- Don’t worry about reviews and haters, learn from them and do you - In the beginning we see how worried Chef is about a food bloggers ego killing critique. He eventually goes on the defense puts the critic in his place and proves him wrong.

10- Have an intense amount of pride in your profession no matter how small your audience is; play as if the whole world is watching - Chef gave away some free food to some workers for helping him. While showing his son the ropes of how to cook a mean Cuban sandwich. His son burns a sandwich and wants to serve it anyway because they didn’t pay. This doesn’t sit right with Chef because everyone individual deserves quality food served from his kitchen.

11. Include family in your dreams and the passion of the work you love. - Throughout the movie, his son wants to know more and to be part of his work life. Chef tries to separate family and work thinking his son would be a distraction. Eventually, he opens up and lets his son in. This becomes my favorite part of the movie because his son becomes a bigger part of his life and Chef realizes that he can pass on his passion, work ethic & pride to his son. He also is surprised that he also has a lot to learn from his son as well.

[Clip from Chef] (

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