The Enemy of Great
“I have nothing against millionaires, but I want El Bulli to remain accessible to a greater number of diners who appreciate what we are creating here."
- Ferran Adrià
"Good is the biggest enemy of great."
- Gordon Byrn
Yesterday I watched a DVD about Ferran Adria and his restaurant, El Bulli. For those of you who aren't familiar with the man, he is creator of a subset of the culinary arts referred to as molecular gastronomy. I was struck by two things about the man: (1) He is extremely passionate about food, more so than your usual chef--who are almost always extremely passionate about food, and (2) He went off and did something that was so out of the norm--which in hindsight was absolute genius--that he risked absolute disaster. Instead of playing it safe, going to culinary school, and getting a job working at a prestigious restaurant under a famous chef, went off and did something that was completely unique and groundbreaking.
In one of Gordon Byrn's blog, he said that one of his mentors said that being good will hold you back from being great. If a person feels that they are good, are going to get attached to that feeling of acceptance, and are less likely to go off and do something groundbreaking. Genius is almost always misunderstood, and often times leads to dysfunction in other areas of one's life.
As I look at what I am trying to do with accounting, I recognize that there are rules and the way to true mastery is to really understand what I applicable to my work and industry. To do this, I'm probably going to have to spend extra reading and applying the authorative guidance. But where I think I can really make great strides is in the areas of attention to detail--which is where the passion for one's work comes into play.
Okay, all this stuff is well and good, but where I really think where my world and the world of Ferran Adria's cross is in the way of total disregard to perceived failure. When I take on new projects sometimes I worry about being "wrong" or not "getting it fast enough." If I really want to do something great, I have to put these thoughts out of my head. I think this state of mind is the beginning of true authenticity within a professional career.
Weekend was mellow. Swam yesterday. I tried to do a workout that Coach Kevin gave to me, but I'm not yet in fighting shape. I see the beginning of it though. Hopefully I'll be able to complete his assignment in the next month or so.
Went into the office today for about 6 hours. Got some stuff done that should take the sting out of this week. We'll see how things go.
Namaste
- Ferran Adrià
"Good is the biggest enemy of great."
- Gordon Byrn
Yesterday I watched a DVD about Ferran Adria and his restaurant, El Bulli. For those of you who aren't familiar with the man, he is creator of a subset of the culinary arts referred to as molecular gastronomy. I was struck by two things about the man: (1) He is extremely passionate about food, more so than your usual chef--who are almost always extremely passionate about food, and (2) He went off and did something that was so out of the norm--which in hindsight was absolute genius--that he risked absolute disaster. Instead of playing it safe, going to culinary school, and getting a job working at a prestigious restaurant under a famous chef, went off and did something that was completely unique and groundbreaking.
In one of Gordon Byrn's blog, he said that one of his mentors said that being good will hold you back from being great. If a person feels that they are good, are going to get attached to that feeling of acceptance, and are less likely to go off and do something groundbreaking. Genius is almost always misunderstood, and often times leads to dysfunction in other areas of one's life.
As I look at what I am trying to do with accounting, I recognize that there are rules and the way to true mastery is to really understand what I applicable to my work and industry. To do this, I'm probably going to have to spend extra reading and applying the authorative guidance. But where I think I can really make great strides is in the areas of attention to detail--which is where the passion for one's work comes into play.
Okay, all this stuff is well and good, but where I really think where my world and the world of Ferran Adria's cross is in the way of total disregard to perceived failure. When I take on new projects sometimes I worry about being "wrong" or not "getting it fast enough." If I really want to do something great, I have to put these thoughts out of my head. I think this state of mind is the beginning of true authenticity within a professional career.
Weekend was mellow. Swam yesterday. I tried to do a workout that Coach Kevin gave to me, but I'm not yet in fighting shape. I see the beginning of it though. Hopefully I'll be able to complete his assignment in the next month or so.
Went into the office today for about 6 hours. Got some stuff done that should take the sting out of this week. We'll see how things go.
Namaste
posted by Zen_Accountant at 8:32 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home