Last night at church I realized something, or had a deja vu of something, that should have been done a long time ago. It is in between the hymns and high upon the balcony that a thought has come to me, directing me on where I should go. It is a realization that I had my way paved out for me, or I paved out for myself. Either way, the last six months are so was for naught if I did not do something about it now.
Around November last year something happened that changed the winds that were blowing. Since then I did not have the passion, the will to excel. For the longest time, had no wind vane to direct me. All that was important to me was to get the bills paid, to have a roof over our heads, just enough to get by. And because of the law of attraction, no matter how meager or phenomenal my take home check was, that is just what I did. I would look at other people, green with jealousy, wondering how a schmuck like that could get ahead. I get news from my alma mater, about classmates who become general managers at great hotel chains. Friends who have put up their own businesses. People I know who had no direction ten years ago has raced on ahead of me and is now enjoying a life that was I was meant to command. Somewhere along the way I lost sight of the dream.
I got into this industry because i had a dream. And that dream come to me once again as a thought during mass. I looked up into the ceiling of the great arches, then at the people around me. There was Rossana, the one significant person who has been with me for the last nine years. And the angel we were blessed with, our little Maxine, who is busy fidgeting with a piece of paper, distracting herself from the her version of boredom in a cavernous building. They deserve better. The status quo is good enough, but reaching my dreams will have them reach their dreams too. And all the other people in the same row, in the same balcony, in the same building. Going to church is for giving thanks, and to hope. Each one of us is living the dream, or is still dreaming. The thought was that I still had that dream. No amount of persuasion, coercion, behavior adjustment or psychological abuse will ever change that. My dream was, is, to have my own restaurant. I know it is to some people like living a life of servitude. But if you look at it closely, are we not all living a life of servitude? The biggest CEO of Sony is providing a service of entertainment. The head honchos at Google a giving us new and easier ways to take advantage of the internet. I merely want to feed people good food, have good company, and go home feeling great and looking forward to the next day. It is not much for my own glorification, but a restaurant is what is a measure of what I can do, and a measure of how I can connect to the community. All the things I have been doing in the last 20 years have been leading up to my own restaurant. Every tedious task, every person I meet, every ingredient I touch and marvel at, should be contributing and be part of that dream. I still have a dream. I will not let anybody squash it, nor will I squash anybody because of it.
I once heard someone say that a man is defined not by what he does, but by the choices he makes along the way. Now is the time to be the better man, to be the better person. If I am to have my own restaurant, let this be the first step for me. As a personal chef, this will lead to bigger things, to the next step, bringing me closer to the first restaurant that will make everybody around me happy.
THat is what dreams are made of…happiness…contentment…inspiration…the people around you. You dream not because you have to pay the bills, satisfy everybody, keep out of trouble. you dream because it is what make life your own. By choosing to follow the dream, I have already taken control of my life, again. Pray for me. That the dream will always be there.
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