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A Recipe for Success
Copyright by Kathleen Hawkins
www.winningspirit.com
It’s extremely difficult for me to follow a recipe. For some reason I
don’t trust recipes. Maybe it’s a fear of authority or maybe when they were
handing out DNA, Julia Child got the cooking genes that I should have had.
My cooking is so bad that I've seen a dog spit out something I made. And you know
how fussy dogs are. They dine in garbage dumps and eat rotten fish, and
then
wash it down with a good swig of stagnant pond water or a drink from the
toilet.
After the dog spit out what I cooked, he ate a small plastic dishpan—maybe
trying to get the taste out of his mouth?
My brother tells me he’d rather eat goats' eyeballs than my cooking, and
he knows what he's talking about. He lived for a few years in a country
where people really do eat goats' eyeballs.
At potluck dinners people ask me to bring hard boiled eggs—still in the
shells so I can’t mess with them.
Oooops!
In the kitchen I’m all three stooges rolled into one. The other day I
was struggling through a stuffed green-pepper dish with mint, pine nuts,
and Feta cheese. I didn’t remember the recipe calling for olives, but
there it was in print so I scurried off to the pantry to fetch a jar of
olives and, upon returning, discovered the recipe now calling for peanut
butter. Just in time I realized that the fan on the counter was turning
the pages of the cookbook.
Making bread. I start out okay, but somewhere into the procedure I panic
or give in to curiosity. The glob of dough doesn’t look right sulking in
the bread machine. So I add more yeast, then more liquid. Then it’s too
soupy so I add more dry ingredients to sop up the liquid and, soon, the
ingredients exceed the capacity of the machine and the whole mess rises
up like the Blob, pours over onto the coils, catches fire, and sets off
the smoke alarm.
And the First Prize Goes to .... Oh, Really?
What you can say of me is that I take risks. In fact, as a recovering
perfectionist, I’m especially proud of taking risks.
So how do I survive the blows to my ego from the mean things people say
about my cooking and from the dog whimpering for something
palatable? Well, get this. I’m an award-winning cook. That’s right, me!
I won first prize in the “Main Dish” category of a cooking contest.
Don’t ask what the dish was—I don’t remember the exact recipe—just that
it was a meat dish with fruit.
As in the Kitchen, So in Life
I rarely take physical risks—you won’t catch me climbing a mountain, sky
diving, or skiing Dead-Man’s Curve—but you will see me take risks of
creativity, curiosity, imagination, intellect, and recipes. And, more often than
not, it pays off. Here’s what I’ve learned:
1. Have a goal worth taking risks for. When you do, your life will have
meaning and make more sense.
2. Have a recipe, road map, or action plan. Then deviate from the plan
occasionally. Schedule “side trips” and “rest stops,” and explore
alternative routes.
3. Take calculated risks. What are you willing to give up to get
ahead without a guarantee that the outcome will be better than what you
had? Minimize your losses while increasing your chances of succeeding.
Answer, “What’s the best that can happen if I achieve my goal, and
what’s the worst?” and “What’s the best that can happen if I don’t
achieve my goal, and what’s the worst?”
4. Place a “bet” every day. Horse trainer Jimmy Jones said, “A man’s got
to place a bet every day or else he could be walking around lucky and
never know it.” Please note that I’m not suggesting you gamble, play the
lottery, or bet the rent money. I mean to bet your creativity, talent,
intelligence, insights, and compassion.
5. Cultivate many interests, such as philosophy, psychology, health,
science, and self-development. Network with fascinating people. Take
classes, read books, and attend conventions, conferences, and workshops.
The rich mixture of knowledge percolates through your unconsciousness
mind and might reward you with useful insights.
Because I take risks as a writer I know the agony of going for months
(okay, a couple years) without any income from my writing, and I know the ecstasy of being a working writer who
makes a good living doing work she loves. And I know the satisfaction of
winning a cooking contest.
So when the scoop of vanilla ice cream I plop into a Margarita Cooler
turns out less than tasty (they make root beer floats, don’t they?) I
hold my head high. If a particular dish didn’t turn out, it wasn’t meant
to. The possibility of winning “First Place” in another cooking contest
is worth the trouble.
Me, Alex, and Tom
I’m in good company in the risking taking, mistake-making department.
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone by mistake while trying to
invent the hearing aid. And Thomas Edison tried more than 1,000
filaments for his light bulb before he found one that worked. When asked
about his “failures,” he said he hadn’t failed, he succeeded in
discovering more than 1,000 filaments that didn’t work. Thanks to his
persistence he lit the world. And so can you.
You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this
article to friends,
colleagues or customers, as long as you include the following credit:
Copyright by Kathleen Hawkins, www.WinningSpirit.com
Let
Kathleen
Hawkins help you increase your personal and
professional effectiveness and look forward to coming to work every day
SEMINARS and PRESENTATIONS: Learn from the best.
Be informed, inspired, and entertained.
- Spirit Incorporated: How to Follow Your Spiritual Path From 9 to
5
- Speed Reading Skills: Speed Read to Save Time, Improve Your Memory,
and
Increase Your Comprehension
MEET
KATHLEEN HAWKINS
 Kathleen is
a speed reading expert, vice president of the National Management Institute, and the author of
four books, Time Management Made Easy, Test Your Entrepreneurial
IQ, Reverse Speech: Hidden Messages in Human Communication,
and Spirit Incorporated: How to Follow Your Spiritual Path From 9 to
5. She wrote a column for five years for Success magazine and
wrote and produced the best-selling audio-cassette programs, Speed
Read to Win and How to Organize Yourself to Win. Her articles
and ideas on how to increase personal and professional effectiveness have
appeared in more than 200 national publications. In addition to being
a best-selling author, Kathleen is a professional speaker and a business
consultant. Thousands of people from all levels of business, science,
education, and industry have taken her courses.
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