Master Chef: From Average to Excellence (Short Story)

Have you heard of  Shaan Rastogi, the young & bright world-class Chef? 

With Total Commitment (as against partial dedication) to his Goal, he's made it to the Top 5% of Mastery in Cooking.

​And the final results will simply blow you away.

Basil Risotto with Beer Battered Onions & Mango Chutney

Well, Shaan was working with a top restaurant in Mumbai & catering to an elite niche- best of the best in fine dining. Despite dishing out select stuff that made it to the Great Food Guide, overall he always fell in the General 95% Population of Average - Thanks to the legacy of Average - Avg grades at college; Avg dedication to work; Avg presentation style; Avg conversations with an average set of friends; Avg goals in life; Avg investment in learning new concepts; Avg. preferences/ interest in art, music etc. At least that's what his behaviour and results said.

But Shaan, for who Shaan is, is NOT average. Shaan was Incredibly Talented & Exceptionally Intelligent, inherently, just like all of us. He has impressed his clients- when it comes to 'certain dishes', 'select events', 'few initiatives. He is a great leader in his kitchen - when he is not having a bad day. He is excellent with his peers - when there's no calamity. He's superb at absorbing new concepts - when he's not busy. He is a voracious reader - when there's enough time. Basically, his Excellence was always dependent on circumstances, there was no precise process he followed, thus he had the perfect ingredients for a sizzling dish for mouth-watering success,  but the results evaded him.

Desperately wanting to break out, he figured he had to shatter the ceiling of "Overall Average/ Highly Okay" Ratings. So he added 2 more steps to his culinary process. 
- First, Simmering: He simmered his dishes/ his talents more consistently for added flavour.
- And Second, Zing: He always Improved the after-taste with 1 new ingredient/ method/ presentation trick each time.

He thus, added 'consistency' and 'constant improvement' to his already existing innate talents and Genius became his new normal, Excellence became his natural performance irrespective of circumstances or situations.
Genius = Talent + Consistency + Constant Improvement.  

Shaan, thereby made the Critical shift from Average to Excellence by shattering 3 Myths:

• Do not need a perfect environment to thrive - I focus on my peak-performance in every situation by challenging myself. It takes 10 seconds to say YES & accept a new situation.

• Do not need a robust reason to be motivated to improve; I AM MY PURPOSE - this enthuses my energy, lifts my inspiration and pierces the hidden veil of inertia.

• Do not need more time to do things; I Focus on being productive, no being busy, I ruthlessly eliminate activities that are non-essential. Improved time management, makes me predictable and consistent. 

Shaan simply tapped into his already-existing personal level of excellence and made it a repetitive ritual by daily choice. He has been short-listed as a Judge for MasterChef India - 2015 edition.

Take the plunge. Make the shift. Graduate to the Top 5% of Mastery in your field. One small change everyday, 365 big differences in a year. Because it's possible and within your reach.

(Note-Hope you got the message, Shaan Rastogi is a fictitious chef.)