The Recipe for Success
I listened to an interview with the Swedish celebrity chef, Björn Frantzén. His successful restaurants in Sweden and Singapore have earned three stars, the highest rating, in the chefs' equivalent of the Oscars: the Michelin Guide.
When asked about what has led to his success, the secret sauce, he replied that it depends on three things:
- Persistence.
- Surrounding himself with talented people.
- Working hard.
As a young, newly qualified chef, he sought out the best restaurants and initially offered to work for free as an apprentice. He then sought opportunities abroad and worked nearly around the clock, six days a week. The pay was poor, and some nights he was forced to sleep in the kitchen.
All the hard work paid off. He is now one of the world's most renowned restaurateurs. So what drives him to continue? To that, he replied:
I got very inspired when I was in New York. It's incredibly difficult to succeed there! So that's on my to-do list.
Surround yourself with good people, work hard, be persistent, and always strive forward — a recipe that most successful people would probably agree with.
It's also a recipe that many of us aren't quite ready to follow. We give up, perhaps blaming bad timing, competition, or lack of resources. But most successful people have also found themselves in exactly the same situation, often more than once.
They didn't give up, and that's the difference. They believed in themselves and their ideas, and they worked tirelessly to reach their goals.
Success is rarely a matter of luck or chance. It's about persevering even when the odds seem stacked against us. It's about believing in ourselves and trusting the process.