Fancy Food Show

The Fancy Food Show at the Jacob Javitz convention center in New York City is an awesome opportunity to review a variety of specialty treats for your store or restaurant. A team of us went on Sunday looking for new Bar-b-q sauces, rubs, hot sauces, salsa, chocolates, teas, and coffees for Iron Q. We found some old standbys as well as several new candidates.

The show is very well organized. There were a lot of vendors. Several countries and states sent trade delegations to promote products from their region. Your entrance fee provides with an Id card that is easily scanned by the vendors so they can send you more information which relieves you from having to carry arms full of product information.

The show continues until Tuesday (July 1st).

I think you’ll really enjoy it.

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Too Many Options

Today’s post has to be short and to the point because I have a whole lot to do.

I recently met a young man who is dating a friend of mine. Nice guy, well dressed, drives a beautiful silver Mercedes. Several words came to mind as I learned about him. Words like, simplicity, focus, direction, and uncomplicated. I realized that I have allowed myself to take advantage of too many options. Instead of focusing my energy I’ve allowed myself to get involved in too many activities and study too many subjects. I’ve allowed my energies to dissipate over too large an area.

Well no more! I decided to go on a quest to de-clutter my physical and mental land-scape. I think I’m in good company. I recently read about Fred Astaire. He focused on only a few activities. I decided to become more ruthless than ever to get rid of things in my life that I’m not going to need immediately. I will be much more ruthless when it comes how I spend my time.

I’ll let you know how things work out.

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Finding Your Purpose

Is there anyone who doesn’t know that it is important to set goals? Maybe a few. However, I believe your first priority should be to find your purpose. Once you’ve found your purpose, setting goals becomes easier and more meaningful. Why? Because knowing your purpose provides a framework for your goals. Knowing your purpose gives value to your time. It makes it easier to choose good goals. Setting priorities for your time and money becomes easier. Without knowing your purpose you could pick goals that are at cross-purposes with each other or give in to peer-pressure or laziness

Some books try to sell you the perfect goal setting strategy. After reading a few pages you begin to believe that the right techniques will assure the achievement of every goal. Success, therefore, will be inevitable. So, the next day you run out your front door ready to carpe diem. You trip over the garden hose and do a face plant in the rose bushes. So much for goal setting. When you pursue your life’s purpose one setback is just a bump on a long and interesting road.

Here’s an example. If your goal is to visit the Eiffel Tower and terrorists bomb it to the ground like they did the World Trade Center then your life suddenly loses meaning. However, if your purpose is to visit other cultures to gain understanding and to relate that understanding to others then the terrorist bombing only changes the type of stories you’ll tell about that one area. Your purpose provides the foundation upon which you can develop skills, resources and life.

Of course this begs the question, “How do I find my purpose in life.” I wish I could tell you what your purpose in life is or give you a formula for finding your purpose. I cannot do either. I can, however, give you some ideas based on what I’ve discovered. Choose to view finding your purpose in life as an adventure and not a chore. Don’t give up! Keep looking and keep trying. Besides, discovering your purpose for yourself is much, much more rewarding than having someone tell you.

I believe there are two main components that form the foundation of your life’s purpose. The first is your talent set. The second is your available resources. Believe it or not most people are not fully aware of either component. They don’t know what their talents are because they only think of talents in terms of job descriptions. When they hear the word talent they think of acting, singing, dancing, or painting. Acting is not a talent, it is an activity that requires talent and skill. People also underestimate their resources because they only count money as a resource. Anything that you have or can use is a resource. The imaginative combination of mundane resources and finely honed skills is at the core of many great people.

First let’s talk about your talents. Actually, I don’t even like to use the word talent because it tends to evoke images of someone who sings or paints. I prefer the word capacity or inclination. When I talk to teens I usually ask them what they like to do. The majority of the time I get an “I don’t know!” response said in tones of desperation and frustration. Then they elaborate by giving me a list of jobs that parents or friends have suggested. You must not fall into this trap. Do not confuse capabilities (or talents if you must) with a job. Having a great sense of color and proportion does not mean you should be a painter. There are a variety of jobs that could make use of that talent. Besides, you need more than talent, you also must possess skills. Talent is the raw material. Skill is developed by adding study and practice to your talent.

There are several ways to find your talents. As far as I’m concerned you should use all of them in your quest. Listen to your parents (no matter how old you are). What do they have to say about what you’re good at or what you enjoyed when you were younger. However, there is the danger that a parent has a predetermined motive about the job they think you should have. As a result they may super-impose the matching talents on you. Make use of your friends. What things do you do almost effortlessly that your friends don’t do well, can’t do at all, or hate to do? Can you easily remember words to songs, numbers or puzzle solutions? What do your friends tell you you’re good at? Friends get jealous too. So, don’t treat what they say as the final word concerning your gifts and talents. School and work can be a great source of discovery. In which classes do you get good grades? Which classes are the most fascinating? Which job-related tasks are the most interesting to you? As with parents and friends, we must exercise caution in this area too. If you have poor study skills or are in with the wrong crowd, poor grades and class performance may mislead you. I know a teen who was naturally good at math. However his friends looked down on geeks and good students so he staunchly refused to do homework. As a result his grades suffered. If he believed his report card he would be completely misled about his mathematical gift. A grumpy or over-bearing teacher can often take an otherwise fascinating subject and make it unbearable. The last piece of advice I’ll offer in this area is to ask yourself what you would like to do if friends and family where not involved. If you’ll keep track of the input you get from family, friends, school, work and self-questioning you will quickly develop an inventory of your set of talents.

By the way it’s common to have only a few talents. Don’t confuse talents with skills. Most likely your talent list will be short but your skill list will be long and will continue to grow throughout your life. It is possible to develop a skill in an area where you don’t have much talent. However, you will find that someone with talent will develop a skill with a lot less effort than someone without talent in a specific area. Skills that you developed joyfully are a good indication of your talents. Skills that you use, but hate to use, are probably a result of dedication and hard work not talent. However, to reach gold medal standing you must apply dedication and hard work to your talents. The jury is still out on this idea but I suggest that you concentrate on your strengths and compensate for, rather than overcome, your weaknesses.

While you’re spending some time discovering your likes, inclinations and preferences, you must also take inventory of your resources. Resources include more than money. Time is a valuable resource that many people overlook. I read about a guy that became a computer expert by dumpster-diving at a computer manufacturers regional office. Do you have a lot of relatives? Is there a library, used book store, or a neighbor with an extensive library close to you? Are any of your relatives experts in a field that interests you or can they introduce you to someone who is? Do you have a car, bike, or do you like to walk? Do you have tools, paint or paint brushes. All of these are resources. You can often make up for lack of money with time and persistence. Its faster to develop a skill by paying for a class. However, if you don’t have the money but you have plenty of time you can make use of the library or other low-cost or free information sources. Remember our dumpster diving computer expert. The library may not be as efficient as attending classes but if that is your only avenue you’ll have to take it. Friends and family are also a resource that should not be overlooked. I know it’s easy to get discouraged because you don’t have a lot of resources. Don’t let yourself get down. Imagination and diligence are your most valuable possessions. A lot of people have accomplished amazing things by combining imagination and persistence.

Talented people are a dime a dozen, or cheaper. Businesses the world over are looking for people with skill, imagination, and a good work ethic. Finding your purpose in life makes the process of developing your skill-set more efficient. Knowing your purpose allows you to channel your imagination along its optimum path. When your imagination is pumping and you are developing skills based on your talents, work becomes more like play. What looks like a fantastic work ethic to others is really you just doing what you love. Finding your purpose in life can be a great adventure. Start first thing in the morning. Just watch out for that pesky garden hose.

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Ocean’s Eleven

My family loves to watch movies. When we discover that a movie is a remake of an original we’ll track down the original and compare the two. As a genre, we like heist movies because they add an intellectual level to the story that elevates it above common thievery. There’s also the romantic notion of a group of well-funded specialists doing the impossible. Ocean’s Eleven is one such movie.

The 1960 version of Ocean’s Eleven starred a group of entertainers known as the Rat Pack. The Rat Pack, led by Frank Sinatra, were the darlings of Las Vegas and epitomized the good life of the era. Despite the box-office draw of the Rat Pack, Ocean’s Eleven was dismal. Poor dialog, a strange love affair between Frank Sinatra and Angie Dickinson that went nowhere, and the way the whole plan just fizzled into failure. Most heist movies were upscale affairs with precise timing, unbelievable gadgets, and a sense of flair that the average movie-goer could only dream of ever having. The 1960 Ocean’s Eleven had none of these.

The 2001 version of Ocean’s Eleven had all of these and a wonderfully eclectic group of characters that almost super-ceded the story itself. However, I have to wonder about the moral implications of the 2001 version in which the thieves win. Is this a harbinger of moral degradation in which the bad guy wins? The same moral switch was made between the two version of the Italian Job. The original had the bad guys losing, the latest version had the thieves winning.

It could be argued that a movie is just entertainment and for the short time of an hour or two we can temporarily suspend morality. Or maybe we can rationalize the situation by saying that Terry Benedict was a truly bad man and deserved what he got and the owners of the “gold bars with the Balinese dancer” were mafia so it wasn’t really stealing if you stole it from the mafia. Such is the ambiguous nature of film morality, you can always setup the situation and the script to justify just about anything.

No one in my family liked the original Ocean’s Eleven despite Frank Sinatra. It was just too flat and depressing. No cool gadgets. No split-second timing. The new version, superbly played by Clooney, Pitt, and excellent supporting characters had some real pizzaz, not only in the story but in the interaction between the characters themselves. So, well done was the 2001 version that the follow-on movies Ocean’s Twelve, and Ocean’s Thirteen were welcomed additions to the franchise.

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The Right to Choose

When it comes to eye-glasses, clothing, or music, everyone assumes, even demands, they have right to make their own choice. We are desperate for the freedom to express ourselves and make choices. In religious circles, free will, or freedom of choice, has been hotly debated for centuries. Most individuals want to choose where they live and what career they pursue. Anxiety is frequently caused when we don’t know which choice to make. Everyday, we’re bombarded with options from which to choose. In the movie, You’ve Got Mail, Tom Hanks says, “Starbucks exists so a person can make a choice.”

I am firmly of the belief that we have the power to choose. That doesn’t mean that we can always choose our circumstances but it definitely means we can choose how we respond to the circumstances. If we can choose how we respond to each circumstance then why do we frequently choose a negative response instead of a positive one? We choose a dessert based on which dessert will bring us maximum pleasure. However, our choice was already limited by which desserts the restaurant or host decided to offer. Couldn’t we do the same when presented with other options? I think so.

Any type of program or set of instructions designed to make your life better is based on the proposition that you have the power to make a series of choices that will lead you to a better life. If, in your opinion, being thinner will lead to a better life then you, and only you, can decide which series of choices you will make to get that better life. Only you can decide which path to follow. It may be more exercise, or less eating, or surgery. Never-the-less the choice is yours.

So here’s my challenge to you, over the course of the next several days practice making choices that lead you down the path you want to go. If you want a better job then be honest with yourself about the choices you’ll need to make to get a better job. If you want to drop a bad habit or develop a good one then rehearse with yourself or a trusted friend exactly which choices will lead to the desired end. If you’re presented with a bad set of circumstances choose to believe that no setback is final.

Let me warn you that as soon as you set the goal, choose the path, and start exercising your right to make the choices, you will come against opposition. That’s ok. Overcoming opposition is part of what makes a champion a champion. You won’t get a gold medal for changing jobs, finding a better apartment or dropping 25 pounds. Your reward will be your new circumstances and a sense of accomplishment You will also give yourself some evidence that you can use the next time you want to make a change in your life.

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Hidden Power

Growth is simple, as any overweight person can attest. However, development takes effort. Development goes by different names such as progress, achievement, happiness, contentment. No matter which word you use you’ll find that they all take effort. Lot’s of effort. In the quest for development we all want the easy road. We all want progress just as fast as possible. Instant progress is preferred. Well at least I do. Like a moth to a flame we seem to be attracted to anyone or anything that promises lots of progress with little effort. However, the short path never seems to deliver. I have found that I don’t always have the heart to press forward as fast as possible. Even those philosophies that suggest you just let go and let it be assert that it takes effort to completely let go. Sometimes, I’m just too mentally tired or discouraged to push forward to the next level.

So, you’ve found yourself in the doldrums. Now what do you do? It’s time to exercise a characteristic that I find uniquely human. One which all religions seem to struggle with. Some find it inherently evil. Some, have guarded optimism, and feel it has great potential for good. I’m referring to your right to choose. Inside you, me and everyone else is this weird ability to make a choice. I remember one time in particular, in high school, I decided to get better grades. And that is exactly what I did. I went from B’s and C’s to 5 A’s and 1 B. How did I do that? Every day I made a choice to do better.

There was another time when I was particularly down. One day, I just got fed up with feeling down. I didn’t like it. Sometimes, when you’re down, the comfort of friends and family can get quite addictive. I decided that I’d rather be victorious over my emotional circumstances than suffer the 24 hour agony of emotional distress. I decided I wanted to be happier. So, once again I decided to be happier.

Is this the magic cure to depression and substandard performance? Maybe! But it is hard to do. I admit it, it’s very hard to do consistently. However, I’ve found hope. I’ve found that the more frequently I make decisions to be happy and not sad, the easier it gets. The more frequently that I look an unsavory situation in the face and declare, “I’m going to fight you.” The easier it gets to be happy. There are those, I suppose, who, knowing that they have only 15 minutes to live would spend their last minutes whining, crying, cursing or blaming. But do you realize that is a choice? They could just as easily choose to laugh their head off or sing their favorite song. You really don’t know what’s going to happen 15 minutes from now, do you? So, I say rejoice. Choose to rejoice. Choose to look every tough situation in the face and talk to it. Say, “I’m going to overcome you and enjoy every minute of it.” Tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, do the same thing.

You may discover that you’ve had 3 good days. Then, something knocks you off your feet. And you’re down again. That sneaky little voice says, “see it doesn’t work.” Oh yeah? What about the 3 good days. If you had 3 good days you could have 3 more good days. So, talk again. “It worked for 3 days. Maybe if I try again I can get it to work for 3 and half days.” Just keep at it. Just keep making little changes to make your life happier. Never, never, never give up!

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Sabrina vs Sabrina

There are two cinematic versions of Sabrina, a story about a chauffeur’s daughter that is courted by both sons of a wealthy family. I’ll call the 1954 version Sabrina One, stars Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn. I’ll call the 1995 version Sabrina Two, stars Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond. I prefer the 1954 version whereas my wife prefers the 1995 version. Could it be because I find Audrey much more attractive than Julia while my wife find Harrison more attractive than Humphrey? Could be.

When Sabrina One was released, Bogart was 55. Harrison was 53 when Sabrina Two was released, so both men were about the same age. I’m no authority on a man’s attractiveness quotient but my opinion is that Bogie, as he’s affectionately known, did a better job. Bogart really did seem to be a cold-hearted businessman and ruled over his brother, staff, and parents. Ford, on the other hand just seemed like a suave gentleman flowing with the situation and doing his best to resolve the issues at hand. For example, when Audrey commented on the apparent coldness and solitary lifestyle, Bogart seemed genuinely hurt and saddened by a mysterious lost love. When Julia, cracked about Ford’s status as the only living heart donor, Ford seemed only irritated. Bogart certainly didn’t have Ford’s physical presence and good looks but he seemed harder and more commanding. As he succumbed to Audrey’s irresistible charms you could see the cracks appearing in his stone-like facade. I’m sorry to say, but with Ford, he appeared to me as a suave playboy, pretending to be a cold-hearted businessman.

Comparing Audrey and Julia is a little riskier. Audrey was 25 and Julia was 30 when their respective films were released. Looks aside, being much more subjective, I think Audrey did a better job at playing the part of an effervescent young woman made sophisticated by a 2 year stint in Paris. And Audrey’s French is much better. When happy, Audrey seemed truly giddy. When sailing, she seemed to genuinely accept the much older Bogart with a complex combination of respect, admiration, and sympathy over Bogart’s aborted romance and suicide attempt. Julia, well, what can I say. I just couldn’t believe her as a teen nor as a sophisticated young woman familiar with the Parisian lifestyle.

In the fifties, it was still quite acceptable, even plausible, for a young woman of 25 to fall for an older man of 50. Now-a-days, I don’t think the same is true. In fact, it seems to me that most people have a difficult time appreciating anyone of the opposite sex when there is an age difference of more than a few years. So, Sabrina One wins my vote for the best actors and most plausible circumstances. Watch them both and we’ll compare notes.

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