The secret is out; I am a fan of cookery programmes and it’s not just for the food, Chefs teach us so much more than cooking. Think of any well-known chef Gordon Ramsey, Raymond Blanc, Jamie Oliver, Marcus Wareing, Angela Hartnett, Marco Pierre White; they all show great leadership and they all have these things in common:

• They love what they do
• They are committed
• They work hard
• They persist
• They are always looking to be the best they can be
• They have great mentors
• They are charismatic
• They are authentic
• They understand how to inspire a team and bring out the best in people
• They lead by example

These are exactly the leadership and other qualities that you find in those who are successful in network marketing; actually in any successful entrepreneur.

I particularly enjoyed reading a very frank interview with Heston Blumenthal in Esquire magazine. Heston talked very honestly and openly about his personal philosophy. He describes ‘people pleasing’ as being ‘the most destructive thing that you can do to yourself’. He says that in pleasing others you are telling white lies to keep people happy and you are being dishonest to yourself and those around you. He also believes its essential to take responsibility for your emotions. He says “responsibility for your feelings is 100 percent yours. Nobody else makes you feel anything. Believing otherwise means that you’ll always think mistakes or problems are someone else’s fault. If you get stuck on judgement and blame and excuses, then you imprison yourself.”

He also says that perfection is the enemy of creativity and that psychologically we either have a perfection ethos or a discovery ethos. A perfection ethos works well in environments such as manufacturing but it is the enemy of creativity. In schools there is a perfection ethos where we either fail or succeed and the problem with this is that failure results in fear and lack of confidence; the enemies of success. I absolutely agree with this. He says that it’s important to embrace failure; in doing so it gives us the opportunity to learn and the world changes.

True leaders are very aware, they spend time knowing themselves so they understand their strengths and their weaknesses.  Who knew Heston was such a philosopher? I couldn’t agree more with his sentiments.

Thanks Chef.

Do any other professions inspire you?  Let me know I’d love to hear from you.