The World’s Greatest Sushi Chef
Jiro Ono is the world’s greatest sushi chef. His restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, has received the prestigious Michelin Guide’s top three-star status from 2007 to 2019. As told in Ryan Hawk’s excellent book The Pursuit Of Excellence: The Uncommon Behaviors Of The World’s Most Productive Achievers, President Obama has even dined at his restaurant. (You can order Hawk’s book by clicking HERE or on the image provided.)
What makes this story more fascinating is the restaurant is located in a subway station in Tokyo and can only seat 10 people. However, Ono who is 96 years old, has been preparing sushi for over 7o years. Because of his legendary status within the industry, Ono was the subject of the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
Words of Wisdom
When asked how he became the best in world, Ono gave us his secret of success. His thoughts apply to all leaders or practitioners of a craft. He said, “Once you decide on your occupation, you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That is the secret to success.”
Ono added, “All I want to do is to make better sushi. I do the same thing over and over, improving it bit by bit. There is always a yearning to achieve more. I’ll continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is. I’ve never once hated this job and gave my life to it…. Even at my age, after decades of work, I don’t think I have achieved perfection.”
The Secret to Success
What Is The Secret To Success? The following are 5 things achieving mastery requires we learn from this legendary culinarian genius:
Mastery Requires a Decision
Ono said, “Once you decide on your occupation.” While it is good to experiment with different jobs early in your career, there comes a time you must commit to something if you want to achieve mastery. Indecisiveness or a lack of commitment will eventually derail your efforts towards mastery.
Mastery Requires Complete Immersion
Masters of their craft are not part-time or “dipping their toes in the water.” They are all-in. He noted, “you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill.”
Mastery Requires a Single Focus
To achieve mastery you must have a “this one thing I do”-type of mentality. There cannot a number of competing interests. Ono added, “All I want to do is to make better sushi.” How many things do you want to do in your life? If the answer is many, you will not achieve mastery.
Mastery Requires Improved Repetition
And this repetition is not just focused on developing muscle memory or getting in your 10,000 hours. It is doing the same thing over-and-over again with an eye on evaluation and constant improvement. Ono continued, “I do the same thing over and over, improving it bit by bit.”
Mastery Requires a Healthy Sense of Dissatisfaction
Mastery is an oval track with no finish line. You never truly arrive. It is similar to accumulating knowledge. The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know. Ono is the greatest sushi chef in the world, and he has an insatiable desire to improve. He concluded, “There is always a yearning to achieve more. I’ll continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is…. Even at my age, after decades of work, I don’t think I have achieved perfection.”
If the most decorated sushi chef in the world, after 70 years of experience, feels he can improve, then surely you and I can as well.
One action step you can take today is to purchase Ryan Hawk’s book The Pursuit Of Excellence: The Uncommon Behaviors Of The World’s Most Productive Achievers. It will help you improve and make you a better leader.
Another recommendation for achieving mastery is to purchase my latest book 2021: The Year In Leadership – The Stories of Faith, Athletics, Business and Life Which Inspired Us All which is available for pre-order!!! Each chapter is filled with wisdom and insights from the leaders like Curry who succeeded and struggled during 2021. I takes those lessons from all walks of life and gives you practical steps on how to best use them in your own leadership. As you will discover, the stories are entertaining, challenging, inspiring, and sometimes even sobering.
Get this must-read book TODAY by clicking HERE or on the image provided.