How did they do it? A recipe for success

When I walked around the cozy old town of the beautiful city of Dijon a few weeks ago, my head was filled with only one thought. It was the same thought that materializes every time I visit an old city. How did they do it? How did people build all those massive churches, palaces, or even regular houses back in the day? They had no designing software or modern-day machinery. Did the architects and builders have any formal training or education? Who knows. Yet, they did it. It might have taken them a couple centuries to complete their work, but they had a vision and they executed it.

I ended my sightseeing filled with awe. Humans are capable of incredible things. And by incredible things I don’t only mean state of the art architecture. It can be anything, from swimming across the ocean to inventing a new App. In many cases, the people who achieve those great things have unique skills and talents. Champion athletes’ bodies might be built differently and so might be the brains of people with perfect photographic memory, for example. We, regular folks, admire them but who can really relate to the genius of Einstein or Leonardo da Vinci? But then there those who do great things and don’t fall in the outlier category. They seem to be regular people who just make things happen.  

A few months ago, my youngest brother opened his very own sushi place. It had been his dream and goal for many years, and it finally came to a fruition. Somehow, his small local business- a tasteful sushi takeout with appetizing sushi, impresses me as much as the work of a genius. Unlike the work of a genius, my brother’s success is not a result of a unique talent or set of skills. In fact, the recipe for his success seemed to have been very basic.  I don’t know how exactly he makes the sushi his clients rave about, but to create his clever little business, he used just several commonly available and generally underrated ingredients, like passion, hard work, community, or common sense.

My brother has always loved cooking. Ever since he was a teenager, you could find him in the kitchen cooking something or helping my mom cook. It wasn’t surprising when he went to a cooking school, followed by various restaurant jobs. With time, his interest narrowed to Asian restaurants and then sushi became his focus. To many, he reached a dead-end. He was advised to branch out or redirect. Some thought it was time to go back to school or get a real job. But he stuck with making sushi. He honed his sushi making craft and slowly built his fan and client base. What’s more though, he also built a community.

My brother is one of those people who followed Mark Twain’s advice. From all the things he could be, he’s chosen to be kind. As a result, he is also well liked. You might say he is good at networking. Whatever you call his friendly personality, the result is that he has a strong support team. From accounting to online marketing, he has people to turn to for help or advice. People are happy to help him, work with him, and promote his work.

Finally, my brother’s business plan was not a Eureka idea. It was the fruit of many years of hard work, perseverance, and healthy dose of common sense.  Not a math whizz whatsoever, my brother took well calculated risks. He chose the right timing, budget, and product. He made choices that allowed him to open a new business without losing his mind and sleep from worrying about his future.

I must admit that over the years there was a time when I too was among the disbelievers. I also wondered if branching out or pivoting would help my brother’s professional growth. Yet he proved me wrong, and I could not be happier he did. He found his passion and he stuck with it. With a few simple ingredients, he created his own recipe for success. With a few simple tools, he built his own palace.