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Making
things happen - with integrity. A weekly CyberMemo designed to keep you on task. Monday, August 21, 2000 Volume II Number 34
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FOCUS - Maintaining Your Passion
My mentor is now eighty-four years old.
Tuesday, we lunched at the University Club with three other guys. It’s his favorite place. The purpose of our meeting was to talk about a vision one of them has for a new para-church ministry that will facilitate the transportation of goods and personnel all over the globe with the objectives of disaster relief, ministry development and Christian evangelism. It’s no small idea.
The University Club in Pasadena has a
long history. It is a gathering
place for politicians, academicians,
business executives, clergy, physicians and attorneys.
In the heavily paneled great room under open beams, or in the private
conference rooms looking over the gardens, since it’s charter was drawn in
1922 decisions have been hammered out, relationships forged, differences
reconciled, resources committed and battle lines drawn.
The valet crew seems to know; they are players in the ebb and flow of
history. The manicured lawns, the great shady oaks along the quiet
streets and stately residences just off Colorado Boulevard, surround a charming
meeting place where heady conversation, big ideas, and decisions of consequence
are served up right alongside the poached salmon and medallions of beef.
Albert Einstein, Dr. Albert Michelson (the Nobel Prize winning physicist who measured the speed of light), Edwin Hubble (as in the telescope), along with the principals in the annual Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game have found the University Club a perfect place for mid-day hobnobbing.
After some small talk, we placed our order. I leaned toward our host and asked, “Dr. Ted, I hope I’m not putting you on the spot. But I’d like you to tell the guys about your next book project.”
Ted has written over fifty books. The most recent, he told me, would be his last. It was a memoir – covering six decades of Christian ministry. But as we drove home a couple weeks ago, he told me he had one more… one more he is compelled to write.
“Yes, Ken. I’d be happy to tell these gentlemen about my new idea.” The guys set down their menus and turned to Ted. “Two years ago my wife and I sold our condominium in Pasadena and purchased a new residence in a first class retirement community. We’ve been very happy there. The service, the meals, the ambiance… well they are all top drawer. It’s like living year ‘round in a Five Star hotel.”
Many of his new neighbors are old friends. Residents are retired business executives and professionals, educators and interesting peers who have traveled all over the world.
“We’ve enjoyed living as neighbors to some of our dear friends,” he continued, “and we’ve made many new friends. But I’ve got to tell you, I’ve watched and listened for two years now, and I’ve come to a troubling conclusion.”
He went on. These people are well intentioned. For the most part, they’ve been very successful – financially and otherwise. They’ve been leaders. They’ve been in positions of influence, he told us.
“But there’s one major thing missing,” Ted said. “The majority of them have no passion. They are living comfortably day after day, but their world is shrinking. It’s closing in on them. And they are just not passionate about anything anymore.”
They don’t read. They aren’t full of hope or ambition for the future; they aren’t encouraging others to make this world a better place. We could tell - Ted’s concern was passionate.
Then he said, “So I’m going to write a book. I’m going to write about how one can maintain one’s passion into one’s seventies, eights and nineties… and beyond.”
* * * * * * * *
Last night, we ate dinner. That’s not unusual. What is unusual is that it took a full four and one half hours to consume it.
Jason Luke studied Culinary Arts in Santa Barbara, California. Early this summer, he married Maren, the daughter of a close friend from our little town.
I don’t know much about the Culinary Arts. I like to eat. I like new flavors, and textures and presentation matters. But when it comes to fine cuisine, I’m a novice. I don’t know the difference between parsley, sage, rosemary or thyme.
But for me, dinner has always been more than the utilitarian, primitive filling up of an empty belly. It’s an event.
From the first days, I remember being taught to begin every meal with a prayer. It’s a prayer of gratitude, thanking God for His provision and care. And usually, the person preparing the meal gets honorable mention for doing the work necessary to fill up the table with such fragrant and fine food “which we are about to partake from Thy bounty…” is the way Grandpa Otto used to say it.
And usually we ask God to nourish our bodies with the food. In that little request, we are referring to the miracle of transformation – food converted to energy. Food satisfies the body’s need for fuel. Nutrition enables our bodies to perform. The whole process is mysterious and wonderful, and in our world, God plays a central role in the whole thing, so pausing for a moment to thank Him is just plain the right thing to do.
And dinner is a time for conversation. For reflection. For story telling. For laughter. For deepening bonds and learning from each other. As food enhances and satisfies our hunger, so we bring an appetite for family and friendship and intimacy to the dinner table. When the table is set and the candles lit and the serving bowls and platters are filled and steaming and seasoned, the soul gets fed, too.
I never really related to Carolyn’s keen interest in the Food Channel. (Actually, that’s a relatively new option – now that we have the satellite dish.) But frankly, I’m glad she does. I’m a well-fed man. But for a fact I just could not endure the Galloping Gourmet – he didn’t come from my world, that’s for sure. And Julia Childs came from another planet, as far as I was concerned.
Then Emeril Lagasse came along. Emeril started in New Orleans, and took Cajun to a new level with Creole-Acadian cooking. The first time I saw him toss pepper powder into the pan from across the kitchen shouting “Let’s kick it up a notch!” And then when it hit, he added “BAM!”
I said to Carolyn, “now that chef is my kind of guy.”
Emeril is a marketing genius – now
he’s got restaurants and a cable TV show and cookbooks and a whole line of
frozen TV dinners (of all things). And
a School of Culinary Arts.
Which makes me realize that Jason Luke has a very bright future.
So Mark and I cornered Jason and said, “Buddy, we hear you are good. How about showing us what you can do?” We set a date about a month out. “On that Saturday night, you’ve got a blank page. You put together a meal none of us will ever forget. We’ll cover the cost. You are now commissioned as an artist, and as Michelangelo painted the frescoes of the Sisteen Chapel, your canvas will be a china dinner plate. It’ll be a night to strut your stuff. You’ve been cut loose, Jason. Go for it.”
He smiled one of those smiles that says, “It’s a go.” He gave us a nod of confidence. We inked it in our calendars.
That Saturday was this week. And for four and a half hours, Jason’s creations just kept on coming.
* * * * * * *
I’ve watched Ted work now for over ten years. He’s an octogenarian who exhibits passion in everything he does. He's the right person to write a book on the subject.
He’s passionate about excellence. He’s passionate about a college graduation – on stage and making speeches as hundreds of twenty-two year olds whoop and holler and celebrate four year’s hard work and the promise of a future without limits. He’s passionate about leadership. He’s passionate about writing. He’s passionate about marriage and family. He’s passionate about the future, and those he knows who are ready to carry the torch into the next millennium. He’s passionate about worldwide evangelism. He’s passionate about God.
And he’s passionate about a lunch meeting at the University Club and a group of guys who have been working hard to put together a vision and a mission statement and a business plan – one that will make the world a better place.
It puts him in such a good mood that as the waiter clears the table, he orders apple pie a la mode all around.
In a celebration of passion and vision and making good things happen, we all joined in - apple pie and ice cream at the University Club.
* * * * * * *
Husband Jason and his new wife Maren spent two full days in the kitchen. He’s picked up a lot, not only from the culinary school, but from his new place of employment. He’s an associate chef at an upscale resort in Rancho Santa Fe. The lead chef there wanted to know every detail on this Jason’s first solo outing.
When we arrived, the evening sun cast long shadows. A steady gentle breeze was a welcome relief from the heat of a hot August day. The table was waiting, china, silver and crystal… for six.
After a toast and a prayer, the dinner began. Six courses, plus hor d’oeuvres. Jason was decked in his crisp white long sleeve jacket, monogrammed, looking every bit the seasoned chef. Jason and Maren served as a team, and with each new dish, Jason made a speech. He explained every item set before us.
Hor d’oeurves included cantaloupe melon wrapped Prosciutto ham, grilled shrimp and smoked albacore. The first course of spinach salad with macadamia nuts and a pineapple-mango vinaigrette that is Jason’s own creation. Second course – a coconut watercress soup with white corn and seasonings. Then for the third “Seafood Course,” grilled scallops under a lemon beurre blanc and seared Ah’i in a ginger beurre blanc dressing with Risotto and fried Wontons. By this time, we were ready for the Intermezzo Course – a breather. A chance to cleanse the palette. With orange honeydew sorbet. Ready now for the fifth course, Jason and Maren brought it on. Picture perfect. Grilled rack of lamb completed with an orange-papaya demi glace sauce served with mashed sweet potatoes, fresh jicama and fried Plantains.
By the time the Sixth Dessert Course was set before us, our appetites had been satisfied. We laughed and shared and learned about each other in ways that before had somehow escaped us. Mark and his wife Cathey were as proud as parents could be as their adult children showed just what they could do. Each of us finished off the evening with a fresh green apple wrapped in a golden puff pastry. Course number six.
Four and a half hours after the toast and the prayer.
* * * * * * *
If you settle for the mediocre, the lukewarm, the middle of the road, then passion doesn’t really matter that much.
If, on the other hand, you want your life to count for something timeless, something that will outlast you, something that will really make a difference in this world of yours, then you need to get passionate about it. It means there will be an intensity, an urgency, an enthusiasm that will set you apart from the rest.
My friend Ted has blazed a trail that’s all his own. Along the way, he has sparked energy and enthusiasm in scores of leaders who have gone ahead and made their mark. And in his ninth decade, he’s still going strong.
Jason is at the front end of his career. But already, he shows a undeniable passion for excellence. A willingness to give attention to detail. To create a menu that will make for watershed nights to remember. People will fall in love (maybe for the first time, maybe all over again), they will celebrate milestones, they will make life-long commitments, they will cut business deals… over Jason’s art. Like last night. A night we will never forget.
How about you? On this Monday morning, is this just another hum-drum summer day? Or are you making big plans? Are you still dreaming bold dreams of a future that is yet to be? Are you surrounding yourself with the people you love, and the people you want to spend the rest of your life with? Are you doing it with style?
If not, why not?
© Copyright Kenneth E. Kemp 2000
Course entres come directly from Jason's menu, which will, in time, be copyrighted. Mark my words.
Special Thanks to my good friend David Belcher, owner of Rhino Media Group and creator of WisdomGram
LeaderFOCUS is a service of Good Stewardship Associates
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