Chef's Table

There is a Netflix original series called Chef’s Table.  My brother is a Chef by trade so I was obliged to watch it.  Beyond the amazing images of food Chef’s Table digs into the stories of six Chefs who are currently ranked in the top 50 in the world.  They are all immensely different characters with different passions, motivations, and histories but there is a single unifying thread in their stories.  At some point they are struggling to find themselves, they have been formally trained and are trying to replicate that training in their restaurants when the realization sets in: “stop trying to replicate someone else’s work and find your own way to express yourself.”

This clicked with a moment I had in college when Austin told me that I needed to find my own style.  He was referring to my recent decision to wear black socks instead of white socks and he said it with in a joking tone, but it later struck me how right he was.  You can try to imitate another player all you want but you will never be that player.  You can definitely learn from them or use them as inspiration but ultimately if you aren’t playing your own game then you are just a cheap imitation of something else.