I Started Today
I want to tell you that it was because I shook hands with Gary Vee. I went to one of his talks, I fought the crowd, I stood in line and asked a question even when the event staff kept telling people they weren’t taking any other questions. When they turned the question mic off I walked up to the stage and Gary handed me his. He shrugged and looked at me knowing I was the only one left who didn’t listen to the promoters. I was the one who would get the very last question.
I want to say that I had the perfect thing to say but in the moment I lost all train of thought. No matter how much I ran it through my head the words turned to garble as soon as I had the mic. What was I doing up there? What am I going to ask? I know what I need to do, I know all the answers, it’s time to grind.
Did I need his permission to start? It felt like I was given a little more permission after I shook his hand.
I understand that at some point you can only ingest so much motivation. That 95% of the people sitting in that theatre clapping, cheering, fighting for a selfie at the end, that they’re probably not going to do anything. The message of just showing up and doing their thing wasn’t going to stick. Gary likes to say he’s repeating himself and I think it’s because most people aren’t getting the message.
What’s the message? Start. Whatever it is, isn’t it better to take the first step today than wait another day? If you did one thing today that got you a step closer to that dream would you regret it? Wouldn’t you regret not doing it more?
If you know me you know I have a podcast all about BBQ. It’s already started. In fact I just broke 100 episodes. What you might not know is that I’ve been stepping up the marketing for it every day. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Watching a little Gary Vee and getting psyched to start the day.
At first I worried about mindset. I wanted to make sure I had enough motivation. Then I realized it was just about doing work. Taking the thing you did yesterday and making it better. Figuring out what you had to change tomorrow to improve it.
So for some reason, possibly a handshake (😜), I’m starting. I will not keep repeating the same thing I started. It’s time to improve it.
The question is what can I improve? Do I take better photos? Do I make sure the sound is better? At some point I leveled up all of these things. I got new cameras, I got better mics, I watched all the YouTube videos on skills to practice and what to learn. I watched videos on what videos to watch.
It reminds me of a story. It’s a story we’ve all heard before. You begin a project, let’s say it’s a writing project. You buy a desk because you need a place to sit. Now that you have a desk you need a good chair to write in. You have the chair and now you have to buy a wrist pad for your keyboard or a bigger monitor so you can see more words. Then on and on and on until months have passed, you’ve spent too much money and you haven’t written a word.
I think I’m guilty of a bit of this. Today the last thing came. My laptop. The final part of my kit. Now I have all the cameras, lavaliers, filters, and memory cards to create vlogs & podcasts wherever I go. I have no excuses left. I have no reason to wait. I start today.
What am I starting? What is changing today? The first thing is I’m writing. Writing articles, writing plans, writing my goals for what’s next. I’m writing my story. The story of Texas BBQ and how I discovered the best BBQ in the world. How I got a BBQ book when I was a kid and something about the fire intrigued me. Something about properly applying smoke to meat made sense to me.
The second is that I’m going to tell a better story. I’ve realized the backpack full of gear is just a tool box. They are my storytelling tools. Now my job is to tell it. Tell it better than I ever have. Talk to more pitmasters than I ever have. Eat more barbecue than I ever have. Show the world how incredible the Texas Barbeque scene is and how it’s a family that constantly supports itself.
In fact, the scene has grown outside of Texas. Today I bought tickets to Los Angeles for the LA Times Food Bowl so I can cover the Texas BBQ scene on the west coast. Then I’m flying to the east coast to hang out with people who are cooking Texas barbecue in New York. This year I’ll be all over the world talking to people who cook with fire and smoke to make their best meals.
I shook the hand of a great man tonight and it reminded me of my fire. It took my spark and ignited it. I’m not sure how it works, but it helped. Not so much that it gave me permission to start, but removed even more obstacles in my mind. Watching Gary inspire a crowd and fulfill his purpose showed me that I need to be out there more. Take more pictures, tell more stories, reach out to more restaurants and foodies and all the people involved in the different food scenes around the world.
I hope you enjoy my stories and the story of Texas BBQ. As much as I’m writing about food I’ll be writing about my process at the same time. I’ll be talking about my process and how I did it. Hopefully, I can help others tell their story. The adventure started a while ago but the story is just starting to get good. I can’t wait to share it all with you.