Level Up Your Taste
5 years ago my cousin and I decided to start a Food Truck serving Authentic American BBQ.
We aspired to bring world-class BBQ to our hometown in rural Appalachian Ohio and surrounding areas.
To kickoff the endeavor I mapped out a 3 day, 5 city BBQ road trip that included Memphis TN, St. Louis MO, Kansas City MO, Charleston SC, and Dallas TX.
The primary objective was to seek inspiration from some of the best BBQ joints in the country.
That trip taught me that exposure to greatness is transformative in ways I hadn’t imagined!
It leaves an indelible mark on our working memory.
It invites us into a realm of new possibilities.
It inspires us to reconsider our own capabilities and potential.
Greatness in all varieties has a recalibrating effect. It levels up your taste!
We have all experienced the bar raising effect of a truly great experience.
A great book will change the way we think about the possibilities of writing
A great meal will change the way you think about the possibilities of food
A great friend will change the way you think about the possibilities of friendship
A great boss will change the way you think about the possibilities of leadership
When my cousin and I got back from that road trip our standards had changed.
Prior to that trip our understanding and appreciation of great BBQ was limited to our experiences up unto that point.
The experience leveled up our taste and as a result it leveled up the entire approach we took to operating the business.
If you’re aspiring to be great at something, the first step is to level up your taste by making a conscious effort to expose yourself to great works.
The goal of this exercise is not to merely imitate others greatness, but to calibrate our internal standards for our own greatness.
