Life as a journey is a lot like sailing. You are at the mercy of the elements. The trick is to gently exploit the power of Mother Nature and coax the boat towards the destination. The most important thing is to never lose track of the goal, and to constantly check the compass and correct your course. Sometimes the weather can get so bad that it feels like its better to turn around and head back. But for the seasoned sailor, it’s a matter of looking for a temporary safe harbor, weathering the storm, and continuing on.

One of my favorite posters is a picture of a sailboat weathering a storm with a saying, “The rewards of the journey far outweigh the risks of leaving the harbor.”

Jason Hyatt is the celebrity chef/owner of Abacá Boutique Resort and Restaurant. For those who are unfamiliar with the latter, Abacá is the premier fine dining restaurant in Cebu, with food, ambience and service at par with the World’s best.

Jason has achieved a reputation for excellence beginning with his stints as assistant chef at different hotels and restaurants in the United States to serving as the executive sous-chef of the famous Wolfgang Puck at his seaside restaurant Granita in Malibu California. In late 1999, Jason was asked to run the Lan Kwai Fong groups flagship restaurant in Hong Kong, California Restaurant. He went on to running all of the group’s restaurants as the working group executive chef. Jason really made his mark in Hong Kong when he was given the free hand to design and run his own signature restaurant, Lux.

Vince Lombardi, the famous football coach had a saying, “It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you've got to have is faith and discipline when you're not yet a winner.”

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Jason’s dad, Joe, who was here to visit his new grandson. Joe is from blue collar Midwestern roots, having spent part of his life in a rock and roll band, and part of it building hot rods. I asked him, given his adventurous lifestyle then, how did Jason end up a chef?

He told me the story of how Jason grew up. He and his wife had divorced and for many times, it was just him and Jason. So he and Jason had to master the art of fending and cooking for themselves at an early age.

It was a struggle growing up. He told me of many nights spent in a motel with a table drawer and a pillow for his son to sleep on. When it was time finally for college, he asked Jason to go around the United States first before deciding, to be sure that he wouldn’t waste his dad’s money on something that he didn’t want.

Jason moved around finding odd jobs here and there. For some reason, he would always end up in jobs at the kitchen, starting with dishwashing. He then moved on to flipping burgers. One day, the cook was absent, he was asked to fill in. Jason discovered that he enjoyed it and that he wanted to be the best. Eventually, he showed up back in front of his dad and told him that he wanted to be a chef.

“The thing about Jason is that he really knows what he wants in life” his dad proudly proclaimed,” he is like a sponge, he observes and absorbs everything. When he sets a goal, he is determined to get there.” Jason often reminisces to himself, “when I lay in bed or drive to work I sometimes question why we have been so lucky to have what we have and how I actually got here is sometimes a mystery.” He adds, “ After all, I am just a white kid from the midwest.”

We can all be just as successful as Jason by starting correctly with setting a goal , and striving for it. We each need to discover where our journey will take us, but we can never set off without first selecting a destination. Just like sailing, we need to perpetually check our compass and make corrections to our course. In time, each of our ships will make port and the journey would have been worthwhile.

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, let’s all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me atstirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit http://www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com/