/ / "Jiro Dreams of Sushi", a movie about an increasingly taboo subject: Mastery.86 year old Jiro wakes up every morning and goes to work. He works not because he has too, but because his craft defines who he is. He wants to improve, to continually improve. He is already the best in the world, the best in the business, yet he wakes up everyday appreciating the basic truth that drives him to work everyday – He has not achieved perfection. In his own words, “All I want to do is make better sushi.” He is truly one of the few individuals in the world who have reached this higher level of understanding. To rise above narrow thought of competition and find the essence of what drives the individual. You can look at the person running ahead of you, you can look at the person catching up behind you, but you will never have peace, nor reach the pinnacle of your craft, until you learn that you are only really racing with yourself. That is when you let go of the world around you and let your own ability define who you are.

This is where you enter the realm of the shokunin, the realm of true champions. “The Japanese word shokunin is defined by both Japanese and Japanese-English dictionaries as ‘craftsman’ or ‘artisan,’ but such a literal description does not fully express the deeper meaning.  The Japanese apprentice is taught that shokunin means not only having technical skills, but also implies an attitude and social consciousness. The shokunin has a social obligation to work his/her best for the general welfare of the people.  This obligation is both spiritual and material, in that no matter what it is, the shokunin’s responsibility is to fulfill the requirement.” – Tasio Orate Tasio Odate is an artist, sculptor, teacher and author in the field of Japanese woodcrafting. So clearly he should know what he is talking about. Yet I feel his explanation is wrong, perhaps politically correct but wrong in the sense that I believe the answer is incomplete. His answer implies that the master does his job well because of social obligation, that he is doing it for the people because that is what drives him.

While I concur that having a social agenda is a noble aspiration. At it’s essence, it is still a worldly pursuit. sushi delivery london n19The pursuit to constantly satisfy the people around you. where to buy sushi grade salmon in winnipegI do not know anyone who lives a happy life going around fulfilling other people without taking something in return. sushi making kit by hakBe it a sense of pride, a sense of satisfaction, there is always something they want in return. Look within you and ask yourself this question – Why am I doing what I’m doing. You may start off with a bunch of reasons about how you want to change the world, but at the end of the day, it is still about you. It will forever be about you.

The pride you feel in your work, the elation you get when someone says good job, the thrill you get from becoming the next big thing. It will always be about you. Besides, if you search for quotes from those who reach the top, they say the same thing. That the person always driving them forward is never the competition, but themselves. Without focusing on you, you will never be happy in your work. And like Jiro, you will never reach your full potential. Learn to embrace it, all the selfish reasons and selfish goals. Live in them, sleep with them. For only when you reach deep aside yourself and magnify the driving forces within, then can you forget about the world and learn to pursue your craft on your own terms. That, to me, is what shokunin is all about.I don’t get to see a lot of movies these days — and it’s almost unheard of that I’ll watch one twice. But this weekend marked my second viewing of the short documentary film, Jiro Dreams of Sushi. If you’re interested in the alluring, frustrating, asymptotic pursuit of mastery, this is movie is a must-see.

The film tells the story of Jiro Ono, an 85-year-old chef who runs Sukiyabashi Jiro, a sushi-only restaurant in Tokyo that has 10 seats — and 3 Michelin stars. Ono is obsessed with his craft, so much that sushi ideas come to him in his dreams. And while his obsessiveness has costs — for instance, his relationship with his sons, who’ve followed him into the family trade — it is also inspiring. “Once you decide on your occupation… you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That’s the secret of success… and is the key to being regarded honorably.” “I’ve never once hated this job. I fell in love with my work and gave my life to it. Even though I’m eighty-five years old, I don’t feel like retiring. That’s how I feel.” “I do the same thing over and over, improving bit by bit. There is always a yearning to achieve more. I’ll continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is.”

The film is available on Netflix and on DVD. You can find out more on the movie’s website.This week, we take on the big question of mastery, particularly in regards to coaching. Beginners tend to mimic. It’s ingrained in us; mimicry is the way we first learn how to make it in life, as we copy our parents when we are just toddlers. In coaching, this might mean copying the training plans of elites or borrowing workouts seen on a “workout wednesday” video. As we progress as coaches, we shift towards creating an overarching philosophy of coaching, rather than a simple copy and paste job. This journey towards a developed reasoning and understanding is mastery. In this podcast, we start with our humble beginnings and the mistakes we made, and are still making. From here we shift on the skills we’ve had to develop including:learning how to coalesce information and then filter it. We take you through our thoughts on the journey towards Finally, we delve into the differences, both in experience and in research, seen between beginners and experts.