I just recently watched the not-so-new documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” It’s a fantastic film about Jiro Ono – a Japanese sushi chef who at 85 years old is regarded as the best in the world. (At the time of the movie he was 85 – he’s 90 now). His tiny restaurant in a Tokyo subway station received the exclusive 3-Star Michelin rating.
Here’s Jiro:
Jiro’s commitment to his craft is simultaneously inspiring and actually kind of terrifying. He calls himself “Shokunin” – a craftsman. And he works only with others who also strive for that title. The men who apprentice under Jiro must first learn to ring out scalding hot towels. (This is as much about initiation as it is about technique and learning to learn.) After towels, they clean and prep-cut fish for at least 10 years before even being allowed to make anything. After more than a decade into their apprenticeships, they get to make the simplest dish on Jiro’s set menu. It’s an egg dish. Check out what this guy had to go through for the egg dish:
Poor bastard. (But 5 years since the documentary, he now has his own restaurant in NYC, sooo…there’s that.)
Shokunin is a title granted only to someone who is mastering a craft. For a very long time, I’ve found myself so drawn to this idea. Deep excellence. 10,000 hours of deliberate practice – at minimum.
I certainly cannot say that I am Shokunin in anything. But I find myself staring at those who are mastering a skillset and it makes me wish that I spent more of my time pursuing something in that way. From my Evernote Notebooks I dug up 5 clips of people on the road to mastery and tried to distill out what it is about them that made me save them in the first place (several were saved years ago). Here they are:
1) Daisuke Nakazawa (egg sushi guy from the clip above)
THE LESSON: Humble yourself.
200 egg dishes in and this guy was still catching abuse and rejection from Jiro. I’m sure that somewhere after attempt #100, Nakazawa must have thought, “This is BS. There is nothing left for me to learn about making these eggs.” And yet he maintained “learner’s mind” – a posture of attentiveness and an understanding that the lessons we need for improvement come continuously and from unexpected sources.
2) Lily Myers (young poet)
THE LESSON: Trust your own experience.
This young lady just wrecks me every time I watch this video. She sees SO clearly and she tells it so unflinchingly. How the hell? And at such a young age! And that’s the thing — she’s not overreaching. She’s young so she’s talking about her college classes and visits home. But she’s speaking directly from her reality and there is power in it. It reminds me to trust what you know best. Come from your strengths. Trust yourself. That is when you are most powerful. And this is where mastery comes from.
3) Alex Honnald (free climber)
THE LESSON: Keep your van!
When this kid hopped out of his camper van and climbed Half-Dome without a rope in 2008, it was as if he rocketed out of the climbing galaxy while everyone else everywhere was just trying to get to the moon. He was that far ahead of the field. And he still is. Major sponsors like The North Face have put real money into his bank account. Half Dome was such an accomplishment that Alex Honnald could have milked it. Written a book. Done speaking tours. Probably been on Dancing With the Stars. But instead, he’s only ever asked “What’s next?” He focuses on the work. He puts the work first. And he doesn’t end up with more stuff or debt or baggage than he needs. More than 7 years later, Alex lives in the same exact van. He’s been living in that van and he’s been setting climbing records the world has never seen before. Simplify. Simplify. Do what you are called to do.
4) Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger (pilot)
THE LESSON: Put it in your muscle memory.
True story: US Airways Flight 1549 hits birds right after takeoff from Laguardia airport and loses thrust in both engines. The co-pilot says: “Oh shit.” And Captain Sullenberger says, “Oh yeah.” (The flight transcript is fascinating, btw.) Just in the difference between those 2 reactions, you can almost envision Captain Sullenberger’s training and muscle memory taking over and ultimately landing the plane safely in the middle of the Hudson River. Zero casualties. At the end of the day, a huge part of mastery is about just showing up and putting in your time. At the moment of that crash landing, Capt. Sullenberger had over 20,000 hours of flight experience. That’s the only way he was so sure he could do it.
5) Debbie Sterling (engineer & entrepreneur)
THE LESSON: Start!!!!
The secret is at the 0:48 mark of this video. Watch it. Debbie is at least 20 kinds of kickass. This video is from her Kickstarter campaign which nearly doubled its 6-figure funding goal in 2012 and almost immediately launched a million dollar business. Debbie is undoubtedly on the path to mastery. I can’t even imagine all the lessons she’s learned over the past few years. But that 0:48 second mark! The voice-over is mismatched, the audio quality is kinda shitty. The video is by no means perfect. But it’s so awesome! It screams “scrappy startup” and it’s jam packed with passion. I watch this and I’m reminded that the MOST important part of mastery is to start. Just start. With the tools and abilities you have right now, get started!
Do you aspire to be “Shokunin”? If so, in what? I’d love to know.
I attribute my musical expertise to a passion to experience the Divine via playing music. The only way I could practice 6 hours a day was probably due to my family’s metal disorder (?) called OCD. What is a burden for others, is a blessing to me.
Every week while watching you lead the choir I absolutely do think, “Dang, music is a language that Kathy is completely fluent in.” You are Shokunin for sure! Such a gift to be able to hear what you all put together each week. Thank you!