Taking The Higher Ground With Skill, Strength & Compassion | Ep. 04
Stealthily sweet techniques for dealing with difficult people and situations without being confrontational.
MoreMeditation: The Most Powerful Tool For Upgrading The Way We Serve | Ep. 03
Learn how to meditate effortlessly and adapt powerful ancient principles to your daily life.
MoreServers With Attitude: When & Why We Love Them | Ep. 02
A look at the phenomenon of “snarky server” restaurants and bars. What attracts people to them and, more importantly, what is repelling them from somewhere full of friendly accommodating staff.
MoreGood Service = Self Awareness: Interview w/ Kevin von Behren | Ep. 01
Founder of Fly Awake Tea House in Portland Oregon shares his deep sense of service and what it takes to create a unique gathering space.
MoreService to Others Would Be Easy…If Satisfying Needs Wasn’t Such An Ethical Challenge
Originally written for the Be Here Now Network. What is service? On the surface, it sounds so simple: the act of identifying needs and working to fulfill them. Service is often thought of as oriented to others, but the target should just as often be yourself. Service is often thought of as a professional imperative (i.e. […]
MoreLessons From Service & Moviegoing: Let Others Be The Hero & You Always Win
How do we end up rooting for anti-heros? Film and television characters that aren’t 100% virtuous have always managed to get our full support. They don’t always do the right thing, but we want them to succeed at whatever they are doing (even if it’s something with questionable morality). In a sense, we aren’t cheering […]
MoreThe Japanese Fisherman Story: All We Need To Know About Service…And Life
I used to think I took the art of service seriously…until I encountered tea ceremony. Both the Chinese & Japanese ways of tea have changed my life in different ways. Each have different priorities, and this article will focus on the Japanese tradition to reveal an aspect of service that I think no one trying […]
MoreWhy Service Is Difficult & How To Thrive In The Face of Its Challenges (Part II)
In part I of this article, I illustrated my current easier-than-usual work environment where I still find tremendous challenges to serving others. I’ve found that this is because of the innate limitations of being human and connecting to other humans. This exercise has allowed me to look at the finer points of service and […]
MoreWhy Service Is Difficult & How To Thrive In The Face of Its Challenges (Part I)
Years ago, I retired from the bar/restaurant industry to take my meditation knowledge further and become trained as a teacher. Last year, I returned. For love, fascination…and, yeah…for money. I was excited to be back in my element. And dreading it a bit since I know the industry can take its toll on ones health […]
MoreWelcome To The Family: Hospitality As A Spiritual Practice
Originally written for the Be Here Now Network. Check it out here. A 2007 study by political scientist RD Putnam discovered that people are more likely to socially retreat when in ethnically diverse environments. Our tendency to hide away and avoid connecting to those that seem different than us was the focus of Grace Rodriguez’ […]
MoreOvercoming Impostor Syndrome
In different stages of life, we all have holes in our game that we hope others don’t see. “Impostor syndrome” is the belief that we are riddled with deficiencies. That we are fundamentally lacking in something (i.e. reliable skills) that makes us the useful, valuable human we are somehow obligated to be – and we’re just around the corner from being found out. The most successful people on the planet continue to get struck by this feeling every time they put themselves out there in a big way. But, everyday, even the smallest interactions can trigger it.
MoreThe Ego Is Not What You Think It Is: 3 Ways To Make It Your Friend
The ego is often misunderstood as something you need to get rid of. It’s more like a part of you that needs to be kept healthy. Those mystical experiences where the ego “dissolves” is more of a chokehold being released from your true self – the ego’s still there, just non-attached, not defining and limiting your experience. I discuss the unexpected ways that “enlarging” it helps you break out of its limitations. And provide some useful techniques that you can use to strengthen your ego so you can serve everything better and just generally live your full potential.
MoreOne Encounter, One Opportunity: How Modern Bartenders Realized That It’s Not About Making Great Drinks.
My first love affair with service and restaurants was with bartending just as it was becoming a highly respected craft in the Western world. However, the eastern approach revealed how much we were missing. How the Japanese Way of Tea and the one-pointed path of the Shokunin is just beginning to reveal the possibilities of serving as true hospitality people.
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