Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.
- Joseph Campbell
I’ve been banging my head against a wall for about a year now. I left the food service/bar industry in 1999 because the hours didn’t mesh well with the demands of a growing family with young kids. I ended up going into IT and doing project management; not to surprising as managing a restaurant is not that different from managing a project, you just have to be oranized. I did well and really increased my income but over time, I was pretty dissatisfied. I felt like I was missing the creative outlet that I used to have making food and beverages; I also felt like I wasn’t really contributing to people’s happiness. Seriously, I have always gotten a kick out of brightening someone’s day with a drink, beverage or plate of food.
Well, a year ago the contract gig I wasn’t working on dried up and I started looking for a new project management job. I have looked hard but my heart still wasn’t in it. On the one hand, it’s hard to walk away from the money involved at the level I was working but on the other hand, I really didn’t want to do it anymore.
Then I was reminded of the quote above. I figure that if my heart wasn’t in it, maybe that had something to do with my lack of success. So, a week ago I decided to go back into the business. I figure that cocktails have always been my favorite thing to make and god knows that bartending is a quick and easy way to make money if you know what you are doing. So, I enrolled in a class and got things going. Now, as an experienced bartender with years of experience, I really didn’t need to learn the recipes or techniques but the class provided a real bar environment and gave me an opportunity to get comfortable behind the bar again.
One week later, I graduated from class with a 98 average between the practical and final. I also managed to bust the all time speed record for the practical which shows that I still got it. LOL. Now, this week will be devoted to getting a job and starting up a fledgling business as a freelance, independent bartender. Who knows where that will grow. But as Joseph suggests, I will be looking for the doors…
