Gutsy professionals can be too "chicken" to cook!

I am surrounded by independent, amazing, do-it-all professionals. Lawyers especially. And while my friends are incredibly strong, some of them even admit to being afraid to cook for themselves much of the time. This is something they would never admit in a professional context.

Can you imagine your lawyer saying that he was just not good at researching the law on your file so he asked his friend to do it? A financial planner who hired someone do the math needed to manage your portfolio? A doctor who said he was uneasy about reading your MRI correctly, so he sent out for the results?

And yet one little room in everyone's house has the power to inspire feelings of dread in these same strong amazing people, and to ultimately mean delegation of the meals they eat to a factory, a restaurant or a box.

As professionals we all have things to do that inspire dread. And usually, once we actually stomach the time to start these dreaded projects they NEVER turn out to be as bad or as hard as we thought. COOKING IS LIKE THIS.

It made me think that cooking is actually good for your career. Here's how.

Those same lawyers, whose lives are measured in billable hours (note the super-clever title of my blog:) might find two more hours a day if the need to eat at restaurants was quelled. Two hours a day, equals 14 hours a week. MORE BILLABLE HOURS! Multiply that by their hourly rates, and then by the number of weeks they work. This number is shocking.

The financial planner might find that instead of restaurant bills, there was MORE MONEY to either save or spend! It could be like getting a serious salary hike.

The doctor might find that they experience BETTER HEALTH, have more energy and experience less stress while trying to help or even heal really sick people.

Cooking for yourself as a professional is EMPOWERING. I love a great restaurant, and a great time saving meal but I like choosing them rather than defaulting to them.

The worst part for these folks is often where to start? First - save me the junk excuse that you don't have time. You do, and it takes less time than you'd think.

Here's the six minute version ( .1) as we say in the docketing world.

1. Just start with ONE meal. ONE. Not ten, not a month's worth. Just pick one.

2. Picture you're at your favourite restaurant, looking at their menu and saying "mmm, what do I feel like tonight". Now do this at your grocery store and just buy it.

3. Don't go nuts trying to get fancy. If you went to Paris with the extra billed time and leftover funds you would see how they eat. Simply. With great ingredients, and not too many OR too much.

4. For the scientific among you, take an hour to experiment. Buy a club pack of chicken breasts. Practice! Open the package and salt and pepper the whole thing, even while it's still in the plastic. Put in a bit of olive oil in a pan and get it hot enough. Drop the chicken, hear the sizzle, WAIT till it browns, flip it, wait till it browns.

Squirt with lemon juice, and cracked black pepper. Lemon Chicken.

Do another one - grab some hot sauce and dijon mustard. Sprinkle with some bleu cheese. Spicy buffalo chicken.

Do it again - squeeze some orange juice and add some honey. Orange honey glaze.

Do it again - splash some white wine, some real cream, or butter. White wine cream sauce.

Don't want cream or butter? Do it again - add some cherry tomatoes, basil and garlic. Tomato Basil Sauce.

Here's a thought : there are lots of things that you didn't do well the first time you did them. But you kept going. You got through serious schooling, you achieved a professional designation that you worked your butt off for. You showcased your talents for employers, clients and other people who now respect you.

Leverage that respect by using a few of those smart molecules in your body by feeding them something that you made.