Today is Tuesday, July 08th, 2008

Chicken Tikka Masala and the Power of the Individual

One of the more fascinating discussions I had during SOBCon08 was with Chris Garrett on our way back to the airport (it’s amazing the conversations you can strike up when you are stuck in Chicago traffic!).

We were talking about favorite foods and the discussion led to Indian cuisine, and our favorite types of Indian food. One of those was a dish called Chicken Tikka Masala. It consists of chicken, cooked in a tomato and yogurt based curry. Very good stuff.

Chris then relayed the “legend” of of how this dish came about. It didn’t originate in India, the legend says -it was in Glasgow, in the late 1960s.

Apparently a restaurant patron thought the Chicken Tikka was too dry and asked for more “gravy” (only Chris could do this description justice, so you should ask him to tell this story sometime!). The chef, duly challenged, came up with the Masala we know and love today - in fact, in 2001 it was declared Britian’s “true national dish”.

Why do I bring up this story today? No, I’m not veering this blog into a food and cooking direction (it’s hard for me to boil water so that’s a really bad direction for me).

I recount this conversation because I believe it illustrates so well the power of individual initiative. How a seemingly insignificant idea or request could turn into something with such a profound impact is a great lesson for us all.

The lesson: We CAN make a difference, not only for ourselves, our families, our fellow business associates, or fellow bloggers, but for the world too !

This reminds me of what my friend Lisa Haneberg talks about in her book, “2 Weeks to a Breakthrough” . She writes about “the butterfly effect” - how a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can trigger a tornado in Texas. One little “flap” can cause a chain reaction. She encourages us to “flap” our wings and make things happen - the more “flaps” the better.

That man in the restaurant in Glasgow flapped his wings, by saying he wanted gravy. The chef flapped his when he whipped up the Masala. Then one of the other patrons tried it, and spread the word. Flap, flap, flap…….

We all have that power, the power to make huge changes happen - the question is, can we use it? WILL we use it? Are we brave enough to think that BIG? Can we really change the world?

The key is to not let our ideas, dreams and desires be held captive by fear, or be discouraged by outside influences.

If you want gravy, you gotta ask for it!

Put some gravy in your life - and believe in the power of you!

There Are 6 Responses So Far. »

Comment by Joanna Young on 12 May 2008:

Funny Terry, this post is making me think of the poem ‘gravy’ by Raymond Carver - the things at the end of the day (the very end) you are truly grateful for, which also makes me think about what we’re asking for. Do we know what we’re doing when we ask for gravy? Do we know what we’re looking for and asking for? Will we be grateful for all that amazing stuff that’s happened as a result when it tumbles upon us later?

Thanks for a great headline, and making me think.

Joanna
Comment by amypalko on 12 May 2008:

This post reminds me of a recent post on my dad’s blog which I think you’ll really like, Terry: http://heroesnotzombies.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/the-last-lecture-choosing-to-live/
It’s about Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture, which, if you haven’t seen already, you absolutely must! Anyway, in my dad’s post, he writes about one of the most significant lessons that he learned from reading the book based on that lecture, which is simply, “Ask”. We so rarely ask for anything because we believe that the answer will always be negative. However, amazing things can happen when you do pluck up the courage to ask. Millions of Brits enjoying a tikka masala for their tea tonight will confirm this!
Pingback by Speedlinking - The Power Within You » Derek Semmler dot com on 12 May 2008:

[...] Terry Starbucker offers further inspiration as he relates chicken tikka masala and the power of the individual. Terry reinforces that we all have the power within us to make huge changes happen as long as we [...]
Comment by Chris Garrett on 13 May 2008:

Great post Terry, it’s funny how these conversations can connect with things in our heads to turn into blog posts, love it I am just glad you didn’t record me trying to do the accent
Comment by lisa haneberg on 13 May 2008:

Terry - I, too, love Tikka Masala, so I am grateful that the Brits created it so long ago.

The Butterfly Effect is so amazing, thanks for reminding people about it. And it is also so simple. We can all flap in new directions every day and some of those flap will become something - perhaps something as meaningful as a national dish.

Thanks for your encouragement about the next SOBCon. Tell you what, if you put a stake in the ground and declare that you will debut your book at the 2009 SOBCon, I will be there to cheer you on (and we can do a podcast, grab a cup of joe, etc..).
Comment by Starbucker on 13 May 2008:

Thanks Joanna, Amy, Chris and Lisa!

Joanna, I love that poem. Thanks again for passing it along. I’ll never ask for gravy the same way again!

Amy, I just read that post. I loved the line “you’re ALWAYS bloody positive”! Now I can see where you get it from!

Chris, are you sure you don’t want to record that story?

Lisa, you’re on! The book will be written before SOBCon09!! So see ya there.

All the best to all of you!