How to Quit Living on Hospitality Autopilot
By Daniel Zolinski | December 4, 2024
Hey, why did you open this article? Did it sound interesting to you? Maybe you’ve read other articles on here that you have resonated with. Right now, you’re reading this sentence asking yourself, “What is this all about?” The point is, 98% of people don’t make an active decision opening articles, or to go a step further, emails.They just do it. They act on autopilot. If you opened this article on autopilot, you need to keep reading. This article will help you get out of autopilot and doomscrolling your inbox, and back into the present. If you don’t consciously live your own philosophy, you subconsciously live someone else’s. Life’s too short to live someone else’s dream.
Step 1: Observe Source
Your life philosophy isn’t something you come up with. It’s already out there. To understand what I mean, you need to understand the concept of source; one of the greatest ideas by Rick Rubin. In case you don’t know Rick Rubin, he’s an OG in the music space. He’s a producer who’s worked with almost all the big artists to help them facilitate their creativity. His book The Creative Act is one of my all-time favorites. In his book, he writes: “Source material does not come from inside us. The Source is out there. A wisdom surrounding us, and inexhaustible offering that is always available.” Source is everything around you. Nature, books, people, and even your iced latte from Starbucks. Everyone experiences a source, but most are too distracted to give it their attention. You have all the answers. They’re right in front of you. You just need to observe them.
Step 2: Surrender to Open Your Mind
Once you start connecting with Source regularly, profound wisdom will start flowing through. Your job is to receive it. To let it work on you and through you. As hospitality professionals, we tend to have a need for control. We’re industrious and outcome oriented. We’re used to getting what we want through sheer grit and willpower, but receiving a source isn’t something you can force. When a thought comes to your mind, regardless of how crazy it sounds, write it down. Express it first, evaluate it later.
Step 3: Create Your Directional Philosophy
At the end of the day, we are hospitality professionals. Unlike philosophers, hospitality professionals can’t just get stoned on source forever. We have work to do. Your directional life philosophy should do two things:
- Inspire you
- Inform you
The final step is to integrate your insights into a cohesive worldview and compass. Take what source has shown you and write it down. Crystalize your:
- Deepest values – what hill will you die on?
- Driving purpose – your existential “why.”
- Vision for your one wild life.
- Decision making rubric.
- Daily non-negotiables for staying on track.
- Ethical bright lines
There’s no “right” way or format for a life philosophy. It is, after all, unique to you. Creating your philosophy takes time. It will evolve as you do. It’s a lived inquiry, not an intellectual exercise.
My philosophy isn’t an accessory. It’s my lifeline and promise to myself. Yours will be too if you do the work on uncovering it.
