RMI #3 - Adopt a Nemesis

Radical Mutual-Improvement » Blog Archive » Adopt a nemesis (Exercise #3)

I'm having a little trouble with this one... my current long-term goal in life is to own a restaurant in seven years, and I don't really know how to go about researching a nemesis.  There are a couple of people that I have had in mind, but I don't really know how fitting they would be.

The first person I had in mind is David Novak, current CEO of Yum! Brands, former CEO of KFC and other stuff.  I think he's a bit too advanced for me, as I'm looking to be the CEO of my own small 1-restaurant company, not a global chain that encompasses four different brands.

Another person I had in mind was Joe Herrick, my old boss at Pizza Hut.  He was a good manager and got on well with his employees, however, I'm not too sure about his customer service focus, and since he was the restaurant manager, and not the owner, his purview was a bit lower than mine.

The third person, and I feel silly writing this, is Jesus Christ.  OK, the first thing is "One of These Things Is Not Like the Other."  The Lord definitely wasn't known for His restauranting skills.  Second, I just can't picture Him for #3.  #1 and #2 I can definitely do:  His life and good qualities are something that I want for myself, and He is someone I can research.  However, I just can't "imagine [His] smug face doing that task with ease."  I can't imagine His face being smug at all.  Plus, complete and abject perfection, while being an admirable goal, is 100% unattainable and unrealistic.  Even if I take into account His forgiveness if I fall short, I don't think I want a "nemesis" that will say, "That's alright, you did your best."  I don't want compassion from my nemesis.  So once again, not the correct person.

I have done some research on the internet, and the best I can come up with is my nemesis being my 37-year-old self, when I will have reached my seven-year goal to own a restaurant.  I can definitely picture myself being smug and doing things with ease.  Plus, it would be an interesting idea to combine this practice with the proven tactic of visualizing success.

However... it has just hit me who my nemesis is going to be.  It was sitting right in front of me all along, and I have completely ignored it.  That's right... I'm talking about YOU, Mario Batali.

You're going down.