There are a variety of similarities between life and cooking. In order to create a meal, you must go through a number of steps. The first one is deciding what you want to make. Obviously, you should select something you like. Otherwise, you won’t have any enthusiasm for preparing it and you certainly won’t want to eat it.

In life, you need goals before you can get what you want. Whatever goals you choose have to excite you or else you will not have much motivation to attain them. Just as your culinary tastes can change over time, so can your goals.

What should you do when you know what you want but don’t know how to make it? You find the recipe you need. Many resources exist to help you. There are numerous cookbooks which show you how to make virtually anything. Perhaps you know someone who knows how to prepare the meal you want. You can ask them for the recipe. Attending a cooking school or taking a class is another option.

You also need to know what is required to reach your goals in life. There are just as many resources available for this as for cooking. Read books, ask others who are where you want to be, take classes, and use the internet. A lack of proper knowledge leads to unsatisfactory results in both life and the kitchen.

Next, you need quality ingredients. If the ingredients aren’t tasty, or are spoiled, the meal won’t be any good either. Your results will never be better than what you start with. You also have to use the ingredients called for by the recipe. Substitute ingredients and you will alter the outcome.

The ingredients then have to be combined in the proper amounts. If you change the proportions for any reason, your meal will be different than you expected. This is not to say you can’t experiment or create your own unique dish. You just need to be aware that whenever you change what you put in, you impact what you get out.

In life, you have to take the appropriate steps to accomplish your desired goals. You can’t skip a step. Change the steps and you will change the outcome.

So, you have all of the ingredients combined and put into a pot on the stove. What’s next? You have to turn on the burner. Without taking this action, your meal will never cook. Even with the best intentions and a positive attitude, nothing will happen without heat under your pot.

Reaching your goals also takes action. You will never attain your goals without effort. Knowing what steps to take is not enough. You must take the first step.

The final phase is to allow the food to cook for enough time. You can’t speed up the process by turning up the heat. All you will do is burn your meal and it will be just as inedible as when it is undercooked.

Attaining your goals also takes time. One reason people fail to reach their goals is because they don’t allow enough time to complete all the steps. Their impatience leads them to erroneously

conclude that they have failed. Another cause of failure is burnout. This occurs when people don’t pace themselves and don’t take breaks to recharge.

Analogies can be very helpful in understanding concepts and relationships. It’s easy to lose track of where you are or why certain things need to be done. Use this cooking example to stay on your path to attain all of the things you want in life.

NOW AVAILABLE: “Dare to Live Without Limits,” the book. Visit www.BryanGolden.com or your bookstore. Bryan is a management consultant, motivational speaker, author, and adjunct professor. E-mail Bryan at bryan@columnist.com or write him c/o this paper. Ó 2025 Bryan Golden