What is Your Signature Dish?

If you don't tell your story

They gonna tell it for you

Who's on the panel?

That's a rebel for you

God said chill, there's something special for you

I know you've been through hell,

So I've got heaven coming for you''

- ?Autobiography, by UK rap and grime star, Ghetts:(Album: Conflict of Interest, 2021).

''What’s your signature dish''? My friend Katie asked a couple of weeks ago.

I had no idea what she was talking about. I was starving so I thought she was talking about food.

But no, she meant something completely different.

A week later, my friend Jabo asked me the same question, but in a different form.

‘What makes my eyes shine'? He asked.

These questions made me think. What is the one thing that I am known for?

I began to look back at the people I had been privileged to meet and thought about what they stood for.

My friend Katie.

She always was talking about distractions, and how to listen to your voice, your gut, and not the demon perched on your shoulders.

Katie is a speaker, and a motivational coach and organises conferences across the UK twice a year where hundreds of women gather to how to fulfil their potential. I have been privileged to serve at one of these conferences. And they all follow the same theme. Not allowing voices from outside to distract from your main calling.

For Katie, that was her signature dish. Staying true to yourself.?

There are many others – Ros Atkins of the BBC (explanation) Thomas Curran (Perfectionism) Erin Thorp(Empathy) John Maxwell (leadership possibility) Tony Robins (business performance) Scott Gould (engagement), Simon Alexander Ong(Energy).

For me, everything I did or spoke or wrote about boiled down to three things.

Empathy, Resilience and Inclusion.

Then I began to dig deeper. Why do these three values resonate with me so much?

I realised they came from 3 sources: my natural bent as a human, my life experiences, and my aspirations.

All my life, I have lived in the middle of two extremes. When I was a child in my native Ghana, my parents were relatively well-off, but we lived 2 minutes from a major slum in the capital. I lived in relative financial security, but I was very close to poverty.

When I moved to England, in my rat-infested room in a deprived suburb of London, I was the only professional in the house and lived with working-class flatmates.

In Plymouth, as a middle-class professional, I worked for ten years in one of the UK’s most deprived neighbourhoods. I could be spending time with substance misuse patients one day, and then flying to meet multi-millionaires in London, Geneva and Johannesburg or Dubai?the very next morning for an investment meeting.

I live in a city that is 96% white. My best, inner circle friends are both white and black.

My favourite artists are Switchfoot (rock) and Stormzy (Grime)

Without realising it, I had learned, first-hand, the language of empathy and inclusion. In addition to my natural bent of being kind and gentle, and my experience of resilience after going through every hardship known to man, I had become an expert in Empathy, Resilience and Inclusion.?

Without even knowing it.

In Pay The Price, I dedicated almost a third of the book to Pain, another quarter to Empathy and a substantial percentage to Inclusion.

Even my weaknesses proved the point. My avoidance of conflict and unwillingness to criticize was a downside to these same values.

Your signature dish is always a window to your purpose in life.

So pay attention to what attracts you the most. What do you hate the most or what irks you? What do you keep coming back to?

My friend Kerrie always depicts a lion in her artwork. I'd love to ask her why. That's her signature dish.?

And remember, your dish is not just one meal. You could have a starter, a main and a dessert.

My main is Empathy.

My starter is Inclusion.

And my dessert is Resilience.

So after looking at all these signposts, a change in my focus was?needed.

Through Empathy, I help leaders and businesses build Resilience and Empathy.

So I re-designed my website (see above), changed my logo (see picture above) and even narrowed my focus to the things I’m best at. I am even going to change the name of this newsletter.

It's going to be called the Resilience and Inclusion newsletter.

And my new logo? Let’s do life.

Let’s signifies? Empathy and Inclusion. Life signifies Resilience.

With a logo to go with it. Smiling different faces celebrating life together.

That’s my signature dish. And I hope you like it.

What’s yours? I’d love to have a taste. Hit me at [email protected].

I’m rooting for you,

Steven.

To share:

• My new website is ready!! I’d love your thoughts and feedback: www.stevenadjei.com
• Please download my speaker reel from the website if you’d like me to speak at your event. I speak on resilience, empathy and inclusion.
• Pay The Price, my first book, again hit #1 on Amazon on black Friday!! I was immensely proud, and it's still on offer!

Amazon UK

Amazon US

If you HAVE bought and read the book, please leave a review on Amazon + share it on social media. :)

Thank you, and see you in two weeks, where I will be starting a new mini-series on Inclusion.