A Life Changing Lesson I Learned at a 7-Star Hotel in Dubai

It was December 2015 and I was with 3 friends celebrating a birthday.

We were in one of Dubai’s most iconic hotels.

One of my friends is vegetarian, and to his dismay, there weren’t many options on the menu that appealed to him. So, when the waiter came to take our order, he asked if he could have bruschetta (off menu).

The waiter’s response was immediate: “I’m sorry, sir. It’s not on the menu.”

My friend, undeterred, didn’t accept this as the final answer.

Instead, he asked a series of questions:

“Do you have bread?” “Do you have tomatoes?” “Basil? Garlic? Vinegar? Pepper?”

The waiter nodded to each.

“Great,” my friend said. “Where’s the kitchen? I’ll make it myself.”

In this moment, the penny dropped for the waiter. He realised that the ingredients were there, and the only thing missing was the idea and possibility of putting them together.

The waiter went to ask the chef, and a few minutes later, my friend had his bruschetta.

Many of you have heard this story before, yet I share it again for it’s powerful lesson:

There are areas of your life where you’re settling for what’s “on the menu”.

This is the “Reported World” and “how it’s always been done”.

To create something that is not on the menu, we, as leaders, must see beyond the menu. We must use our creativity, resourcefulness, and language to create off menu.

The Reactor vs The Creator

Most of us innocently walk through life in Reactive mode.

We look at what others have created and use that as our baseline.

We scan the menu of what’s available – in relationships, careers, health, leadership – and choose from the options presented to us.

Our brain is wired to take the path of least resistance.

We accept “how it’s always been done.”

This is the Reported World: the world as it appears, with its limitations, its rules, its menus.

But my vegetarian friend in Dubai reminded me of a deeper truth:

Everything is a creation.

Your relationship with your partner? A creation.

The culture you’re building at home or in your team? A creation.

Your body, your energy, the experience you create around the dinner table? Creations.

The way you show up and present in a meeting? A creation.

Your career trajectory, your sense of purpose, your character? All creations.

And everything can be created consciously by you, if you’re willing to step out of Reactor mode and into Creator mode.

The Shift:

Becoming a Creator requires three things:

1. Awareness and Possibility

You must notice when you’re defaulting to “the menu” instead of creating what you really want beyond the default. You must also get clear on what you’d like to create and believe in its possibility.

When you feel stuck, lost, or frustrated, it’s a signal: you’ve innocently lost connection to your creative power.

2. Conscious Attention & Language

It then requires you to create space and shift your attention from “what currently is” to what you want it to be. Where attention goes, energy flows.

Then use language consciously.

Abracadabra – from the Aramaic “Avra Kedabra” – “As I speak, so I create.”

Your words aren’t just descriptions of reality.

They are the brushstrokes that paint reality into being.

3. Enrolment

My friend didn’t sneak into the kitchen and make bruschetta in secret.

He enrolled the waiter in the possibility.

The waiter enrolled the chef.

That’s leadership – creating a new reality together.

Your Canvas

Imagine a blank canvas in front of you.

You are the painter.

Your thoughts and language are the paintbrush.

The key question isn’t “What’s on the menu?”

The key question is: “What would you like to create?”

It’s not a bad thing to choose from the menu, but do so consciously. And know this: you don’t have to settle. You can create anything.

Reflection:

Where in life are you settling for something that’s on the menu, ignoring what you’re deeply being called to create?

p.s. here are 4 ways you can start your journey of inner transformation to create powerful outcomes:

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