If you don’t trust yourself to show up fully in a certain situation or environment, you won’t feel confident in it. Lack of confidence is conditioned into you by years of mindless practice of not being your full and true self. By self protecting, plying small, hiding, pretending, performing, perfecting and comparing.

“They did not see the real beauty, yet again.”

The fan-created meme was shared by Miss Georgia Lara Yan on her Instagram story shortly after Miss Philippines Catriona Gray was crowned as Miss Universe 2018.

In an interview weeks before the Miss Universe competition, Lara Yan also voiced: “After having seen photos of other contestants, I will tell you honestly, out of 88 contestants I only liked ten, the rest of them I could not even rank”.

The truth is, many restaurants don't have pre-shift meetings, and some that do still don't have a solid system or strategy around how they do it. Many restaurant managers think of pre-shift meetings as a necessary evil. They make it boring and glum by merely talking about new specials, 86’d items, and pointing out the negatives, like wrong uniform or schedule issues.

Traditionally, experience or seniority would dictate who was “next in line” for a promotion. Those lines no longer exist today, at least not in the most progressive, innovative organizations or successful restaurants. In today's world, experience alone is no longer enough, and seniority is a word used only by the most entitled of employees.

Restaurants are unique because they combine every element of business under one roof: product creation, distribution, service, team development, strategy, marketing, operations, finance, tactical execution and more. Managing a business with all of these elements in one place is an opportunity you shouldn't miss. 

The economy and competition have little to nothing to do with the success or failure of a business. Strategic and operational errors are only symptoms of a deeper issue. The key difference-maker in businesses is the psychology of the business owner. 

Many restaurant employees I’ve worked with wanted to become managers. They all had similar reasons for it: a bigger paycheck; a desire for authority and recognition; a more stable schedule. But most of them also didn’t understand what it means to be a restaurant manager.

I was once an overworked, irritated, greasy-food eating, no-life having, moody and perpetually sleep-deprived restaurant manager. I was definitely burning my candle at both ends. I’d spend 11 to 12 hours at work, plus two hours driving both ways. My off days would evaporate into catching up on sleep, self-care and errands.

If you work in a restaurant in hopes of someday becoming a business owner yourself (whether of a restaurant or not), here are 8 ways you can take full advantage of your opportunities as a restaurant employee and cash in on your dreams sooner.

Between wearing many hats, the pressure to wear them all well, and juggling what can seem like a thousand daily tasks, restaurant management is survival of the fittest. It’s a job where shifts notoriously last 10-14 hours (sometimes longer), which can be taxing on the body and overwhelming on the mind.

Everyone's a coach now! My Instagram feed doesn’t lie. Coaches for this, and coaches for that. They are everywhere! Health coaches, life coaches, business coaches, fitness coaches, relationship coaches, wealth coaches. And I love this one: lifestyle coaches, e.i. undercover network marketers.

3 - Created a capsule closet. I sold and donated my oversized closet full of designer brands - even the red bottoms. I only keep 20-30 items at all times. This saves me precious time, a ton of money and ridiculous amounts of effort to put an outfit together. Slaying has never been easier!

With anything I do, say or write, I am not looking for people to agree with me. If anything, I'm looking for people who challenge my ideas. It kicks me into a higher gear of thinking; ideas are born. I get excited that I got them thinking and I get more to write about. This article is born from that.

Zaza Pachulia career stats may not blow your mind. He’s averaged 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game during his 13 year NBA career. A casual NBA fan might not even know his name. This fan may also say Zaza is not NBA All-Star Game material. 

Khaled’s social media celebrity has outpaced his music fame. Besides his aphorisms, Khaled’s I don’t know to laugh-at or laugh-with renewable content and rescuing the key emoji from a complete ambiguity, Khaled ‘s influence on American society is palpable. The key question is, what kind of influence?

When the hostess finally looked at us, she asked the worst question any service professional can ask. "Can I help you?” She followed it up with a raised eyebrow. My cynical side wanted to come out say, “Well, I don’t know, can you?”

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who just wouldn’t stop talking? He hardly took any interest in you, just kept going on and on about themselves, and whatever interested him? Maybe you managed to break away, but you left completely drained.

I thought my business depended on how elaborate and prestigious my business cards looked and felt. I even considered ordering metal cards, for $8 a pop! I spent a whole month looking for the right printer and the right design for brass finish engraved cards that could have blinded someone from 100 feet away. I don’t know what stopped me.

I had no idea I would be in the restaurant business. After arriving in NYC with no contacts, only $40 to my name and absolutely no English skills, my first job in the restaurant business was as a bartender in one of Brooklyn’s busiest restaurants in 2002.

Even with all the winning elements in place, 50% of restaurants go out of business within 3 years of their opening date. There are many opinions as to why this happens, hence the common “tough business, low margins, low profits” comments. The truth is, those restaurants don't make it because they lack HEART.

If you think service is why people return to your restaurant, It's a safe bet that you won't stay in business. "What?!” Let me help you out. You don't think people come to your restaurant thinking: I hope the staff is rude to me, my food tastes lousy, I wait for my drinks for an eternity, can't find my server when I need them, and hopefully they say "duces" on my way out, do you?

Ask any restaurant owner/manager what their biggest challenge is, I guarantee, hiring and keeping the best staff will make the top three on their list. Restaurants have high turnover, averaging over 66% annually, and with the payroll standard of 30-35% of total sales, let’s face it, there isn’t any room for hiring and training the ones that will bring your business down.

I asked for my first gig way before I knew what the heck I was doing. I had done a half of a Bartending Course at Riddlers Lounge in The Bronx NY with an entire 15-minute internship under my belt. I got hired on the spot, but "easy" ended there.