What I Learned from Julia Child on Friday Afternoon
My wife, the healthy food blogger (www.thewholegang.org), and I played hooky from work last Friday afternoon and went to the 1:10 pm showing of the new movie, Julie and Julia. (We were there with all of the retired folks and I concluded that that looks like a pretty sweet gig.) Anyway, it's a great movie - two thumbs way up from both of us. Anytime you have Meryl Streep (as Julia Child) and Stanley Tucci (as her husband Paul Child) acting together you're well on your way to a great movie.
In case you're not familiar with it, Julie and Julia tells the story of two women, Julia Child, who revolutionized cooking in the United States with the publication in 1961 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and Julie Powell, who in 2002, made a name for herself by cooking and blogging her way through the more than 500 recipes in Child's cookbook in one year.
A lot of the reviews I've read of the movie (like this one from Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post) love the Julia Child parts and hate the Julie Powell parts. The basic argument of the critics is that it is so much fun to watch the passionate, talented and humorous Child create herself that the segments that focus on the self absorbed and whiny Powell aren't as entertaining or compelling by comparison.
Looking through my leadership lens (as is my wont), I think those criticisms miss one of the more subtle points of the movie. That point is that world changing success takes time and a motivation that goes beyond the desire to be famous. In his New York Times review, A.O. Scott notes that with Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Child changed 20th century culture in her domain in the way that Benjamin Spock's Baby and Child Care and Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat changed theirs. Julie and Julia does a wonderful job of showing the joy, resilience and sense of mission that Julia Child took first in learning the craft of French cuisine and then in the eight years that she and her partners put into creating a book to share what they had learned with an American audience. As the movie shows, Julie Powell's motivation in blogging her way through the cookbook was to stand out in some way and make herself feel better in comparison to her seemingly successful friends. In terms of motivation and life purpose, the two just don't stack up against each other and neither does the impact of the two women's work.
For my wife Diane and me, a critical moment in the movie was when, during his State Department assignment in post-World War II France, Paul asks Julia, "What is it that you really like to do?" She laughingly replied, "I like to eat!" From that realization sprung her passion and ambition to immerse herself in French cooking. And from that passion and ambition sprung the greatness of her life's work.
Do you want to be happy? Do you want to make a difference with your life and your leadership? Get someone you trust to ask you that question, "What is it that you really like to do?" Pay attention to and trust your answer and then look for ways to act on it. You may not come up with Mastering the Art of French Cooking but I'll bet what you do come up with will be great in its own right.
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Executive coach Scott Eblin’s goal is to help you succeed at the next level of leadership. Throughout the week, he’ll offer his take on the leadership lessons in the news and his advice on your most pressing leadership questions. A former government executive, Scott is a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and is the author of The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success.
I'm not 100% certain that he actually ever said this, but I am aware of some notable advice Winston Churchill supposedly once gave to his children regarding their own careers:
"Do what you like, but LIKE what you do."
Pa/Ma Posted Wednesday, August 12, 2009 9:02 AMI really like this advice I have always done that in my career probably without thinking about it, but not so much in other parts of my life. It is usefel advice for both.
Barbara Wainman Posted Wednesday, August 12, 2009 10:35 AMI agree with Scott's assessment of the lives and achievements of Julia and Julie; by the same token, this statement:
"In terms of motivation and life purpose, the two just don't stack up against each other and neither does the impact of the two women's work."
deserves a deeper look.
In terms of the movie as a work of cinematic art, as a drama, it is the contrast of these two women that makes the movie rise above a clever character sketch (by Streep) on one hand, and a mildly cheery chick-flick performance (by Adams).
Neither story could stand alone, but together they demonstrate that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
alan abrams Posted Wednesday, August 12, 2009 10:58 AMThanks so much for your post. I saw the movie Friday night and loved it!
When I was in school, friends of mine in Cambridge, MA rented an apartment in the house next to Julia and Paul. I used to hear about her dropping chickens and putting them back in the pot all the time! Julia and I also shared a hairdresser. I'll never forget the time she walked in to his shop, booming, "Hallo, Sydney." She was enormous (6' 2") and quite a presence.
Despite all the personal [albeit remote] connections I felt, the big impact of the movie on me also was the emphasis on "What is it you really like to do?" Life was more prescribed then. We had fewer options and everything took longer to do, but people felt safer in their jobs (for the most part) and, although we all had much less, more secure about our financial futures. Julia took big risks. She was willing to go out on a limb to do what she loved. It's hard to do that in government. (We could make so much more progress on the big issues of the day if government execs could!). I hope this movie will inspire not just the doing what one likes but also the risk-taking needed to be truly effective leaders. -- Marilyn Edelson, MCC, Pres. OnTrack Coaching & Consulting, Inc.
Marilyn Edelson Posted Wednesday, August 12, 2009 11:50 AMPS. I was thrilled to be invited to see the movie by my 27 year-old daughter (who loves to cook . . . thanks to me and Julia) and she and I are going to tackle a modest 50 recipes together!!
I loved this! I immediately starting writing in my journal: What do I like doing? I'll use this question to explore my future plans.
marsha Posted Wednesday, August 12, 2009 4:00 PMI'm reminded of advice I received:
"Find something to do that you'd do for free and then find someone who will pay you to do it."
Jeanne Large Posted Wednesday, August 12, 2009 10:18 PM