A couple years ago, I had a close friend ask for personal advice. I knew she wouldn’t like the advice I gave her, but it’s what I truly thought she needed to know. So I told her.
She hasn’t spoken to me since.
What can I say: friendship to me isn’t telling folks what they want to hear. It’s looking out for their wellbeing enough to stop them when they’re making bad choices. I’m lucky to have close friends around that are honest with me.
As much as I hate when they are.
This week, I went to the studio to finish my album. My spirits were high. That’s when my good friend and producer John told me: “we’re not there, Em.” He didn’t like the direction we were headed sonically. In fact, we ended up completely tearing apart tunes and starting from scratch. We’ve got a couple more weeks at least in the studio.
The same exact thing happened at my restaurant. Every Thursday, I write a new night menu. I submitted one this week, and my good friend and chef Cam told me: “this isn’t the right move this week, buddy.” He knew nobody would come out for that menu. So I started from square one and spent hours writing a new one.
The extra work was hard. But at least my friends cared enough to tell me they thought I could do better.
Reader, this was a humbling week. For a minute, I felt like I took steps backward. But of course I didn’t. I’m just around good folks who like to chase great things with me, and sometimes that means undoing choices.
I leave you with this picture of the sky tonight. It was hard to capture stars on a phone camera, but I could see hundreds, even through the light pollution. It’s always helped me to look up. Let’s not be afraid of honest reflections and fresh starts this week. See you next Monday. -Em
