Mr Pie-Man.

I have a Riddle rhyme for you along the lines of “Peter Piper picked a peck of Pickled Peppers.”

“If Mr Pieman baked a heap of various pies every day,

How many pies would Mr Pie-man have baked over 30 years?”

Not even he knows but that is how long my friend the Pie-man has been baking pies for his own Business, either in partnership with his brother or like now as sole owner.

These days with just 3 bakers in the backroom and only working 6 days a week they still churn out daily 60 to 80 dozen for there own shop sales. Until a few years back they were also selling wholesale and had 9 bakers in the backroom and working 7 days a week.

Now you would, well I would think that after that length of time the last thing he would want to see on Holidays is another pie. Not so!

When he goes on holidays he seeks out other pie/Bake shops and samples their wares, always on the lookout for new ideas and tastes. A few years back when we visited him, he had even come across a Spaghetti pie. No I never tried it and these days it is no longer on the menu, however he was game to try something new, are we so minded too?

That is one of the reasons he has stayed in business so long. He is always prepared to improve his product line, trying new ideas where appropriate, keeping those that work and discarding those that don’t, but always open to change if and when necessary.

What about you and me? In my previous blog I indicated that I am not always keen to do that and sometimes pay the price for it. What about you?

Do you love what you are doing and always eager to seek out new ideas, sometimes even discarding them before putting into action but always after assessing them first, like Mr Pieman? Or are you like me, and need to be dragged kicking and screaming almost, into not just the future, but also even the present? If so what can we do about it? As I wrote recently to a friend it is easy to talk about something but often hard to start, as we often don’t know the first step. So what are the first steps to improving yourself?

Basically it is about finding out what really motivates you, like Mr Pieman and His pies, and then doing your apprenticeship so to speak. He didn’t just one day decide to go into business for himself. No! He did his time as an Apprentice Baker then worked for two or 3 others for a few years gaining experience to go with his knowledge and then when going into business for himself, kept himself open to new ideas and improvements and now 30 some years down the track he is still going and even going better than ever.

Are we prepared to put the time and effort into the things we do? Or are we after instant results, and when they don’t come, walk away or worse stay at it but with no interest or enthusiasm? I know now where I stand and am doing something about it, even though it means walking away from one thing and going back to another. What are your thoughts on your present situation? Are you happy with it or do you realize something needs to change? If so find that first step and take it, but don’t rush the journey. Take the appropriate time and measures and enjoy the trip. Walter