It’s summer. Most folks in the Philadelphia area head to the beach on weekends. I do as well on occasion. A couple of weeks ago, I happened to walk into the Iron Room, a place that touts one of the largest collections of whiskeys in the East Coast. I was skeptical, after all I was in Atlantic City and this place was not even in a casino. So much for following my own advice and not judging a book by its cover.
The Iron Room did have an impressive whiskey list, but the foreword written by the general manager was more impressive. Here’s what it said:
Foreword
What you hold in your hands is one of the most valuable codices known to man. It chronicles years of blood, sweat, tears, arguments, accidents, wheelings, dealings, favors, frustrations, mix-ups, mishaps, triumphs, various blood pacts, and the occasional sold soul. Every employee who has ever worked here has some hand in the amassing of this beautiful collection.
Every bottle on our shelf is a journey in and of itself. Water, Grain, Yeast, Fire, Wood, and Time come together to yield countless unique expressions in the form of your favorite brown spirits. We are just the curators of the stories in these bottles. Entire human lives are lived in full in the time it takes for these works of art to unfold. Friendships, loves, jobs, families all grow and flourish and fall away in the years that whiskey waits for you.
While every bottle may not be perfection, even our terrible, horrible, no good very bad worst whiskeys known to us deserve a certain amount of respect or at the very least, acknowledgement of the time and skill involved in their creation and procurement.
I guess what we’re REALLY trying to say, without getting too wordy, is:
No Fireball.
Thank you,
General Manager
The Iron Room
Don’t get me wrong, this is not a commercial for them. Aside from the vast collection of brown liquors and creative foods, I was impressed by the passion that comes across in the foreword. Clearly this place is a labor of love. The passion of not only the management but also that of the staff comes through when you walk into the place.
What are you passionate about? How do you share it? How are you using your passion to inspire others?
“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.” —Denis Diderot
Have a great weekend.
—Vijay
About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)
I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.
Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!