Brandon Styll

00:00Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio, a podcast for and about the people of the Nashville restaurant scene. Now, here's your host, the CEO of New Light Hospitality Solutions, Brandon Styll. Hello, Music City. Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio. My name is Brandon Styll, and I am your host. And today, I'm going to do something a little bit different. Today, I'm going to go back to the original episode where I just spoke. I started this podcast as something that hopefully would communicate, would unite an industry of people who are all experiencing a bunch of unknowns, just a bunch of insanity. And I started interviewing chefs, started talking to different people in the industry, thinking of ideas, wanting to be motivational, but wanted to bring perspective to each and every person out there so that we can all learn about what everybody else is doing just to make ourselves feel a little more comfortable. So here we are. We're about a month later, and things are going great. As far as the podcast is concerned, I'm enjoying it. I feel like this has just been an outlet for me to really communicate with so many people, and it's made me feel so much better. But as I continue to read through social media and articles, and as I study different guests I'm having on the show, I'm just learning a ton. And I wanted to do an episode today where I just talked about some of that.

01:35So right now, I'm going to go into kind of a podcast about what I've learned, an editorial by me, Brandon Styll. So right now, in my opinion, I'm going to recommend three things. And this is just me talking based upon what I think and what I've observed. Take for it what you will, whatever you want. It's completely up to you. So right now, in my opinion, I think we should be focused on three things. Number one, most important thing I think for everybody is to stay healthy. So when I say stay healthy, I mean stay healthy, mental more than physical. Being physically fit is good. Definitely helps you feel better. It's a good thing. Get out, walk, exercise to your house. I recognize you can't go to the gym. Your body's going to be okay if you don't work out for a week. But really doing things to keep your mental health is what's most important.

02:37So there's a couple different kind of people out there. There's the self-driven, super motivated leader that's going to stay busy. They're going to read books. They're going to exercise. They're going to grow because that's what they are. Proactive leaders. There's a burden on those people because people are looking up to them. They want to know what they're doing. They want to know how they should follow, what they should do. And those people are going to be okay. I mean, there are people that are made for this time. There are time for people that are just made. They thrive in this type of environment. And that's okay. That's a certain type of person. And that type of person is out there and there's nothing wrong with that type person. I think that type person is awesome. And there's another type of person. There's people that are more reactive. That when things happen, they tend to react to them and they enjoy being on a team. And I think that a lot of people in the hospitality industry fall under this category. They enjoy being on a team. They enjoy interaction between people.

03:44This has a potential to be difficult for a lot of those people that draw motivation from others. You know, we can't be together. We can't spend time together right now. That's a tough time. The real key is learning that both of those people are okay. There's nothing wrong with being either of those people. If you're the gung-ho and this is your wheelhouse, then awesome. I love that. More power to you. If you're not, staying mentally healthy is a little more difficult and you're going to be fine. We will get through this. There's a ton of people out there who love and care about you. And we are all thinking about you right now. Sending out our most heartfelt feelings to you. The person who's sitting at home right now, who spends all of their time caring for other people. We love you. We're nothing without you. We need you so bad. Living in isolation is not normal. Everything is upside down right now. It's okay to be scared. If you're listening to this right now and you know somebody who's out there who you, when I just described that person, you went, oh, all right, that's Tommy or that's Judy. Stop listening to this podcast right now.

05:06Just stop. Just press pause and call that person. Call that person. Just go, hey, I was just thinking about you and I wanted to give you like a virtual hug. I wanted to tell you that I loved you. I want to tell you I was thinking about you because you know what? That literally could save a life today. We're five weeks into being at home alone. You know how hard that is on some people? So pick up the phone. Hey, stop listening. Call that person right now. Help them out. Let them know that they're loved because they are. And if you're listening to this and you're one of those people, I love you. Feel free to shoot me a message. Let me know that you're doing okay because we're thinking about you and we care about you. And I know that this once everything gets opened up and we're back to back to normal, your life's going to go back to normal. It's okay. So hopefully if you're listening to this, there's two different types of people. That's okay. Stay healthy. Read books. Meditate. Meditation is the most amazing thing. Go find Headspace. Headspace is an app that will do the basics of meditation. There's 10 steps that will teach you how to breathe and focus and just find some joy and it's free. Meditation is one of the most amazing things that will help you reconnect with yourself. That will help you stay mentally healthy. And whether you've done it or not, it doesn't matter. Sit in a quiet room. We all seem to have quiet rooms right now.

06:36I don't have small kids, but sit in a quiet room, go to Headspace, do the basics. There's a bunch of apps out there that you can do meditation with that are just amazing. Go check them out. Find your health. Find your mental health and then if you can be physically healthy, yeah, do it. Eat great. Do all those things, but let's just focus on you right now. Number two, staying hungry. Finding motivation. I've been staying this, I've been saying this for weeks that this is your shot. When we get out of this, I think that you could be a beautiful flower that's just been waiting for spring to come out and bloom. And I read on Instagram yesterday, I saw a restaurant post, something that said, you don't have to use this time to improve yourself. And I read that and I thought, well, that's kind of a demotivating message to put out there. Like, hey, look, it's okay. Just be lazy. And then I kind of read the context of it, which was, it's a rainy Sunday. Take a break. Take a day off. And I have to tell myself this, because I'm doing four to five podcasts a week. I run another company. I'm helping restaurants put plans together right now for when we come out of this thing. And I'm trying to balance all that.

07:54I'm a father. I'm a husband. I'm a brother. I'm busy in yard work. I'm one of those people that's just going, going, going, going, going, going. And so I read that and I kind of was like, no, be motivated. Then I kind of thought, it's okay. Take a minute. And then yesterday, I watched a couple movies with the kids. I just laid on the couch and I watched movies. I kind of put the phone down for like seven minutes, which is impressive for me. And I just kind of held my kids and I kind of thought, it's okay. I can take a moment for myself. I can do this. And I get where that is, but you've got to find motivation. You've got to stay hungry. So I don't know what that is. I don't know what that is for you, but I will tell you right now, there's a million books out there that you can read in your spare time that will help motivate you, that will help stay hungry. If you stop staying hungry, you're going to not be nourished and it's just not healthy. Again, you've got to be mentally healthy. So stay nourished, stay hungry, constantly be looking for your next meal. And when I say constantly be looking for your next meal, I mean it's, I've told this story before. I've said you want to be a giraffe, right? Because giraffes never eat the food that they find that day. If you're constantly looking for the food you're going to eat that day without a plan, you're going to die. You're not going to have the nourishment you need to live a healthy life. Constantly be looking ahead for the next thing that you're going to be able to find. That's why giraffes have long necks. They're constantly looking to the next pasture. They're trying to find their next meal. Be the one who's looking for your next meal. Stay hungry. Don't ever feel like, oh, I've got everything I need right here.

09:38Constantly be looking ahead. Put that plan together. This is your future. Today is the day. So number one, stay healthy. Number two, stay hungry. And number three, help. Do what you can out there. I know it sounds easier like help, but help whenever and wherever you can. And here's some suggestions. We are out here every single day trying to help other people. And love is love when you give it away, right? So let's, let's take that and give it to somebody else. And here's what I'm saying. If you got time, take out a piece of paper and a pen and handwrite a letter. Who are you going to handwrite the letter to? Write it to a hospital worker. Write, get an address for the St. Thomas ER or the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital or Vanderbilt Medical Center and write a letter that just says to all the ER nurses and doctors, I just want to say thank you for putting yourself in harm's way to help this thing. You're amazing. I guarantee you that's going to brighten somebody's day and it costs you the price of a stamp. Write an email, go make a post on Facebook, whatever you can do, but just tell somebody that they're doing a great job. You know somebody, you've got a neighbor who has kids, write the kids a letter. My sister-in-law who is an ER nurse at St. Thomas West writes, she has two boys that are my boy's cousins and she's written them letters and we get the, we go to the mailbox and we go, oh we got a letter from your cousin today and my kids just light up, man. They are so excited and makes their day. How hard is it to write a letter to the kid down the street? Just go pop it in their mailbox. Just something a little, just something that's going to brighten somebody else's day. I started a hashtag called the Replate Challenge.

11:37Hashtag Replate Challenge. The idea behind this is chefs create food, they put it in a to-go box and they sell it. They don't know what happens to it. They hope it gets to your house. They hope that the Uber eats drivers and just throw it in the passenger seat and it just move all there. They try and re-plate that little bit of art in their to-go box for you to enjoy, but they don't know what it looks like. So my idea was what if we re-plated these items, get home, put them on your plate, re-plate them, put it out there so that the chefs tag the restaurant, send it back there. Hashtag Replate Challenge. Let the chefs know that you did something amazing with their artwork, with the food that they have found. Show them that they're being nourished. I think that's the key word there. So that's a way to share love, to help somebody else's psyche. You know, we see chefs and we understand all these people that are out there in the public light, they're lonely too. People, they normally get all of these accolades. They walk through dining rooms and they hear people go, oh chef, your food is amazing. They're not getting that right now.

12:42This is a thankless job. They're out there feeding you guys and they're not getting that. So let's give it back to them. Let's do something right now. Call an old friend. I've talked about this. If you haven't talked to a friend in five years, look through your Facebook feed, find somebody, find a grandparent, find a friend that you haven't spoke to, send them a message and just say, hey, I was just checking on you. Just want to see what's going on. It's all about human interaction. Find a way to help. I spoke with Hugh Acheson on Monday or last week on Saturday and he said, he had people asking how they can help. Can I come work in the kitchen for a bit? And he said, no, just make food, stay at home and make food for like 10 people. Just get like, you know, some Tupperware or whatever and make like a little salad kit or just make like a little pasta dish like 10 people, put it in the freezer and then take it to like a homeless shelter. Take it somewhere where somebody can enjoy it and maybe get a couple of friends together and start a Facebook group that says feeding other people. How hard is it to cook little bits of food? You get 10 people that all make 10 different dishes. So what an amazing way to help. There's lots of communities right now that really, really need you. A lot of people in our industry, you could go to any of the Facebook pages. You can do it on my page, do it on the Tennessee hospitality professionals page. There's a hundred sites for Nashville hospitality. Put on there says, look, I got food for 50 people.

14:08We've got a group together. We've got food for a hundred people. Who's hungry? You know, do that. Make that happen. That's something you can do today. Help other people. Donate money. Write letters to your state representatives and ask for help. Write letters. If we bombard our legislators with letters of people needing help, they've got to listen. Either way, get it out there. Let them know that we are a strong damn community and that we're not going to have this. Start a blog. Start writing. Just write your feelings out. Start a vlog, a video blog. Do a journal. Start a podcast. Do whatever you can, but getting emotions out and letting your emotions be heard is something that will help you. It'll make you feel better. So that's my top three. Those are the things I've learned. Number one is you've got to stay healthy. And I had a tough day yesterday as everybody can. It's okay. I felt like it's okay to have a tough day. I got a little bit scared. I didn't know what to think, but today I'm back after it. I'm motivated. I meditated this morning. I feel powerful. I feel enlightened. I'm ready to go.

15:27So staying healthy mentally and physically today is going to make 70 degrees outside. Go take a walk. Next two days are going to be gorgeous. Get out to the parks, go hiking, do something special. Stay healthy. Number two, stay hungry. Find your motivation. Find something that's going to keep you thirsting for your next adventure. Whatever it is. It doesn't have to be work. It doesn't have to be whatever. Just stay hungry. Start that business. Put the business plan together. Start an exercise regimen. Start a cooking class. I don't care, but stay hungry. And number three, help. You've got to be out there helping in some way. So those three things, that's what I've learned. Those are the three things that I feel like will help get you through this time. And I'm sure there's many more. I'd love to hear them. Please go to my Facebook page at Nashville Restaurant Radio. Let me know that you heard this, that you're feeling it, and that you are going to do some of these things. Let me know what steps four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten might be. But let's put out this. Start the discussion. And as always, I hope that you guys are staying safe out there. I hope that you're healthy. And when I say this, I mean it. I love you guys. Bye.