A WorkLife Lesson: Gael’s Story: Live a Dream or Give a Dream One-Month Paid Sabbatical Programme
Gael is a waiter at a steak house/Spanish tapas bar in Shoreditch, London. His passion and pride for Spanish food is evident in his work, and because of this, his boss, Florian, put him forward for an award that recognised the good work of people working in hospitality.
The award is a one-month paid sabbatical programme where each year, ten people will get to ‘Live Their Dream or Give a Dream’ and be given £10,000 to pursue whatever that is. Gael was one of the ten to win the award in its first year.
The idea behind the initiative is to empower people working within hospitality to flourish in and out of the workplace by providing personal and professional growth opportunities. The purpose is to elevate people to new perspectives to cultivate diverse and inclusive environments, and to create great workplaces that work for all.
Florian and the people he worked with to launch the initiative want to create a bright future for hospitality and let people know that now is the time to join. Wanting to raise awareness to the programme, Florian asked his friend, Saoirse, a freelance reporter and journalist who also writes a popular blog about food and drink and how it connects to culture and history, to work with the winners to help them tell their story, which would also be shared in publications and across platforms connected to the industry.
Florian hosted a dinner at his restaurant to recognise Gael’s achievement, during which he shared his story.
As guests were being served, Gael described the food and drink for each course. His pride in describing the food he was introducing prompted Saoirse to ask a simple question as a cue for him to share his story:
“Where does your passion for these dishes come from?”
Gael smiled, and having captured his audience’s attention; he began to tell his story:
In this lesson, you will learn how Gael’s passion for Spanish food began as a young boy, and has guided him in his WorkLife ever since.
You will learn about the book wisdom that helped Gael prepare to live his dream by embracing his gifts for curiosity and connection, and how through these qualities he continued to grow personally and professionally.
In this lesson’s WorkLife Learning Assignment, you will learn to Explore Parts Unknown: Both Out In The World and Inside Yourself.
In this lesson’s Continuous WorkLife Learning Assignment, you will learn how to pursue your dream.