1.2.3. How to Be Successful When You Know Nothing

Hey there— Alex here,

This idea has been floating around in my head recently…

It’s the thought that every time I think I really know something I realize I know nothing. Socrates said it much more precisely with “I know that I know nothing.”

You’re probably wondering why someone claiming to be a pizza consultant would claim he knows nothing???

Well, I attribute the success I’ve found in my career to my ability to not get stuck to any one idea of the “right way” to run a business, and how things should operate in the kitchen or with my team.

This idea of knowing nothing has allowed me to stay hungry and move fluidly through the highest highs, the lowest lows, and everything in between.

When I feel like I have something really figured out, someone or something always comes along and shows me that I am not even close. I guess that’s the magic of life though. We all have the opportunity to grow and develop every day.

The key is to be open to that change.

More often than not, we mistake our thoughts & opinions for facts. These “facts” become the chains that secure us in place.

I say, let’s normalize allowing ourselves to change our minds & opinions easily, right then and there within a conversation. Imagine that world. All the humility, the empathy it would bring, the power of seeing the world anew every day without the chains that lock you in your beliefs.

This is a little broad, so let’s take it back to the kitchen…

Most of us will use the same flour or cheese or pepperoni for the rest of our careers because “we only use the best.” Once we make a statement like that, it’s pretty hard to be open to anything else.

The key is to always stay open.

Always know what you know, but admit you know nothing at all.

Keep experimenting, keep evolving, and stay open to the unknown without judgment.

Love, crust, and pizza dust,

Alex Koons

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