The real Julia Child, photographed in her Cambridge, Massachusetts, kitchen, June 29, 1970. By Arnold Newman/Getty Images. Photo taken from Vanity Fair webpage. Please don’t sue me.

I just finished watching “Julie and Julia” with Francy. It’s that old movie with Meryl Streep in it.

My God if you were a cook, or just even someone who likes to cook, you’re going to get a hard time to not get aroused the whole film through.

Like in some scenes, they described what angels would serve in heaven, which is butter, garlic, chopped mushrooms, milk, salt and pepper whisked together on a copper pan. Oh Good Lord.

Besides making me want to go to the market tommorrow at 6 am and buy me some beef medallion to make that very beautiful beef bourgogne stew, the movie also told me another kind of story.

A story of passion.

It’s the intelligent and smart thing to do nowadays to talk about passion. Ask my new friend Rene Suhardono. It’s the ‘cool’ thing to do in these times to talk about it. From Sudirman offices to the church meetings, people are told to find their passion. Live your life according to your passion and you’re set.

Alas, it is not that easy to find this creature. I’ve been a leader in some organizations and the most often asked question is that “How do you find your passion?” “I don’t seem to have any?” “How does it look like?”

Some people know by heart since they were just kids wearing shorts going to school about what they are going to do with their life. I am one of those people, and yes, I am one of the fortunate ones.

Julie and Julia were not.

Even when Julia Child turned out to be one of the most famous cook in history, she did not know her passion for milk and butter and sauteed garlic until she casually joined a cooking class.

Lessen numero uno: Try stuff.

You never gonna find your passion unless you try stuff. Try cooking. Try painting. Try writing a novel. Try fixing a bike. Try organizing an event. Try visiting the sick. I think, somewhere sometime, eventually you’re going to brush shoulders with your passion.

Rene are trying to do this with his movement #Misi21, where people are encouraged to try one different thing every day for 21 days, just to see how it goes and maybe, just maybe, help you find your passion.

Lesson numero duo: Passion will cash in.

In the movie, Julia get a book contract, which is a start to many more good things to come, and so is Julie, after doing what they really love with no vision for profit whatsoever.

Like I said, do it in the right order: passion then money. Don’t do it backwards, it will never work out and you will be living a miserable life.

This sounded more and more like an advertising, but Rene also said those things too: You should cash in your passion, because it is the best thing that you can do, that’s why people are going to pay good money for you. So remember, don’t get it backwards.

And lastly, I am writing this blog post in large part to remember this day, because I just heard a good friend had decided to choose passion over money in one of those intersections in life. And I am definetely sure, with a lot of smart hard work, the money will definetely, eventually come for him. Passion will cash in, all the while you’re doing the things you love. So, this blog post is for you, my dear friend. I know you are reading this.

Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to bed and dream about caramelized onions.