Ruth Felt Underqualified. She Applied Anyway.

Have you ever talked yourself out of something because you didn’t feel ready?
Ruth had every reason to do the same.
She listened to a different voice instead.

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🌟 Welcome to Interview with a Goal-Crusher! 🌟

Hi, I’m Coach Tony, and this is Interview with a Goal-Crusher.

Every month, I sit down with someone who’s crushing their goals and building a happier life in the process. These are real people, not gurus … just like you. Think of it as free mentoring … straight from people who’ve done the hard work and have the wins (and lessons) to prove it.

These goal-crushers are out there chasing their biggest dreams. Why aren’t you?

Are you ready for a dad joke?

Before we dive in, here's a groan-worthy dad joke as a little palate cleanser. I promise it will be worth every penny you paid for it. 😂

The adjective for metal is metallic; but that's not the case for iron... 
which is ironic.

Ruth Felt Underqualified. She Applied Anyway.

It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means it’s time for a new Interview with a Goal-Crusher.

Today’s featured goal-crusher is Ruth, and I am very excited to share her story.

I have actually known Ruth for years, but I didn’t know anything about her journey.

Here’s what I did know. Ruth works at our favorite restaurant, Barcelona, one of Columbus’ premier restaurants. She’s the pastry chef. She has an infectious smile and a fun personality.

Most of all, I knew Ruth’s food. I have a perpetual sweet tooth, and Ruth has been cooking for it for years. Her desserts are phenomenal.

As I was chatting with her, I started learning a little more about her goal-crushing philosophy. That’s when I knew that I had to share it with you.

Ruth’s journey is all about listening to that little voice in your head that points you toward your dreams. It’s also a powerful reminder that you don’t have to feel “ready” to find your DAY ONE. You just have to be ready to do the hard work.

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Let’s start with the basics. Who are you, and what do you do?

My name is Ruth Coates.

I’m the Pastry Chef/Sous Chef at Barcelona Restaurant and Bar in German Village in Columbus, Ohio.

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What motivated you to pursue your unique journey? What was your vision? Can you share your story?

I started becoming a Chef at a young age, even if I didn’t realize it.

I helped cook with my dad for “Saturday morning breakfasts” when I was 8 years old to spend time with him. I baked sweets for my classmates at 13 just so we could all have a sweet start to the morning. And I was constantly helping in the kitchen to take something off my mom’s plate (or put something on it, I suppose). 

I always felt a deep connection with food and how it could bring people together, bring forth positive emotions in a person, and also be a work of art.

The true turning point came when I met Chef Mike Cichon. He is the culinary instructor at Coshocton County Career Center, and I met him when he and a group of students were catering an event I attended. Seeing the teamwork from his students, his leadership, and how they managed to make the food such an enjoyable experience, I knew I needed to train under him. 

I was 14 at the time and couldn’t join his program until I was 16. So I spent the next 2 years learning anything I could from family and friends about bread making, cake decorating, dicing onions, and cooking fish, and showing up to every “open event” his classes were doing. 

The summer before I started his class, I got my first job in the industry as a prep cook/dishwasher at Chalet in the Valley Restaurant in Charm, Ohio. I remember walking into my first shift as a baby fledgling. Most days, the kitchen wouldn’t hear me talk. I kept my head down, learned my job, spent time proving my work ethic by volunteering for cleaning tasks, and then started learning anything they would teach me. 

About two weeks in, I remember coming home from a shift and saying to my mom, “It’s like this is what I was meant to do.” I didn’t know it before walking into that building. I thought maybe I would want to do something off of the Food Network. 

But all the soft skills I learned from random life events suddenly became essential in a restaurant kitchen environment. Spatial awareness, attention to detail, learning through osmosis, perfectionism, and personal competitiveness. Individually, these things never felt like “useful” skills. But in the kitchen, they make sense. Through the leadership of Chef Mike and Chef Jeff, I honed those skills and many others. 

After spending two years doing culinary classes in high school and working weekends and summers at the restaurant, it came time to think about college. Under the guidance of Chef Mike, I chose to go into full-time pastry. I did a one-year advanced pastry arts program, training under ACF Certified Master Pastry Chef Susan Notter (one of only 12 ACF Master Pastry Chefs in America).

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What were your biggest challenges in chasing your goals? How did you push through them?

My year at college and the two years after college were some of my biggest challenges. 

College was an advanced program with only weekends and holidays off for 9 months. During that time, I moved 4 times, worked a full-time job, and was learning how to navigate the world as an adult. 

Choosing an internship location for my last semester was difficult. I looked into several places and took two interviews. However, as my time ran out to choose, I realized that my first choice felt like the wrong fit for me. 

When I moved back to my hometown after college for my internship, I quickly realized that there weren’t many opportunities for someone with my dream and skills in the farm country of Ohio. I was stuck working dead-end jobs with not much room for growth for a while. 

However, rather than giving up, I decided it was an opportunity to continue learning and perfecting my skills, so when I was ready to pursue an opportunity, I would have many tools in my toolkit.

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What was the very first step you took to get started?

After 9 years working in the industry, I took a break and started a slower job working as a home health care provider. During this time, I spent some time thinking about what kind of job I wanted to work in next. 

Within the pastry world, there are many specialized fields: cake decorating, chocolate making, bakeries, cafes, and many more. But the place I’d always felt fit my style the most was a restaurant kitchen. Fast-paced enough to get the adrenaline flowing, diverse enough to not become monotonous, and creative enough to never be boring. 

I set the guidelines for what I wanted to do and what kind of environment I was looking for. And then I started looking. Job boards, online hiring tools, even just doing research on what the best restaurants were in some of the best cities to live in. 

After 6 months of searching, I found Barcelona and applied for the position aggressively. 

From my perspective, I was slightly underqualified for the job, but I knew I would be able to rise up and do my best. 

It took me 6 phone calls and 2 emails to get my first interview. And for my second interview, they asked me to make a dessert special. I spent 40 hours in my parents’ kitchen that weekend creating a recipe that I felt would get me in the door. 

And since they hired me, I don’t think I’ve let them down. I’ve grown from a first-time manager and pastry chef to hiring a capable assistant and growing into the sous chef position. Now I’m in charge of many aspects of the kitchen.

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What goal-setting or success habits have worked well for you that you’d love to pass on to others?

One of the biggest challenges is managing and keeping track of everything I need to do.

The best tool I’ve found to help me with this is my calendar. I use it as my to-do list by scheduling events for things I need to remember. And if I can’t trust myself to remember, I will schedule text messages or emails to my team to get them to come talk to me.

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What else would you like my Operation Melt readers to know about you, your work, or the journey you’ve taken?

The journey isn’t easy. Sometimes you need to stop and gather yourself and your goals before jumping in. 

But jumping in is the first step to chasing your dreams. 

When Tony approached me about writing this post, I was flattered and shocked. From my perspective, I have so much farther to go before being “successful.” But taking time to write my story and look back on where I’ve come from and how hard I’ve fought for my dreams was an eye-opening experience. 

So thank you for coming along with me on this journey.

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What’s one thing you do that might look lazy or indulgent from the outside, but is actually essential to your success?

Learning to sit down and take breaks has been hard for me. But as I’ve picked up more responsibilities, I’ve gained an understanding of just how important it is to take care of yourself. Even if I’m still lacking in taking care of myself, every time I do, I understand why it’s important. 

Refilling myself allows me to pour more into others.

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If you could go back and give 18-year-old you one piece of advice, what would it be and why?

You are amazing! It may not feel like you are good enough, but you are. And you need to stand up and use your voice, make waves, and rock the boat! Don’t let other people’s opinions hold you back. You are your greatest critic, so don’t be so hard on yourself, and keep moving forward.

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Where can people go to learn more about you or connect with your work?

Come visit Barcelona Restaurant here in German Village.

Try my desserts and share in the food I work hard to create with my team. See the Barcelona Restaurant Instagram (@barcelona_german_village) or website (BarcelonaColumbus.com) to follow along with what we are doing.

Also, I want to give a huge shout-out to the Barcelona staff. I love you guys!

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I had no idea how hard Ruth worked to get to where she is today. That’s a good reminder about the people who take care of us every time we go out to eat. They fought to get where they are, and they still show up and do it every day.

As I reflect on everything Ruth said, here are three quotes that landed for me.

I remember coming home from a shift and saying to my mom, “It’s like this is what I was meant to do.” I didn’t know it before walking into that building.

One theme that jumped off the page from Ruth’s story involves a little voice. That little voice inside you.

So many people struggle to find meaningful work or figure out their passion. When that happens, there’s only one person who can guide you to the right answer. You!

Pay close attention to the signs. They’re everywhere.

What are those things that have just always felt right?

What has energized you?

What feels like it’s calling your name?

Those are probably the answers to your “what do I want for my life?” question.

Here’s a three-step strategy to figure it out:

1. Ask yourself the question out loud. This tells your brain it’s important to you.
2. Pay attention to your surroundings and the messages your brain is sending you.
3. Journal every day and make note of what you’re seeing.

Almost like magic, the answer will get clearer and clearer for you. But the only person who can solve this is you and that little voice inside.

From my perspective, I was slightly underqualified for the job, but I knew I would be able to rise up and do my best. 

I love that Ruth went for it even when she didn’t feel qualified.

I often hear from goal-crushers that there’s a job they’re interested in. But after reading the job description, they believe they’re not one hundred percent qualified. And that’s where they stop.

They don’t feel “ready,” so they don’t even try.

That’s not what Ruth did. She found a job that felt like a good fit and pursued it aggressively. Six phone calls and two emails just to get the first interview.

When Ruth was challenged to prove herself in the interview process, she showed them what she was made of. Forty hours of prep for an interview. How many people would do that?

You don’t need to feel “ready” to decide it’s DAY ONE. But you do need to work hard and give it your all if you want to show up as your best self.

I was flattered and shocked. From my perspective, I have so much farther to go before being “successful.”

Have you ever had a similar response?

Someone asks you to be a mentor, tell your story, or give them advice. Or they simply compliment you. Then your reaction is to yuck your own yum. You back away, discount yourself, and don’t see the contribution you have to offer.

The solution to this is to do exactly what Ruth did. Reflect and tell your story.

Taking a step back and recounting the ups, downs, twists, turns, bumps, bruises, and successes from your journey gives you the objectivity you need. You’ll see how far you’ve come. And when you do, you’ll see just how much of a rock star you are.

If you’re not sure how to do this in a way that doesn’t feel awkward, I’m here for you. Write it out in an email and send it to me. You’ll definitely get a “hell yeah” in return. You may also become my next goal-crusher interview.

Sweet Success: Projects and Pastries

Ruth helps run a kitchen. She also runs her goals like a project manager, whether she’d call it that or not.

Her story shows my Project Manage Your Life principles in action. Here are a few that stood out.

✅ Expect and Plan Ahead for Problems

Like most goal-crushing journeys, Ruth’s was anything but a straight line. She had her fair share of wins and setbacks as she built a successful career.

For example, when she moved back home after college, she ended up in some jobs that were less than ideal, to put it mildly. That would be enough to make a lot of people give up. Not Ruth.

Ruth knew her setbacks were temporary, and she had a plan. She worked on building her skills so she was ready when the time came to ditch the dead-end jobs in favor of her dream.

She does the same thing today. Ruth knows some things will slip through the cracks, no matter how good her to-do list is. So she plans for it. She schedules emails and text messages as her fail-safe so important things don’t get missed.

Going in knowing things will go wrong is half the battle. When you accept that the road won’t be smooth, you can plan ahead so the bumps don’t knock you off course.

✅ Enjoy the Journey

Ruth is doing what she loves. Not because of some future payoff, but because of the work itself.

She explained that she “always felt a deep connection with food and how it could bring people together, bring forth positive emotions in a person, and also be a work of art.” The signs all pointed toward food, and that’s what she has dedicated her life to.

She also found the environment that’s made for her. She loves working in a restaurant kitchen because it’s “fast-paced enough to get the adrenaline flowing, diverse enough to not become monotonous, and creative enough to never be boring.”

Spending every day doing something you love in a setting that fits how you’re wired is magic. And it’s magic that you can create one step at a time.

✅ Don’t Go It Alone

Ruth worked very hard to get where she is. But it was never a solo act.

Her dad. Her mom. Chef Mike Cichon. Chef Jeff. Chef Susan Notter. The Barcelona staff.

Ruth named every one of them in her story.

Surround yourself with a team of experts, supporters, and accountability partners, and your solo becomes a symphony. That’s the secret recipe for turning DAY ONE into day two, day three, and beyond.

Two weeks into her first kitchen job, a little voice told Ruth this was what she was meant to do. She listened, she did the hard work, and she never waited until she felt “ready.” Your little voice is talking too… are you listening?

You’re here for a reason. Let’s take the next step.

Goals die when you chase them alone. So don’t.

Join my free Goal Crusher Community. As soon as you join, I’ll send you my book, Project Manage Your Life. It’s the same system my clients and I use to turn “one day” into DAY ONE. After that, you’ll get one email a week with tools, stories, and a little nudge to keep going.

Sign up below or visit OperationMelt.com/Start to join the free community.

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