On the evening of Monday, 20th of July 2009, television history was made right here in Australia as the MasterChef Australia Finale was aired. Three months of culinary bliss flickering over the TV channel had ultimately come to an end. Three months of exciting dishes, elimination rounds including self-eliminations and a perfect demonstration of how people can either make a positive transformation or give in to self-defeat.

Julie Goodwin’s opponent was Poh Ling Yeow. Poh was initially eliminated but returned to the show as a few of the previously eliminated contestants were asked to come back in the final weeks. Poh survived the remaining rounds to become the runner-up. Interestingly, the judges named her Poh-llercoaster, because she delivered beautiful results and served up winning dishes, only to fall apart the very next day.

Julie wasn’t any different. She had to fight the mindset of being a home cook and she had the tendency to fall into a rut, and to fall to pieces too. But eventually, she gained confidence. In my opinion, she was the one who had to face the most pressure during the cooking classes and she survived them all.

I don’t know what really happened, as I can only rely on what was shown on TV, but I noticed Julie’s language change. Her facial expressions as well as how she held herself changed too. It was a joy to see the shift, because that meant she stood a chance and wouldn’t become a victim of self-sabotage by thinking thoughts of self-doubt. Such thoughts of self-doubt are immensely destructive and tend to create exactly the negative results we are so afraid of. In Julie’s case, that would have been losing and therefore having to leave the competition.

When Poh returned, she was so much more determined than before. Her mindset changed during the one or two weeks she was away from the competition. And that made her a dangerous competitor. In the end she didn’t win, due to her own stubbornness as she had pointed out herself. She didn’t follow the recipe. She didn’t heat the mix in the oven but did it on the stove instead, and she put the chocolate in the freezer against the written recommendations. If it didn’t alter the flavour, the judges wouldn’t have cared. But it did.

So Julie won not only MasterChef Australia, but also achieved the precise mindset for the times ahead – the book deal and all the further culinary tuition.
Well done Julie – I am proud of you.

To Your Success
Elisabeth Peischl
www.CanDoResultsCoaching.com