Re-define, Not Re-invent

Charleston, S.C., is a food junkie’s paradise. From good old Southern charm cooking, to steakhouses, to barbecue, even French food, Charleston can boast about all of its James Beard and Michelin Star restaurants. Slowly but surely, the city has become one of the better places in America to dine.

Rodney Scott has the best barbecue in the entire city — maybe even in America. His style is unique — roasting an entire pig on the coals for hours, using every section of the meat for his quests and adding special seasonings with the right temperature throughout. Scott loves his work and demonstrates an incredible passion for what he does, from building fires, feeding pigs, chopping wood and interacting with guests. His smile never leaves his face.

But things were not always easy for him. Scott’s father taught him the meaning of hard work and expected him day and night at the family's barbecue pit. And yet, his father never wanted to grow the business. He hated change and wanted things to always remain the same. Scott never complained, but he knew the world held something bigger, something something, something that might take him out of his little town of Hemingway.

The day of his high school graduation, Scott was out with friends when a young lady approached him asking why he was so happy. “For the rest of your life, you're going to be working in the pit." The words stung him. And besides the hurtful refrain, King also knew he had to work that night — pouring more salt on those words. All signs pointed to Scott's destiny being in the pit.

How often have we been told we won't amount to much, that our future is pre-determined? That no one from this little town ever amounts to anything?

What Scott did was not revolutionary. He knew his destiny was working with fire, with pigs, with wood, but he decided to become the best version of himself — and immersed himself into making his barbecue the best. He took control of what he could. Scott changed how he seasoned the pigs, how his store appeared from the outside, how it smelled on the inside. He didn't deny he would be in the pit forever. In fact, he embraced it. That girl's words might have stung, but the pain provided an opportunity not to re-invent himself, but rather to re-define himself.

Sometimes amending the definition of who we are is better than changing it altogether.

Next time we eat barbecue, let’s remind ourselves that we control our own destiny — no one else.

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