I’ve heard Oprah talk about her kitchen cabinet people.
I had no idea why she used the term “kitchen cabinet” so I looked it up. I was quite surprised to find that it comes from politics.
Former President Andrew Jackson used it to describe the collection of unofficial advisers he consulted with in parallel to the United States Cabinet… and they were called his “kitchen cabinet” by his political opponents. That was an interesting little fact I didn’t anticipate finding.
The term is used now to refer to personally trusted friends and associates (and it’s still used in politics to describe the Presidents closest advisors).
I had imagined it to be the people you would invite to sit around your kitchen table, have coffee with and talk about things that matter.
But when it’s being used by Presidents for well over a century, it sounds so much more important, doesn’t it?
Not having been one myself, I had never given much thought to the closest friends and associates of the President and how they might affect (by supporting or not supporting) the choices he would have to make of behalf of a nation.
If the opponents are the ones who originally named them, I would guess the kitchen cabinet carries a substantial amount of weight.
I have heard Oprah use the term multiple times over the years, and listening to her talk about hers, I have started to pay closer attention to who mine are.
For a long time I had people in my kitchen Cabinet who were selfish and didn’t have my best interests at heart and it’s possible I still have a few in there. I don’t think these are the best choices.
We need people who will put our well being above their own, who will support and encourage us on what’s best for us in our pursuits, who care enough to alert us when we need a course correction, and to gently (and sometimes not gently) push us when we are scared or stuck.
Ultimately we will know what is best for ourselves and the choices we need to make, but these people will help you keep it real.
Oprah has kitchen cabinet people.
The President has kitchen cabinet people.
Do you? And are they the right ones?
Having the “wrong ones” will likely push you to become acutely aware of what’s really important to you (over a long period of time).
Having the right ones will help you go where you want to go faster, quicker, and straighter.
We need to choose our cabinet wisely.