So I was watching the brilliant animated movie “Ratatouille” with my 5-year-old daughter for about the 75th time the other day. And by “watching,” I mean “not watching.” I was reading a magazine, if you must know the truth. “Ratatouille” is a great movie, but after the first dozen or so viewings, the mind starts to wander.

Anyway, at one point my ears perked up at some of the dialogue. It was near the beginning of the movie, when we are introduced to Gusteau, a recently deceased chef who once ran the kitchen at a 5-star Paris restaurant. In a TV interview recorded before his death, Gusteau offered his philosophy on cooking:

“Great cooking,” he said, “is not for the faint of heart. You must be imaginative, strong-hearted, you must try things that may not work. And you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul. What I say is true: Anyone can cook … but only the fearless can be great.”

It’s not often you get sage business advice from a children’s movie about a rat and a dead chef, but there it was. I heard similar sentiments at a recent conference, and it’s inspiring every time.

Do you have the guts to be great? What are you doing to prove it?