The Coffee Bean

Are you a coffee bean?

It’s possible to read the book The Coffee Bean in less than an hour. The second time you read it, it’s better to go slower while savoring the lessons and journaling along the way.

Authors Jon Gordon and Damon West wrote The Coffee Bean as a fable. It describes the challenges faced by a young man as he navigates through life. At one point, our hero is approached by a mentor who shares the metaphor of the coffee bean.

Boiling Water

Imagine life as a pot of boiling water. Drop a carrot into the water, and what happens? In a few minutes, the carrot is softened by the water.

Drop an egg into the boiling water. How does the egg respond? In time, the egg becomes hard.

Finally, drop a coffee bean into the water. Boil the coffee bean long enough, and the coffee bean will transform the surrounding water into coffee.

How Do We Respond?

As intelligent humans with agency, we have choices in life.

• We can allow our circumstances to beat us up and soften us, like a carrot in boiling water.

• We can close ourselves off the world and become hard, like an egg in boiling water.

• Or we can leverage our strengths and transform the world around us, like a coffee bean that transforms boiling water into coffee.

Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Recommendation

I highly recommend that you read the book The Coffee Bean. Savor it like a hot cup of delicious coffee. You’ll be glad that you did.