My Secret Obsession: Starbucks (Not their coffee…well..that too)

Garth Beyer

I was in New York last week for Seth Godin’s Pick Yourself event. Instead of writing a post about that, (which I will soon), I couldn’t help but write about the one thing that you see every 72 steps in any direction: Starbucks

1 out of 3 Baristas laughed. 2 actually thought I was named Voldemort

Guy Kawasaki, a likely idol of both of ours, had written an article telling how important mantras are and that the shortest are often the sweetest. The example he used for the greatest mantra from the greatest company on the planet is  Starbucks – “Rewarding Everyday Moments”

I apologize for those who disagree,  I can’t help but side with Guy. Starbucks is the the real deal, the perfect role model and incorporates every trademark of a successful company. For example, my friend (who works at Starbucks) had told me this story the other week.

“The other day in the drive through this woman wanted a small but ordered a venti because she thought it meant a small. When she was shocked at the size and the price, my manager told me to  just charge her for a tall. So many other places you just don’t do that. It’s always a pleasant surprise to people you meet at work when you get to be nice.”

Starbucks revolutionized coffee and the experience of getting it. Put together a CEO and marketing mavens and you get a company like Starbucks; who defy all logic and assumptions and who have altered the beverage marketplace by defining quality, creating convenience and most importantly, having heart.

That is why I couldn’t complain after every 72 steps when I would look up at see the Starbucks sign. The beauty of Starbucks is that it is available to the masses – “from the student who wants a latte to the CEO who needs it.” More importantly, it represents that you can find generosity, people who care, tentativeness and truly great people – in abundance. Simply walk 72 steps in NYC and you will know what I mean.

Starbucks also signifies risks.

“When Starbucks and other companies made stock options grants back in 2008, there was no guarantee that the companies would succeed. Performance was not a sure thing,” says Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson.

It was less than a sure thing, it was unexpected. It was an occurrence that only the greatest companies could actually leverage. In this case, Starbucks succeeded and continues to do so.

Stay Positive & I Solemnly Swear That Starbucks Is Up To Too Much Good

Garth E. Beyer

Business 101

Garth Beyer

If you were serving a skinny person food, you would of course over-serve them their food.

The same goes with business and sales… except it does not matter if the client is skinny or not.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Wait For The Customer To Ask For Seconds

Garth E. Beyer

The Tragedy Of A Glass Half Full

Garth Beyer

Sure, the glass can be half full but what is it filled with?

Darren Hardy, Publisher of SUCCESS magazine had posted an article regarding Wolf Blitzer and how he is hurting America. I had no choice but to pull this following segment from his post. Feel free to visit the full article here.

Your mind is like an empty glass. It will hold anything you put into it. You put in sensational news, salacious headlines and talk show rants and you are pouring dirty water into your glass. If you’ve got dark, dismal, worrisome water in your glass, everything you create will be filtered through that muddy mess, because that’s what you’ll be thinking about. Garbage in, garbage out.

You can flush your dirty glass with clean, clear, pure water. What is clear water? Positive, inspirational and supportive input and ideas. Stories of aspiration, people who, despite challenges, are overcoming obstacles and achieving great things. Strategies of success, prosperity, health, love and joy. Ideas to create more abundance, to grow, expand and become more. But it’s a constant battle as we are surrounded by those who want to spew dirty water into our glass constantly.

With that I would like to bring up the solution to the problem by introducing the concept of fasting. while fasting means to abstain from eating, it is better defined as the action of abstaining from [insert anything] for a period of time. In the following personal story, fasting holds true to both drinking and eating. Toward the end of the post, you will be acquainted with mental and social fasting.

A Glass Of Dirty Water

A while ago I was feeling a bit sick. I told my friend that I wasn’t going to eat or drink anything. She asked, “How are you supposed to feel better if you don’t eat anything?” I described how my stomach was like a glass of dirty water. If a glass is already half-way filled with dirty water and you put clean water in it. What do you have?

A glass full of dirty water. Now, you can add as much pure water to the glass as you want and it will overflow but still remain dirty. In my case, I was going to let my stomach get rid of and deteriorate all the stuff that was causing me to feel sick before I would fill it with more food and nourishment.

I used the analogy with my stomach sickness as a vehicle for the glass of water. I rather like Darren Hardy’s direction towards your mind being the glass that is filled with water. I have always loved the idea of a glass half full, it’s the worldwide mark of an optimist. Mistakenly though, I see a countless number of people trying to better themselves but only having more problems. While they have good intentions, they are fighting a losing battle. No matter how much pure, clean and fresh water you put in your glass or how much colorful positive assurance you pour into your mind, you are just adding more to what is already tarnished.

This means that before you can start living a life full of positivity, of a determined attitude and excellence, to truly have a “glass half full” life, you must first empty your glass.

Stay Positive & Start By Destroying Bad Habits

Garth E. Beyer

Destroying Bad Habits

Garth Beyer

Such a simple quick thing you can do to destroy bad habits —

get rid of the tools that allow you to sustain them.

 

Stay Positive & A Gun Doesn’t Fire If There Is No Trigger

Garth E. Beyer

Simple Ways

Garth Beyer

The saddest sum of life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have. It is for that exact reason that I have compiled a list of simple ways, or proverbs if you will, that if you at least focus on a new one each day, you will undoubtedly reach a higher potential, gain greater insight of the depth of success and overall make a life lasting ruckus.

Don’t only find resources, but share them – Treasure your time – Find the silver lining – Wake up early – Be informed – Define your goals – Critique yourself – Remember, what you don’t understand, you can make mean anything – Stay prepared – Shut out the debbie-downers and naysayers – Learn from others – Laugh as much as you breathe – Be focused and intense, push your effort – Live substantially below your means – Only keep items that can have a permanent place – Nothing worth having comes easy – You can make a wish, or you can make it happen – Passion is credibility

Now, each one of these reminders, mottos and life improvement laws can make a direct and subjective impact to critical parts of your life. Though, notice them as a whole because it does well to understand that it is the tiny, but direct, actions and attitudes that add up, eventually inventing the life you truly want. Every little detail adds up into something incredible, so long as each detail is brought to its fullest potential.

The time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted – Where there is a will, there is more than one way – Life is only easy to those who accept that it is not – Standing still will kill you – It is never too late – Nor is it ever too early – Open your mind before your mouth – Life doesn’t stop for anything. Why should you? – The brain makes no difference between visualizing and doing – Defeat your enemies with success – Everything beautiful has been through pain – If you go over a speed bump fast enough, you can actually fly for a bit – Scratch your own itch – Follow dreams, not orders – Sometimes we just need to take a step back from everything to launch ourselves forward

Collectively, these are reminders that were learned the hard way and that is why I want to share them with you. However, I do not share these life lessons so that you do not fail. I share them so that you can fail smartly, so that you can fail the best anyone has ever failed and in failing large, you do not fail as often which creates longer time periods for you to bask in your success.

90% of any physical battle, is a mental one – Success is not the next exit, it is the next entrance – You know what they say about worrying? Don’t. – You better not tell me that you are going to live today without trying to beat yesterday; Life is a competition, our days are our competitors – The benefits always outweigh the costs – Let’s make better mistakes tomorrow – Finish each day and be done with it – The world is only as flat as you make it out to be – I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain coils – Willpower is a muscle that can be trained – Make it as clear who you are, as who you aren’t –

Feel free to share these with friends, email them to a relative, tweet a few or share on facebook. However, I must warn you that now that you have read these, if only a few, you are held accountable to implement them into your life. Knowing what can make your life full of valuable animation, you have the responsibility of making it so. To know how to reach your goals, find balance and attain more happiness but not following through is a great injustice. Remember, there are magnificent benefits to being selfless and helping others, but there are endless benefits to setting an example for all to follow. Growing through self-improvement benefits others, far more than it does yourself.

Determine your best time of day – Change comes through hard work – Take all responsibility even if you are only slightly involved – Know and remember your “why” – Participate with questions and actions – Take time for yourself – Talk about your goals, get accountable – Don’t just prepare, research every detail, even if it’s against you – Identify procrastinations to overcome – and of course…

 

Stay Positive & Practice, Practice, Practice

Garth E. Beyer

Success Isn’t How High You Bounce

Garth Beyer

They say “Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom”, I say that success is taking the risks you took that made you hit bottom. How high is completely dependent on how hard you hit the ground. In fact, even if you didn’t bounce back when you hit the ground, you are still successful. You took a risk. You took a fall. You took a failure. That is something only rare people do, something only successful people do and something this world needs done more often.

After all, look at Galileo. He became famous for dropping things and letting them hit the ground. You can too.

 

Stay Positive & Bouncing Back Is The Unpronounced Law Of The Universe

Garth E. Beyer

Down and Out Route To Success

Garth Beyer

“Not for too long”

I’m going to use a personal example, only because I know you can relate. All my life, I was told not to push it. To not do something for too long. To not over-do it. My parents knew I would burn out. If I was on the computer too long, I would get a migraine. If I lifted really heavy weights, I would pull a muscle. If I worked 10 or 11 hour days in construction, I would get muscle strain in my back. If I tried to memorize everything the night before a test, my brain would be kaput in the morning. I burned out, I crashed, essentially I failed.

Sound familiar?

You get pushed down. You get hit. You fall repetitively. You fail over and over.  Yet, somehow, you never fail to get up. It’s something engrained into your character, your heart and your minds desire to constantly adapt and improve. Setback is only temporary. It may last a day, a week, a year, but it will always subside and something will replace it: Success

Down and Out

When you burn out from doing something. You’re being gets that much better at doing it. How about the time you got sick because you stayed up too late for a few nights. Yet, the next month you were up late four days in a row and turned out fine. Or what about the time you got a headache from writing at your computer for 6 hours straight. Yet, after getting 3 more headaches, your average writing time at your computer became the same as a full-time job – with ease. You will noticeably experience this at least a few times each month that you are able to perform harder, put forth more effort, dedicate more time to the things that you constantly burn out doing. In fact, this is actually the source of constant adaptation.

 

Stay Positive & Failure Is Friendly To Those Who Don’t Fight It

Garth E. Beyer