Vote for Cheez-It? No. I vote for something entirely new!
If you’re going to create something – as everyone must during some point of their lives – don’t create a new variety of something that already exists. Create something which you can create a variety from.
Creating a new flavor of Cheez-Its won’t get you far. I’m not even sure it will get you anything except a snack to munch on while you contemplate your next “genius” idea.
Maybe after a few new flavors of Cheez-Its you will decide to create an entirely original cracker snack instead. In which case, you can showcase all your new flavors with your cracker snack.
If that’s the case, or rather, if that’s the box, then I’m in. Just because something has 20 different flavors doesn’t mean I’ll choose it.
You know what people (you included) love? New. They love change, mishmash, and variety – after all, it’s the spice of life! The illusion is that they love a variety of originality. They don’t.
I’ll cut to the point and stick with the Cheez-It theme:
If you were given the choice between a new flavored Cheez-It or an entirely new cracker snack, which would you choose?
There is always more of a craving for something original than a new flavor, new type, new color of something already invented.
Stay Positive & I Call It The Flavor Of Originality
Everything is a matter of perspective, especially when you are deciding if the shoe doesn’t fit.
I quoted Gloria Steinem as saying “If the shoe doesn’t fit, must we change the foot?” From the original perspective, no, we shouldn’t.
Then I took a really good look at my running shoes and decided I needed a new pair. A pair that real athletes wear. A pair of shoes that will give me the feeling of being unworthy of wearing them – at first.
Let’s take a different perspective on Steinem’s question. The fact is, sometimes we must change the foot. Sometimes people make or buy shoes the way they do so that they have something to work towards, to shape themselves into so they can fit the shoe. It’s personal growth.
Wait. Take a step back. Don’t be confused with fitting into someone elses shoes. No. Create, design, and construct your own pair of shoes you want to fit into.
This is the beauty of changing the foot that Steinem never realized.
Stay Positive & Too Big Of Shoes Are Better Than Too Small
Before I even share the letter in which Howard Schultz has written to all of America, and before it is posted even more main stream this weekend, you need to understand the simplicity of judging a person like Howard. I have studied many of Starbucks marketing strategies as well as background info on the company and Howard. I have seen a few negative comments about Howard and I’d like to point out two simple details that will eleviate any negativie feelings.
First, Howard spoke at the Aspen Ideas Festival.
Taken from the Aspen Ideas Festival website, “For over 60 years, the Aspen Institute has been the nation’s premier gathering place for leaders from around the globe and across many disciplines to engage in deep and inquisitive discussion of the ideas and issues that both shape our lives and challenge our times. […] Imagine some of the most inspired and provocative thinkers, writers, artists, business people, teachers, and other leaders drawn from myriad fields and from across the country and around the world – all gathered in a single place, ready to teach, speak, lead, question and answer – all interacting with an audience of thoughtful people who have stepped back from their day-to-day routines to delve deeply into a world of ideas, thought and discussion. The week promises to be thought-provoking, meaningful and fun – true to Aspen tradition.”
Would a multimillionaire who is full of greed, who is evil or a terrible person attend this event, give a presentation and seek improvement in the world using this large of a platform? A platform that is centered on growth, on productivity and on trust.
The second minor detail which I hope no longer stays minor is the effort Howard has put towards employing Americans. Along with establishing the Create Jobs for USA organization, Howard has made America-focused choices such as creating a “new roasting plant in Augusta, Georgia that we could have located in Central America or Asia for 15% to 20% less, but we felt that creating 200 or so jobs domestically was more important.” [source]
Howard You Make A Difference
Before I share with you the letter Howard has written, it’s serendipitous that he has written this letter during a time period that I am doing an Unlocking Potential interview series with people who I know will make a different in their passion. It may also be coincidence that he shared the letter while I am in the final editing stage of my book Start Schooling Dreams (to be released at the beginning of August).
In Howard’s closing, he advocates for innovation and making a difference in the community to promote citizenship over partisanship. This is a major center of why I write. Everything I write is innovation, it’s to make a difference, it’s about unlocking potential in others, promoting people who care, really do care about learning, about coffee, about fashion about anything. These are the people who make the difference, these are the people who are like Howard Schultz, who are willing to stand up, speak out and try to create positive change, no matter how much resistance there is.
*More power to you Howard and even more power to those who have similar worldviews for change, whether it’s employment, civility, and politics or education, art and music.
Without further ado, you can read the full letter Howard Schultz has written to all of America below or click here to open it in a new window.
An Open Letter: How Can America Win This Election?
Friday, June 29, 2012
Posted by Howard S., Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer
On Independence Day, our country celebrates the promise of America.
It’s a day to remember that the principles that bind us together vastly outweigh what keeps us apart. The freedom to dream and the opportunity to create a better life – not just for ourselves, but for each other – has always defined our great nation.
I am a product of that American Dream. As a kid who grew up in public housing, went on to get an education at a state university and build a business, I am grateful for what this country has made possible for me. In turn, at Starbucks, we have always tried our best to honor our responsibility to the communities we serve.
And on this Fourth of July, our communities need all of us.
Across the country, millions of Americans are out of work. Many more are working tirelessly yet still unable to adequately care for their families. Our veterans are not being welcomed home with the level of support they deserve. Meanwhile, in our nation’s capital, our elected leaders are continuing to put ideology over real solutions. I love America, but we all know there is something wrong. The deficits this country must reconcile are much more than financial, and our inability to solve our own problems is sapping our national spirit. We are better than this. America’s history has showed that we have accomplished extraordinary things when we act collectively, with courage, creativity, and generosity of spirit—especially during trying times.
As we celebrate all that is great about our country, let’s come together and amplify our voices.
Let’s tell our government leaders to put partisanship aside and to speak truthfully about the challenges we face. Let’s ask our business leaders to create more job opportunities for the American economy. And as citizens, let’s all get more involved. Please, don’t be a bystander. Understand that we have a shared responsibility in solving our nation’s problems. We can’t wait for Washington.
At Starbucks, we are trying to live up to our responsibility by increasing our local community service and helping to finance small-business job creation with Create Jobs for USA. Our company is far from perfect, and we know we can do more for America. But we need your help. We need your voice.
Join the national conversation with #INDIVISIBLE. Starting today, I invite you to share your view of America, and how we can all put citizenship over partisanship. On Instagram, post a photo of the America we all need to see. On Twitter, provide a link to an innovative idea. Blog about who’s making a difference in your community; or on YouTube, share how you made your American Dream come true. No matter where you post, if you use the tag #indivisible, Starbucks will do its part to collect and amplify your voices.
Together, we can set a new tone in America. We hope you agree that doing so is a powerful way to celebrate our nation’s birthday.
In 2012, America needs to win the election more than either party does. It is time now to join together as Americans. It is time, whatever our differences, for us to strive and succeed as one nation – indivisible.
I’m spending my 4th of July observing and writing in Starbucks. This post is about all the observations I am making about Starbucks, customer service, behaviors and types of people.
The people who feel they are really cared for and given friendly service, not just customer service. These people will, after they have already walked out the door, come back in just to put a dollar in the tip jar.
The people who understand that the little adds up and are the predecessors of change. These people will not just toss change into the tip jar, but thank the coffee connoisseur for their effort.
The people who I call jingle haters. They can’t stand the spare change in their pocket so they toss it in the jar, doing their hardest to ignore the last clink of change they will hear until they make another purchase and get change back from that. I doubt any Starbucks employees complain about these jingle haters, they account for 3/8 of the tips.
The financially conservative people who treat themselves from time to time don’t tip. They also don’t just keep the change, they keep the receipt too. More power to them I suppose. Everyone’s gotta make a living.
Want to get tips? Make a game out of it? There are two registers and two tip jars, which person at which tip jar can serve remarkably enough to get larger tips? One wins but both have fun.
What I love about Starbucks Barista’s really is that they have fun. They really do live the Starbucks motto of “Rewarding Everyday Moments”. They don’t care about tips, it’s just a bonus, it’s not something they actually work for, serve for or slave for. It just so happens anyway that the more fun you have making and serving Coffee, the more tips you get. Starbucks understands the essence of relationships, not just between customer and coffee but between customer and barista.
Stay Positive & You Get Tipped For Having Fun Outside Of Starbucks Too
Yes it’s a mouthful but it is the best description that I can give to the following 28 lessons. Enjoy.
1. Better results does not make a better plan. A better plan makes better results.
2. Happiness is meant to be designed. You create it, you sculpt it, you make it.
3. Discipline: without it there is no bridge from your goal to your accomplishments.
4. Success is sending yourself an invitation to grow, develop, move up, build more, create more, invest more, innovate more and raise above mediocrity.
5. Life works like a magnet, the more you put forth to your goals, the closer you get to the results you want, the harder you work at your dreams, the more force in which they pull you toward them, it gets easier. It always gets easier.
6. Learning is the beginning. Everything else will fall into place itself.
7. Things only change when you do.
8. There really are no destinations, only points in which you change direction again.
9. Be influenced by the successful. Peer pressure is necessary as long as it pushes us further toward our real potential.
10. Be influential. Peer pressure is necessary as long as it pushes someone further toward their real potential.
11. Remove “easy”, “simple”, and “effortless from your vocabulary. Also never make something a piece of cake, have it all or take nothing.
12. Try. Only when you don’t try, do you fail.
13. Answer this question, very clearly. What is the purpose of life?
14. Lead a tribe of as much inspired if not more willing people than yourself. Create an unbeatable alliance with others.
15. Create a new faith, a new religion, a new belief and call it “The YourName Faith/Religion”. This is the only way to destroy any limitations.
16. A good person runs a mile. A great person runs an extra mile. Only a legend keeps running long after the first, second, third, ninth mile. Always do more, always.
17. Make every part of your character visible.
18. Be Human.
19. Self-initiative, Self-resilience, Self-motivation, Self-assurance, Self-inspiration, Self-control, Self-discipline, Self-growth, everything begins with yourself. Want to be successful? Work on you harder than you work on your job.
20. Pursue an interest that makes you feel alive. Nothing radiates more positively to others than a personal keen interest in something, something you pour your passion into, something that if upon waking up at 2 am and asked what your muse is, you answer with it.
22. Combine accurate and imaginative thinking to create your art.
23. You won’t last without good health.
24. Not to mention exercise is the absolute greatest habit you can create to stimulate the positive senses.
25. Living in the moment is derived from the collection of experience you have had controlling, focusing and centering your attention on the positive, on the material that will help you produce results you care about and on the search for what you can learn from every moment.
26. Everything remarkable was the result of overcoming adversity. If you come face-to-face with adversity or even sometimes get defeated, you are on the right path. Nothing worthy comes easy.
27. Visualization doesn’t need to be done all at once. Visualization is something that is meant to be anointed to all the various positive thoughts that float through your mind every day.
Don’t you hate when questions are answered with questions? They are often confusing and even more aggravating unless it’s Krishnamurti asking the questions.
This was my second time picking up “Think On These Things” and reading it all the way through. I mentioned that I read it all the way through because it’s actually a hard book to read start to finish because you are constantly asked to do exactly what the title says, to think on the things that are talked about. I’m not sure about you, but thinking can get exhausting especially when what you are thinking about is breaking boundaries, challenges status-quo and punching tradition in the face.
The reason I tried reading it a second time is because the last time I read it, I was 16 years old and I wanted to see if 1. It is really worth reading a book twice and 2. If I had a different outlook on the philosophies that Krishnamurti spoke about 3.5 years later.
Before I write a short book regurgitation, let me riff on reading books over again. This isn’t my first time trying it, and I’m going to give it one more shot with another book that I am going to read again soon. During New Years I was reading dozens of posts about the best books to read and the fact that this year is supposed to be about reading the best books over again and applying the lessons to your life.
What I have come to learn is the little things which you would catch in reading a book over again, are rain dropped throughout a similar book by a different author. The books are similar, so these small repetitive lessons are also similar. You have already taken the most important pieces of the first book; there is no point in reading it again to catch the small points when you can just read another book with new big important pieces and the same small points.
The thing about the many books based on the same subject or field of interest is that they are all plagiarized. The author read nearly a hundred books on the subject, used the small points from them and created the larger, new, more important ones and the next author did the same. Because this is the way books are written, it seems ill-fitting to reread a book over again.
Book Regurgitation
“To find out what you love to do demands a great deal of intelligence; because, if you are afraid of not being able to earn a livelihood, or of not fitting into this rotten society, then you will never find out”
The real reason I picked Think On These Things up to read it again was because I wanted to revisit his concepts of the function of education which is the title of the first chapter. Throughout the entire book the way education is taught is challenged and ideas are given to improve it. Being straightforward, everything that is mentioned in the book is supposed to also be mentioned in school, to be thought on, to be philosophized on – something that will also appear in my first 30,000 word eBook that will be released at the beginning of August.
Freedom is the next subject that is focused on as most people are not free; they are dead or near death. “We all want to be famous people – and the moment we want to be something, we are no longer free.” (pg 10) At the same time of freedom, intelligence is thought on. Intelligence is to find out, but to find out is not to make a conclusion. Once a conclusion is made, the mind is bordered and dies much quicker. See, the whole concept of freedom is to free the mind, not in the sense of it being empty but in the sense of it being aware with love and experience.
Love is mentioned very few times throughout the book because love is simple.
“Have you noticed how few of us have deep feeling about anything? Do you ever rebel against your teachers, against your parents, not just because you don’t like something, but because you have a deep, ardent feeling that you don’t want to do certain things? If you feel deeply and ardently about something, you will find that this very feeling in a curious way brings a new order into your life” (pg 61)
Another quick note to make about the book is that aside from the opening of each chapter, the chapter is comprised of answers to questions. One particular question is “However much I may want to be an engineer, if my father is against it and won’t help me, how can I study engineering?”
Krishnamurti’s answer, “If you persist in wanting to be an engineer even though your father turns you out of the house, do you mean to say that you won’t find ways and means to study engineering? You will beg, go to friends. Sir, life is very strange. The moment you are very clear about what you want to do, things happen. Life comes to your aid – a friend, a relation, a teacher, a grandmother, somebody helps you… But you see, we don’t want to invite life, we want to play a safe game; and those who play a safe game die very safely is that not so?” (pg 126)
Other great questions which are issued and responded to:
To revolt, to learn, to love – are these three separate processes, or are they simultaneous?
How can we be free of dependence as long as we are living in society?
What is self-knowledge, and how can we get it?
Why do we want to be famous?
I am full of hate. Will you please teach me how to love?
What is happiness in life?
Why do we find pleasure in our games and not in our studies?
Why do we hate the poor?
Why do we like to be lazy?
How is one to become intelligent?
Why do birds fly away when I come near?
As always, I have to give the one chapter to read to see if you are interested in getting the book. “The energy to life” is the fourth to last chapter in the book and basically answers how to be full of energy all of the time rather than lethargic and lazy each day. All in all, was it worth the read a second time? No. Was it worth a read the first time? Yes.
Free Library
Krishnamurti is the far right one, had to be different and put the pages facing out
Since I moved to Madison, I have noticed something peculiar popping up as I ride my bike on the bike paths. Bird houses. Not just your typical bird house, but a huge bird house, with an actual door instead of a hole. Above the door the words “Little Free Library” are written. Inside this giant bird house are random books that people have put inside. I think it is an absolutely brilliant idea and as you can see, I have deposited my Krishnamurti book in one. At first I was worried that there are only bad, terrible books being tossed into the free library because people don’t want to hold on to them. Then I realized the books inside are probably the best books anyone can read because they are so valuable that people have to share them, have to let someone else experience them and have to feel that inspiring power of knowing that you contributed to someone’s experience in reading a fresh, positive, great book. To the person who will pick this book out, enjoy. To the readers who will check this book out at a public library or view the recommended chapter at a book store, enjoy.
Stay Positive & You Get The Most Thoughts For Your 4 Bucks With This Book
You’re looking for mentors to give to you, but you need to give to them.
When you get a mentor, as it benefits anyone who does, the obligation to fulfill expectations is only the base of what defines the relationship between mentor and pupil.
What makes it work is what you have to show and give the mentor. Not in the sense of doing as the mentor says, but doing more, proving them wrong, and surprising them. You may view them as a mentor, but they need to view themselves as observers, as pushers, as people who are about to get their minds blown.
The thing about this post-industrial society is that the teachers, mentors, evaluators and advisers… they need to be re-taught. They have grown up learning how to follow orders and eventually on how to give orders, how to maintain the status quo and the terrible curriculum of teaching set by tradition. It’s your job as the pupil of a mentor to be the teacher, to represent this post-industrial generation and to not only create something innovative and irreplaceable, but to change the way education is taught.
Stay Positive & Let’s Remind Them What It Means To Be A Mentor
