The Coffee Bean – book review

The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change by Jon Gordon and Damon West is a short story about a child named Abe to promote a coffee-bean mindset.  In essence, when under stress, you should try to change the world around you.

The Boiling Pot

A boy named Abe was asked by his science teacher to place three different items into a pot of boiling water: a carrot, an egg, and a coffee bean.

When the carrot was placed into the water it softened and became flimsy.  The hot water in this experiment symbolizes the stress and hard conditions of our environment.  Like the carrot, we cannot adapt the mindset that outside forces will overcome your internal strength.  Therefore, we need to have more confidence in ourselves, and not confide to the pressure.

Similarly, when an egg was placed into the boiling pot it was hardened.  Realistically, a stressful environment could force a negative mindset upon you.  It is your choice to recognize that negative energy and transform it into something bigger.

So what is the best way to deal with a hot situation?  Become a coffee bean.  Think about it this way, when you place a coffee bean in hot water what happens.  It makes coffee!  Now translate this into your everyday life, when you are under a lot of pressure and stress you need to change the world around you.  In opposition to the carrot, you are a greater power then the forces around you.

Conclusion

This book provides a basic mental model when dealing with a lot of stress.  Become a coffee bean, and instead of succumbing to the world around you, make change (or in this case, make coffee!).  Do not be soft like a carrot, or hard like an egg; be right in the middle.

hey guys, sorry for the lack of content recently I have been very busy with college applications.  Starting November 1, I will be increasing my posts from just Fridays, to Mondays AND Fridays.