IS LIFE TAUGHT OR LEARNED? – THE ABC OF BTC

When someone has something to say, do you listen with arms crossed or instead do you end up finishing their sentence?  If this sounds a little familiar, could it be that your coffee cup is already full or could it be that today’s coffee has some of yesterday left in it?    

Is it a stretch to think coffee and learning are similar and if so, which describes you?

• Cup Full – regardless of how good the coffee taste, there’s no room for anymore.
• Cup with a hole in the bottom – no matter how much is poured, no progress is made.
• Cup with some of yesterday’s pour in it – regardless of how hard you try, it’s nearly impossible to separate the different layers creating that distorted taste. 
• Cup Empty – with this, plenty of room to take it all in with no concerns of leakage or bitter taste from the past.

For coffee lovers, there is no better way to start the day than with that fist cup of coffee.  If you think about it, isn’t this when learning begins – by taking it all in, we are free of all that other stuff that just gets in the way?  In a beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities versus the expert, there are so very few possibilities.  Stay open to that first cup of coffee and when it comes to learning, stay a beginner.

Depending on where you are with your Coffee Cup, starting in the first place is going to look different.  Let’s face it, we all come from different experiences, different perspectives which leads to different starting points and what we see at first isn’t always what the actual learning experience ends up being.  That’s probably why God gave us the commandments, my father taught me the B’s of raising Boys and my buddy (when off to college) posted his rules of being a good roommate on the wall of his dorm room.  Regardless of who you bow to, the tribe that raised you or the band you play in with today, life needs guardrails to not just make it work – but make life that much better.

PAC – the DNA of BTC

Passion – Passion just isn’t the same without meaning behind it.  In the end, what excites you when getting out of bed each morning is what matters most.  Once you answer this, you not only find your passion but answer the better question, what’s your purpose.  Fortunately for me, finding my purpose was a necessity. From early in childhood, I learned a valuable lesson from all the nervous energy that never left as the birthdays started to pile up.  As I got older and the security and structure of school was behind me, it was obvious that this nervous energy wasn’t limited to just being a kid.  It took me time to figure this out until I was able to channel this to a level of passion that today fills my life in so many purposeful ways.  (Next Pour of Coffee with Cote will reveal the 5Fs of BTC detailing what matters most – my Purpose)

Activity – Here’s something that seems obvious but can easily by missed: of all the things we can control, the one thing we cannot is the time we have.  Not that you have to monetize ever minute but in a way, every second counts.  When you look at the success you had, my guess is it comes down to a few memorable moments that lead to the career you have, the love you share and the bond that connects you with others.  In the end, with the little time we have life’s results, life’s happiness, come down to the quality of questions you ask and if you want better results, start asking better questions. 

Commitment – Maybe Columbus had it wrong, maybe the world is flat.  With the speed of life that today brings, it has created too many open loops.  The problem is doing versus saying are not the same, yet some will try to have you thinking they are the same. Nothing does more to make a connection than keeping a commitment.  In the end, people don’t care what you’ve done, where you’ve been, or how much you know until you show them how much you care.   Show people you care – keep your commitments.