Recently, in my Communication and Leadership class, we had to write a small essay for thisibelive.org.

From their about section: “This I Believe, Inc., was founded in 2004 as an independent, not-for-profit organization that engages youth and adults from all walks of life in writing, sharing, and discussing brief essays about the core values that guide their daily lives.”

Her only criteria was that it relates to leadership and start with a specific quote. She encouraged us to write about our personal lives and incorporate our passions.

When I finished, I realized I wanted to share it with you, our blog readers.

“The point is not to become a leader.  The point is to become yourself, and to use yourself completely – all your gifts, skills and energies – to make your vision manifest.  You must withhold nothing.  You must, in sum, become the person you started out to be, and to enjoy the process of becoming.”  Warren Bennis (2009), On Becoming a Leader. Basic Books

As I read Bennis’ quote and prepare to graduate in May, I think of what will define me in this new period of my life. In thinking about my passion, and myself, I discovered a simple phase: I believe in making a good cup of coffee.

It is ironic, right? A college education, professional experience, and it all surmounts into a 12-ounce cup (maybe even less). Yet, I think it represents a mantra for what the coffee industry should be about and a philosophy for a greater good. Let me explain why.

I don’t see coffee as just as a diner cup or an aroma-sealed container; perhaps it’s the insight into the black liquid that is my vision. I see stories and I hear them. Coffee is the number 1 commodity from developing countries. Instead of seeing violence, oppression, or struggling economies though, I see space for cooperation and a greater good.

With a better cup of coffee, you think of how we can work with a farmer on what is successful and what isn’t. Education and direct involvement that will help create long-lasting relationships and provide a better yield, better income for them, and better reward for us. I, also, hear stories, not in the cup, but over them. I hear old friends catching up, serious conversations over late-nights, and students cramming for their next exam. I hear relationships being built and memories created.

In making the best cup, these experiences all fold into one, but it’s not without the taste. Specialty coffee, the term used for high-quality, craft coffee, has a wonderful flavor that’s so unique and diverse. The flavor so diverse that it can change just between two land plots. So the belief in making a better cup of coffee can lead us anywhere in the world, telling stories over coffee and changing the faces that some may see within it.

With this mantra, I am my actualized self, my full potential. I see that now and though I start my journey behind kitchen sinks and in library chairs, I know that as I follow this simple prompt, I’m on my way. I’m unsure if I will find myself writing professionally, owning a coffee shop, teaching budding enthusiasts, or competing in competitions. These are the ways they can manifest, how I hope some will manifest, but only in so far as it helps our coffee taste better.

This is where I find my joy, not in the complexity of my journey but in its simplicity. Joining many others in, what I would describe as, an already present movement. Some mornings I brew myself a cup, pour myself into it, and smell the aroma (perhaps tones of bright citrus and chocolate). It’s beautiful, but it can be better. With that caffeine boost, I’m off. Letting my day start and end as part of that journey. I see myself as an ambassador for better coffee and what comes with it. With Bennis in mind, this is how I plan to lead and, as of now, I’m “enjoying the process of becoming.”

(Huge thank you to Taelor Candiloro who has provided so many of our images)