How Starbucks Save My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live and Like Everyone Else
by Michael Gates Gill
Good Business
by Michael Gates Gill
From Publishers Weekly
The son of New Yorker writer Brendan Gill grew up meeting the likes of Ezra Pound and Ernest Hemingway. A Yale education led to a job at prestigious J. Walter Thompson Advertising. But at 63, the younger Gill's sweet life has gone sour. Long fired from JWT, his own business is collapsing and an ill-advised affair has resulted in a new son and a divorce. At this low point, and in need of health insurance for a just diagnosed brain tumor, Gill fills out an application for Starbucks and is assigned to the store on 93rd and Broadway in New York City, staffed primarily by African-Americans. Working as a barista, Gill, who is white, gets an education in race relations and the life of a working class Joe .
I enjoyed the lessons of this book - you can't judge a book by it's cover (no pun intended). Also, transition - how do I start over again?
No matter what life throws at us, how we adapt, persevere and meet the challenges of those life situations is the real lesson. I think from a Positive Psychologists standpoint - it is a good example of Post-Traumatic Growth. Post-Traumatic Growth is a positive change experienced as a result of the struggle with major life crisis or a traumatic event. The idea that humans can be changed by their encounters with life's challenges, sometimes in positive ways, is not new. We see this same theme in current and ancient spiritual/religious traditions, literature, and philosophy. Sometimes, we have to face a major life crisis to develop a sense of new opportunists, to be encouraged about new possibilities because of this negative event. This book is about one man's journey through his own Post-Traumatic Growth experience. Read it to discover your own personal path.
No matter what life throws at us, how we adapt, persevere and meet the challenges of those life situations is the real lesson. I think from a Positive Psychologists standpoint - it is a good example of Post-Traumatic Growth. Post-Traumatic Growth is a positive change experienced as a result of the struggle with major life crisis or a traumatic event. The idea that humans can be changed by their encounters with life's challenges, sometimes in positive ways, is not new. We see this same theme in current and ancient spiritual/religious traditions, literature, and philosophy. Sometimes, we have to face a major life crisis to develop a sense of new opportunists, to be encouraged about new possibilities because of this negative event. This book is about one man's journey through his own Post-Traumatic Growth experience. Read it to discover your own personal path.
Despite some critics thinking the book was to "repetitive and an unsatisfying read", I don't think they were reading this book from the right perspective. After all, they are book critics - not in life transition themselves. If you choose to read this quick book - have the perspective of what will I learn? Whether it's about yourself or in the human spirit of resiliency.
Two Lattes up!
Two Lattes up!
Good Business
Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi
Happiness in Action
Contrary to what most of us believe, happiness does not simply happen to us. It is something that we make happen, and it results from our doing our best. Feeling fulfilled when and leads to evolution. The experience of happiness in action is enjoyment – the exhilarating sensation of being fully active. Seeking out pleasure is also a powerful source of motivation, but pleasure does not foster change; it is, rather, a conservative force, one that makes us want to satisfy existing needs, to achieve an equilibrium, comfort, and relaxation. There is nothing inherently wrong with seeking pleasure, but the person for whom it becomes the main reason for living is not going to grow beyond what genes have programmed him to desire. (Csikszentmihalyi, page 37)
I truly loved this excerpt from the book. We have to make our own happiness. We can’t sit by and just hope that it happens upon us.
This book was very useful in terms of how we should adapt and improve in our business industry. As Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced = Cheek-sent-me-hi) points out in the book – humans were made to work. Physically and mentally humans are made to want to work and produce. So, the goal of management then is to create a sense of value through the labor of people working for a common cause. However, most employers miss the mark on getting the most out of their employees because creating an environment for the enjoyment of work is a difficult process.
If you are looking to improve on your leadership abilities or on your overall philosophy of running an organization, this is a great book for you. Csikszentmihaly interviews several leaders of various organizations that have taken steps to improving the well-being of employees. These leadersa are truly creating a culture of happiness on the job, while encourage positive outcomes for success (which means and increase in productivity and the bottom line). He incorporates many aspects of his own research into the book: Flow, Optimal Experience Creativity, Leadership and more.
Two Thumbs up as they say!
To learn more about Dr. Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi check out the following links:
http://www.cgu.edu/pages/4751.asp - Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management Founding Co-Director, Quality of Life Research Center
http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html - Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi asks, "What makes a life worth living?" Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of "flow."
To learn more about Dr. Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi check out the following links:
http://www.cgu.edu/pages/4751.asp - Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management Founding Co-Director, Quality of Life Research Center
http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html - Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi asks, "What makes a life worth living?" Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of "flow."
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