It’s hard to believe that I’ve only got five Cups left of this crazy experiment. I’ll be posting Cup 48 by the end of the week, which means I’ve got four more until I’m done. 

Like a mom watching her baby board the bus to kindergarten for the first time, I keep thinking—how did this project grow up so fast? 

It’s incredible to think back to the previous 47 Cups: the friends made, lessons learned and adventures had. It’s been life changing and I’m sad to see it end. That’s why I’m determined to pack in as much friend-making, lesson learning and adventure having as possible in the final cups. 

In order to facilitate this, I am jumping back on the road with my friend Rachel for a Northeast road trip. We’ll be hitting New York City, Washington D.C. and a host of other places along the way. We’ll be sharing adventures from the road here and we’d love to have you follow along—especially if you’ve got good travel recommendations or are living in any of the cities we’ll be visiting. 

There might be a slight disruption in my posting schedule, but there will be plenty going on over at my other blog—thanks for understanding. And as always, thanks for reading. It means more to me than I can put down in writing. 

megan 

Person: Brittany Fox

Drink: Decaf coffee at home

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If you convince yourself something won’t work and never try—you might miss out on something incredible.

…

Brittany Fox has traveled to a lot of cool places.

However, in all of her travels, she never found a city she could envision herself moving to. She liked Michigan and that is where she wanted to stay.

Until she went to Thailand.

After high school, Brittany was interested in doing humanitarian work. She found a program that would allow her to spend her summer volunteering in several different countries, which how she ended up in Thailand.

It was love at first sight.

…

Brittany was relaying this story to me via Skype. She was in her apartment in Bangkok preparing for a full day of work. I was at a kitchen table in Michigan relaxing before heading to bed. The internet connection wasn’t ideal but it held up long enough to hear her story.

When Brittany entered Pattaya, Thailand she felt something she had never felt during her previous travels—a sense of connectedness. A thought from out of nowhere entered her head, “I could live here.”

But the thought didn’t linger long—she had work to do.

She was volunteering with YWAM Thailand, which is a center that provides help, healing and hope for women caught in Thailand’s large prostitution industry. According to their website, Pattaya is known as Thailand’s number one sex destination. It is home to 20,000 male, female and child prostitutes that attract over one million visitors each year.

Many of the women share the same heart-breaking story—they were single mothers facing the challenge of raising their children and taking care of their aging parents. As the financial pressures increased they felt powerless until they felt there was no option other than prostitution.

YWAM works to help these young women by providing them with an education and opportunities to find a better job. Brittany’s role was to go into bars and clubs during the day to talk with the young girls about the organization and the opportunities available. It was a bold action on Brittany’s part and one that taught her something truly amazing.

Her preconceived notions about prostitution—the type of women involved, their morals, personalities, etc.—were dispelled completely. Instead of meeting disreputable women like she expected, she met smart, hardworking women trapped in a terrible situation because of financial troubles.

She listened with compassion as one after another told the story of how they came to prostitution. It seemed that each story involved an, “end of the rope” moment. A final straw that convinced them to accept prostitution as the only option.

That “end of the rope” moment stuck with Brittany. She couldn’t stop thinking about what would be possible if an organization could reach out to those women during that moment and prevent them from going down the dark road of prostitution.

…

It was a thought that stayed with her as she returned to the States to study International Relations at Michigan State. When she got home the first thing she did was buy a Thai language books—she knew that as soon as she graduated she would be back in Thailand.

And she was. With $300 dollars left in her bank account she boarded a plane for Bangkok. She figured that would be enough money to survive for two months while she searched for a job with a non-profit or non-governmental organization in the area.

…

For a while she actually played around with the idea of starting her own business; however, it was always more of a daydream than an actual desire. A few years before, her brother bought her a tote bag crocheted with recycled plastic bags. She loved the uniqueness of the bag and often received compliments from people while wearing it out.

Her brother also does humanitarian work in Thailand. He fell in love with it after volunteering in a refugee camp after the tsunami in 2004. He knew how much Brittany liked the bag and pointed out that it wouldn’t be hard to make one herself—in fact, it might just be a great business opportunity for her.

Brittany liked the idea and had fun brainstorming how she would start the company but that’s as far as the idea ever went. Brittany didn’t believe in herself enough to take the next step; to turn the idea into action. She wasn’t crafty, she had never taken a business class—she didn’t have the skills to make it happen. Plus, she had school loans to pay off, getting a job with a larger organization would be, “the responsible thing to do.”

She ditched the idea and jumped into the job search.

But then something happened. Her roommate Panida, a Thai woman she met at Michigan State, came home with devastating news. Her supervisor had come to her in tears—she was struggling to make ends meet at her current job and had decided to start prostituting.

She was at the end of her rope.

Brittany knew she had to do something. This was her chance to intervene before it was too late.

The idea of starting a company reemerged. She still wasn’t convinced it would work but she decided to try. She bought the needed materials, found instructions online and sewed, “the world’s ugliest little bag.” But it was a completed bag. And it was a start.

Panida joined Brittany in her efforts. They approached her supervisor about the possibility of working for their new company making bags.

She quickly said no.

Like Brittany, she didn’t believe in herself. She didn’t know how to make a bag and she was afraid to try.

Brittany and Panida didn’t give up. They told her they would leave her the supplies and instructions and encouraged her to give it a shot. When they returned a week later, the supervisor opened the door with a big smile on her face. She held up a completed bag with pride in her eyes—she had proved to herself she could do it. And although it was also, “one of the world’s ugliest little bag,” it was a start.

But sometimes, that’s all you need.

With practice they began making beautiful bags that now sell in the United State, United Kingdom and online through Brittany’s company Thai Song. The company she thought would never work is about to celebrate its second anniversary. More importantly, they employ six women that now feel empowered, dignified and confident.

…

Brittany Fox has changed many lives—and she is only 24. Imagine how many lives she will touch in the coming decades of her life. Perhaps that’s why she felt so connected to Thailand when she arrived—it needed help and somewhere deep inside, Brittany knew she could provide it.

Cup 47 taught me the value in testing our assumptions instead of just assuming an idea won’t work.

Because Brittany could have believed her idea wouldn’t have work. She could have listened to the people that told her it didn’t work.

But she didn’t.

And now six women in Thailand are facing a much brighter future.

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Person: Bo Fishback 

Drink: Regular coffee in a Kansas City coffee shop 

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Bo Fishback is the self-proclaimed luckiest man in the world. 

By age 30, he had found his dream job. He worked as the president of Kauffman Labs for Enterprise Creation in Kansas City, Missouri where his main task was allocating $100 million dollars a year to various entrepreneurial projects. It was a job that was easy to love and one he saw himself in for another 20 years. 
 
Then one Monday in February, he walked into work and announced his resignation—effective immediately. 

The news came as a shock to Kauffman. It probably came as a shock to Bo too—when he left work on Friday he had every intention of returning the following Monday. But life intervened. 

At the insistence of his good friend, Eric Koester, Bo went to Los Angeles where he competed in a 54-hour Startup Weekend Event where he pitched an idea that had been rolling around the back of his mind for a while. It was a last minute choice to pitch and the decision paid off—not only did Bo’s team win, they attracted the attention of investors (including Ashton Kutcher) and raised nearly a million dollars overnight. 

… 

He explained this as we sat sipping coffee at the coffee shop in Kansas City, which is a five minute walk from the headquarters of Zaarly—one of the fastest growing, most-talked about startups of the year. In just seven months, they’ve scaled their product, assembled a dynamic team and left a noticeable impact on cities nationwide.  

According to CrunchBase, Zaarly is a location based, real-time buyer powered market. Buyers make an offer for an immediate need and sellers cash in on an infinite marketplace for items and services they never knew were for sale.

The format for a Zaarly is: I’d pay ____ for  ____. 

• I’d pay $30 for someone to mow my lawn. 
• I’d pay $45 for a ticket to this weekend’s Tigers game.
• I’d pay $600 for a treadmill in good condition. 

The idea is to build a marketplace where people acquire goods and make money using technology and the communities around them. The young company has already generated over $3 million dollars in Zaarly transactions. 

It could, in theory, change the way business is done—become the next $50 billion dollar company. 

That is Bo’s vision and the reason he could walk away from the greatest job in the world without second thought. He didn’t want to watch someone with the same idea make it big while he sat on the sideline and watched. 

Now he and his team are working around the clock to make it happen. And from the looks of it they are succeeding. 

It helps that Bo (and his two co-founders) are no strangers to the entrepreneurial world. Bo has two successful startups under his belt: Orbis Biosciences, a drug delivery and particle fabrication company, and Lightspeed Genomics, a next-generation genome sequencing company (source: CrunchBase). In addition to these two companies, Bo has served as anadvisor, board member, and angel investor to many other ventures. 

…

Bo always knew he would start a company. When he was four years old, his father—and role model—left his job as at a hospital to start his own company selling respiratory therapy supplies. As Bo grew so did the company. By the time he was 18, his father sold his company and retired comfortably. Watching his dad run a business instilled the entrepreneurial bug in both Bo and his brother who is also a successful entrepreneur. 

However, at age 18, Bo didn’t expect he would be in the position he is in today. Bo grew up in a small Georgia town where he drove 50 miles to and from school. By the time senior year rolled around his top concern was finding a school outside of Georgia where he could play basketball (he’s 6’8”) and meet girls. He ended up at Southern Methodist University and while his basketball career was short-lived, he did meet his wife (and now mother of their newborn baby boy). 

After earning a degree in Medical Biosystems, he went to work for a corporation that basically gave him a budget and said go start a new branch for our company. He met their expectations. By the time he left, the team he built had over 200 employees. He then started his own company that (in what he calls a complete stroke of luck) sold within eight months. He decided to pursue an MBA and headed to Harvard Business School where he once again rolled out a successful venture. That’s how he garnered the attention of Kauffman and landed a job helping other startups. 

His motive for serial startups is simple, “I just like to build shit”.

And he gets lucky. “I’ve had so many experience where luck was on my side, I’ve reached a point where I just assume I’ll be lucky.”

Of course, the harder you work the luckier you get. And Bo works hard.

Although you wouldn’t know it if you met him—he’s easygoing with a propensity for fun. He’s also tall, charismatic, optimistic and a visionary.

That combination creates a rare ability to attract talented individuals and motivate them to accomplish a common goal. He’s so good his inbox is filled with hundreds of resumes applying for jobs that don’t even exist. One guy actually offered to pay to work for the company (it worked, he now works at the San Francisco office—and gets paid).
In all honestly, after Bo took time out of his busy schedule to sit down and have a genuine conversation with me I could have been convinced to relocate my life to KC and join the team.

I wouldn’t have been the first MSU kid to do it. Zaarly worked its magic on my three of my close friends (which is why I was visiting Kansas City in the first place). In March, my friend Eric met Bo through a project—Bo left a big impression on Eric and eventually offered him an internship at Kauffman. When Bo left Kauffman for Zaarly, it was easy to convince Eric to follow suit; he knew working with Bo would lead to something big.

When they company needed more interns it wasn’t hard for Eric to recruit his MSU classmates. Bo could offer them something that is hard to find: a chance to create something meaningful. If Zaarly works, it will change lives around the US and possibly the world.

It’s a big vision—and Bo thinks it’s going to work—but  even if it doesn’t, it will have been an incredible ride; an exciting chapter of life they can look back on as a reminder they were willing to take a risk to create something great.

…

I took a lot away from Cup 46—but what I will remember most is Bo’s optimism and vision.

Everyone is capable of finding that once-in-a-lifetime idea or opportunity that captures their heart and changes their life (and the lives of others). That risky idea that somehow doesn’t seem risky at all. An idea they can’t get off their mind. An idea that creates meaning and purpose.

But sadly, not everyone knows they have this capability.

Bo says he’s lucky—but it takes more than luck to stumble into a dream job, twice. I asked him what made him different from those that don’t find meaning.

“I surrounded myself with good people”.

Coffee with Bo was fantastic from start to finish, but this part of the conversation really hit home. The night before, Eric and I were talking about how lucky we were to be pursuing exactly what we wanted to be pursuing when so many of our former classmates were finding themselves in lackluster jobs. When Eric found Zaarly he knew with 100 percent certainty it was the right choice for him. That is how I felt when I decided to go to Europe after graduation. We couldn’t explain the logic that led to our the decisions, but we both had a gut feeling that told us it was the right thing to do.

I told Eric I wished more people realized how much potential they truly have—realized they could be doing exactly what they love.

My conversation with Bo helped me see that we need good people in our lives to help us discover our potential.

I had to have coffee with two dozen people before I believed I was capable of spending two months in Europe post-graduation. Eric is more efficient. It took him one conversation with Bo—a man for whom he has great respect—to realize he could have a great impact on Zaarly if he relocated to Kansas City and joined the team.

In this crazy world of expectation and uncertainty it is way too easy to get caught in a maze of self-doubt and insecurity. That’s why it’s vital to find positive people that help us navigate our way through it.

Bo, who is incredibly talented, succeeded because he found people that helped him maximize those talents. That’s why he’s the luckiest man in the world. It’s also why he’s devoted to Zaarly. It’s a platform to inspire and create meaning for others—to pay it forward.
…

Cup 46 a testament that that a life filled with meaning, laughter, love and fun is possible for everyone. It takes a lot of work to make it happen, but it’s possible.
If you don’t believe that, surround yourself with people that do. Their contagious optimism and support will lead you to that dream job.

Then when you find it (and don’t settle until you do) reach out and help someone else. Whether it’s being a mentor to a young college student or a co-founder of a company that starts a movement.

Or better yet—both.

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Person: Steve Wozniak

Drink: Water while at lunch in Palo Alto, CA

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This story begins in October.
 
Around Cup 16, I was talking about 52 Cups with Todd, a friend at work when an idea hit him, “You should try to set up a meeting with Woz, the co-founder of Apple! I know he’d do it—in fact, I bet he’d even fly to Michigan.”
 
I figured I had nothing to lose so I explored ways to contact him. I searched his website, tried Facebook, asked a few friends. Nothing worked. My last resort was to search Steve Wozniak on anywho.com. I called the phone number only to reach Steve Wozniak the pro fishing reporter, not Steve Wozniak the computer genius.
 
So I decided that it just wasn’t meant to be and moved on.

Then March rolls around and one day I wake up to this email from a good friend at Michigan State:

FYI, Steve Wozniak will be the June commencement speaker. I bet we could get a coffee date set for you.

A strange feeling washed over me. Todd was right, Steve Wozniak was flying to Michigan.

And we had coffee.

Well, we kind of had coffee. I found a way to get invited to a reception he was speaking at and stood next to him while drinking a cup of coffee. He was fascinating to talk to and very approachable so I explained my project and invited him to coffee. He said he’d love to but would have to take a rain-check because he was headed to Detroit to watch a hockey game before his flight back to California. He gave me his business card and told me to email him sometime.

So I did. I sent him an email from Budapest to let him know I was planning a trip to San Francisco to visit friends in July and I’d love to meet up if he was around. A half dozen email exchanges and a couple flights later, I was riding my friend’s green beach cruiser bike down the sunny, tree-lined, streets of Palo Alto to meet Woz and his wife for lunch.

…

It was a fantastic lunch that culminated with a piece of wisdom that emerged when I asked him how he and his family had stay grounded amidst the fame and success:

Be true to yourself. Find out who you are and what you value—then don’t let anything deter you.

For as long as Woz can remember he wanted to design computers. In high school, in college, in his first year working—Woz was designing computers during every spare moment he had. During his first year at Hewlett Packard, he designed the revolutionary Apple I and Apple II computer during his nights and weekends away from work.

Woz knew he was born to build computers. Not because he wanted to make a million dollars or start a revolutionary new company, but because nothing brought him greater joy than solving the complex computer problems. After he designed the Apple I he actually gave away the designs to anyone that wanted them.

When he designed the Apple II he was planning on doing the same thing until Steve Jobs approached him about starting a company to commercial the computer. At first Woz said no. He didn’t want to be a business man, he wanted to be a electronic engineer. At the time, Hewlett Packard was the most prestigious place for engineers so Woz saw no reason to leave.

But Jobs was insistent. He eventually won over Woz and they went on to found a company that revolutionized home computers and changed the future of technology forever.

Of course, it was much more complicated than that—but the bottom line is that Woz helped create a company that most entrepreneurs can only dream about.

Then he walked away from it.

One reason was a near-fatal plane crash that left him with retrograde amnesia. He had no recollection of the crash and also struggled with day to day short term memory (although his memory was eventually restored). The other reason was that he wanted to finish the college degree he abandoned when he went to start Apple.

Then he became a teacher. To fifth grade kids.

Could you imagine going to a Parent/Teacher conference with the genius behind the Apple computers? You probably can’t considering it’s not typical for successful innovators to leave great tech companies and head to the classroom. But Woz isn’t typical.

He knows himself well enough to trust his decisions even when they seems crazy to the outside world.

That’s what impressed me about Woz.

More than his fame, his mathematical genius and the fact that he co-founded one of my favorite brands—it was his self-awareness (and self-assurance) that impressed me.

To know exactly the who you are—and accept who you are—is rare quality.

Sitting down with Woz and hearing him talk so candidly, and in such a genuine and humble manor, was refreshing.

The good news for us is that it’s not a quality he was born with—and as his wife pointed out, not a quality I should expect to have at age 23. It’s a gradual progression that develops over time if you’re willing to work on it.

That was the most important take away from Cup 45: people aren’t born talented.

They are born with skill and the talent emerges with the practice and honing of those skills.

It’s undeniable that Woz was born with an incredible aptitude for computers. But it wasn’t the natural born talent that led to the Apple I and Apple II—it was was the hours and hours (and hours) of practice that gave him the ability to revolutionize the computer world.

If he hadn’t been devoted to the craft his skill would have been wasted.

Regardless of what your skills are and where you start—you can always get better. The people that are the leaders in the field weren’t born at the top, they worked their way to get there. I’m not saying natural aptitude isn’t important, it is, just probably not as much as you think.

Woz is a fantastic public speaker. His keynote at Michigan State’s graduation was a great blend of information, inspirational and entertainment. That’s why he is invited to speak at events around the world—and why you would assume Woz was born with a natural aptitude for public speaking.

That couldn’t be further from the truth. Growing up, Woz was so shy he wouldn’t raise his hand in class or talk to the other kids in his computer club. He feared public speaking. But as the co-founder of Apple people wanted to hear him speak so he had to face his fear of public speaking. With devotion and practice he developed a talent he never knew he had.

I understand this is a difficult idea to believe. It’s much easier to convince yourself you weren’t born with the right amount of talent than accept that success is attainable—it just requires a LOT of hard work and dedication. I know this, because I’ve done it many times.

But Woz showed me how wrong I was in that assumption—he ruined my excuse. Now I can’t take the easy way out and claim I’m not talented enough. I have to put in the hard work and develop the talent.

I have a feeling the lesson will pay off in the long run.

Because I could have easily convinced myself that getting a meeting with Woz was impossible.

But I didn’t.

And look what happened.
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Person: Tony Stone 

Drink: Office brewed coffee in Edinburgh, Scotland

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Cup 44: Tony Stone
 
Don’t be afraid to change directions.

That was my mentality going into my Europe adventure and the reason I ended up in Scotland.

My flight back to the States was out of London so I decided that’s where I would spend the last four days of my trip. However, when a friend from MSU emailed me to say she was going to be in Scotland for the TED Global conference I decided to revise my plan. I’d spend two days in Edinburgh before taking the short train ride to London for my last two days.

…

I was weary from travel when I rolled into Scotland at 10:30 pm but the beauty of the castle-lined landscape resting under a crescent moon restored my energy (finally understanding the local language also helped). After pausing to take a few photos and take in the moment, I headed toward the hostel I’d booked, making a quick stop inside a convenience store along the way for late-night snack.

It was the bold green packaging on the Stoats Porridge Oat Bar that caught my attention.

After looking at the package, I discovered it was produced locally in Edinburgh. Because I’d never knowingly tried porridge, I figured it was my responsibility as an adventurous traveler to try the local food.

It was a smart choice—I loved the bar and later ran a Google search to see if the bars were available in the States. The search naturally led me to the Stoats website where I read about the offbeat origins of the company. It was a fascinating story (filled with delightful British vernacular) so the next morning I decided to email the company to see if I could grab coffee with co-founder Tony Stone.

Growing up I preferred business magazines like Inc. and Fast Company over Cosmo and Vogue (which may explain why I never know if my shoes go with my outfit, but I digress) so I was excited when Tony responded within in the hour and we set up a meeting for later that afternoon.

…

When I arrived at the Stoats headquarters in the outskirts of the city I wasn’t sure I was in the right spot. But then I noticed the small white Stoats sign on a door nestled between a handful of larger manufacturing shops. I cautiously opened turned the handle and walked inside to find a simple setting—large bags of raw oats, stacks of cardboard boxes, various flyers on the walls. Basically what you would expect from a manufacturing plant if they spent any time imagining what a manufacturing plant might look like.

Tony heard me enter and yelled hello  from inside his office down the hallway before coming out to meet me. He was tall, lanky, and personable with his relaxed disposition and friendly Scottish accent. We walked into the office he shared with two other employees. Tony apologized for the disorder—piles of and promotional material and files lined his desk, random boxes of product samples strewn about—and lack of quality coffee. I told him I didn’t mind, after seven weeks on the road, you’re used to the disorder.

…

My first question was simple: what exactly is porridge?

My limited knowledge of porridge it that it’s eaten by bears and stolen by blondes. As it turns out, porridge is just oatmeal by another name. With that mystery solved I was ready for trickier questions, but first Tony wanted to know more about my project. I understood where he was coming from, it’s not often you run into a young college grad meandering through Europe sending unsolicited emails to food manufacturers.

So I explained my story and then he jumped into his, which—much like mine—had some unexpected revisions.

Tony had always entertained the idea of starting his own company but took a job with a big company after graduating with a business degree. It was a good job, but he realized he missed Edinburgh and wanted to be closer to his family—it seemed like the right time to jump into the entrepreneurial world, but he wasn’t sure in what capacity.

That changed the day he and his friend Bob went to a music festival. I like how their website explains it:

Stoats began with an idea in 2004 to serve fresh porridge at music festivals. We listened to our mates moan and groan about what they had to eat to survive at music festivals. We knew that porridge would make a healthy, filling and tasty eating option, so we decided porridge was the future (and quite a cool way to spend the summer). Bob and Tony got a shiny wee mobile porridge bar and started selling freshly made porridge right across the UK, and festival audiences loved it (and still do - look for the biggest queue at breakfast and you’ve found Stoats Porridge). 

In 2004, porridge was getting a lot of attention in the press—it’s one Scotland’s best exports and was an especially trendy food at the time. Tony and Bob saw an opportunity and decided to capitalize on it.

Then they decided to take it one more step—they would set up a small store where they’d sell porridge year round. But life intervened. When they approached the bank for a loan they weren’t able to get as much as they requested (Tony later explained it’s difficult for entrepreneurs to get support in Britain).

But it didn’t stop them, they just reevaluated the plan and decided to stick with selling bowls of fresh porridge to festival goers—advertising their product with a big banner alongside the truck that read:

                  STOATS PORRIDGE BAR 

Their decision worked, business was booming—and, although they didn’t see it, about to change directions again.

Many of their customers were misunderstanding what PORRIDGE BAR meant. While the banner implied the type of bar synonymous with buffet, table, counter, etc., many concert goers thought they Stoats sold bars of porridge—like granola bars. The thought had never occurred to Tony and Bob but they figured if that’s what their customers wanted that’s what they should sell.

After a little experimenting in the kitchen the original Stoats Porridge Bar was born and became an instant hit. Now, in addition to their mobile trucks, Stoats sells eight flavors of oat bars and a half dozen other oat products both online and in stores across Scotland (and very soon some parts of the US).

And hearing Tony’s firsthand account of the company’s growth it became clear that it was their ability to be flexible and willingness to try new things that allowed them to develop a successful business that continues to grow. It’s a lot like my Europe trip—I had a plan, but it wasn’t so concrete I couldn’t revise when a better opportunity arose.

That’s not easy to do.  

Changing direction can be scary. Especially if you’ve taken a lot of time devising the plan.

But the thing is—you can’t predict life. If you think you have total control over your plan, you’re setting yourself up for failure because something unexpected will inevitable occur.

However, if you accept that life will throw you curve balls (both good and bad) the unexpected moments can turn into the greatest opportunities. Had Tony and Bob been dead set on sticking to the plan, the lack of funding from the bank could have completely derailed their plans. Or they could have ignored their customers and neglected the opportunity to take their business in a new, and better, direction.

When I asked Tony what the greatest lessons he’s learned in the past five years was he told me this:

Start small.

He said oftentimes the idea they are most excited about ends up going nowhere while the sub part idea becomes an unexpected hit. That’s why when they roll out something new they try it in a small batch and, if it works, they roll it out to the whole market.

It makes sense. They know they won’t get it right the first time, every time. Starting small allows them to stay agile and flexible in case the plan doesn’t work or a better opportunity emerges. And if the plan fails completely the company only suffers a small loss and can recover quickly. Starting small allows them to take smart risks.

Take enough small risks and you’ll start to see big change.

It’s a smart strategy; much better than devising a grand scheme and then aborting it at the first sign it won’t work out. I’ve unfortunately seen that happen a lot.

Tony and Bob could have set out to develop an international retailing business. But they didn’t. They had a small idea that worked so they took another small risk, then another, then another. Now they’ve got an international retailing business.

…

I was thinking about that while walking home from the Stoats Headquarters.

A year ago I didn’t plan to be drinking coffee in Europe. I just wanted to meet people in the city where I lived so I took a risk and invited a stranger to coffee. It worked, so I kept at it until one thing led to another and I ended up in Scotland surrounded by beautiful scenery and wonderful people—drinking coffee with strangers.

And that’s what I’ll take away from Cup 44. While it is important to plan ahead, success does not require some big, elaborate, scheme.

It requires the courage to take that first step.

And then another.

And then another.

If you can do that, life will take you to incredible—and deliciously unexpected—places.

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Person(s): Yasmina Boustani and Katharina Schmitt 

Drink: Cafe Americano in Cannes, France 

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On Friday, June 20th at 8:30 PM, I sent Yasmina Boustani a Facebook message. 

At 9:10 PM she responded. 

By 9:41 that night we had arranged to meet for coffee the following morning. 

… 

It was because of a  Facebook message that I was in France in the first place. A few weeks before my trip, I randomly received a Facebook message from my friend Trista, a recent alumna of Michigan State that had moved to Texas. She knew I was headed to Europe and wanted to let me know she was going to be in Rome assisting with a study abroad. She said if I could get to Rome she would give me a grand tour of the city. 

I told her I’d love to meet up and would contact her when I knew the dates I’d be there. 

When I emailed her the dates I discovered she was actually spending the weekend in Cannes, France at the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity. A few months earlier Bill Ward, Cup 9, and I were having coffee to catch up and he mentioned that if I was in France it would be worth it to swing by Cannes to check out the festival—it was a great place to meet incredible creative people and see the latest and greatest in the advertising world. 

So, I rerouted to Cannes and met up with Trista, hoping to find a big hitter in the industry to meet for coffee. 

But, like so many times during my trip, plans changed.It happened during the last session I watched—the Future Lions Competition award ceremony.

According to their website, Cannes Lion is the world’s biggest celebration of creativity in communications that attracts over 8,000 delegates from 90 countries. During the week of workshops, exhibitions, and high-profile seminars, the festival presents the most prestigious international advertising awards. It is targeted to people currently in the industry; however, in 2006, Cannes introduced the Future Lions Competition to give students a chance to participate. 

Working in teams of two, college students were challenged to “advertise a product from a global brand in a way that couldn’t be conceived five years ago”. There were over 800 entries submitted from around the globe, of which, four finalists were chosen to attend Cannes and be acknowledged during the session I attended.

Each of the finalists showed a short video explaining their concept and it was fascinating to see the quality of the presentation and innovation of the ideas. The first two ideas were impressive, but it was the third idea, the one created by Yasmina and Katharina Schmitt, that struck me. 

Their idea for 1800 Flowers was to take the digital act of saying “Happy Birthday” on Facebook and make it more tangible, more meaningful. (Unfortunately I can’t embed the video, so please take a minute to watch their pitch here). 

At the end of the presentation the lively emcee put up the contact information and encouraged conference attendees to reach out to these talented young advertisers, stating very simply,  

“Hire them before they steal your job.” 

That’s when I decided I wanted to talk to Yasmina and Katharina. Not only did I love their idea, I thought it would be more fun to talk to the future industry big hitters than the current. 

… 

So there we were, Yasmina, Katharina and myself, sitting at an outdoor cafe a block from the Mediterranean Sea. 

After we ordered our coffee we began getting to know each other better. 

Yasimina is originally from Bierut, Lebanon. She earned a degree in Advertising and Art Direction from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts before enrolling at the Miami Ad School in Europe. That’s where she met Katharina. 

Katharina is from Mannheim, Germany. Her aspirations were to become a dancer, but en route realized that she had a passion for advertising and shifted her efforts toward a Bachelors degree in Economics and Marketing before also enrolling at the Miami Ad School. Katharina and Yasmina quickly became friends, then project partners, then roommates in New York City where they studied for a semester.  It was there they created Flowers for Facebook for a class project.  Their professor encouraged them to submit the idea to Future Lions. They didn’t think the idea was ready for Cannes, but followed the professors advice anyway. 

After a few tweaks they submitted the idea and waited for a response—not really expecting much. With so many submissions they figured they didn’t stand a chance. 

They were happily wrong. The idea was good enough to make it to the final round, which meant Yasmina and Katharina were headed to France for an intense week of advertising adventures and also one last hurrah together before Katharina headed to Germany to begin her first job and Yasmina returned to New York for one last semester. 

I had really enjoyed my few days in Cannes and was excited to hear about their experience. I expected their stories to be about the great new people they were meeting. But when I asked the girls about this, I found but the opposite was true. They actually spent their time reconnecting with old friends from the industry. A great  part  of the Miami Ad School is that for the first year students are in one location but spend the rest of their time at one of the other 10 Miami Ad School locations. Over the course of their education they end up making friends from around the world. 

I could relate reconnecting. 

I’d gone all the way to France to connect with friends from my backyard in Michigan. And it wasn’t just France, along each step of my European adventure I connected with old friends; a running buddy from home now living in Poland, former MSU classmates in working in Scotland, Prague and Poland.  

If I’ve learned anything traveling through Europe it’s that technology is making it easier than ever to travel and connect with people around the globe. 

This is something I would have taken for granted if I hadn’t had a conversation with my 83 year old grandmother earlier in the week. She explained that when she was growing up in New York in the early 40’s she met a lot of wealthier Europeans that came to the United States for better opportunities. That’s how she met her high school best friend. Unfortunately, after graduation her friend moved back to Europe and she and my grandmother lost touch. They couldn’t use Skype to make free international calls or dash off a quick email that arrived in seconds. Amidst the rush of life—marriage, babies, new jobs—it was difficult to stay in touch and once they lost touch, it was difficult to find each other again. 

Compare that to today when a quick Facebook search will help you find anyone. Case in point, I was friends with a Mexican exchange student when I was a junior in high school. We fell out of touch but stayed friends on Facebook. She happened to see the picture I posted from Bucharest and emailed me to say she was currently living there and would love to meet up. That wouldn’t have been possible  even 10 years ago. 

The same thing can happen with Yasmina, Katharina and me. Someday we may find ourselves in the same city and we’ll be able to reconnect—just like the other young, talented students I met while I was in Cannes. 

It’s sort of remarkable that an American, Lebanese and German were all enjoying a great coffee and conversation in a cafe in France. 

But at the same time, it’s not. Technology is changing the way we connect and do business—global collaboration is becoming as easy as collaborating with the cubicle (or in my case, table in a coffee shop) next door. It’s an incredible opportunity. 

But only for those willing to leverage the tools; those willing to take take action, take risks and think globally. 

It doesn’t happen sitting at home behind a computer. It happens when you’re getting outside your comfort zone, finding ways to travel and trying new things. I made two new friends because Yasmina and Katharina were willing to enter a competition they had a slim chance of winning and were willing to say yes to a Friday night Fracebook message from a stranger requesting to meet for coffee. 

It’s easy to take two seconds and write “Happy Birthday” on a friend’s Facebook wall. It’s a little harder to take an extra step and do something memorable. 

But if Cup 43 taught me anything, it’s the extra step that creates the opportunities. 

And in today’s world—the opportunities can take you anywhere in the world. 

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Hello from the Big Apple!

After seven incredible weeks in Europe I am back in the United States!

Over the past two months, I have been in a new city every three or four days meeting new people, seeing great sights and enjoying great food along the way. It has been a great learning experience and one that would not have happened without 52 Cups. The lessons I’ve learned and people I’ve met were the inspiration that led me to Europe.

I have more cups to post from Europe but they are slightly delayed. Fitting in time to write last week was challenging, which is one reason I’m happy to be home. I’ve missed my long afternoons spent in my favorite cafes. Those afternoons will now resume!

I greatly appreciate your patience and continued support of the project. The feedback I’ve received from so many of you makes the process so much sweeter.

Thanks.

Person: Mihaela Fabian

Drink: Cafe Americano in Den Haag, Netherlands

Before Cup 42 I had never given Romania much thought.
 
After Cup 42, I decided I needed to visit Romania so I did some research and swung through Bucharest on my way to Istanbul (I took this picture while there). Here’s a very quick history lesson:

After WWI, Romania was experiencing an era of prosperity. At the start of WWII the country wanted to remain neutral; however, a Soviet Ultimatum forced them to the Axis side. When the war ended the Soviet Union forced Romania into a social republic. Over the following decades the Communist government established a reign of terror over the country.   

In 1974, Nicolae Ceausescu took over as the Romanian President and began borrowing heavily to finance economic programs for the Socialist Republic of Romania. This left the country more than $13 billion dollars in debt. To solve the problem, Ceausescu began exporting agricultural and other industrial products to repay the debt. The plan worked economically but left Romanians in a dire situation—Ceausescu exports depleted the country of adequate resources to survive. In the 80’s, Romanians faced food rationing and frequent electricity blackouts to conserve food and fuel.

Mihaela Fabian was one of the many Romanians forced to endure the suffering and decline in standard of living.

…

We were sitting in the cafeteria at the Museon museum of popular science in Den Haag as Mihaela recounted the experience. As a young woman in school, she would be working on homework when the lights would shut off leaving her to finish the work in the dark and with food shortages, many staple items were unattainable. Mihaela shared a vivid memory of the first time she was able to leave Romania. The train station where she arrived  had bananas and beer for sale—she let out a cry of joy she was so excited. There were no bananas or beer in Romania.

It was clear that it was not an easy situation but she said close family ties helped her through it. Luckily life is much different now. The Romanian Revolution of 1989 brought an end to Ceausescu’s grisly reign and paved the way for a democracy that is slowly rebuilding the country after it’s rocky past.

As for Mihaela, she is no longer a young woman facing food shortages in Romania.

She is the wife of the Romanian Ambassador to the Netherlands.

…

My aunt Kim met Mihaela through the International Wives Club she joined when my uncle’s job moved them from Houston, Texas to the Netherlands. The club, which has a couple dozen ladies from all different countries and cultures, helps women that are new to a country meet other English speaking  women in the same situation. When my aunt told me about the group she mentioned Mihaela would be fascinating to talk with.

As luck would have it, one night while out to dinner we ran into Mihaela who was having dinner with a friend. My aunt introduced us and we set up a meeting for the following morning.  

…

I was forunate to grow up in a household where we never worried if there would be enough food on the table or if the lights would work when we flipped the switch. This made it difficult to grasp what Mihaela’s life was like growing up. It was even harder to try and comprehend how a ruler could allow his people to suffer in such a way (especially when a week later I visited Bucharest and saw the multi-billion dollar parliament building Ceausescu built during his reign).

I asked Mihaela if, during the difficult times, she ever imagined she’d be leading the distinguished life of a diplomat. She said she hadn’t.

Then she told me an older woman once told her she was lucky. 

It wasn’t a boastful comment. In fact, she immediately followed up with a disclaimer:

You pay a price for luck.

Mihaela endured difficult times, worked hard and made sacrifices to get to where she is today. In college, Mihaela studied psychology before becoming a speech pathologist for children with hearing impairments. There was great joy in her voice as she described years of working with the kids; watching their growth and development.

She explained the woman she was with the previous night was a former patient of hers. The young woman had lost her hearing when she was six months old because of an incorrect dose of antibiotics. This left her facing an uncertain future. Fortunately Miheala found her and through their work together, the girl developed the necessary skills to excel in high school and continue onto college where she is now working on an advanced degree in medicine.

Mihaela was filled with pride as she told the story and then said there are many other students she still stays in touch with. She was good at her job.

But then her husband became an ambassador and Mihaela knew she would have to quit her job to help serve her country.  

It is clear she misses it. While we were talking, two dozen preschoolers on a field trip ran past the window of the cafeteria toward the museum entrance temporarily stealing Michaela’s attention in the process. She loves kids.

But she also loves her country. Despite the difficulties it has had, Mihaela speaks of Romania with great affection and is grateful for the opportunity to show others what the country has to offer. She spends a lot of time meeting people and talking about Romania, which—between her warm personality and easy sense of humor—is a role the suits her. It didn’t surprise me when she said she made friends wherever she went.

We were on the topic of friendships when she casually said,

“We have to raise the potential of others.”

Mihaela sees the potential in kids and the potential in her country so she works hard to help both achieve that potential, and more. 

That is what I’ll talk away from Cup 42. We all have the capacity to help others find a higher level of success.   

Wether it’s helping young patients, serving as a diplomat for a Romania or befriending a Texan recently transplanted to the Netherlands, Mihaela helps people create a brighter future.

That’s probably why she’s so lucky.

It’s like the old adage that a rising tide lifts all boats; if you help make someone’s life a little better you make the world a little better—and that goodness eventually makes its way back to you.

The concept is simple but often forgotten. We get so wrapped up in achieving our own success we think we don’t stop to think about others.

Or worse, we hinder others’ success to make ourselves look better.

But achieving success that way won’t bring the joy I saw in Miheala’s eyes or the sense of accomplishment she radiates when she talks about her work. Success like that only happens when you’ve made the world better for someone else. 

That’s the success I hope to achieve. 

If I’m lucky.

Person: Roman Kroke

Drink: Espresso

I was sitting on a small floor cushion inside a fourth floor studio in Art House Tacheles. It’s an art center in Berlin that began as a department store in the Jewish quarter that was later used as a Nazi prison. When the Berlin wall fell the partially demolished building was overtaken by artists and transformed into studio space and a nightclub. It’s interior is filled with wall to wall graffiti and a streams of visitors looking at both the building and the art of its tenants.

Roman Kroke’s studio was much calmer than the rest of the building. Old American music played softly in the background while small candles on the table created a soft light illuminating the walls covered with black and white photos, old handwritten notes and black and white illustrations depicting scenes from the 1940s. After spending a day discovering Berlin’s history, it was moving to be in a building and a room with so much history and character.
 
The illustrations on Roman’s wall depicted excerpts from Diaries of the Dutch Jew Etty Hillesum. It is one of his most prominent projects. Etty was in her mid-20s during the Holocaust. The book, published posthumously, starts with intimate diary reflections describing the difficulties of life in Amsterdam during the German Occupation. The second half is a series of letters she sent from the Westerbork work camp where she lived until she was taken to Auschwitz and later died. Roman illustrated several scenes from the book for a documentary titled The Convoy and is now turning illustrations into a published book.

The pictures and letters covering Roman’s walls serve as both research and inspiration. His work, which focuses on the Halocaust and Berlin’s history, helps draw attention to events that are too often forgotten or misinterpreted—he loves interpreting history from a fresh perspective. As he told me, history from yesterday can teach us lessons we can apply tomorrow.

Roman career is much different than the one he had when he left university. As young student he had a difficult time narrowing his many interests down into one degree but eventually settled on International Human Rights Law. After several internships, his law career was off to a good start; however, he quickly realized he was not meant to have a life in law. His true passion was illustration.

He continued working part time as a lawyer and researcher while he launched his art career and eventually reached a point where he could be an artist full time. When I asked Roman if there was something he wished he had known back when he finished earning his law degree and he answered with a metaphor:

Every tree begins as a seed and grows inch by inch. No seed becomes a big tree overnight because every step is necessary.

He was saying you have to endure both good and bad to grow. The way he phrased his answer was powerful. Roman answered many of my questions with similar stories or insights—sometimes he answered my question with a question of his own. I appreciated his insight and imagination because it forced me to examine things from different perspectives.

Roman sees the world from a different angle and that quality leads to fascinating and thought-provoking conversation. I could see why the friend I was staying with in Berlin suggested we meet. Our conversation covered a variety of topics. One minute we are talking about the art workshops he runs for high school kids, the next I am writing down a list of my favorite country music artists. I told him I like country music because it reminds me of home and he asked me to write down a few names he could look into since country isn’t popular in Germany. 

After I’d written a list, Roman looked at it and commented that my handwriting was interesting; very linear—straight lines, sharp points, few curves. I found his observation interesting because earlier that week I’d looked through the hundreds of pictures I’d taken so far on the trip and realized I was drawn to pictures that had straight lines and symmetry. I took out my camera and showed him one of my favorites; a cross section of the Berlin wall that had several parallel lines.

Roman looked at the picture and agreed that it was very linear but then noted the fluffy clouds and blue sky were an important piece of the photo. He said without the sunny backdrop, the picture would be too structured and therefore boring. Then he pointed out the reverse is also true. A picture of a blue sky without substance would also be boring.

What makes the photo interesting is the mix of the two—the dichotomy of the wall’s strong presence against the peacefulness of the sky. It had the right balance.

I loved his critique of his photo because his insight related to more than just photography. It related to life. The key is finding the right balance.

During the course of our conversation Roman and I talked about the challenges of doing creative work, especially when self-employed, and it was clear many of the challenges stem from finding the right mix of two things. Working hard without overworking or burning out. Moving a project forward without forcing it. Enjoying the moment but still preparing for the future. Striving for greater things while still appreciating what you have. Being creative yet pragmatic, confident yet humble. The list goes on.

Finding balance is incredibly difficult—and even if you do, it’s usually for a fleeting moment. Life is too fluid. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the effort. Roman uses swimming as an outlet for stress, surrounds himself with people that support his efforts and fortunately has incredible passion for his work that pushes him through the moments of doubt that everyone experiences.

…

I’m glad I met Roman and heard his stories before going back to the US and jumping into a career. Too often people get so wrapped up in their work they neglect another aspect of their lives—family, friends, heath, etc. It works for a while, but if the balance is wrong for too long, things start to fall apart.

Cup 41, and the picture of Berlin, serves as a reminder that I need to have structure in my life, but not so much that I don’t have blue skies too.

Because everyone’s life is a unique piece of art. And like Roman said, if you find the right balance you make it interesting.

You might even make a masterpiece.

Person: Janina Pasik 

Drink: Coffee brewed at her home outside Warsaw, Poland 

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As I sat on a train to Warsaw, I had no idea what I would find when I arrived. 

Since we met for coffee in November, Piotr Pasik (Cup 17) and I have become good friends and when he found out I was going to be in Europe, he insisted I swing through Warsaw to visit him at his grandmother’s house. After two weeks of being in big cities surrounded by typical tourists attractions a chance to get off the beaten path sounded wonderful so I rearranged my itinerary so I could stop by for a visit. 

Piotr and his cousin picked me up from the train station and we drove 40 minutes to Nowe Miasto—a town of 2,500 where a five minute walk gets you from one side of town to the other. 

When we arrived, Piotr’s grandma, Janina, welcomed me with a  a big kiss on thecheek and a hug like only an experienced babcia (grandma) can give. She didn’t speak English, but the twinkle in her eye and the way she kept smiling as she enthusiastically clasped my arm told me everything I needed to know—she was excited I had come for a visit. 

 
After dropping my bags in the living room, Piotr’s cousin got me a glass of water a while his grandma and his aunt finished preparing a lunch that made an American Thanksgiving look weak: tomato noodle soup, salad, cabbage with sausage, stuffed chicken, fried chicken, meatballs, pickled veggies and homemade desert. Everything was delicious—and I did in fact try everything because—because when an adorable Polish grandma offers you food—no matter how full you are—it’s impossible to say no. 

Once lunch was finished, Piotr took me for a tour around Nowe Miasto and explained the town’s history and culture. It was fascinating to see Poland from a native’s perspective and get a feel for what life was like for Piotr’s family.
 
As the sun was setting we returned to the house and Janina insisted she cook us something for dinner and before I knew it, I was once again sitting at a table filled full of food. I told Janina two crepes would suffice, but she insisted I needed three. Polish grandma’s are tough salesmen. When dinner was finished, we remained sitting around the table so we could talk.

…

Piotr had explained my project to his grandmother and she agreed to share her stories with me, which Piotr could translate. The night was getting late so I decided to start with a direct question:
 
If you could give one piece of advice to young adults, what would it be?
 
I had no idea how the conversation would go, and realized I was holding my breath as Piotr took a moment to collect his thoughts and translate. Janina pondered the question for a moment before providing an answer I anxiously waited for Piotr to explain.

Be very friendly to others, do good things; help.

…

Janina is 86 years old, which means she was 18 when the Germans invaded Poland at the start of WWII. The invasion, which would last five years, spurred several rebellion movements, which Janina quickly joined. Her involvement duties varied, but a common task was to walk 12 kilometers to a hidden location in the woods where she would pick up bottles containing messages that would be delivered to the hospital. She never knew what the messages said, or why they were being delivered to the hospital, she was simply a messenger. 

I asked if her parents knew about the behavior and she said yes, her father and cousin were also a part of the movement. When I asked her what would have happened had she been caught she paused for a solemn moment before taking her index finger and sliding it across her neck indicating a fate I didn’t need Piotr’s translation to understand. 

As the German invasion intensified, Janina’s family was removed from their home and forced to move in with other family—seven people stuffed into a one-bedroom house while a war raged on in their backyard.

The family did their best to make the most of the situation until the Soviet’s helped liberate Poland in 1944 and the war ended in ‘45. A year later she met and married her husband, a young man that had spent nearly six years as a Polish prisoner of war. The young couple wanted to get as far away from the pain and destruction that was left once the war ended so they made a difficult move to the south of Poland where he worked in the mines and she worked as a clerk while they raised their children. A few years later, their daughter fell ill so Janina and her husband packed up their stuff and moved back to Nowe Miasto to be closer to family. 

Although the war was over, Janine’s struggles were not—she still face life under the new communist regime, lived in a city trying to rebuild after great destruction, and sadly lost of her husband to cancer at age 55.

As we sat there at the kitchen table listening to Janina’s story while a small candle provided llight against the encroaching darkness of night, I was deeply moved. This wonderful old woman, not even five feet tall, had endured a life filled with continual hardship yet still had a twinkle in her eye and warmth in her smile.

When she asked Piotr is I had anymore questions, I had so many thoughts swirling through my head I couldn’t formulate a question. I could only have Piotr pass along the message that I was inspired by her incredible strength.

…

The following day I visited the Warsaw Uprising Museum to learn more about the many involved in the resistance. It is an incredible museum I appreciated even more after hearing Janina’s firsthand account.  As I wandered through the pictures and artifacts representing the horror, suffering, and imprisonment of Poland’s past, I tried putting myself in her shoes, to imagine how she must have felt, but I couldn’t. The dire state of her adolescence was far beyond what I could grasp.

However I could understand why she gave me her initial advice:

Be friendly to others, do good, help.

When you’ve been through a situation so dark—you do what you can to bring light to others. 

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