How To Be A Coffee Bean: 111 Life-Changing Ways To Create Positive Change

by Jon Gordon

Create positive and lasting change in your life with proven concepts from The Coffee Bean

In How to be a Coffee Bean, bestselling coauthors of The Coffee Bean, Jon Gordon and Damon West, present 111 simple and effective strategies to help you lead a coffee bean lifestyle―one full of healthy habits, encouragement, and genuine happiness. From athletes to students and executives, countless individuals have been inspired by The Coffee Bean message. Now, How to be a Coffee Bean teaches you how to put The Coffee Bean philosophy into action to help you create real and lasting change in your life.

How to be a Coffee Bean presents thought-provoking ideas to help you create positive change, including:

How to fuel your mind, body, and soul to energize yourself and others
How to make a difference in the lives of others every day
How to look for opportunities to be a messenger of hope and perseverance through your background, experiences, successes, and failures
Easy to implement, practical, proven, and highly effective, How to be a Coffee Bean shows you how to put the powerful lessons from The Coffee Bean into practice. It’s a must-read for anyone looking to live their best life and impact and transform the people and environment around them.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Personal Development, Art, Leadership

256 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2023

About the author

Jon Gordon is an American business consultant and author on the topics of leadership, culture, sales, and teamwork.

Jon Gordon's best-selling books and talks have inspired readers and audiences around the world. His principles have been put to the test by numerous NFL, NBA, and college coaches and teams, Fortune 500 companies, school districts, hospitals and non-profits. He is the author of The Wall Street Journal bestseller The Energy Bus, The No Complaining Rule, Training Camp, The Shark and The Goldfish, Soup, The Seed and his latest The Positive Dog. Jon and his tips have been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox and Friends and in numerous magazines and newspapers. His clients include The Atlanta Falcons, Campbell Soup, Wells Fargo, State Farm, Novartis, Bayer and more.

Jon is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a Masters in Teaching from Emory University. He and his training/consulting company are passionate about developing positive leaders, organizations and teams.

When he's not running through airports or speaking, you can find him playing tennis or lacrosse with his wife and two "high energy" children.

You can find him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jongordonpage

Reviews

[Amanda NEVER MANDY · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another one of my “husband purchased it for his work, and I borrowed it for my work” reads. The book was small, the pages were few, and the print was large. I was able to start and finish it in less than an hour, making it a quick and easy way to earn education credit.

What I did not like: Most of the content was no brainer stuff that has been shared multiple times in multiple other ways. It needed to have a little more originality to make it stand out.

Top two nuggets of wisdom:

“5 Be a Thermostat, Not a Thermometer” & “110 Take the High Road”

(I did not share the words of wisdom under each nugget because the book is small, and I did not want to take from its limited content. If you are interested in knowing more, buy/borrow the book from somewhere.)

Three stars to an average cup of coffee read.

[Dimitri · Rating 5 out of 5]

📕 Why (Not) to read this book (Target Audience)

Short book with some terrific tips in a list of 111 with the main guideline "Think Positive"

👀 How this book changed my daily live (Takeaways)

1. Dont seek happiness, seek purpose and passion, as they are the pathway to happiness
2. Transformation happens from the inside out. Believe in and be a miracle.
3. Life is a university where everyone is a teacher, which teaches to do something the wrong way or the correct way.
4. Value Time, by making the most off time you have, think like a newcomer, to be relieved from the past

⁉ Spoiler Alerts (Highlights)

Be the pharmacy: release happy chemicals in others
- Smile, and laugh - Endorphins
- Give, and add value - Dopamine
- Compliment, show gratitude & integrity - Serotonine
- Provide positive gossip, forgive - Oxytocin

[Brian Viole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

Paraphrasing here- "Life is like a boiling hot pot of water. You have a choice you can be a carrot and soften or like and egg and harden. Be a coffee bean and turn that hot water into a delicious coffee that many can enjoy."

Change the water is a fantastic perspective shift.

Extremely quick read- full of principles geared to turn you into a coffee bean and help positively change your life and your impact. Also full of cliches. I understand the principles in the book will help make your impact greater, I just found myself craving a unique perspective.

[Lila · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's alright, but would have been better as a desk calendar

I saw this book in a list of books to read, so grabbed it up. While the messages are good, I felt this would have benefited me more in the form of a desk calendar where you get to rip off the daily page and receive your message of an item to improve upon.
Two stars because I didn't gain any new insights or actionables, but I believe it would help someone who wants quick actions to start bettering themselves.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super quick read! If you don’t like clichés then don’t read this because it’s chock full of them. I however am a Pollyanna. What can I say? I choose to look for the positive even in negative situations. Much of the content I have heard before, but there were nuggets of new wisdom sprinkled throughout. This book served as an encouragement for me. I will probably reference it from time to time when I need a pick me up or the reminder to look on the bright side of life.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a super quick read, large print and all positive encouragement. You want to re-read the content again and again.

Author described the prison as a pot of boiling water. You can be the carrot, which turns soft; be like the egg, which turns hard; or be like the coffee bean, which transforms the water into coffee. The power is inside oneself.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun quick read. Get your notebook out. Not down notes. Review and then apply. Rinse and repeat. Lots of value here. Just bite of 4-5 at a time and proactive them until they become rituals and habits and start again.

[Caryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommend to read The Coffee Bean first to understand the back story of the 111 ways. Love the format of this book.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in 2017 when I was at Clemson, Dabo came and gave a coffee bean talk to the band. I love the references to Clemson and Dabo in this. It’s a good book, and really inspiring.

[Claire Castellanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great audiobook! I need to read their first book now

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some terrific messages to keep in mind for sure; however, I didn't see the connections between them and a coffee bean.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt a little toxic positivity from this… but I haven’t read the original book so maybe I’d feel differently if I had.

[Ghada Sweidan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of best book i ever read…simple, realistic, at any mode you are , just open the book and wherever page you get, just read it…easy words and hit the meaning

[Megan Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

audiobook. Now purchased with an audible credit. Excellent!!!

[David Roesener · Rating 5 out of 5]

A practical easy read and a good companion to the original coffee bean book

[Leigh Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very practical guide for being the very best person you were meant to be.

[David Finer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book so cliche. Nothing I hadn’t already heard before. Disappointed to say the least.

[Jacqueline Carrillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interested

[Jeffrey Bush · Rating 4 out of 5]

Motivational with practical tips.

[Maresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for being a very short read with an inspirational message and great quotes to live by.

[Megan Quinn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I understand the purpose of this book, and the premise is fine. I just can't get over how it feels like toxic positivity in the way it offers its insight. Maybe it's just me.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but intelligent, useful book that can be read over and over again to remind yourself how to be a coffee bean. Also would make a great gift!

[Cici · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, encouraging read:) I read it in one day. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

[Aaron Culley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I book that could have been written in one paragraph, Who Moved My Cheese is far better

[Erin Mahmood · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of oversimplified advice on how to be a positive influence. Sure it had a few witty moments, but generally it was just rehashed positive affirmations we have heard a million times before.

[Lily Garza Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great life tips. Now I want to read other books from Jon Gordon and Damon West. Very easy read.

[Adam Jarvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, cliche, inspirational quotes.

[Miranda]

I had to read this for work but a book is a book and it’ll now be included in my 2025 reading challenge🫡

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professional development education course text.

[Drucilla Longbrake]

Amazing book for the work environment