When I first started drinking coffee I never had to wait for a cup. It seemed like a pot of coffee was always on. If that wasn’t available, instant coffee was. What I didn’t know was that the coffee was terrible.
As coffee improved, I still wanted it fast. 15 years ago, an alarm would wake my coffee pot before me. It would grind fresh beans and brew a pot so it would be waiting for me when I woke. This coffee was better but far from great.
Today, I wait for coffee.
I use specialty equipment recommended by an expert. Scales and glasswork appear as though I’m a chemist. I carefully pour water at an exact temperature over beans freshly ground at the proper grind. This coffee is worth waiting for because it’s great.
It’s great because my Roaster has visited the high mountains of Central America to meet growers. He has forged a deep relationship with his distributors allowing him to purchase some of the best beans in the world. He has spent years crafting his skills and pallet; becoming one of the elite tasters in the nation. He loves his craft and does his work every day.
Why wouldn’t I do the same? Not just with his coffee beans during my morning routine but also with my work.
The nature of work has changed in the new economy. It is increasingly a matter of personal craft. A way of showing up as the best version of oneself. In this work, we are not only compensated in cash, we derive physiological compensation by finding meaning and purpose in doing our work. It’s creative, innovative and complex. It requires mastery. It pulls us into deeper expression of self. We love it.
Products are infused with the essence of those who craft it. In some fields the product is simply the delivery of self to the market for the benefit of others. Work like this takes time. It’s worth waiting for. It benefits from maturity and wisdom. It’s vulnerable to present oneself to the market and claim the results are great. When this is true we all benefit.
Coffee that is fast but only good is still available, but I want great coffee. I want products that come from greatness.
I want to do great work.