50 Cups of Coffee — The End

photo caption: my morning cup of coffee overlooking the Rhone River in the South of France (November 2024)

50 Cups of Coffee to change your life. . . 

As we roll into February, my birthday month, I’m proud to share a personal project that also has come to have profound professional significance in my life. 

One year ago, on an impulsive whim (as I am prone to do), I launched the 50 Cups of Coffee project. 

Inspired by the Inc. magazine article, How 50 Cups of Coffee Can Change Your Life, and Mark Suster’s Why You Need to Take 50 Business Meetings, I thought this could be a fun project to celebrate my 50th year on Earth. And a good way to re-connect with others in this still-wonky post-Covid era.

The 50 Cups of Coffee website was born in a few short hours. My Calendly was set up in minutes. I grabbed the social media handles that were close enough, and rocketed this new baby out into the world. 

Then over the course of 2024, I interviewed 50 people. I chatted with good friends, family members, old colleagues, current colleagues, and even friends-of-friends. We did interviews over coffee in Portland, Oregon; on retreats in Lake Tahoe, Nevada; during trips to San Sebastian, Spain, the south of France, and New York, New York; and mostly over Zoom. I asked each person the same core 3 questions, and then simply chatted the rest of the time. 

Some conversations lasted 30-45 minutes. A few lasted over an hour. A couple lasted nearly 2 hours. In the case of almost all of them, I wish I had set aside an entire day to chat. 

A heartfelt THANK YOU to each and every person who took the time to be part of this project. What a gift you have all given to me, and to everyone reading the interviews. 

It was a sort of birthday present to myself. And it’s turned into the golden gift for my golden year. 

What I learned from my 50 Cups of Coffee:

  • We are more alike than we are different. Republican/Democrat/Independent, Catholic/Jewish/Muslim/Atheist – we all have similar fears, and for the most part, similar values.
  • Our differences can teach us so much. I spoke with people whom I fundamentally disagree with on important topics, and learned so much. While sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes painful, when we allow others to hold up a mirror to ourselves, we’re forced to question everything familiar. And that’s a beautiful thing. A gift of humanity is the ability to step into someone else’s shoes and consider: maybe we’re wrong. Or at least, maybe we should think about this from a different angle.
  • We all agree: current billionaires are greedy bastards. With an exception: female billionaires. So many conversations revolved around the stark difference in the way that the world’s most outspoken male billionaires spend their money as opposed to the philanthropy work that some of the world’s most visible female billionaires spend their money on.
  • Travel is integral to empathy, and it should be more accessible to everyone. These interviews reinforced my passion for travel and sharing glimpses of the world with those who may never get to experience it for themselves.
  • We can never give up on each other. Around election time and after, there was a definite shift in the mood of the interviews and in some answers. A common fear that rose to the surface, an uncertainty, an anxiety, a pain. But also: shards of fierce light glinting in the broken glass from fallen expectations, and mists of hope lingering through thick fogs of sadness. That light, that hope — I saw it in everyone, and know that we need to keep those things alive.
  • There are so many good people doing the quiet work. The world may go crazy, but there are still so many good people willing to believe, to work for the good to prevail. I’m so fortunate to know many of these dreamers who are doers, these renegade harborers of hope who are somewhat silently changing the world.
  • More and more people are working to LIVE, rather than living to work. This was evident in how many people answered the third question with a version of “my life wouldn’t change that much” if they had unlimited funds. Every time I heard that, my heart did a little dance. I love seeing people living a life that they designed, living for now, and appreciating the life they have created.

I’ll be honest: for most of the year, I didn’t believe I would make it to all 50 cups of coffee. While it began as a fun project that I wanted to do without any stress, deadlines, and without worrying about monetizing — something personal, lighthearted and fun — I knew I would have a hard time with that.

And I did.

Is this going to be your next podcast?

Are you turning this into a new book?

Those were the two most asked questions, especially from those who know me well and know that of course I’m going to turn it into something beside just a website. Right? 

Not this time. At least, not for now. For now, my 50 Cups of Coffee project is done and dusted. I’m proud of myself for letting this personal project remain personal; something enriching just for me — and, hopefully, also for all of you. 

I hope you take the time to read through a few, if not all, of the 50 Cups of Coffee interviews. These are amazing human beings who opened up and shared pieces of their souls. I am so honored to know them. 

And with that, I look forward to turning one year older later this month. Perhaps with a new project? 

Always. Always. Always 😉

More Coffee Chats