He led a fast-track life. Only 30 years old he founded a tech company leading the hard-driving life of a tech entrepreneur. Until one day he felt terrible. Queasy. Out of sorts.
He checked into an emergency room. His heart was racing at 170. He was on the verge of a heart attack.
After they settled him down, the doctor came in for a chat. What’s your lifestyle? Hmmm. How much coffee do you drink? Seven cups a day??
He was limited to half-a-cup per day. How am I going to get by on that? Where will my productivity come from? I need a safer stimulant.
So, he experimented and researched and eventually arrived at a concoction a few varieties of dried mushrooms, turmeric, and a variety of herbs and spices. He made it in his kitchen while still running the other business giving to friends to get their feedback. It is now his business. It’s called Magic Mind. I neither recommend it or advise against it. But his idea was a productivity booster without the caffeine.
I love the taste of coffee. Well, not all coffee. I’m a bit of a coffee snob. I drink Starbucks, but I find the coffee beans to have been over-roasted and scorched. Not the best drink. Must be why people mostly modify it with sugar and milk.
But I never noticed any productivity enhancement from coffee. I did notice once after we had purchased an espresso machine that chugging four shots of espresso was a bad idea! And, by the way, in general dark roast coffees have less caffeine than light roast coffees.
I wonder if we need the stimulant, or do we think we need the stimulant? I wonder this about a lot of things. Is school cafeteria food really bad, or are we just supposed to think it’s bad and therefore complain? Did you just come away from a high religious experience, or do you convince yourself that you must present to others a personality of high religious experience otherwise they won’t think you’re religious?
So, I wonder, how much do we feel that we need a stimulant to get going in the morning or how much do we really need the chemical?
It always seems to return to attitude and awareness. Are we aware of how our mind and how chemicals play with us? Can we cultivate the attitude of change to shed the negative aspects?
Oh, I’m drinking “Cafe Diego” this morning that Hemisphere Coffee Roasters buys directly from the Chavarria farm in Nicaragua. I have had the opportunity to meed Diego Chavarria and hear the story of the struggle of coffee farmers. If you can buy direct trade, please do so.
Faith Venture 
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