Coffee and The Yacht

Life flows through a progression. You are born. You grow up. From toddler to child, to teen, to adult. You move away and live your own life away from your parents. You embark on your career. You start your own family. You raise your family. Your family grows up. You become an empty nester. Progression. From one rung on the ladder of life to the next you go. Always climbing and always moving forward. Each major event in the future catches your eye. Regardless of the progression of life, life isn’t meant to be lived always hoping for and wanting that next progression. Life is meant to be enjoyed in the now. Life is meant to be cherished for the present moment and everything you are currently doing. Your outlook on life doesn’t always need to be focused on what’s next when it should be focused on what’s now.

Part of this progression and focus on what’s to come is based on the fixation on obtaining status. A fast car. A big house. An attractive and intelligent spouse. An assortment of nice clothes and watches in your closet. The ability to travel when you please. All nice items and realities to have. But all, speaking about the material items, won’t fulfill you by themselves.

Naval sums up this desire to progress through life perfectly: “If you can’t be happy with a coffee, you won’t be happy with a yacht.”

This isn’t to say your desire to have these items is wrong. People like nice things. It’s wrong to obsess only about chasing these items. Many times after obtaining these items that void of desire inside of you that you expected to be filled will open again—seeking that next thing. Stop thinking you’ll find happiness and fulfillment when you achieve that next piece of status. The status and the things you think give you status won’t give you sustained happiness or fulfillment. Happiness and fulfillment are found in what you’re doing, not what you have.

What you’re doing is the present moment. It’s your passions, pursuits, and chase of purpose. It’s how you lead your daily life. Finding happiness and fulfillment can be found in any small thing regardless of the perceived status it can bring. If making your coffee every morning is something you take pride in, those 5 minutes where you engage in the ritual of preparation, construction, and taste, you can find moments of pride, fulfillment, and happiness. Big moments in life are easy to glamorize but rarely happen. Find something small that’s repeatable and that you enjoy, and glamorize it. By learning to appreciate, love, and fulfill yourself with the small things in life, your sense of self-worth and individual status will naturally grow. The appreciation you have for whatever your “coffee” is will ensure you are able to appreciate the larger things in life while also focusing on the present. Appreciate the “coffee” now to appreciate the “yacht” when it comes your way.