Not Your Average Cup of Joe: Rough or Fine Grind, It's Your Life, So Make The Change, One Cup of Joe at a Time

By Joseph Braithwaite

Worried you're an average Joe? You're not. Every single person has a unique and admirable quality or many! Parlaying these qualities – whether you excel in finance, construction, strategy development or simply at making great coffee – can, and when you leverage them, will lead you to succeed beyond your highest hopes.
In Not Your Average Cup of Joe, Joseph Braithwaite inspires with his own life story of rising from hardship, overcoming adversity and becoming a successful leader, how he decided to take charge of his life during the time it took to drink just one cup of coffee, and how YOU can do the same. This book includes real-life examples of successful, determined people from within a range of industries that will inspire confidence in YOU and boost your can-do spirit. Joseph explores, in an
engagingly conversational tone, the value of personal presence, differentiation, and how offering, and believing in, a unique YOU is the key to achieving your goals.
This practical and motivational book highlights four key areas to set you on the road to success:
- The importance of grit and how to leverage it
- The power of mentorship, and how to find the right one for you
- The understanding of the real you, and why you are so important
- The need to believe in you, regardless of what others believe
After reading Not Your Average Cup of Joe, you will be on your first 'cup' to success, and you will never consider yourself an 'average joe' again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joseph Braithwaite
• Release date: Jan 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781773704081

Joseph Braithwaite

I'm just a small town guy who got tired of seeing people 'Stuck' in their lives. I was fortunate enough to see the challenges I had early on and took corrective action to address them...many don't...and that is where this book comes in!

Book preview

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For those who have had a tough time

and need a little help pulling themselves back up

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Being Original

Chapter 2: You’re More Than Average. So What?

Chapter 3: Don’t Just Sit There, Do Something

Chapter 4: Make Your Own Luck

Chapter 5: Dreams Need A Strategy

Chapter 6: Don’t Be A Quitter: Show Your Grit

Chapter 7: Find A Mentor

Chapter 8: Good Leader Not A Good Follower

Chapter 9: GRIT Will Always Get You Farther Than IQ

Chapter 10: Being You And Why It Matters

Read What I Read

Acknowledgment For The Leaders In My Life

Author’s Bio

Introduction

Through the years I have focused not on my failures or misfortunes, but on what I learned from those experiences, and how I can use those lessons to make my life and the lives of others better. Most of those lessons didn’t come pain-free though; my emotional scars are hidden but still cut deep. When I was young, my stepfather used to laughingly shoot hockey pucks at me with a broom, saying I might as well quit if I could not stop his broom shots. These actions shaped and changed what I thought about hockey, about him, and about how someone else’s negativity can detrimentally influence on your self-esteem. At the same time, these actions honed some of the resiliency skills (skills developed to support self-confidence and positive thinking) I knew I would have to master to be successful in this life. Failures and misfortunes are not something we seek, but they are inevitable, even invaluable, as they prepare us for the challenges life tosses our way.

An accumulation of challenges, rather than any single one, shape who we are on both conscious and subconscious levels. My life experiences have ranged from sleeping in a cardboard box behind a strip mall to collaborating with CEOs of North American

corporations in boardrooms, to every possible step in between, all while maintaining my sense of self.

These experiences have honed my views and opinions in many different ways. Some of these views and opinions align with those of the mass majority of people, but many may not. This book was written for people like you and me to read, learn a little, and enjoy. For some of you, various elements might hit too close to home. This book is not intended to create animosity nor cause you to question your life; it is designed as a guide so that you can change what you dislike about your life and, in doing so, live the fullest life possible. This book will encourage you to ponder your own beliefs, challenge your thinking, and hopefully inspire you to make changes to move you closer to fulfillment. This book is not intended to challenge your knowledge, skills or faith but to simply create the opportunity to engage in a discussion without causing offense to anyone. What do we know? What can we learn? How do we see the world? These are the questions of life we all face and, hopefully, this book can help point to some answers.

I have used these questions as well in my past, through my experiences in developing both the personal and professional side of the brand called Joseph Braithwaite. My experiences were the driving factors behind my WINS and successes; they forced me out of my comfort zone and forced me to stretch my boundaries. When I competed in bodybuilding, I stood on a stage, nearly naked, striking poses to show my best image. This experience taught me that, while it can be helpful to have a team to build you up, the work still has to come from within, from the desire and the belief that anything is possible. Success is all you. Experiences like this, and many others in my life, are one reason why I have an exceptional mindset, strong work ethic, and an overwhelming belief in people. These beliefs are not unusual or novel to only me, as we all have similar thought processes through our lives. What makes all of us unique, though, is how we have applied these lessons and beliefs in our lives.

I have named the book Not Your Average Cup of Joe for the simple reason that I am a working-class guy who just wouldn’t give up on his dreams. I need a shot of java in the mornings to get me moving just like most of you reading. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, nor did I have a scholarship to an Ivy League university. I did it all the hard way, just like you, like your brothers and sisters, friends and family members. The main reason for my success has nothing to do with status or glass ceilings but with the determination to drive forward when the going gets tough, when everything seems lost, and when no one believes in you anymore. I am not better than anyone; I just learned how to overcome adversity in some unique ways, ways that I will share with you. I chose the analogy of a cup of coffee because the time it takes to drink a single cup—while you ponder your situation, while you discuss a problem with a friend, while you build a relationship—is all that is needed to change you and your relationships. Those changes you make can change the world. Many years of coffee drinking have helped me transform who I was by enriching my relationships and creating instant bonds with people from many walks of life. My views on life were shaped over those discussions, and much of my knowledge was gained while staying awake with a cup of coffee in hand completing a term paper or working the graveyard shift somewhere. The switch that told me it is time to change my path was directly related to a good cup of joe.

My goal with this book is to inspire others to want something more and to challenge the status quo of their lives so that together we can build better businesses, better lives, and a better tomorrow. I have written this book in an easy-to-follow, conversational style, with learning elements, motivational components, and with an overarching theme of positive movement towards making a greater you. This is about you as well as me, and about how we got to where we are, and how we can keep moving forward. Each chapter will provide a new view, a new story, and a new opportunity to realize that there are others who have followed your path and won, just like