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The Starbucks Brother and Early Adult Surprises

How can this Starbucks employee be making such an impact? Does he really love working at Starbucks that much? I mean he’s no young kid, maybe late twenties, early thirties and he doesn’t seem like the Starbucks-lifer type either.

As I watch him continue to do his thing, I begin imagining this guy’s story, thinking about what maybe led him here. Maybe this guy had a good job selling Priuses or new homes or something, but the Great Recession and a jerk of a boss kind of did him in. Maybe he got into a little bit of debt and there in his late twenties he kind of just had to hit the reset button. Maybe he even moved back into his parents’ house and was living in the basement. Yeah, and maybe he can’t really afford a good car so he drives around in an old car that can only go for two miles before it starts to overheat. And yet, the car has no working heat. It overheats but has no heat. Of course! And that’s something to imagine because we are in Colorado and it’s frigid-freezing outside.

I’m doing what writers do and I’m making up this elaborate, crazy story about this guy who really doesn’t want to be working at Starbucks at all and yet is making this big impact in people’s lives, and then I notice him limp a little. Oh yeah, and this guy only has one leg too! I’m giggling to myself now because I’m creating a Hallmark character here. This story is way too good, way too unbelievable to be true.

I sit there amazed. And severely humbled.

Because the whole story is in fact true. Even the part about him having one leg.

Because the Starbucks employee is my brother. And if anyone knows his story, it’s me.

I know that my brother struggles going to work most days, especially when it’s 4:00 a.m. and his alarm clock is going off. And I know that standing up all day on his prosthetic leg hurts him more than he’ll ever let on. And I’m sure that some days he wishes he was working somewhere else.

Yet a long time ago and then every single day since, he’s made the very intentional and radical decision to bring the very best of him to work, even though his work is not always the best.

All my complaining, all my excuses and justifications on why I deserve to give my job 50 percent because I’ve decided it’s only 50 percent my dream job, well, those excuses don’t seem to stand for very long next to the Mayor of Starbucks.

A minimalist graphic on a gray background. In the top right, the number “49” is in a slanted, medium-gray font. Below in bold black text is the quote: “The biggest surprise about becoming an adult that no one ever talks about… Adulthood. Never. Stops.”

Growing up in school we were conditioned to live in defined periods of time. Push ourselves for a semester, pull some all-nighters, cram, chug a six-pack of Mountain Dew and wear our pajamas for three days straight, take those grueling finals, then bam. You’re selling your books back for $17.33, driving across country—on to summer break, on to something new, on to a complete change. Adulthood is the opposite. It’s the Energizer Bunny—it just keeps going and going and … every day can feel very similar to the last. Thus, the importance of working very hard in your twenties to begin building a life where you enjoy the day. The average day. Like Bill Murray playing Phil Connors in Groundhog Day—who is stuck living the same day in small town Punxsutawney over and over again. He only moves on to the next day when he finally accepts the day and makes the most of the mundane, yet magical day he was living. Your average day is going to repeat itself for quite a few days over and over again. So you might as well work your best to construct days you enjoy and then take time to enjoy them for what they are, instead of constantly wishing they were something else.

A minimalist graphic on a gray background. In the top right, the number “50” is in a slanted, medium-gray font. Below in bold black text is the quote: “Everyone is too busy putting a PR spin on their own lives to care too much about yours.”

Want to know the secret of what the majority of people care about the most? Themselves. Their appearance, their profession, their future, their LPA—Level of Perceived Awesome. People pore over their lives, reading the fine print and dissecting every detail. They only give your life a cursory glance. We spend so much energy worrying about what other people think, when honestly they’re not really thinking about us at all. We spend so much time making our lives look virtually appealing, when maybe we should spend more time, you know, actually making our lives be appealing. Don’t live for them. Focus on achieving your own Personal Records and not on posting your own PR.

练习题

What is the main lesson the narrator draws from his brother’s work at Starbucks?

A. A job is only worth doing well if it is a person’s dream job.

B. A person can intentionally bring their best effort to imperfect work.

C. Customer service jobs are easier than most office jobs.

D. Adults should avoid jobs that require early morning shifts.

In the passage, why do the narrator’s excuses for giving only partial effort at work become less convincing?

A. Because his brother’s commitment makes those excuses look weak by comparison.

B. Because his brother tells him that Starbucks is the perfect career for everyone.

C. Because the narrator decides that difficult jobs should always be quit immediately.

D. Because the narrator realizes that adulthood is exactly like summer break.

Which contrast best captures the author’s point about school and adulthood?

A. School has no deadlines, while adulthood is full of final exams.

B. School trains people to expect defined seasons and breaks, while adulthood keeps going without clear pauses.

C. School is always enjoyable, while adulthood is always miserable.

D. School teaches independence, while adulthood removes all responsibility.

Which statements are consistent with the passage’s advice about adult life? Select all that apply.

A. Since average days repeat, people should work to construct days they can enjoy.

B. Adults should constantly wish their ordinary days were something else.

C. Making the most of mundane days can make them meaningful.

D. Enjoying the average day matters because adulthood does not regularly stop for dramatic resets.

E. Adult life is best handled by waiting passively for the next big break.

Which choices reflect the combined message of this section and the earlier idea that comfort can cost growth? Select all that apply.

A. A job that is not perfect can still be a place to practice commitment and growth.

B. If work is comfortable and undemanding, it may prevent learning and self-discovery.

C. The best response to imperfect work is always to give only half effort.

D. Constructing better average days can include choosing challenges that refine who you are.

E. Comfortable work is automatically better than demanding work because it avoids discomfort.

The narrator suggests that adulthood often feels repetitive because each average day can feel very similar to the last.

The reference to Phil Connors in Groundhog Day supports the idea that a person should reject ordinary life until something exciting replaces it.

According to the later knowledge points, people usually study every detail of your life as closely as they study their own.

The quote in the section says, “Adulthood. Never. ___.”

Explain how the brother’s behavior at Starbucks connects to the idea that genuine attention builds connection.

How do the ideas “make life appealing instead of just looking appealing” and “construct days you enjoy” reinforce each other?

Which choice best explains why the Starbucks employee becomes such a powerful example to the narrator?

A. He proves that a job must be a dream job before a person can affect others positively.

B. He shows that bringing genuine care and one's best effort to imperfect work can create meaningful connection.

C. He succeeds mainly because customers have very low expectations for Starbucks employees.

D. He avoids the repetitive parts of adulthood by treating every workday as a temporary school semester.

Which statements combine the lesson about adulthood's repetition with the earlier warning about comfortable work?

A. Because adulthood often repeats, people should intentionally build average days they can actually enjoy.

B. A comfortable job that demands nothing can still be harmful because it removes challenge and growth.

C. If work is not a dream job, giving only partial effort is the healthiest response.

D. Repetitive adult routines make it more important to choose habits and work patterns that do not quietly drain or stagnate you.

E. The best way to handle adulthood is to wait for a clear summer-break-like reset before making changes.

The narrator's excuses for giving only partial effort become weaker once he realizes that the same employee who listens intently to customers is also choosing daily commitment despite pain and imperfect work.

Instead of living for public approval, the author suggests focusing on personal records and on actually making life ___, which connects to constructing average days you can enjoy.

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