Tyson Adams left a well-paid sales job in Seattle, bought a one-way ticket to Asia, and had a “crazy” dream about importing coffee to finance community efforts in Laos. He has now built a successful social business called Jhai Coffeehouse that not only supports local coffee farmers, but also finances essential wells for clean water in Laos.
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In this episode of A Congruent Life, Tyson shares about:
- deciding to leave his sales job and buy a one-way ticket to travel,
- the spiritual awakening and subsequent dream that he had about using import proceeds for education in Laos,
- learning about the wellness benefits of meditation and seeking out teachers in Asia,
- the insight about being less afraid of the unknown than having the known come to an end,
- learning to listen to his intuition to step outside his comfort zone and trust his internal compass,
- some of the setbacks he experienced getting into the coffee business and doing business in an unfamiliar culture,
- the experience of starting a nonprofit and seeking a sustainable source of funds,
- embracing a “social business” model, in which the business is operated for profit, but the profits are dedicated to philanthropic goals.
Links
- Jhai Coffeehouse
- Jhai Coffeehouse on Facebook
- Jhai Coffeehouse on Twitter
- Matthieu Ricard: Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill on Amazon
- Brene Brown: The Power of Vulnerability, Listening to Shame (TED talks)
- Brene Brown: Daring Greatly on Amazon
Tyson Adam: thank you and all of the people who worked on getting us that delicious coffee. Yum yum. I have enjoyed it very much. When can we order more? What you have done, and are doing is wonderful. Your management style, the way you handled the problem with staff, is commendable. You are a true Misfit. Thank you.
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Inspiring interview. It’s great to see someone doing what’s right and not just chasing money.