Damon West preaches “be a coffee bean”

On Sept. 17, three-time Wall Street Journal best-selling author Damon West came to Clemens Stadium and gave his speech “Be A Coffee Bean” to more than 500 CSB+SJU students.

A world-renowned motivational speaker and inspiration to many across the globe, West was able to do the same at St. John’s on Sunday night.

“You have to go through the adversity and the difficulty to find the best version of yourself,” West said.

Early on, West seemed to have it all. He grew up in Port Arthur, Texas, with his loving, Catholic family and was a talented football player.

After being a three-year varsity starter in high school, West went on to play for Division I North Texas where, at 20 years old, he became the starting quarterback. Everything seemed to be playing out in his favor.

But, on Sept. 21, 1996, in a game against Texas A&M, West suffered a career-ending injury. He quit football altogether and turned to drugs to help cope with his disappointment.

However, West was able to graduate from North Texas. After graduation, he worked in the U.S. Congress, on a U.S. presidential campaign and was later trained to be a stockbroker for the United Bank of Switzerland (UBS).

One day while working at UBS, West was asleep at his desk when a coworker found him. He took West to the parking garage where he claimed he had something that would help. This was where West was introduced to crystal meth, and the day his life was forever altered.

After just one hit, West was addicted. Then, only 18 months after this first hit, he was homeless. That was until July 30, 2008, when West was arrested in Dallas.

With his bond set to $1.4 million, all West could do was wait for his trial. After 10 months, he was finally given his trial, which only lasted six days.

The jury deliberated for 10 minutes before reaching their verdict, which found West guilty on all charges, and he was sentenced to 65 years in prison.

However, after only seven years, West was offered parole on account of his outstanding behavior and everything he did to change the prison. On Nov. 16, 2015, West walked out of prison, but he wasn’t a free man just yet. West will be on parole until 2073.

In jail and later prison, West met countless people that changed his life, but one in particular stuck out to him: Mr. Jackson.

Mr. Jackson was an intelligent man who introduced West to the story of the coffee bean.

Life is like a pot of boiling water, and you have to decide each day whether you’re going to be a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean.

You don’t want to be a carrot because the carrot will turn soft and won’t survive. To the same effect you don’t want to be an egg because the center of the egg, the egg’s heart, will harden in the boiling water.

The goal is to be a coffee bean. When a coffee bean is put into the boiling water, it changes the name of the water. The water becomes coffee. The coffee bean doesn’t just change itself, it changes the entire environment around it.

Therefore, West concluded, everyone should strive to be a coffee bean.

This event was made possible by a donor connected to St. John’s soccer.

“A family in the Johnnie soccer orbit reached out about the idea of bringing Damon to campus as they had crossed paths with him and felt he would bring a lot to Collegeville. Once I looked into his story and message, I was in full agreement on making it happen,” SJU head soccer coach John Haws said.

Haws believed West’s messages about faith, discovering opportunities, creating positive change and service connected with the hundreds of students who attended.

“It was about 30 minutes into his keynote that I had to reframe the night personally. I realized I was hearing some deeply important ideas that are going to make me a better man,” Haws said.

Sophomore Hanna Bush was able to make a connection in her own life.

“The coffee bean analogy taught me I have the capability to positively impact someone’s day, which was an inspiring new perspective to have. The way I live my life is up to me, and I am in control of how I live each day,” Bush said.

Sophomore Liz Hansen also felt impacted by West’s words.

“West talked about how important it was to allow different people into your life because they can offer you important opportunities and valuable life lessons,” Hansen said.