We recently connected with Jasmine Garcia and have shared our conversation below.

Jasmine, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Before we talk about all of your success, let’s start with a story of failure. Can you open up about a time when you’ve failed?

In the time before my business career, I worked three jobs. I could grind my way through life. But, when I began actually running the business, I faced an entirely different form of work: Thinking.

To succeed in business, more than physical, it takes mental stamina (or in Rory Vaden’s words: mental toughness). I was physically tough, but mentally weak. I ignored my fears, thought terrible of myself – it kept me from growing. It blocked the sunlight to my growth. Honest, I’m still breaking it down today, but I’m grateful for my boss, who encourages me to keep humbling myself and learning because it increases your strength. What I’m about to say next, I used to think it was stupid, too. But it’s so simple, if you can’t do it, there’s something to consider.

Mental toughness looks like this:
– Being thankful for your peers
– Being thankful for your leaders
– Trusting the process of your leaders
– Being kind to yourself as you learn
– Being patient with yourself, and
– When you need it, asking for help.

The sooner you can do this, the sooner you’ll succeed.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The owners, Jonathan & Hannah, started this business almost 4 years ago & they recently welcomed me to Gondolier Coffee, which is a mobile coffee shop. I’m the “C-O-O” or, “CEO in training”, as my boss says. We specialize in joy-bringing with the coffee bean force of Misfit Coffee (in Minneapolis, MN). They help us serve everywhere from wedding guests to corporate teams for their meetings (p.s. if you think work has to be boring, you’re missing out).

When I was in junior-high, I didn’t really care about money (well, I didn’t have any). I wanted to write songs or be a teacher. I wanted to make an impact like they did – even if it was for one student or one kid from the crowd. Then I got older and dreaded work, then did it anyway, then began to fill most of my free time with work, and I found that if I worked more I could give it away and still have leftovers. I did miss out on time with friends and family a lot. There’s no getting that time back – but you can choose to make good use of the time that you do have.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The moment I joined business, I found out how much I didn’t know. I’d only just began learning about it within a year. And though I had lots of ideas to apply, I had no cue what running a business was actually like. The mental effort, learning the skill of leading yourself – so much more.

I have to unlearn the idea that I can arrive at any point in my growth because the moment you arrive you stop growing.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I heard of this book called, The Motive by Patrick Lencioni. If you want to do something hard, read this book and don’t point to anybody but yourself. When I read it, I told everyone about it, but I failed to see how I was the bad leader who thought he was a good one. He only cared about himself and hated to admit he worked for credit and status. Patrick convinced me that a good leader reveres it and often gets no credit. But it’s valuable work that no one else can do.

A good friend told me, “You’re prideful”. I was blinded by it. I thought I was doing the right thing. That I was helping; that my criticism was ‘making them better’. But a good leader does not lead to gain for himself – his reward is in seeing those in his company thrive. For me, this is the hardest part of wanting to grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gondoliercoffee.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gondoliercoffee/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-garcia-a1b29b32b/

Image Credits

Carter Franze, Brandon Andre, Mariah Alvarez