I often find myself imagining a world
that was different what if we all lived
in harmony what if there was no hunger
food shortage what if we weren’t making
such an impact on global climate change
and what if social care reform NHS
crisis weren’t in the headlines but when
I think of these things
I get so overwhelmed because they’re so
large how can I make an impact on it
national and international issues with
this in mind and a sequence of events a
few years ago my mindset changed after
making a decision to go and live and
work in New Zealand we drove to a small
town on the east coast we had no friends
over there we had no job we just had
myself my wife a hire car on a small
tent but through a friend of a friend we
got connected to a family who just tuck
is under their wings the very first day
we met them we were invited for lunch
following that we had many days of great
tasting coffees great conversations and
within a week we were completely plugged
into a community there was no need for
anyone to do this and in one sense it
all seemed so small but this became the
point the fact that they decided to take
these small actions drastically changed
our experience in New Zealand but also
my outlook on life and the impact I
could make in this world I didn’t have
to get overwhelmed by the large things
and the big things how most small daily
decisions impact me and also impact
those around me with this in mind and
also other research that had pointed me
to the fact that small things have big
impact the environmental theory of the
butterfly effect can a kind of tornado
really be caused by the flapping of a
butterfly’s wings across the other side
of the world or in the context of a
business decision a palette drive is the
decision to pick up an extra pallet on
run seemed rather meaningless and small
in that local context but in the global
context of the business the knock-on
effect of rescheduling further space and
another delivery has significant impacts
and the finances and operations of that
business therefore a global impact that
small local decision with this in mind I
group of friends and I got together to
dream up an idea how could we change the
world inspired by the Steve Jobs quote
the troublemakers the misfits the square
pegs the ones who think they can change
the world the ones who do things
differently are often the ones who do
and these words resonated with me can i
really make a difference i was also
inspired by history
what if Martin Luther King had never had
a dream would civil-rights be the same
today or Thomas Edison’s persistence at
making a long-lasting commercially
viable lightbulb to name a few
what about us what was our idea why not
open a coffee shop we were going to
change the world with a coffee shop
really
but our experience in New Zealand
observations and social trends and my
faith really made me think that I was
desperate for community we were
desperate for community and society was
desperate for community and after many
years it was time to bring the London
coffee scene to Wales celebrating local
ingredients geeking out on every
espresso that was poured we were
passionate for the small details the
small things were the big impact because
we really believed this would be what
made our business it success but also
the impact of our customers and knows we
wanted to support the fact that every
single cup of coffee that was is weighed
within our shop basically meant that we
really thought that we would get more
customers because they had consistency
with their coffee which had an impact on
more income which would have an impact
on more jobs which have an impact on our
city but also the fact that would be
able to generate more
money to give away to those people we
needed our vision group because I really
wanted to taste good coffee but also I
had friends who worked with the homeless
in Swansea and I could see how small
donations made a big impact in their
work I had friends who worked on the
streets of Kenya rescuing street
children and small donations went a long
way therefore why not use our profits
why not our business make an impact for
them therefore our business started
let’s really be passionate about the
small things let’s get out on the small
things let’s see how these small things
make a big impact in our business but on
a global context and I just wanted to
share two principles that become a
driving force behind what we do in the
PEC firstly think global what does every
decision I have having a global in a
global context
I don’t always mean in a geographical
but in there in the context of my local
and my larger decision for example if my
daughter had a way we’d eat ice cream
every single day of the year it would be
an absolute pleasure and a delight to
experience that however I’m fairly sure
the the knock-on effect and the
cumulative impact of having ice cream
every day would be rather detrimental to
my health and also to hurt therefore a
global mindset to a local decision also
what if I decided to only buy from large
chains with great discounts on imported
food that local decision impacts me and
my immediate finances but the global
context has a detrimental impacts for
local producers local suppliers and
local economy therefore a real negative
impact eventually on my area where I
live and my economy and in the context
of our business how do those small
decisions of someone’s looking out for
someone’s well-being or supporting a
local supplier
really have an impact imagine the
multiple impact of multiple businesses
multiple in
vigils having this mentality is not just
about me myself and I secondly as crazy
as it seems
I really believe we’ll never meet anyone
who shouldn’t be loved despite the pain
and the headlines we see around us
I would love to imagine a world that was
different research often points us to
the the fact that a disconnect or a
frustration or an extreme behavior in
someone is often a result of a feeling
of an unloved a disconnect a rejection
in society research also points us to
the fact that despite food and water
humans greatest needs are to be loved
accepted and in relationship and to be
esteemed therefore what if we had a
mentality of family how would that
impact society and how would we do that
in our business we don’t have customers
or clients in the pagan we have friends
we don’t have a staff work force we have
a staff family we don’t just ask your
name when you take an order we generally
care about who you are and how you’re
doing we want to see the best in people
we want to see each and every person in
society as a family member we have a
passion for family relationship and
attention to detail and this is a
driving force behind what we do we care
about people and we care about the
supply chain every single cup of coffee
is thought of in a global context every
single cup of coffee is thought with a
loving mentality because every single
cup of coffee has beans that are sauce
ethically the support the region they’re
grown in there has local milk that
supports the local sub economy there has
compostable materials in the takeaway
cups in order to reduce our
environmental footprint and any profit
that is left is given to those who need
need it greater than ourselves either in
the streets of Swansea or the streets of
Kenya can we really make an impact on
those small decisions
also the care for people I’ll never
forget a story of one of our regulars
who came in for a slice of cake and a
cup of tea she was having a really tough
time and and the baristas at a time just
asked her how are you doing and
genuinely cared about this lady anyway
from one visit to another visit to
several days later and many many more
visits we got to we found out that this
lady had had a tragic loss in her family
and a completely crushed her and through
love and acceptance through
conversations and through other
customers buying her tea and cake we
were able to walk with this lady on a
journey of recovery of restoration and
she found a place to belong and feel
esteemed and supported not only that our
shop simply started by this love and
support of people in Swansea we had an
idea and a pen in our pocket I didn’t
have any friends in London with big bank
accounts I didn’t have a big capital
fund I could access we simply started
through crowdfunding free builders free
designers free furniture free marketing
through pretty much everything because
people loved us people wanted to see our
idea prosper their city prosper but also
those we wanted to impact prosper what
if we looked out for our neighbors in
the same way what if we had the mindset
of family in our neighborhood would this
in turn have a positive impact on the
financial pressure of the social care
system because people felt loved
supported esteemed what have given
someone a second chance in life who was
really finding life challenging in turn
really impacts their life for the
positive and also those around them what
could be if we went that step further if
I was to make a positive impact in
someone’s life today and for the next 33
years and in turn they made a positive
impact in another person and another
person and so on and so on within 33
years this whole planet can be reached
with that seed that I’ve planted
today could this world be different so
why not be the square pegs why not be
the troublemakers the misfits the ones
who think they can change the world
because I genuinely believe the reality
is we can our small daily local
decisions do have large consequences on
a global scale and a small decision to
simply love someone make them feel
accepted and esteemed I really do
believe can change their mindset and
their lifestyle that’s not right off
this planet just yet let’s all start
making small decisions and actions and
let’s see what happens
[Applause]
that was different what if we all lived
in harmony what if there was no hunger
food shortage what if we weren’t making
such an impact on global climate change
and what if social care reform NHS
crisis weren’t in the headlines but when
I think of these things
I get so overwhelmed because they’re so
large how can I make an impact on it
national and international issues with
this in mind and a sequence of events a
few years ago my mindset changed after
making a decision to go and live and
work in New Zealand we drove to a small
town on the east coast we had no friends
over there we had no job we just had
myself my wife a hire car on a small
tent but through a friend of a friend we
got connected to a family who just tuck
is under their wings the very first day
we met them we were invited for lunch
following that we had many days of great
tasting coffees great conversations and
within a week we were completely plugged
into a community there was no need for
anyone to do this and in one sense it
all seemed so small but this became the
point the fact that they decided to take
these small actions drastically changed
our experience in New Zealand but also
my outlook on life and the impact I
could make in this world I didn’t have
to get overwhelmed by the large things
and the big things how most small daily
decisions impact me and also impact
those around me with this in mind and
also other research that had pointed me
to the fact that small things have big
impact the environmental theory of the
butterfly effect can a kind of tornado
really be caused by the flapping of a
butterfly’s wings across the other side
of the world or in the context of a
business decision a palette drive is the
decision to pick up an extra pallet on
run seemed rather meaningless and small
in that local context but in the global
context of the business the knock-on
effect of rescheduling further space and
another delivery has significant impacts
and the finances and operations of that
business therefore a global impact that
small local decision with this in mind I
group of friends and I got together to
dream up an idea how could we change the
world inspired by the Steve Jobs quote
the troublemakers the misfits the square
pegs the ones who think they can change
the world the ones who do things
differently are often the ones who do
and these words resonated with me can i
really make a difference i was also
inspired by history
what if Martin Luther King had never had
a dream would civil-rights be the same
today or Thomas Edison’s persistence at
making a long-lasting commercially
viable lightbulb to name a few
what about us what was our idea why not
open a coffee shop we were going to
change the world with a coffee shop
really
but our experience in New Zealand
observations and social trends and my
faith really made me think that I was
desperate for community we were
desperate for community and society was
desperate for community and after many
years it was time to bring the London
coffee scene to Wales celebrating local
ingredients geeking out on every
espresso that was poured we were
passionate for the small details the
small things were the big impact because
we really believed this would be what
made our business it success but also
the impact of our customers and knows we
wanted to support the fact that every
single cup of coffee that was is weighed
within our shop basically meant that we
really thought that we would get more
customers because they had consistency
with their coffee which had an impact on
more income which would have an impact
on more jobs which have an impact on our
city but also the fact that would be
able to generate more
money to give away to those people we
needed our vision group because I really
wanted to taste good coffee but also I
had friends who worked with the homeless
in Swansea and I could see how small
donations made a big impact in their
work I had friends who worked on the
streets of Kenya rescuing street
children and small donations went a long
way therefore why not use our profits
why not our business make an impact for
them therefore our business started
let’s really be passionate about the
small things let’s get out on the small
things let’s see how these small things
make a big impact in our business but on
a global context and I just wanted to
share two principles that become a
driving force behind what we do in the
PEC firstly think global what does every
decision I have having a global in a
global context
I don’t always mean in a geographical
but in there in the context of my local
and my larger decision for example if my
daughter had a way we’d eat ice cream
every single day of the year it would be
an absolute pleasure and a delight to
experience that however I’m fairly sure
the the knock-on effect and the
cumulative impact of having ice cream
every day would be rather detrimental to
my health and also to hurt therefore a
global mindset to a local decision also
what if I decided to only buy from large
chains with great discounts on imported
food that local decision impacts me and
my immediate finances but the global
context has a detrimental impacts for
local producers local suppliers and
local economy therefore a real negative
impact eventually on my area where I
live and my economy and in the context
of our business how do those small
decisions of someone’s looking out for
someone’s well-being or supporting a
local supplier
really have an impact imagine the
multiple impact of multiple businesses
multiple in
vigils having this mentality is not just
about me myself and I secondly as crazy
as it seems
I really believe we’ll never meet anyone
who shouldn’t be loved despite the pain
and the headlines we see around us
I would love to imagine a world that was
different research often points us to
the the fact that a disconnect or a
frustration or an extreme behavior in
someone is often a result of a feeling
of an unloved a disconnect a rejection
in society research also points us to
the fact that despite food and water
humans greatest needs are to be loved
accepted and in relationship and to be
esteemed therefore what if we had a
mentality of family how would that
impact society and how would we do that
in our business we don’t have customers
or clients in the pagan we have friends
we don’t have a staff work force we have
a staff family we don’t just ask your
name when you take an order we generally
care about who you are and how you’re
doing we want to see the best in people
we want to see each and every person in
society as a family member we have a
passion for family relationship and
attention to detail and this is a
driving force behind what we do we care
about people and we care about the
supply chain every single cup of coffee
is thought of in a global context every
single cup of coffee is thought with a
loving mentality because every single
cup of coffee has beans that are sauce
ethically the support the region they’re
grown in there has local milk that
supports the local sub economy there has
compostable materials in the takeaway
cups in order to reduce our
environmental footprint and any profit
that is left is given to those who need
need it greater than ourselves either in
the streets of Swansea or the streets of
Kenya can we really make an impact on
those small decisions
also the care for people I’ll never
forget a story of one of our regulars
who came in for a slice of cake and a
cup of tea she was having a really tough
time and and the baristas at a time just
asked her how are you doing and
genuinely cared about this lady anyway
from one visit to another visit to
several days later and many many more
visits we got to we found out that this
lady had had a tragic loss in her family
and a completely crushed her and through
love and acceptance through
conversations and through other
customers buying her tea and cake we
were able to walk with this lady on a
journey of recovery of restoration and
she found a place to belong and feel
esteemed and supported not only that our
shop simply started by this love and
support of people in Swansea we had an
idea and a pen in our pocket I didn’t
have any friends in London with big bank
accounts I didn’t have a big capital
fund I could access we simply started
through crowdfunding free builders free
designers free furniture free marketing
through pretty much everything because
people loved us people wanted to see our
idea prosper their city prosper but also
those we wanted to impact prosper what
if we looked out for our neighbors in
the same way what if we had the mindset
of family in our neighborhood would this
in turn have a positive impact on the
financial pressure of the social care
system because people felt loved
supported esteemed what have given
someone a second chance in life who was
really finding life challenging in turn
really impacts their life for the
positive and also those around them what
could be if we went that step further if
I was to make a positive impact in
someone’s life today and for the next 33
years and in turn they made a positive
impact in another person and another
person and so on and so on within 33
years this whole planet can be reached
with that seed that I’ve planted
today could this world be different so
why not be the square pegs why not be
the troublemakers the misfits the ones
who think they can change the world
because I genuinely believe the reality
is we can our small daily local
decisions do have large consequences on
a global scale and a small decision to
simply love someone make them feel
accepted and esteemed I really do
believe can change their mindset and
their lifestyle that’s not right off
this planet just yet let’s all start
making small decisions and actions and
let’s see what happens
[Applause]
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