What Do A Venti Iced Americano 16 Pumps Of Sugar-Free Vanilla, Isaac Newton, & Albert Einstein All Have In Common?
“I’ll have a Venti Iced Americano with 16 Pumps of Sugar-Free Vanilla and Whip, please.”
The long drawn-out stares I got from baristas are seared into my mind.
You see, by default a “Venti” comes with 8 pumps of syrup.
Except, when I ordered it with 2x or double SF Vanilla, they would only give me 2 pumps.
And I would be on the verge of spitting the bitter taste of actual coffee out and begrudgingly walking back to the barista and asking for the correct order.
Sometimes I had to actually tell them, double, a regular venti comes with 8 and I want double, which is 16…
Even with my barista education, the order was wrong more times than it was right.
It was 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona when I had my first “coffee”
If you can call 16 pumps of syrup and whip a coffee?
I hated the taste of coffee.
Barely liked tea.
And cannot stand hot drinks.
But my wife loved coffee and I felt really bad that we couldn’t “go out for coffee”.
It felt like our Saturday afternoon date options were severely limited because of my disgust for coffee.
No one likes going to a coffee shop to drink a coffee by themselves.
And I would know, because I was the guy that would do business meetings at coffee shops as a freelance web designer and never actually order anything.
So in 2018, I made the choice that I would start drinking coffee.
As you can see I needed a little liquid courage to get started and that courage came in the form of what felt like ¼ bottle of syrup.
Fast forward to today…
I drink a Grande Nitro Cold Brew with 5 Splenda and Cream from Starbucks.
Every single morning.
I’ve grown up (a little) and need less liquid courage but I am still incredibly picky, particular, and incessant about routines.
A lot more picky than you might think.
This week I walked to 3 different Starbucks locations 30 minutes out of the way to get Nitro Cold Brew.
They were out at my usual location, and politely offered me a regular Cold Brew, instead.
I left and walked 10 minutes down the street.
Their pipe was broken, and again offered me a regular Cold Brew, instead.
Again I left and walked another 10 minutes down the street to another location.
Finally, Nitro.
Here’s the thing, Cold Brew and Nitro Cold Brew are just not the same.
Nitro has this amazing smooth velvety finish that you don’t get with non-nitro, iced coffee, or diy Cold Brew.
So I will not drink coffee unless it’s Nitro and from Starbucks.
Even if someone buys me one not from Starbucks, I won’t drink it. I’m sorry.
Not just that, though.
I need the perfect ratio of sweetener (5 in a Grande).
I need a specific type of sweetener.
When I was nomadding through Mexico and Bali I would carry my own sweetener.
I even have a recurring order on Amazon for a specific brand of sweetener.
They are not all created equal. Trust me.
And regular sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, and coconut sugar DO NOT dissolve in cold drinks. So please stop offering these as options.
You might be wondering why I just wrote 542 words about my coffee order.
I needed to paint the full picture of the importance of the little things.
The specific type of coffee, from the specific place, with the perfect ratio of sugar/cream, and it has to happen daily.
That context is required to understand who I am at the core.
This is the level of detail that goes into my coffee order and this type of attention to detail comes in every aspect of my life.
(I have eaten the same breakfast every single day (more or less) since 2010 when I started bodybuilding. Egg Whites and Oats)
But it wasn’t until 2 years ago that I started to better understand why…
I discovered my wiring was a little different.
I had a lot of “Quirks” by most people’s definition.
Strict routines I adhere to. I must write everything down. I have sticky notes and reminders for everything. I ask a lot of questions. I stare off into space while I process information. I don’t like to be put on the spot. I prefer to write than be on video…
As I began to learn about neurodiversity, my head would just nod yes, yes, yes, as they would list all the characteristics off.
I felt a sense of warmth and acceptance as I began to understand all of this and have names and language to associate with my experiences.
My “Quirks” made a lot of sense.
Like how I ordered my coffee.
And why I have 123 stick notes with reminders in my office.
(I actually just counted so 123 is actually how many I have - no joke)
But a lot of other things made sense too.
Like how being in 38 Slack channels stresses me the fuck out.
Same with back-to-back meetings.
Or being asked to do something without being provided context or having the ability to ask questions and prepare.
And it made a lot of sense why I was so incredibly drained at the end of days like this.
Then something interesting happened…
I began to draw a connection between my coffee quicks and my abilities when it comes to what I do professionally - Marketing.
Intense passion.
Attention to detail.
Connecting the dots and problem-solving.
These unique abilities of mine when applied to marketing and consulting?
They were not seen as “Quirks” when mapping out where a 9-Figure publicly traded company needed to focus to optimize their marketing efforts for their products and membership programs.
In this arena…
It was a fucking superpower.
I’m like Neo in the Matrix, I’m in the zone, I drop into flow, and connections start being made, and I’m metaphorically dodging bullets.
But put a meeting on my calendar at 7:30 am when I normally get my coffee?
I’m like a robot with a short circuit. Error. Error. Error.
Maybe all of this is actually a gift? If I choose to perceive it that way.
It wasn’t until recently that I truly discovered I’d been wearing a mask for the better part of my life.
Masking who I am. Hiding away parts of me I didn’t think would be accepted. And working to fit into the traditional mold of the successful and non-quirky.
Now, I am actively working to remove those masks and embrace who I am.
Quirks, weirdness and all.
Because it’s exhausting to mask your true authentic self.
So…
If you’ve read this letter up till now, and if you’ve nodded your head, yes, or some part of this resonated with you…
I recommend you begin to start with awareness and acceptance.
Begin to learn more about yourself, and your uniqueness, and use this as a starting point. Education can be powerful. Acceptance can be powerful. It can be the first step to understanding what accommodations or strategies you can implement in your life.
And on a fun note, if you resonated with this…
We’re not alone.
Many inventions and advancements in technology, computers, and more were led by people with neurodiversity.
That’s pretty cool ;-)
Landon
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