Entelechy is a beautiful word and I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to hear about it.

It turns out that Aristotle coined it. And according to wikipedia, he “…invented the word by combining enteles (complete, full-grown) with echein (hexis, to be a certain way by the continuing effort of holding on in that condition), while at the same time punning on endelecheia (persistence) by inserting telos (completion). This is a three-ring circus of a word, at the heart of everything in Aristotle’s thinking…”

Entelechy is a noun, and my favorite definition of it is this one:
“…A particular type of motivation, need for self-determination, and inner strength directing life and growth to become all one is capable of being. It is the need to actualize one’s beliefs. It is having a personal vision and being able to actualize that vision from within…” In  fact that is really close to Abraham Maslow’s self actualization goal that appears on his hierarchy of needs. (For more on that, see this video I did with Chip Conley regarding his book Peak.)

Ok, so how do we convert potentiality into actuality? How do we take simple chemical reactions in the brain, and turn them into something tactile? How do we perform alchemy, i.e. turning lead into gold. Or, in other words, converting something common-place and mundane, into something valuable and rare.

Watching ideas turn into actual products or companies is pure magic. But ask anyone who’s done it, and no one will say this alchemy is easy. Still, it is possible. Very possible. Here are a few lessons I’ve learned over the years in the game of tea. By no means is this list complete, so please contact me at samovarlife@samovarlife.com with your lessons in entelechy. We would love to post the learnings of others.

1. Sweat & Blood
“Entrepreneur” is one of the most common words in business today. It seems that virtually everybody is one. Perhaps it’s received so much attention because it represents going against the grain, striking out on your own terms, living life “your way,” and really creating something of value. The thing is, this word is so overused it’s become deceptive. Just because the word is everywhere, doesn’t mean it’s easy. The glory stories of startup billionaires are attractive and sexy, but so were the gold-rush ads of 1850. In order to get “there” from “here,” blood and sweat are requirements. You don’t hear those stories, but it’s the truth.

At Samovar we use the “duck on the pond” analogy. Beautiful feathers shining in the morning sun, the graceful duck glides effortlessly across the pond. Unseen by all are the little clawing legs, paddling frantically through muck and mud and slime to get it across the pond. Sweat and blood are requirements for creating something. Expect it. Taste the salt of the sweat and feel the flow of blood. And if you don’t experience sweat and blood, please write me and tell me how you did it. I want to know. Drink lots of water (and tea) because there will be plenty of sweat and blood.

2. Focus
Today more than ever, avoiding distraction is paramount. We are flooded with information and overwhelmed, distracted. How to discern and weed out what’s helpful from what’s not? Focus on the goal and let go of all else. Ruthlessly actually. Turn off every device. Tell everyone you know you’re going away, lockdown. Laser focus-focus-focus. A few great focus books I recommend are The Willpower Instinct, Thinking Fast and  Slow, and In Praise of Slowness. Also, I highly recommend you check out my buddy’s blog, zenhabits.net. Leo goes into great detail on how he’s achieved greater focus and through it tackles some pretty big game-changing habits.

3. Energy
Focus isn’t feasible without reserves. Simply put, in my experience the best energy comes when I:
- Sleep 8-10 hours a night
- Eat mostly organic plants and almost nothing that requires a package to store it
- Drink a lot of tea (caffeine and antioxidants). I love oolong tea because it continues to release caffeine for many infusions.
- Drink 1/2 my body weight in ounces of water every day
- Exercise 3x/week for 1 hour
- Meditate every day (even just for 2 minutes I find it helpful to begin the day)
- Breathe. Consciously breathe. Here’s a great excerpt from my friend Dr. Andrew Weil on breathing.

4. Embody Openness
Everything changes. People, relationships, products, companies, ideas, everything. Sure we need focus, but at the same time we need to adapt to the changing environment and be able to embrace change. It’s a weird push-pull tension where ruthless focus and total flexibility are key to making things happen. You need the tunnel vision of laser-like focus, but also the absolute openness to new ideas and opportunities. It’s a dance. Two great books that have helped me with openness are: The Miracle of Mindfulness, by Thich Nhat Hanh, and, Uncertainty, from my friend Jonathan Fields.

Below are some photos of oolong tea being processed by my friends Eva And Chiu, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Entelechy in action as tea goes from “potential tea” as a green leaf on a bush, to the finished brew. A Hawaii-grown oolong with notes of caramelized raisins, and a mellow sour cherry astringency finish. Good for many delicate infusions. We let the leaves sit in the pot because this tea just doesn’t get bitter.

Tools of the Trade

Which Leaves to Pick?

Ready for Picking

Oolong in the Making

Hand Firing

Hand Rolling

Inspecting The Goods: Oolong Getting Rolled & Withered

Tasting Time

Travel + Leisure Magazine named Samovar Tea Lounge one of the Best Places to Drink Tea in America, saying:

“Samovar Tea Lounge’s patio and double-height glass wall [at Yerba Buena Gardens] are as transporting as its multicultural menu.

“What to Drink: Japanese teas are a specialty; the Green Ecstasy is a blend of top-quality matcha and first-flush Asamushi sencha.”

Read the full article on the Travel + Leisure website

Enjoy!

The Beekeeper by Made by Hand

This six-minute film profiles Brooklyn farmer Megan Paska. Megan has witnessed beekeeping as it morphed from an illegal (and possibly crazy) habit to a sustainable, community-supported skill. Mirroring beekeeping’s own ascendance, she found more than just a living: “This is the first time in my life when I’ve just felt absolutely on the right path,” she says.

About Made by Hand

A project from the Bureau of Common Goods, Made by Hand was created out of the belief that the things we collect, consume, use, and share are part of who we are as individuals. For example, the food that we eat says something about each of us, as do the tools we use and the chairs we rest on. Objects that surround the space we dwell in tell stories, and not just about us. Where did they come from? Who made them? How were they made?

Each film aims to promote that which is made locally, sustainably, and with a love for craft. Based in Brooklyn, the project takes its influence from the handmade movement here and elsewhere.

I think it is safe to say that the core of any business is its culture. Culture between employees, managers, and customers. Good culture flows everywhere and means a cohesive team that works hard, has fun, achieves the mission of the business and grows as an organization and as individuals. It means having a set of values that everybody knows and can work towards. It means connecting with customers and creating a fertile positive energy that pours fluidly and allows all these groups to feel connected. Cultures that lead towards self actualization for the individuals are really ideal (for a great book on that check out Peak, by Chip Conley. It’s all about applying Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in the workplace.)

6 Rules for Respect

1. Respect is a Gift
Respect can only be given. You cannot take it. You cannot force it. You cannot extract it. If respect is earned, others give it freely. It can’t be faked or falsified. If others give respect, it’s because it was genuinely earned.

2. Give First, Then Get
In order to “get” this gift, you’ve got to first give it! Rarely is respect given to a person, if they don’t first give it to others. It’s transparent and can’t be faked. If you genuinely  ”give” respect to others, you’ll be on your way to getting some in return.

3. Listen with all your senses
One surefire way of respecting others is to genuinely listen. Keep your mind totally blank and simply “be there,” presently, open to what they are really saying. Pay attention to their words. To their eyes. To their body language. Don’t respond immediately. Just listen. Pause. And consider what this other person is really communicating. A great book on the art and crave of listening  is Just Listen.

4. Restate to be clear
Restate in your own words what the other person said. There’s so much room for misunderstanding in the world today because communication happens so quickly. We try to take a lesson from the slowness of tea and find that being slower with communication, and less snappy on the “submit button,” that we are clearer and more efficient in the long run. Rephrase what the other person said, in your own words, so they are confident you really listened and heard them.

5. Connect
Take in what the other person is saying and consider what they really want. They might be asking for a raise, but they might really be asking for more personal freedom. If you can connect to their deeper needs and wants, not just what they’re explicitly saying, you’ll have a chance for a more profound connection over implicit needs. These are less obvious and yet more powerful. If you can connect to the feelings, and really see where the other person is coming from, they will feel heard, and be more open to listening to you, connecting, and ultimately to respecting you.

6. Discuss What Matters
OK – so you’ve listened and connected and still there’s disagreement? That’s ok! You don’t have to always come to agreement or harmony in order to have respect. If you’re fair, open, clear and you truly listened and connected – the odds are that respect will  flourish. You don’t need to be friends with others in order to respect them. Liking is for friends and lovers. Respect is for fostering effective teams that are aligned and that achieve huge goals. At work, it’s ideal if we all like each other, but, it’s just not always possible.

Now Attention on the other hand is something that can’t be bought. Give someone your fully present, 100% aware, tender, kind loving attention, and now there’s magic. You see “love” can be purchased at a store in a box of chocolates and left on somebody’s desk. But attention requires your most valuable asset. Your time. Give someone your undivided attention, and you’ve got magic. The most delicate of caresses to the back of the neck, with focus and presence and attention. Now you have fireworks. Goosebumps. And the potential for passion and full-on electricity.

But giving full attention is so damn hard. We’re bombarded by the news, by our phones, by email, by all of that addictive distraction. It has gotten so difficult to be present and attentive. So how do you do it? Like this:

1. Power down your phone. Not vibrator mode. POWERED down.
2. Get away from your computer.
3. Take 3 breaths.
4. Notice how you’re doing. What do you feel? Attention starts with us first.
5. Stay present, and now, only when you’re slowed down and fully in the moment – connect to whoever is closest to you.
6. Give them your entire, undivided attention.
7. See what happens.

Please don’t buy anything this Valentine’s Day.
Give attention not stuff. We all love a bit of attention so just try it and see what happens. And of course drink some tea

People often ask “How do I brew tea?”

To answer that let’s first have answer the question of “Why should I brew tea?”

The simple act of brewing, and sipping tea is a training ground for living better. The ability to focus on doing just one thing at a time, to be present, and to embrace and enjoy the basic actions of boiling water, steeping leaves and paying attention to the taste and aroma are valuable skills to living more effectively and fully. After all, if you can boil, steep, and sip tea fully aware, then you can take that same skill and apply it to writing a report, playing with kids, and hanging out with friends. If you can’t be present and aware with tea, then you probably aren’t as effective when doing work, or as loving when with your partner, or as fun when with friends.

Why brew tea? Brew tea to practice being focused and present. Focus and presence are keys to fulfillment and connection and delivering results.

How do you brew tea? It’s really simple.

1. Worry about the water, not the tea. 

Virtually any tea (even tea bag tea!) will taste decent if brewed with good water. The best tasting water comes directly from a remote hole in the ground. Fresh from the earth. Second to that it’s from a flowing stream (filtered of course!). The key is that it’s best if you gather the water yourself. Next, let the water “sit” for some time in a clay or stainless urn in your home. If you want to be really hard core, don’t pour the water into your tea kettle. “Scoop” it using a bamboo ladle into your teapot. If you can’t gather water yourself, use filtered water over bottled. And if you really have to use bottled water, we’ve found that Fiji or Hawaiian Springs offer the best tasting water.

When heating water, it’s ideal to heat it old-school: over charcoal embers. It’s beautiful and dramatic and calming. And totally silent except for the sound of the simmering water, said to sound like “…wind in the pine trees…” If you aren’t into that process, then a good old-fashioned tea kettle over the open flame on a gas stove is good too. Electric stoves are less good. And even less good are the electric tea kettles. Yes, they are convenient, and yes we sell them and use them at homes. But if you want the BEST then open fire is best.

2. Listen to the tea.

Seriously. Every tea and herbal infusion has a different offering. And to get the most out of each tea, you need to understand what that unique brew needs. Is it hotter water? Less water? More tea? Less tea? They’re all different. And here’s the key: Brewing tea is personal. There are no rules. Sure we can tell you that for a 16 ounce pot of tea, you need two heaping tea spoons. Rules are nice and easy and make for pleasantly mindless activity. But it wouldn’t be true! The way to brew one tea is totally different than brewing another tea. Wuyi Oolong, Tiequanyin Monkey Picked Oolong, and Phoenix Oolong are all oolongs and all entirely different. Try. Fail. Taste. Savor. Try again. And again. Fine tune the process. Depending on how you want to feel (caffeine), or what flavors you’re looking for (taste), or how many infusions you want to get (extraction longevity), the brewing details will differ. Do you brew in a guywan? A tetsubin? A coffee mug? An unglazed ceramic shot glass? A paper cup? A water bottle? So many variables and so many different outcomes. If you listen to what the tea wants, and to what the situation calls for – you will learn to adjust tea quantity, water quantity, brewing vessel, and water temperature accordingly. Just stop and listen.

Respect is nice, kind, and something you give to strangers and you’re supposed to give to your elders. It’s formal and it’s externally motivated by society and others.

Reverence is deep, spiritual, and comes from inside. It’s hard to force reverence. It’s also harder to find it. But when you look deeper, and listen  harder, reverence is there. And it’s so much broader than respect.

Think about water. Water deserves reverence. This planet is over 70% water. The human body is over 70% water. Water is everywhere and yet we never even think about it. Water is life and water deserves reverence.

Looking for reverence in the little obvious areas of life, makes for some potent realizations. We brew thousands of pots of tea at Samovar every single week, and it’s easy to lose sight of the potent little things. Like water and tea. It’s so easy to make and drink tea mindlessly, to take it for granted, and to “just do it.” But once in a while we really do stop, look, and listen. Then reverence blooms.

Tea is grown and cared for thousands of miles away from San Francisco. It’s a product of the earth, the sun, the rain and the wind. Tea is raw nature, born of the earth. And what allows tea to flourish is the same as what allows us humans to flourish: earth, sun and rain. If we take a moment to appreciate this fact, and to acknowledge that good tea is possible only with good water and good earth, that’s really powerful. Tea hydrates us, and uplifts us, and supports our livelihood. Good tea is a product of caring farmers and fertile earth. So basic and obvious, and so very, very powerful. Tea nourishes us inside and it puts a roof over our head.

So take a moment and listen. Notice. Feel a reverence for tea. For your your breath. For your family. For your life.

5 Ways To Find Your Zen

By KYM MCNICHOLAS

Friday, October 1, 2010

To survive in the digital world, there’s no such thing as a 4-hour work week. Sorry, Tim Ferriss. But there isn’t. I don’t think there ever was. But it was a nice idea. The web is live 24-hours a day with a captive audience at all times. We’re accessing it at home, at the office as well as on the road through our iPads, and smartphones, whether it’s the iPhone, Android, or Blackberry. Maybe, all three.  Two of the three in my case.

So, if we’re always connected with the world, when are we taking time to connect with ourselves? Ummm…never? Ok, maybe when we go to the gym!  But, Susan O’Connell, VP of the San Francisco Zen Center, says our bodies and our minds need a lot more! She believes that not taking time to re-connect with yourself daily is not a healthy and fulfilling way to live.

O’Connell was part of a panel discussion this week in front of a group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs at Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco, along with Samovar’s owner, Jesse Jacobs, and Tim Ferriss, author of ‘The 4-Hour Workweek.”

Here are five simple tips for finding Zen from the panel discussion this week:

1) Think about the larger purpose of living your life more mindfully. Is it about more than you?

2) “Motivation” is a better strategy than “discipline” for developing new, more wholesome habits.

3) Remember that happiness and excitement are not the same thing – happiness and peace are the same thing.

4) Begin your day by sitting down – and doing nothing.  Zen is the practice of “radical not doing.”

5) Ask yourself “Am I happy?”

Please share some suggestions on “Finding Your Zen” and “Finding Your Chi” in the comment box below. It would help a lot of folks that have trouble disconnecting from the world for even just five minutes in their day.

Click here to view the video recording of “Tea With…Zen and the Art of Life Management”.

Teahouses’ Unique Blends Are Not Just in the Cup
By GREGORY DICUM
Published: January 1, 2010

“…Samovar, in the Castro, makes tea drinking a stylish affair. Teas from around the world are served as they are in their home countries: Japanese maki bowls of rice and seaweed with ryokucha brown rice tea, English tea service with scones and Devonshire cream, Chinese tea with dumplings, and masala chai with curry. Russian tea is poured from a gleaming samovar.

‘We bring the world’s tea traditions under one roof,” said Jesse Jacobs, who opened Samovar in 2001. “It’s contemporary and hip but also respecting tradition.’

…Though many occupy spaces that used to be coffeehouses, it’s too early to call tea drinking a trend that will replace espresso anytime soon. Instead, it’s a parallel, calmer universe.

When people double-park outside Samovar and run in for a cup to go, the way many are accustomed to grab lattes with one nervous eye out for a parking ticket, ‘we give them a free chai sample,’ Mr. Jacobs said, ‘and they go park and come back.’

‘That’s the philosophy of tea,’ he said. ‘It’s about stopping for one moment and taking assessment of your surroundings.’

The original Samovar was so distinctive and enjoyable that the city invited Mr. Jacobs to open a branch in Yerba Buena Gardens to replace a Starbucks in 2006, and the San Francisco Zen Center asked him this year to open a teahouse in a space it owns across the street.”

Veiw The Entire Article as a PDF

Media Contact:
Jesse Cutler, Samovar: (415) 655-3431 / publicity@jpcutlermedia.com

Click here to view the video on CNN

Media Contact:
Jesse Cutler, Samovar: (415) 655-3431 / publicity@jpcutlermedia.com

(Fortune Small Business) –At Samovar Tea Lounge, a chain of three teahouses in San Francisco, you’ll find no wireless Internet or bulletin board littered with local news and advertisements.

“The goal is to create relationships with customers where they become guests — or friends,” says CEO Jesse Jacobs, a dot-com veteran who opened the first Samovar, in the Castro/Mission district during the 2001 tech crash. “Our design reflects that. We try to provide a cocoon from the outside world, so we need more than just a few chairs and a Formica countertop.”

Seating space at the teahouse’s bamboo tables is intentionally tight. Jacobs, who built his shops without consulting professional designers, says the setup encourages patrons to mingle and try menu items that beckon from neighbors’ plates.

“It’s easy to overhear conversations, but that’s good,” says copywriter Paul Tootalian, 42, a regular customer. “There’s a real community feel.”

Jesse at Samovar Zen Valley

Jacobs, 38, wanted to re-create the physical closeness he experienced as a child when his family gathered around his great-grandmother’s samovar, a traditional tea vessel that looms large in Eastern European social life.

Jacobs hosts Friday tea tastings at his Yerba Buena and Hayes Valley locations. In Hayes Valley they’re held at the bar, a 20-foot-long slice of wind-fallen redwood installed by woodworker and friend Michael Deakin.

The craftsman gave Jacobs a 40% discount in exchange for $1,000 worth of Samovar gift cards, which he distributed to his VIP customers — generating marketing for both businesses. And the inexpensive repurposed wood fits with Samovar’s aesthetic, which is based on wabi-sabi, a Japanese concept that finds beauty in simplicity, age and imperfection.

Resisting chain-store uniformity, Jacobs tries to match each Samovar to its neighborhood. When city officials asked him to help revitalize a dreary business district by setting up shop in Yerba Buena Gardens, he turned a failed Starbucks into a clean, modern space for business lunches, eliminating the candles, flowers and menu cards that typically clutter caf tables.

The independent design route spared Samovar from a cookie-cutter look, Jacobs says. And bartering with friends like Deakin helped him shave hundreds of thousands of dollars off construction costs, which totaled $1.2 million.

Revenues have doubled every year since Samovar launched and are expected to hit $3 million in 2009, all with no paid advertising. Jacobs estimates that word of mouth accounts for 95% of sales. When a restaurant conglomerate approached him recently to discuss franchising the Samovar concept, Jacobs passed.

“We don’t think like a franchise,” he says.

Media Contact:
Jesse Cutler, Samovar: (415) 655-3431 / publicity@jpcutlermedia.com

Inc. Magazine Fastest Growing Companies – We Made the List!

Samovar Tea Lounge joins an elite group of companies across America as they have made the 2009 Inc. Magazine 5000 list of fastest-growing companies. Over the last six years, Samovar has grown its staff to over 60 employees and to three San Francisco locations.

We’d like to thank all of our customers for contributing to our rapid and prosperous growth!

Jesse Jacobs, founder of Samovar, Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.com, Tim Ferriss author of The 4-Hour Workweek, explain why people are getting into tea in these fast-paced times.

Click here to watch the video on Forbes.com

Media Contact:

Jesse Cutler, Samovar: (415) 655-3431 / publicity@jpcutlermedia.com