Thanks for stopping by my stop on the THE COFFEE CODE by Marc
Reede Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours!
About The Book:
Title: THE COFFEE CODE
Author: Marc Reede
Pub. Date: April 16, 2025
Publisher: Essential
Mentor Press
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback,
eBook
Pages: 246
Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/The-Coffee-Code
The Coffee Code is
the essential career guide for college seniors, grad students, and recent
graduates--and it's now available to help you relieve the stress of beginning
your career after college. In The Coffee Code, author Marc Reede
has taken business tips from his own 30+ career as a "lecture agent to the
stars" and built a template for Career Readiness that is future-proof.
Combining advice from his iconic sports and business clients as well as Marc's
own philosophies on Professional Development and Mentorship, college seniors
and recent grads will learn actionable ways to set themselves apart and reduce
the worry created by the competitive world of life after college. Key chapters
include Creating Your Own Brand, Finding a Mentor, Building Your Network of
Connections and Relationships, and Accepting Rejection and Failure.
Podcaster and TED Talk phenom Mel Robbins says this
about The Coffee Code: "If you're in the market for a new
job, The Coffee Code is your career playbook. It's jam-packed
with real world wisdom I wish I'd had decades ago."
LinkedIn's Founding Chief People Officer Steve Cadigan says
"The Coffee Code is a must-read for anyone who feels lost
or paralyzed by the myriad of career challenges and decisions we all face
today. Marc Reede is a world-class career maker, and he's created a phenomenal
template to help you build your confidence and have a career that is
future-proof."
Global Fashion CEO and Shark Tank star Daymond John says
"My story is proof that you're not limited to what you can do
personally if you know how to create, build, and maintain relationships. The
Coffee Code is a solid investment in learning this essential life skill."
College seniors are raving about The Coffee Code as well. Megan
M. is a senior at The University of Wisconsin at Madison: "With all the
pressure of post-grad life, my roommates and I have been anxious about finding
ways to navigate it. The Coffee Code has been my go-to guide for
turning my worries into action steps. It's a must-read for any grad!"
Why call this book The Coffee Code? Marc Reede's firm belief that
he shares with college seniors and grad students is the value of a Coffee
Meeting versus a simple Interview. In a coffee meeting, you've identified (via
LinkedIn or another source) a contact at a company of interest to you. That
company may not have a job opening presently, but after that contact agrees to
meet you for a 10 minute cup of coffee so that you can learn more about that
person's career with some hopeful advice for yourself, they may realize that
YOU are perfect for their team. Let's compare that to an interview, where
you're stuck in a 5-minute box--and just outside that door behind you is the
next interviewee just waiting for you to fail. Oh and don't forget: Since some
of the coolest jobs NEVER even get posted, the need to be proactive and grab as
many Coffee Meetings as you can is imperative.
Here's a sample Gem from The Coffee Code:
HOW'D YOU GET THAT JOB?
If you were to research 10 new hires at any large company, you'd likely hear 10
different stories of how they ended up getting that job. It's not all about
those Job Fairs at your school, and you don't necessarily have to have been an
intern there first. Some got there through connections at that company, some by
coffee meetings, some went through the interview process, and some may have
been a combination of everything. But trust me, they didn't all get on a bus
and get dropped off at that company.
Just because your path may look different from those who've gone before you
doesn't mean you won't get there.
See more at https://coffeecodebook.com and at https://theessentialmentor.com.
Description
of Excerpts
This excerpt
is from Marc Reede’s book The Coffee Code: How a Simple Meeting Over Coffee
Can Introduce You to a World of Career Opportunities. It is reprinted with
permission from The Essential Mentor Press. More info at coffeecodebook.com.
Excerpt
1
A SHORT STORY
Joan Lunden is the former host of ABC’s Good
Morning America. She overcame a highly publicized battle with breast
cancer. Joan’s a wonderful speaker, and one concept that she tells audiences
that sticks with me is that there are two important days in our lives: the day we
are born and the day we can go out and impact the lives of others.
I took these comments to heart as I prepared
this book. Yes, we are here to find a job, realize our goals, and reach for our
dreams, but when you become aware of the power that you have to influence the
life of another, this game will take on a wholly different perspective.
Let me share a story.
Tennis got my daughter Casey into the
University of Southern California. Her main inspirations were Venus and Serena
Williams, both of whom also grew up in LA.
A few years ago, just after she was accepted
to USC, Casey and I had the chance to go to the Madrid Open Tennis Tournament.
The Madrid Open is a clay court tournament
that leads into the French Open. I’m lucky enough to be friends with tennis
star Andy Roddick’s agent, and he’d gotten us coach’s passes to this
prestigious event.
The day before the tournament started, Casey
and I decided to go and see just how close our passes would get us. We showed
up at the players’ registration area. It was a vast indoor two-story lobby. It
felt like the lobby of a large convention hotel. The ceilings seemed to go on
forever. There were two identical staircases in the middle of the room that led
up to the players’ lockers, massage area, and restaurant. The room seemed
empty. But then, off in the corner of the lobby, I spotted someone I
recognized.
It was Richard Williams, Venus and Serena’s
dad (and their coach at the time).
Since we were both from LA, I figured I’d go
over and say hello. After all, here we all were, 6,000 miles from home.
I introduced my daughter and myself to
Richard. I shared with him that Casey had just gotten into college to play
tennis and that his daughters were the reason she took up the sport in the
first place.
His face lit up and he called out for Venus
and Serena. Two figures appeared at the top of the stairs, and they immediately
came down to greet us. We chatted with them for a bit, and then we went our
separate ways.
The next night, Casey and I watched Venus’
opening match against a woman from Madrid. I’m pretty sure we were the only
Venus fans in the stadium. While we may have been sitting high up in the
rafters, whenever Venus made a great shot or an ace serve, there was no doubt
where the cheers were coming from. Venus won in straight sets.
If you follow professional tennis, you’ll
know that when a match ends, the players zip up their bags and go off to their
private exit. Casey knew this, and as the crowd filed up the stairs to leave,
she ran down the stairs, against the traffic, to get as close as she could to
her new friend.
I was still in my seat, focused on Venus as
she put her rackets and towels together and zipped up her bag. Venus looked up
at me and mouthed: Where’s Casey?
I was floored.
Not able to see Casey, I pointed to the place
I knew she went and watched as Venus got up and ran over. A few minutes went
by. It felt like an eternity. But then I caught a glimpse of Casey coming up
the stairs. Tears flowed down her eyes. In her hands was Venus’ tournament
towel.
As we left the stadium, we ran into Richard
Williams in the lobby. I shared this story with him, and he took Casey and me
into a group hug. He told us that by sharing a moment with Casey, Venus had
done her job. He continued to explain something that has shaped my life even to
this day. He shared that he taught his girls to touch just one person in life,
to show them that you care, to share your gift, and that you’ll be amazed by
what can happen.
I tell this story because your job is to look
at your many gifts and find a way to share them with others who may turn to you
for inspiration. The payback to you will be priceless.
Now, let’s get to work.
YOUR MENTOR MAY ALREADY
BE ROOTING YOU ON
A mentor becomes your champion in life: a
trusted advisor. They’re someone who knows you, believes in you, and inspires
you to over-achieve your goals.
NBA Hall of Famer and Billionaire Businessman
Magic Johnson is one of the most popular motivational speakers in America.
Magic tells a story of his need to find a mentor in business once he knew his
NBA career was coming to an end. All he had to do was turn to those fans
sitting in the courtside seats (media moguls, movie stars, business executives,
etc.) who’d been rooting him on at Lakers games all those years. Almost
everyone Magic reached out to was there to have a meeting with him, give him
advice, and get him started on his new career.
Your mentor is sitting in your
courtside seats: a family friend, your coach, one of your professors, or even a
regular customer at the Starbucks where you work. Once you show an interest,
you’ll be amazed at how many people are eager to help you.
ACTION ITEM
Make a list of five
people you can ask for help. Then ask them for help!
About Marc Reede:
Born
and raised in Los Angeles, Marc Reede has had an innate love for all things
sports and entertainment. While at UCLA, a close friend on the UCLA basketball
team with NBA potential asked Marc to be his agent. Marc followed his heart and
pursued a career in sports.
At his
mentor’s suggestion, Marc earned his law degree from Loyola Law School with the
hope of becoming a sports agent. Post-law school interviews with entertainment
law firms and sports management companies revealed a side of the agenting
business that didn’t appeal to Marc, and he found himself in his late 20s
struggling to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. Marc then found a
new interest in working in live television as a production associate with NBC
Sports.
This
role put him in a position of closeness with the local sports teams in Los
Angeles, and a chance encounter at age 28 with then-Lakers head coach Pat Riley
gave Marc the opportunity to start his own business. Thus began a 30-year
career for Marc as a lecture agent that would expose him on an up close and
personal level with some of America’s most prolific athletes, entrepreneurs,
and authors. The stories that Marc has heard firsthand from Bill Gates, Magic
Johnson, Mel Robbins, Adam Grant, Venus Williams, Maya Angelou, Neil Armstrong,
Muhammad Ali, and so many more have equipped him with motivational and
inspirational wisdom that few get the chance to share at this level.
Marc’s
longstanding passion for sports led both of his children to college: his
daughter played tennis at The University of Southern California while his son
swam for Boston College. And because a mentor was so instrumental during and
after Marc’s college days, he is a popular college speaker devoted to assisting
college seniors with this transition in their lives today.
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