My passion. My commitment. This is the most important thing in my life other than my family. - Howard Schultz

Whenever I see someone carrying a cup of coffee from a Starbucks competitor, whether it’s an independent coffee shop or a fast-food chain, I take their decision not to come to Starbucks personally. I wonder what I, as Starbucks’ chairman and ceo, might have done to keep them away and what I might do to encourage them to come back or to try us for the first time.

For me, the idea of a “third place” is not just something that exists between four walls. It is a mind-set. A way to exist in the world. That’s why I set out to build a profitable business that also expressed a core ethos: that people of all kinds can come together and uplift one another.

Dream more than others think practical. Expect more than others think possible.