“The ceramic cup was never meant for me. I deserve a styrofoam cup.” — Lesson in humility

Remember this as you gain fame, fortune, position, and seniority. You will always deserve a styrofoam cup

Simon Sinek, author, inspirational speaker, and TED celebrity, shared a true story through a styrofoam cup metaphor, with a message to remind us about gratitude and humility — about staying humble at all stages of our lives, and it goes like this:

A former undersecretary of defense was invited to give a speech at a large conference of about a thousand people.

He was standing on the stage with his coffee in a styrofoam cup, giving his prepared remarks with his PowerPoint (slide) behind him.

He took a sip of the coffee and smiled as he looked down at the styrofoam cup.

The Ceramic Cup

He then went off script and said, you know, last year, I spoke at this exact same conference.

Last year I was still the undersecretary. And when I spoke here last year, they flew me here business class, and when I arrived at the airport, somebody was waiting for me to take me to my hotel.