Meet Damon West, M.S. Criminal Justice, former college professor, internationally known keynote speaker, and three-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author.
His bestselling business book, The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change, was listed by Forbes in the “Top Twenty Books You Need to Read to Crush 2020.” His autobiography, The Change Agent: How a Former College Q.B. Sentenced to Life in Prison Transformed His World, vividly tells how he transformed the pot of boiling water that is a Texas maximum-security prison into a pot of coffee.
At 20 years old, he was a Division One starting quarterback at the University of North Texas when he suffered a career-ending injury. He turned to hardcore drugs to cope with the disappointments of life. After graduation, he worked in the United States Congress, was a national fundraiser for a U.S. presidential campaign, and eventually trained as a stockbroker for the United Bank of Switzerland (UBS). One day at UBS, he was introduced to methamphetamines; he became instantly hooked—and the lives of so many innocent people would forever be changed by the choices he made to feed his insatiable meth habit.
After a fateful discussion during his incarceration with a seasoned convict, Damon had a spiritual awakening. He learned that, like a coffee bean changing with heat and pressure, he could change the environment around him. Armed with a program of recovery, renewed faith, and a miraculous second chance at life, Damon emerged from over seven years of prison as a changed man. His story of redemption, grit, and determination continues to inspire audiences today.
The Coffee Bean message has inspired thousands. Damon’s clients include hundreds of companies, such as Walmart, State Farm, Wendy’s, and B.D., and sports teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Timberwolves, Clemson, Alabama, and Georgia. The U.S. Army has even incorporated the #BeACoffeeBean mindset into its resilience training. Damon’s story has been featured both nationally and globally. He is passionate about the Coffee Bean message and loves sharing how it changed his life and how it can change yours, too.