C ARpE D I E M
Philosopher, baker and smile maker By pE T E R DuGRé
“A friend is someone who allows you distance but is never too far away.” Poet philosopher Noah benShea’s collection of aphoristic quotations marches on and on. Check the sugar packet you pour into your to-go cup of coffee—benShea quotes have appeared on over 60 million packets of Sugar for the Soul by C&H Sugar. Or find quick-hitting sips of wisdom by benShea printed on over 30 million Starbucks cups. At home in Carpinteria, he most enjoys strolls on Carpinteria State Beach—walking while reading—and rubbing elbows with denizens who share an idyllic beach vibe. Like anyone dedicated to the spiritual path, a person who dissolves the petty into the profound, he is one with the people. He doesn’t wear austere linens or traipse barefoot, but he has well-worn grin lines in his cheeks and the eyes of a contemplative man who relishes the playfulness of ideas. In addition to being one with the people, he’s also one with Fortune 500 CEOs and luminaries the world over. According to benShea’s website, Larry King calls him “a Zen Mark Twain,” and Deepak Chopra says his insights “transform all who read (them).” By the time benShea was 22 in 1968, he was an assistant dean of students at U.C. Los Angeles. At his 1967 graduation from the university, he delivered the commencement speech for his class. He won first prize in a California Poetry Society competition when he was 23. His best-selling book “Jacob the Baker” was printed in 1989 and translated into 18 languages. He is a Pulitzer Prize nominee. He was the keynote speaker for a TEDx Talk on imagination and was the Philosopher in Residence at Cottage Hospital, where his inspirational quotes,
like “Don’t let the past kidnap your future,” appear on food trays. At coffee in the summer of 2018, he says, “People can smell BS. I’m here. I just try to be here.” Presence could be the key ingredient that separates successful poet philosophers and those who never find a receptive audience. benShea banks on personality. He listens like he loves to learn and observes as if curiosity is his singular motivation. benShea grew up in Toronto and inner-city Los Angeles. He came to Santa Barbara in the mid-1970s to serve as a fellow at the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, the world’s first long-range think tank. benShea’s quote “Life tends to smile on those who smile back” may be the best description of his own experience. He smiles at life. He meets presidents of countries and acts as a spiritual advisor and idea guru to Charles Schultz of Starbucks. He wrote “Jacob the Baker,” an allegorical tale, during his days at The New York Bagel Factory, a business he founded and led as president and later chairman. “Jacob the Baker” became an international bestseller and has spun off into a bread brand baked and sold by Costco. Whether he is just a superb dinner party guest who can rattle off quotes spanning centuries of collected wisdom, or the guy walking while reading who takes all-comers in conversation, benShea appears to have packaged his strengths in an approachable way. As benShea sees it, “I’m in the business of being a source of strength for others.” His 27th book, “We are all Jacob’s Children,” was recently published and is available on Amazon.com.
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