Tom Petty's Maxwell House Coffee

As Warren Zanes worked on his biography of Tom Petty, he’d often stop at a convenience store in Malibu to purchase a big cup of lousy coffee.

Petty typically had two thermoses of coffee, milk and sugar available, but Zanes never wanted to presume the legendary musician would supply it — despite the fact he far preferred the taste.

At the end of their time together, Zanes thanked Petty for his kind gesture and savory coffee — making the normally shy and reserved musician sparkle with delight.

That exchange gave Zanes some insight into Petty far beyond the countless interviews he’d conducted.

Petty shared with Zanes the origin of how he mastered brewing coffee. He and his wife, Dana, had been out one evening at a local restaurant near his home when Petty ordered a cup, the best he had ever tasted.

Petty was so impressed that he needed to know the brand. He asked the waitress, and when she didn’t know, he sought out the manager, who told him it was Maxwell House — good to the last drop.

Petty then asked to see how the coffee was produced and replicated this process at his home.

After the story, Zanes remembered all the times he spent with Petty and how coffee in Petty’s hand was a constant.

For some, hearing a certain song allows us to journey in our minds to another time and place when life was in front of us, making us smile. A simple melody can bring back a wonderful memory.

For Petty, coffee was that trigger, reminding him of a time when he was full of hope, dreams and ambition. When he had a cup in his hand, Petty would instantly return to Gainesville Diner, sitting in a small booth, getting free refills as he plotted his musical career.

Coffee was his trigger to refuel his drive, his purpose in life.

Positive Triggers are: “Things that bare a literal or symbolic similarity to an aspect of unresolved trauma. They can also be called 'reactive stimuli'.

In the case of Petty’s coffee, his trigger provided him with the memory he needed to refocus — helping him stay on the right pathway.

We’ve have experienced positive triggers in our life. When we do, we often smile, then instantly forget. We let a positive memory slip away because we are too busy.

If we take a moment to make the positive trigger a daily part of our life, we can reconnect to our past, thus bringing more happiness and kindness into our present life.

The joy we experience from the positive trigger allows us to shine a different light on our current status.

Let’s find our positive triggers. They’ll make our lives better.