I have a friend who has worked at Starbucks for quite a few years now. He tells me that the people who come in and order the coffee every morning often have egos that swallowed Cleveland, and treat him less than equitably.

It's possible that my friend has worked there a little bit too long, but he does have a point. Any marketing or branding expert in the country (hell, the world) will tell you that Starbucks does more than sell coffee. They sell esteem in a cup. People pay 80 cents to cover the parts, labor, and overhead that goes into the drink and an extra $3.20 to feel good about themselves and what they're drinking in the morning.

The power of any major brand lies in the esteem value it offers. The problem with mass marketing and selling this kind of intangible is that over time, it breeds entitlement. And the entitlement mentality is certainly not a healthy way to go through life, and it's less apt to make you popular in social circles.

Starbucks or any other super-brand can hardly be blamed for this, but I work very hard to make sure that I don't slip into the entitlement mindset. It's easy to do, and it's a comfortably slippery slope, but I prefer to remind myself that what I have, I have because of others.