The Carrot, Egg and Coffee Bean

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.

 

She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

 

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the young woman replied. The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

 

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

 

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened! The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

 

"Which are you?" the mother asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?" Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong but, with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a death, a breakup, or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour.

 

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Never Give Up!

A frog was hopping around a farmyard, when it decided to investigate the barn. Being somewhat careless, and maybe a little too curious, he ended up falling into a pail half-filled with fresh milk.

As he swam about attempting to reach the top of the pail, he found that the sides of the pail were too high and steep to reach. He tried to stretch his back legs to push off the bottom of the pail but found it too deep. But this frog was determined not to give up, and he continued to struggle.

He kicked and squirmed and kicked and squirmed, until at last, all his churning about in the milk had turned the milk into a big hunk of butter. The butter was now solid enough for him to climb onto and get out of the pail!

The Moral of The Story? "Never Give Up!"

Don't Judge and Be Patient

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

“How much is an ice cream sundae?”

“50 cents,” replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it.

“How much is a dish of plain ice cream?” he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient.

“35 cents,” she said brusquely.

The little boy again counted the coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed.

When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw.

There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were 15 cents – her tip.

Shake Off the Problems

A man's favorite donkey falls into a deep precipice;
He can't pull it out no matter how hard he tries;
He therefore decides to bury it alive.

Soil is poured onto the donkey from above.
The donkey feels the load, shakes it off, and steps on it;
More soil is poured.

It shakes it off and steps up;
The more the load was poured, the higher it rose;
By noon, the donkey was grazing in green pastures.

After much shaking off (of problems)
And stepping up (learning from them),
One will graze in GREEN PASTURES.

How You Can Consistently Stay Motivated

Not long ago, a business owner who reads my column asked me this question:
I was wondering what do you do when your motivation level is lacking, as well as your self esteem? What do you do to regain the motivation needed to move on with your plans and pursue your networking endeavors?

This is a great question, and here’s my answer:
First of all, let me say that I am as certain of what I’m about to say as anything in my life: Motivation comes from within you, not from outside you. No one can motivate you but yourself. I’m speaking long-term motivation. Many years ago, author Frederick Herzberg wrote about motivation in the Harvard Business Review, where he said that others can motivate you but only in the short term. He called that KITA (Kick in the… Anatomy – that’s really what he called it).

On the other hand, long-term motivation comes from within. So, that begs the question: As a business person, how do you motivate yourself when your motivation is low?

First, you should understand that virtually all people have to deal with this at some point throughout their professional lives. I’ve never met anyone who was immune to this (I certainly am not). So, what do I do as an entrepreneur and businessman when I feel down?

Here are some of the things that have helped me:

1. Minimize contact with negative people. This isn’t always completely possible but do it as much as you can. At least do this for a short while. I really believe that some people complain as though it were an Olympic event! Keep clear of them while you are trying to get your mojo back.

2. Maximize time with people that refuel your energy. You become the five or six people with whom you hang out the most. Hang out with people who make you want to “do” and “be” better. Set some meetings with them. Go to some business events together – anything that puts positive people around you.

3. Read/listen/watch positive things. If you are feeling down, read a positive book. Listen to an audiobook or podcast with a positive message. Watch something that makes you laugh. Surround yourself with some things you love to be influenced by. Let that in to your life as much as possible.

4. Prioritize the things you want to do and must do. Make a list. As a businessman, I live by lists. The more I can get a handle on the things I need and want to do – the easier it is to tackle them.

5. Eat the elephant one bite at a time. Take that list you’ve created and tackle some of that list EVERY DAY. If you really do this, you will be amazed at how much you get accomplished. The more you accomplish, the better you will feel. They feed each other.

There’s plenty more we can do to generate motivation, but I believe the list above is a good start. Also, keep this in mind: If your motivation is low it helps to step out of the small picture (the day-to-day) and remember the big picture (why are you doing what you do?). Allow yourself to be motivated by your bigger vision, and let goals drive you. Remembering why you are doing what you do in business can most certainly help you find some new energy to keep going.

If you’re still struggling with motivation after reading and trying the above, one of my friends had a great suggestion: Let your to-do list (suggestion no. 4) be driven by a short-term goal: What would you like to achieve in the next week or -- at most -- next month, that inspires you to act today? A small “win” can be very motivating.

Thanks to entrepreneur.com for the great article!

FENCES IN YOUR MIND

For more than 100 years, runners tried to break the four-minute mile. It was considered the "Holy Grail" of track and field. Many said it couldn't be done. In fact, doctors wrote articles in medical journals explaining why it was physically impossible for the human body to run a mile in less than four minutes. However, in May 1954, a British medical student named Roger Bannister ran the mile in 3:59.4. His amazing accomplishment made headlines around the world. Yet what happened afterward is even more amazing. The four-minute mile was broken again the next month...and then again...and again. It has since been broken more than 700 times, sometimes by several people in the same race. What happened? They weren't training any differently, but for the first time they believed they could do it. The barriers to the mind had come down.

NUMBER 1 SPEECH - VINCE LOMBARDI

"Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up — from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.

Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization — an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win — to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.

It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there — to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules — but to win.

And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious."