You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

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 as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water and placed them all on a high fire. Soon the pots came to the 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. After twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out, she pulled out the eggs and placed them in a bowl and then ladled the coffee into a cup. Turning to her daughter, she asked,” tell me what you see”? Carrots, Eggs and Coffee” the young woman replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots; she did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked her daughter to break an egg, after pulling off the shell, she observed the hardboiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she inhaled its rich aroma. The daughter asked what it meant.

Her mother explained that each of the objects had the same adversity, boiling water. But each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after been 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?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?Which are you? Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do you wilt and become soft and lose your strength? Are you an egg that’s starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did you have a fluid sprit, but after a death, breakup or maybe a financial hardship become hardened or stiff? Does your shell look the same, but on the inside you are bitter and tough with a stiff sprit and hardened heart? Or are you like a coffee bean? When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour. If you are a bean, when things are at their worst you get better and change the situation around you and make it a better place? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean??

Paul Duncan
Small Fish Business Coach Perth
www.smallfish.com.au