A Carrot, an Egg, and a Coffee Bean

I want to share a story that actually makes an excellent business case in today’s business climate.

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 whenever 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 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 20 minutes, she turned off the burners. She took 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 bean out and placed it into a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?

“Carrots, eggs, and a coffee bean,” she 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 the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich flavor. 

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 in 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?”

Ask yourself: which of these three 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, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough, with a stiff spirit and a hard heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The coffee bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water containing the coffee beans gets hot, it becomes coffee, and releases its fragrance and flavor. If you are like the coffee bean, when things are at their worst, you improve your influence and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest, and the trials are their greatest, do you have a positive effect on those around you? How do you handle adversity, how is your business adapting to this global economic change, so you can be better positioned for the future?

Tell me what you are: a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean? 

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