#PV - Scrambled Eggs or Potatoes?

By John R. Nocero & Sandy Abell

 John: I am on Lisa Rangel’s mailing list. I think she is the best in the field at what she does, and I always learn something from every e-mail she sends. This one hit home on Feb 8, and it was so meaningful, I wanted to share it here.

 Read on……

 “Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

 Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high flame. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot.

 He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.

 After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

 He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

 “Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied.

 “Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

 “Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

 He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity – the boiling water.

 However, each one reacted differently.

 The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which are you,” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

The moral of this story is quite simple. In life, things may happen around us or to us, but the only thing that really matters is what happens within us.

Sandy – the potato, the egg or the coffee – which one are YOU?

Sandy: Great story John, and something for each of us to think about. It’s important to know who we are and how we function and deal with things, so we can adapt or shift when the need arises.

I am the egg, because I’m open to change and willing to learn and grow when necessary. 

I’m not a big fan of change because I like my comfort zone, where I know how to function and feel capable and competent. However, one thing for sure is that change is inevitable and nothing ever stays the same, so it’s important for me to be open and flexible when the need arises, even if it’s not my favorite thing.

I think it’s important for each of us to know which we are, so we can deal with change in a smart way.