Monday Morning Pep Talk: Are You Letting Adversity Keep You from Launching Your Part-time Business?

Times of great calamity and confusion have ever been productive of the greatest minds. The purest ore is produced from the hottest furnace, and the brightest thunderbolt is elicited from the darkest storm. -Charles Caleb Colton

In today’s pep talk, I am sharing a story that was passed to me through an acquaintance. The author and origin of the story is unknown, but the message is something we can easily identify with as employedpreneurs.

You can listen live to the pep talk here.

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.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. 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,” she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft and mushy. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hardened egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee.

The daughter smiled as she tasted its deep flavor and inhaled its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What’s the point, 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 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?”

Take a minute and ask yourself: Which one am I?

• Am I the carrot that stands strong in the beginning? But when faced with adversity or discomfort, do I lose my strength, shrink my vision and choose the path that requires the least amount of risk?

• Am I the egg that starts with a fluid spirit but, after rejection, failure, a financial hardship or some other challenge, I let go of my dream, harden my heart and make logical excuses as to why I can’t launch my business?

• Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter, resentful, and envious of others brave enough to pursue their purpose and passion?

•  Or am I like the coffee bean? Do I go beyond just surviving the circumstance that brings the adversity – and instead stand my ground, hold firm to my vision, ultimately transforming myself and the situation?

If you are like the coffee, when the water gets hot, you will release fragrance and flavor. When things are at their worst, you’ll get better, and change the situation in a way that has the potential to benefit you and the world around you.

When it seems that you are facing your darkest hours or the trials seem the most difficult do you dig deeper to get to the next level? How do you handle adversity?

Tags: advice, encouragement, pep talk

Category: Monday Morning Pep Talk