Monday Morning Wake Up Call!!!

Monday Morning Wake Up Call: Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

When Adversity Knocks Was there something that happened this past week that got you a little down?  We can’t stop the stuff from happening but we can control how it affects us. One of my favorite stories is about a daughter who 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 fire. 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, 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?” Something to Think About In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us. Will you let things soften you, toughen you – or transform you?  The choice is YOURS. Weekly Activity This week, be a coffee bean! To honor that transformation, extend invitations for coffee to five of your best customers, or drop a Starbucks gift card in the mail to them just as a way to say thank you! Words of Wisdom Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. Abraham Lincoln Everyone is handed adversity in life. No one's journey is easy. It's how they handle it that makes people unique. Kevin Conroy Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Charles R. Swindoll How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours. Wayne Dyer It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. Epictetus