A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life; how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it. She 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. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. Soon the pots came to boil. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.
When 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 cup. Turning to her daughter, she asked, 'Tell me what you see.'
'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft, mushy. The mother then asked her daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, her mother asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted the rich aroma. She asked, 'What does it mean, Mother?'
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. 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 through the boiling water, its inside hardened. Only the ground coffee beans were unique! After they were in the boiling water, they 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?
Consider this: Which 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 tribulation, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiffened spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Jah, I pray that I can always be THE COFFEE BEAN!
June 8, 2009
Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean?
June 4, 2009
May 21, 2009
Bad Advice
A prospective client has been given bad advice and I am not sure how much effort I want to expend to convince her of that before she makes an expensive, ill-advised decision.
If you read my profile you know that I install point-of-sale, inventory management and accounting software. All my clients come to me via word of mouth referrals. I do not advertise my services, because I have found that satisfied clients make the most effective advertisements.
So, a long time client asks me to call the owner of a manufacturing plant here in Saint Elizabeth to arrange a preview of the system I installed for him. He says based on their discussions, her present set-up isn't meeting her needs and he is sure I can help.
After the presentation, she enthusiasticly agrees to have the network wiring installed, purchase the uninterrupted power supplies and arrange the funds for my fee. She is to call me once everything is lined up.
A few days later she calls to ask if we can renegotiate the payment terms from 50% down and balance upon completion, to 50% down, 25% upon completion and balance within a month. I have to admit that I was impressed! My usual experience is a quick agreement to the terms, with unlimited excuses when the project is completed. So far, I have never actually had to make good on the threat to activate a dormant virus if I don't get paid.
Believing this renegotiation was a sign of positive progress in her decision making I thought matters were going well. The next thing I know, she calls to tell me "someone" told her they could hook she up dut cheep.
Out of curiosity, I research the software that was recommended, to find that it is, indeed, less expensive than my proposal. But the customer reviews are a litany of horror stories. Multiple crashes, failure to install, glitches in the setup process and a total lack of tech support. The two features that managed to get good customer reviews are features she can't use! The on-line banking feature and the payroll module are of no value to her as they are based on North American protocols and not adaptable to Jamaican requirements.
She is taking for granted that this "someone" will fill the gaps for her. She is making a short term decision, based on price, about a situation that should involve long range, strategic planning.
Before you jump to the conclusion that there are ego issues involved, I did not write or develop the software that I recommended to her. My recommendations are based on client needs.
If she were tech-oriented, I would e-mail the links to the user forums where one customer after another has razored the product itself and the lack of support from the company that sells it. In the end, I will probably do nothing more than suggest she get information about the software from more than one source.
I am a firm believer that what is for me, can't be for you. I hope I can be gracious, humble, professional and helpful when she calls to be rescued from this mistake she is about to embrace.
May 16, 2009
October 28, 2007
Google AdSense Account Disabled
Time out for an ugly reality check.
I have been working diligently to build a valid readership for this blog. I have followed the steps recommended to build regular traffic flow to my blog. I have joined forums, read & commented on other blogs, added links to sites I would want my readers to enjoy, sent pings via Pingoat.com and technorati.com each time I update, and have added my blog URL to my email signature.
Watching my readership slowly, but steadily grow has been an accomplishment for me. Now I get a bucket of ice cold water dashed over my head. Recently I received an email from Google AdSense advising that my account has been disabled. This is part of their post:
"It has come to our attention that invalid clicks and/or impressions have been generated on the Google ads on your site(s). We have therefore disabled your Google AdSense account. Please understand that this was a necessary step to protect the interests of AdWords advertisers.
As you may know, a publisher's site may not have invalid clicks or impressions on any ad(s), including but not limited to clicks and/or impressions generated by:
- a publisher on his own web pages
- a publisher encouraging others to click on his ads
- automated clicking or surfing programs, or any other deceptive
software
- a publisher altering any portion of the ad code or changing the
layout, behavior, targeting, or delivery of ads for any reason
These or any other such activities that violate Google AdSense Terms
and Conditions and program polices may have led us to disable your
account."
I know that I have done nothing to violate the terms and conditions of their program, but am now at their mercy because you only get one appeal and if that is denied you are just kicked to the curb. End of discussion AND they keep all the money earned so far. It is frustrating to play by the rules and still be branded a cheater. I filled out the appeal form and am awaiting their response.
If anyone, in a misguided attempt to help me, has set up any type of automated clicking or surfing program on my behalf, please remove me from it. At an exchange rate of JA$71.15 to US$1, for every $5.00 dollars of Google ad revenue lost, that actually means a loss of $355.75 to me here in Jamaica. For someone without a job, that means a lot.
If you stop by one day and don't see the Google ads any more, you know my appeal was denied.
Thanks, Loyal Readers, for visiting, for reading, for commenting, for subscribing and for returning again.
October 15, 2007
Jamaica's National Heroes Day
Monday, October 15, 2007, is National Heroes Day in Jamaica. This is a day for honouring our ancestors whose past struggles have made our future struggles easier.
Can you name our Jamaican national heroes?
In alphabetical order, they are:
Paul Bogle
Sir Alexander Bustamante
Marcus Mosiah Garvey
George William Gordon
Norman Washington Manley
Nanny of the Maroons
Sam Sharpe
I know I cannot be the only one who noticed that not one professional athlete, musician or dance hall sensation is on the list. Who are our heroes and sheroes of today? Who are our modern day nation-builders?
There has been much public discourse on whether Miss Lou (Louise Bennett-Coverly) or Bob Marley (Robert Nesta Marley) should be designated as National Hero.
Who would you consider to be worthy to have their name added to the list of our Jamaican national heroes?
October 2, 2007
The Four Agreements
According to Don Miguel Ruiz, “Everything we do is based on agreements we have made - agreements with ourselves, with other people, with God, with life. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves. In these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, how to behave, what is possible, what is impossible.”
Don Miguel Ruiz, born in rural Mexico, was raised in the Toltec traditions. He pursued a conventional education, which allowed him to practice for several years as a surgeon. After an accident, Don Miguel returned to his family’s Toltec roots in the late 1970's, studying and learning the Toltec ways. During the 80's and 90’s, while healing, teaching, lecturing and writing, he wrote The Four Agreements, a code for life and a template for personal development.
This is how Don Miguel Ruiz summarises 'The Four Agreements':
agreement 1
Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
agreement 2
Don’t take anything personally - Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
agreement 3
Don’t make assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
agreement 4
Always do your best - Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
Seems so simple on the surface, but what emotional maturity and courage it would take to actually live by The Four Agreements. Agreements 2 and 4 will be the hardest for me, but I know the effort will be worth it.
Which would be hardest for you?
September 23, 2007
From Jamaica to the Yukon
Devon Anderson is presently Jamaica's only musher. His incredible story begins with a job at Chukka Caribbean Adventure. Now he is preparing to compete in the 2009 Yukon Quest.
This is the kind of news our Jamaican children need to see. Help them to learn that their beginning does not have to preordain their end. Determination, enthusiasm, and the courage to move forward in the face of fear are traits that we need to nurture in our nation's future leaders.
A nation that produces the likes of Devon Anderson and Barrington Irving, Jr. can not be considered third world. "Wi likkle, but wi TALLAWAH!" (Translation: We may be a small nation, but we have world-wide impact.)
Big Up and Nuff Ras-pect to Yardies thru out the Diaspora who make us proud!
August 13, 2007
Dominoes In Jamaica
Dominoes are such an integral part of Jamaican life that many of us just assume it is as popular in the rest of the world.
Rules and game names differ. These rules seem to be geared towards American and Canadian players. Here in Jamaica, partners and cutthroat seem to be the most frequently played games.
Emotions run high, as egos and reputations are at stake; not to mention who pays for the next round of drinks. The ear-numbing THWAK of the domino being slammed on the table top as someone shouts, “A hit dat, tu rahtid!” and the Heiniken and Red Stripe bottles rattle precariously. Many seasoned players have learned to place their bottles on the ground to prevent spills. 
I still have two unanswered questions related to Jamaican domino playing. "Why are domino tables always rickety and why are the stools so uncomfortable?"
