When you walk into your favorite coffee place in the
morning, I doubt that the first thing on your mind is, “How are the coffee bean
plantations doing today?” If you are a true coffee aficionado, you may know
that your preferred beans come from Columbia or Nicaragua, but you probably
don’t worry much about the well-being of the coffee growers.
But companies such as Starbucks, Keurig Green Mountain,
Illycaffe and others who rely on coffee beans for their very existence and
continued growth, do. Coffee plantations world-wide have been experiencing
unusual fluctuations in heat, rain and other environmental factors, which
impact the available supply of beans for – guess what – your cup of joe! And those
companies are investing boots-on-the-ground, as well as substantial funds, to
help local coffee-growers find solutions to their issues.
Why should you care? Beyond caring about the price of your
coffee-addiction doubling or tripling in the very near future. . . because
these companies are demonstrating an approach to their problems that we all
should be mindful of when approaching our own.
Too often, we (I!) expend entirely too much energy on
bemoaning a problem: you can’t find a job, your current job is lame, your
boyfriend/girlfriend left you for another, the economy is trashed, politics are
killing us all, what’s that rash on your elbow?, your cell died in the middle
of an important call . . . need I go on?
Problems! We all have
them, of all kinds, shapes and sizes. Just like the coffee companies. And
we need to do more of what they do: invest boots-on-the-ground and funds in
getting creative. Looking beyond the problem to creative ways of addressing
whatever the situation. Boots-on-the-ground would mean doing your research, on
the web or in brainstorming with friends. Reading books (there’s a thought!),
meditating on the question, seeking advice from those who’ve had similar
issues. Funds? Well, that’s obvious. Take classes, seminars, get training of
one sort or another, invest in a path that will take you past the issue.
It all starts with how you think about your issue. With
getting off the blame-game, the “woe-is-me” pity party, the “it’s impossible”
litany, just dumping that entire way of looking at things, and adopting the “It
is what it is. Fine. Here’s what I want, let’s get on with it.”
Key words?
“Here’s what I want,” rather than “Here’s what I don’t want.” That simple
change in semantics will change the direction of your thought, which in turn,
will get you on the path to resolving your issue, whatever it is. Yay!
