# @sarahwells400mh on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CY_eIVGuAZr
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/75703768-sarahwells400mh-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/6808f74b92.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-01-21T12:14:22.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Olympian Sarah Wells | Motivational Speaker (@sarahwells400mh) — https://gondola.cc/sarahwells400mh

## Caption

What if your circumstances didn’t have to define your outcome? 

This week we hosted our National Believe Leadership Inspiration Fair (think science fair of inspirational projects) and when we were wrapping up the event, I shared a story that I read in a book by Jon Gordan and Damond West called, the Coffee bean. It walks through the tale of a student having a conversation with his professor about the student feeling overwhelmed and stressed and not knowing what to do. 

The professor gives the student some homework to boil a carrot and report back what happens. 

As you might have predicted, the student comes back and says when he put the carrot in hot water for a long time it wilted. The professor says that’s right, when we are feeling a lot of pressure sometimes the “hot water” we’re in makes us just want to give up and wilt. 

The professor gives the student another homework assignment and asks him to go boil an egg, and report back. The next day the student says, “the egg got hard”. The professor says that’s right, sometimes when we’re in “hot water” we can get hard-hearted and we may refuse love or help. 

Now the last homework assignment was for the student to go home and boil a coffee bean. What happened? 

Well…It made coffee! 

Unlike the egg or the carrot, the coffee bean didn’t let the circumstances influence it, instead the coffee bean influenced the water!

At the Believe  inspiration fair, we had over 750 students who created over 350 projects, and those projects impacted thousands of people! 

Only 3 of those projects win grants, but ALL of those projects have something to be proud of! Given the state of the world right now, every single participant rose above the circumstances and the challenges they face, and not only found a way to refine and strengthen their own leadership skills but they also made an impact in their communities. In my eyes, they were all coffee beans! They didn’t let their circumstances define their outcome and that was incredible to see. 

Can’t wait for our next cohort! And a HUGE thank you to our National Sponsor #rbcfuturelaunch for helping us make this impact, we are so lucky to work with the rbc team! 🤗

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## Tags

rbcfuturelaunch

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