The (Secret) Truth About Lemons and Why it Matters to You

Have you ever heard someone say, “When life gives you lemons…”?

You know how to complete it, right?

“…You make lemonade.”

But what if I told you… that isn’t the whole story?

Normally, we say that phrase to talk about the power of optimism in the face of adversity. And that certainly is an inspiring message. But the TRUE story of the lemon may surprise you… and reveal an even deeper lesson about success.

The truth is, sour sells.

In the 2022–2023 season alone, it’s estimated that US growers produced 1.12 million tons of our favorite yellow fruit throughout California, Florida, and Arizona. But even THAT wasn’t enough to quench America’s thirst for nature’s most sour citrus. That’s because over that same time period, we imported over 181 million tons of lemons mostly from Central and South America. And it makes sense when you consider that lemons end up in everything from drinks, to pies, to oils, and even online chat groups who wonder: “Can you put lemon juice in your eyes?” (True Story

The truth is, lemons are everywhere. So much so, that people for hundreds of years have wondered, “Where do these originally come from?” So when gene sequencing advanced enough in the 1990’s, some scientists ran tests and discovered that lemons… even though they’ve been in the western world since the Roman Empire in 200 AD… are actually HYBRIDS of the “Bitter Orange” and “Citron”.

That means several thousand years ago someone in Asia looked at the most sour and unpleasant fruit combo in the known universe, and said, “Can I make it worse?” And voila… just like other ill-fated love childs throughout history… the humble lemon was born.

And no paper cut or unprotected eyeball has been safe since. That’s because- as any baby who’s been duped on YouTube to eat a lemon knows- lemons are not just sour, but REALLY sour. When scientists rate the pH levels of different items, pure lemon juice is routinely on par with… stomach acid. The only thing more dangerous? Battery acid.

That’s some real puckering power.

Just as raisin oatmeal cookies (pretending to be chocolate chip cookies) at parties are the reason I have trust issues, I understand why those babies on YouTube forever distrust adults.

That’s right boys and girls… when life gives you lemons… WE were the ones who made the lemons in the first place.

What does this have to do with influence?

Don’t get me wrong, life can throw some real zingers our way. Unforeseen circumstances like nature, Covid, or other external forces can derail even the best laid plans.

But a lot of the time? Our behaviors have created the very problems we struggle with. So instead of forcing a smile and making “lemonade”, what if we stopped and asked, “how did this set of lemons get here in the first place? And did I make them?”

A friend of mine told me the story of how she mentored someone to trade stocks. She knew that it took daily consistency and effort to create results, and tried to communicate this to her mentee. But the mentee thought they could plug in the equations, and skip town for a few weeks and come back to a tidy sum waiting in their bank account.

As you can guess, things went disastrously for the mentee and they returned to find significant losses in their spreadsheets. During the same time, my friend’s diligent efforts resulted in a sizable return. When the mentee saw the difference on the balance sheet, they were surprised and dismayed. Their response to my friend? “I guess you’re just luckier than me. This is a sign I need to focus on other … better… opportunities.”

Their optimistic “lemonade” aside, this person didn’t realize that the “lemons” were entirely of their own making.

Another good friend of mine is a loan officer and once said, “I initially didn’t believe in mindset or personal development. It was a bit ‘out there’ for me. However, overtime, I saw the same people repeatedly getting foreclosed on and going bankrupt while others … who were focused on improving themselves… came in time and time again to buy their next investment property. And yet financially, they all started in the same place.”

One group of people unknowingly created lemons, and grappled with the consequences… while another learned how to change their behaviors and avoid lemons entirely.

Next time you find yourself stuck in an unsolvable mess and before you succumb to the temptation to blame fate, look in the mirror and ask yourself: How have my behaviors invited this result? How can I change my behaviors to invite a different result in the future?

On my desk, I have a quote I read often:

Abundance of opportunity never comes from scarcity of thought.

If you feel like you are dealing with a lot of lemons, start figuring out how they got there in the first place. You’ll soon find that changing the outcome for good… is the sweetest lemonade of all.

Just don’t squirt it in your eyeballs (like these guys do).

Christian

CHRISTIAN HANSEN has gone behind the scenes in some of the biggest organizations in the world to find out the reasons why some people get chosen and why others don’t. As the #1 bestselling and LinkedIn Top Ten ranked author of “The Influence Mindset: The Art & Science of Getting People to Choose You” Christian helps teams and organizations who want increase their earning potential by standing out from the crowd and influencing people to choose them. With degrees from Brigham Young University and The London School of Economics, he’s helped thousands of individuals position and sell themselves. A fan of international communication, history, and choral music, he currently lives in Utah with his wife. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com