The Tree Test

A must read by Tyler Perry

I have this tree analogy when I think of people in my life, be it friends, family, acquaintances, employees, co-workers, whomever...They  are all placed inside what I call my tree test. It goes like this:

                                          

LEAF PEOPLE

Some people come into your life and they are like leaves on a tree. They are only there for a season. You can't depend on them or count on them because they are weak and only there to give you shade. Like leaves, they are there to take what they need and as soon as it gets cold or a wind blows in your life they are gone. You can't be angry at them, it's just who they are.

BRANCH PEOPLE

There are some people who come into your life and they are like branches on a tree. They are stronger than leaves, but you have to be careful with them. They will stick around through most seasons, but if you go through a storm or two in your life it's possible that you could lose them. Most times they break away when it's tough. Although they are stronger than leaves, you have to test them out before you run out there and put all your weight on them. In most cases they can't handle too much weight. But again, you can't be mad with them, it's just who they are.

ROOT PEOPLE

If you can find some people in your life who are like the roots of a tree then you have found something special. Like the roots of a tree, they are hard to find because they are not trying to be seen. Their only job is to hold you up and help you live a strong and healthy life. If you thrive, they are happy. They stay low key and don't let the world know that they are there. And if you go through an awful storm they will hold you up. Their job is to hold you up, come what may, and to nourish you, feed you and water you.

Just as a tree has many limbs and many leaves, there are few roots. Look at your own life. How many leaves, branches and roots do you have? What are you in other people's lives?

THANK GOD FOR THE ROOTS!

~ I fall, I rise. I make mistakes. I live, I learn. I've been hurt, but I'm alive. I'm human, I am not perfect, but I'm thankful. ~

Tyler Perry

Shared by Simmi Kapoor

The power of Words

WORDS                                       
I have always had a special love for words. Words have such power in them.


The right words can uplift, inspire, heal, and create endless joy and love
in our lives. The wrong words can depress, discourage, hurt, and bring us
endless misery and pain. It is so very important then to try and choose the right words in our lives. By choosing the right words I don't just mean saying the right words or writing the right words either. I also mean thinking the right words. 


It is amazing the garbage that so many of us allow ourselves to think each and every day of our lives.


In order to live a truly blessed life we must haul away the garbage and
start to plant words that will grow into a garden of joy and light in our
minds. Start today then to make the words in your life work for you and not against you. Do away with "can't" and "no". Try "can" and "yes" instead.
Say, " I can be happy, I can choose joy, and I can share love." Say, "Yes" to life, to learning, and to growth. 

Begin to use words like: 
 
 and 
when you speak to others. 

Find a word of praise for everyone you know and then share it with them. Look the people you love straight in the eye and tell them, "I love you." Seek our every fantastic, fabulous, and glorious word that you can and start to use them in your life.
Words are such simple things and yet they have the power to change our lives forever if we use them right. 
Make the choice everyday of your life to use all of the good, positive, and loving words you can every second that you can. 
                       
If you do this you will find that your life will become a paradise of
love and joy, that other people will become your brothers and sisters in
happiness, and that God's goodness will shine through every word you use....

-- Author Unknown

 From an email shared by @alchemist

One Amazing Tip for Being More Successful in 2014

Sharing an article from Time magazine's business.time.com

A quick tip that could make all the difference in what you accomplish next year.

By Geoffrey James

                               

Over the past few years, I’ve been playing this really cool game. 

Everybody playing this game starts with a character that’s assigned a random number of abilities (physical strength, creativity, etc.) and amount of resources (money, equipment, time, etc.).

As the game proceeds, you can gamble resources to gain more abilities or gamble your abilities to obtain more resources. You can also trade resources with other players which is a gamble to get more resources.  (Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t).

                                 

                                             

The game is called “Life” and I don’t mean the one where you run a little plastic car around a board. When it comes to success (either at work or at life in general), there are several advantages to thinking of your life as a game:

First, realizing that your genes and your family connections (i.e. resources) were random keeps you from thinking that they make you “superior” to the other people playing the game. As a result, people are more likely to want to work with, or for, you.

                                         

The perspective that there’s randomness involved also keeps you from grousing because you were given less resources than somebody else.  You start focusing on playing with the resources you’ve got rather than focusing on what other people got.

Second, thinking of your life as a game keeps you from taking it too seriously. Yes, there will be ups and downs, which will be big or small, depending upon how you risk your resources and your time.

                                       

However, realizing that life is just a game allows you to experience those ups and downs with a sense of perspective. Because it’s only a game, so you’re freer to shrug off the downs and use the highs to your advantage.

Finally, gamifying your life helps you understand that the winner isn’t the guy who dies with the most toys (i.e. his time ran out), but rather the person who manages to extract as much enjoyment as possible from playing the game.

                                         

For almost everybody, that enjoyment will come primarily from helping other people rather than helping yourself.  You see, life isn’t a “zero sum” game where the number of winners is proportional to the number of losers.

Quite the contrary. In the game of life, winners (people who enjoy life) create more winners. That’s why the game is so cool.

This post is in partnership with Inc., which offers useful advice, resources, and insights to entrepreneurs and business owners. The article below was originally published at Inc.com.

Read more: One Amazing Tip for Being More Successful in 2014 | TIME.com http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/dec-20-success-tip-how-to-win-the-game.html#ixzz2olH9aN4Q