Words to Live By.

I recently had a dilemma. Someone broke my trust in them, and it hurt–to my core.

Then it happened again. With a different friend. And again. And all of a sudden, I started saying things like, “People suck.” And thinking things like, “Ya can’t trust people.” and “No good deed goes unpunished.”
All of a sudden, it hit me! I was developing a poor mental attitude and what Tony Robbins calls, “Life Metaphors” that simply were NOT empowering to my spirit (or health).

So I had a choice to make. Do I allow myself to feel jaded, betrayed and bitter? Do I allow it to rip my heart and trust in people enough to change my attitude towards ALL other friends in the future? Do I build walls up, and not trust people, believing them to all have anterior motives? Do I let it change me… to my core… where I begin to act differently, because of the situations I endured?

Or… Do I continue to hold my beliefs and values about how I want to treat people with kindness – no matter what. Trust people no matter what? Give them the benefit of the doubt? Even if they’re trying to deceive me behind my back?  Do I simply shrug it off, and realize they’ve got the bigger cancer growing in their heart because of the choices and decisions they’ve made with others?

It seemed hard to do this. Choice #2 seemed like a heavy weight to bear. It seemed like I was allowing myself to be a patsy. Knowing the truth, and pretending it didn’t matter that I knew better, but just didn’t let on to it. Until I had an epiphany!

Here’s what I realized: If someone is lying to you, or has betrayed you, it’s THEIR issue. It’s also their pattern. It’s how THEY treat other people in their life. But it’s also their cross to bear in their heart of deception. If I allowed their actions to change my actions – they’d have the power and their deceptive ways will have successfully spread their cancerous cells to another human being in this world.

I had to make a decision. And once I realized that I needed to stick to my core values and simply, “Be Me” no matter what, I wouldn’t allow this to “teach me that people lie”.
I realized that when people lie, betray or deceive others, it means they’re weak, and scared. They’re doing it for their own benefit and protection. They don’t have the strength of character to be real or to exercise Total Truth, no matter what the consequences might be.

It’s not about me. It’s about what they’re trying to hide, and why they don’t want you to know about it. Or what their true feelings are in their heart. Until they make their own discoveries and have an epiphany that their deceptive ways don’t serve their higher purpose in life, then all I could do is sit back, and allow them to do what they do. And move on, while I attract others into my life who ARE committed to Total Truth – no matter what. And boy, I gotta say, when you practice being open and honest with people – it’s an amaaaazing feeling!

I guess it’s legit when they say, “The Truth Shall Set You Free,” because when you’re real with people, and honest about who you are – flaws and all… you attract people who truly know you. To your core. And that’s a feeling you can’t buy. True Freedom.

Ok, so I know I’ve gone over my one minute limit here. But Thanks for listening. I hope something I’ve said will inspire you to keep on keeping on. Even if you get hurt by someone. Or some people. There are still plenty of others who share your genuine spirit who will click with you in your commitment to living authentically. Just be patient. (Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.)

In a nutshell – here’s your One Minute Motivator for the day:

Even if you get hurt, keep being YOU. Don’t change just because some people disappoint you. Instead, keep being true to what you value, and the beauty and people who share your values will be attracted to you. (instead of a jaded, altered version of who you are as a REACTION to mean people’s actions. And remember – People do the best they can with what they have. Some people truly don’t know any better. They haven’t been taught how to treat people with integrity and honesty – no matter what. We live in a cynical world. Many have learned that you must deceive in order to be accepted and get their needs met. You’re in their life to show them there IS a better way to live. #SoapBoxOver
Thanks for allowing me to share my Total Truth with you.

“We become what we think about all day long.”  –Ralph Waldo Emerson

While it is well enough to leave footprints on the sands of time, it is even more important to make sure they point in a commendable direction. –James Cabell

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost;
that is where they should be.
Now put foundations under them.
– Henry David Thoreau

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world your best and it may never be enough;
Give the world your best anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

- Mother Theresa

Let it never be forgotten that glamour is not greatness,
Applause is not fame,
Prominence is not eminence,
The man of the hour is not apt to be the man of the ages.
A stone may sparkle, but that does not make it a diamond.
A man may have money but that does not make him a success.
It is what the unimportant do that really counts, and determines the course of history.
The greatest forces in the universe are never spectacular.
Summer showers are more effective than hurricanes but they get no publicity.
The world would soon die but for the fidelity, loyalty and concentration of those whose names are unhonored and unsung.

Dr. Joseph R. Sisso gave the above rendition

Zig Ziglar continues this principle by saying…

These are the great people.
For we confuse fame w/ success.
Madonna and Marilyn Manson have fame.
Mother Theresa and Billy Graham have success.
They have everything that money can’t buy.

Matthew 6:19-21

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do NOT destroy,
and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is… there your heart will be also.

What is Success?

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children,
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others,
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded!

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A life worth living is a life worth recording.”
~ Anthony Robbins

“Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”
- Proverbs 4:7

I’ve always believed that one woman’s success can only help another woman’s success.

- Gloria Vanderbilt