“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” We have heard this saying nearly all our lives. What does that saying actually mean?

It deals with comparing ourselves with other people. What’s good for you is good for me. Whatever you need to exist, that’s what I need, too, in exactly the same amounts. Whatever it is that you like, I like that, too. It’s the “me too” thinking.

It means we must all think, act, move and live in the same way. Our desires must be the same. It means that society believed we must all be treated the same, following the same rules all the time. We should develop like little human “robots,” none of us being really special.

We each want to feel special and unique. In fact, we are all different, yet we are all treated the same. Ashy personality should not be treated the same as a more aggressive person.

Things that hurt some people never bother others. Their personality accepts the treatment, sluffs it off and keeps on going. A more timid personality may revert into a scared little person, never revealing their true personality for fear of being hurt or treated the same.

There are reasons we are all treated the same. For one, we haven’t got time to cater to each individual need, I am told, so we are all treated like cattle, even if we are chickens.

We all eat the same food, prepared in the same way when we are eating in a cafe, and we make our taste buds adjust. If we want to eat, we eat what is put in front of us. If I can eat it, so can you. Any of us go through life eating what we hate.

I am different. I must be handled with care. I need more of certain things to exist. I needed more love from Mama than my other brothers. They were different.

Yet sometimes my mom gave me more attention than she did them, and they rebuked her by telling her she was spoiling me. No, she knew all her children, and it’s because of this treatment that I am what I am today. I did not grow up jealous of my other brothers. We never compared ourselves with each other.

We are often selfish. Even when we do not need the attention, we insist on being treated the same. We do not give the same as the person who really needs it gives back.

Copyright ©1990, 2002, 2008, 2013

The definition of “wonder” is that which arouses awe, astonishment, surprise or admiration. A marvel. To be filled with awe? A monumental human creation regarded with awe.

Sometimes the words we dread are the words we need to hear the most in our lives. For some reason, we hate to hear the words we are about to discuss. I think I know why we hate these words. We have been taught from birth to think that the words mean the opposite of what I would like to teach you.

We need to begin to recondition our minds and relearn the meanings of these words. We are afraid to “serve” because we think it belittles us and makes us slaves. It’s not “classy” to serve. We will rethink this word, “serve.”

We hate to ask for “help.” We are stubborn by nature and refuse to ask for help. We feel it is a sign of weakness. Actually, it takes strength to ask for help. Most successful men are successful because they asked for help, and someone helped them.

The word “control” makes us feel trapped. We want freedom. Control has very little to do with freedom. We must realize that we are controlled from birth, like it or not. We must make the best of it.

If control is meant to destroy or to hold back and prevent growth, then it is bad. Most control, however, is designed to keep order, and we must have order. Our lives must be disciplined. Let’s look at these words and their correct meanings:

To serve: To find self-esteem. To feel needed. To provide a service; to be useful.

To help. To ask for help and receive it is to feel gratification. To give help is to know gratification – the good feeling of helping, of purpose and sharing.

To control. To yield to order, know that order is good. To believe that God is good and know that God is the author of order. (Just look around at His creation to know this is true.)

Without using these words properly in your life, you will become a whimp. Spell out the word, and see what you get:

W: Whine, crybaby
H: Helpless
I: Instant gratification seeker – inferiority complex
M: Mindless (no mind of your own)
P: Pride (lacking)

Are you a “whimp” or a “wonder?” You choose which it will be. Whimps constantly cry about hard luck, “poor me,” have no backbone and are not sure of themselves. They seek gratification in drugs, alcohol and anything else they can find. They feel “wonder” only as long as the drugs last, and then they are right back to being a whimp.

Be a “wonder.” Be in awe of yourself, in how god chose you, and how you discover your new potential each day. Spell out the word, and see the difference:

W: Willing to be of help to someone, to listen, to learn and to serve.
O: Obedient to God in order to find out your real purpose in life and follow your dreams.
N: Negotiable, to come to terms with others, reach an agreement.
D: Deliver and be rescued from bondage, danger or evil of any kind: Set free from mojos, insecurity, drugs, alcohol, jealousy, whimpy ideas.
E: Energetic, on the move, motivated. To get a supply of energy, eat the right foods. You are useless without energy. Life is energy; use it positively.
R: Responsibility for who and what you are. No one else can make you anything you don’t want to be. You are responsible for your own actions. Be accountable for what you do with your talents. Be successful.

When you say and truly feel that you are happy with you, that you like being you, then you will gain self-esteem and become successful. You will become successful. You will become a “wonder,” not a “whimp,” Whimps are stepped on; wonders are looked up to as role models.

You decide what you want to be. As for me, I choose to become a positive role model. I am a “wonder.” Are you?

Copyright ©1990, 2002, 2008, 2013

With life today, we want everything right now. We do everything in a hurry. That is the lifestyle of our new generation, our new society.

We want the fastest relief, the fastest automobile. We want to learn quickly and easily. We want fast success. We want to “get there” before anyone else. We are impatient. We’re afraid we’ll be left behind.

Patience is the hardest of all lessons in life to learn. It requires you to be completely honest with yourself as to why you are impatient. When you have looked at yourself honestly, you will be able to learn how to be patient.

A patient person has developed character that will lead to success. The characteristics of a patient person are:

When you employ faith, then you are assured that whatever you are waiting for will come to pass. You believe it into existence. You act as if it has already happened. The man who believes without a doubt is the one who will be successful.

If you doubt any situation, you will give up faster than the person who hangs in there. There is nothing pushing you, nothing to hope for when you doubt.

If you do not doubt, you can keep striving and climbing until you reach the top. You may not see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s there. You can hope for it and believe it into becoming very real. It was there all the time.

Never say, “I doubt it,” but instead say, “I believe it,” and act like you believe it, not like you doubt it. Go for it, invest your all and watch the returns.

When you doubt, you only invest a little of your talents and only a little can be returned to you. Show me a doubting person and I will show you a quitter. Show me a believing person and I will show you a winner.

I believed our school into reality. I acted as if it had already happened. If I had been motivated by doubt, I would have given up at the first problem. It would have been a reason to say, “you see, I told you it wouldn’t work; it couldn’t happen.”

Do the following exercises each day to develop patience. Say:

Copyright ©1990, 2002, 2008, 2013

Two main characteristics must be considered when speaking of security and insecurity.

“Security” is when you are sure of things, – yourself, others, situations, facts, and your loves. You usually have an extroverted personality and a sense of safety and confidence.

“Insecurity” is uncertainty about yourself and others. You are not sure of things, situations, facts, your loves. You are usually shy and have an introverted personality.

Security leads to: Confidence, understanding and peace, which leads to: Freedom from fear, ability to forgive, and an extroverted personality.

Insecurity leads to: Jealousy, awkwardness, quietness and scared feelings, which lead to: Self-consciousness, frustration, inability to forgive and an introverted personality.

To attain a sense of security, you must exercise the following, daily:

(1.) I am someone special, even if no one else thinks so. I believe it.

(2.) I am unique. I have different ideas, notions, feelings and attitudes.

(3.) I cannot be everything to any one person.

(4.) It is more important to have a little of someone than to have nothing at all.

(5.) I can and will trust others to the extent that I trust myself.

(6.) I can and will give myself totally to others and trust them explicitly.

(7.) I will not assume anything.

(8.) I will not pry or be overcurious of any situation that might lead to embarrassment for my friend.

(9.) I can and will respect my friend’s rights to be an individual first, and allow them to be what they want to be.

NOTE: The opposite feelings of these set forth above are features of insecurity.

Copyright ©1990, 2002, 2008, 2013

Have you ever wondered why we can’t be different? Is it because we want to be popular? Is it that we can’t stand the loneliness of being different – the need to be part of the crowd?

It costs a high price to be different. Only those who are willing to pay the price will succeed in being counted as different. We have to ask ourselves why we want to be different. Why is it difficult for us to express our true ideas?

We first must ask the question, “Who wrote the book on what is right? Who told us who we think we really are?” Why do people feel they have the right to tell you what is right?

Who gave one person the authority on life, particularly my life?

Why should anyone tell me how to feel, what to believe or what to think? This is my life, and as long as I do what God wants to me to do, I will do it. That is the only way I can survive and discover the real me.

I have been what people told me to be. I have always acted the way I was told I must act. I have been feeling the way someone told me I should feel about every emotion and situation.

I have been thinking like someone else told me to think. I have become someone else, and the true me constantly cries out to be revealed. I need to emerge, to be heard, accepted adn loved.

Since I know this is impossible, I will settle for being like the rest. I will not create waves; I will flow with the crowd, and I will be miserable.

Yes, I may think, feel and act differently from the norm, but who wrote the book on normalcy? If what most people do is normal, then we are a sorrowful lot.

Most people do not love unconditionally. Most people will not forgive and forget. Most people will not show their true emotions.

Most people will lie and live in darkness. Most people are not true to themselves and others. Why should I be like more people?

I will chance being different, but different in ways that are creative and not destructive. I will be different in ways that are inventive and not lazy, in ways of love and not hate.

I will learn to gracefully and respectfully reject ideas that go against my true self. I will not try to prove myself – I will just be myself.

I will not justify the way I feel, for you cannot justify true existence. Jesus only told the truth; He never justified the truth.

You cannot justify the truth; you can just be truthful. Untruths and bad decisions must always be justified – other people convinced that what is wrong is really okay. Many people think that “different” is wrong. They cannot give you a reason why you cannot feel and act differently than others; it isn’t what is expected.

Different means to take whatever you know and present the same idea with your own feelings. The idea does not change.

Being different means taking that idea and expounding on it, reaching out with it. It means testing that idea and improving on it. Doing that means you will be called “different.”

I dare you to be different. I dare you to succeed.

Copyright ©1990, 2002, 2008, 2013

Throughout our lives, we second-guess our first impulse to do things. We constantly throw doubt into what otherwise might be a perfect answer to a problem. The phrase, “on the second thought” or “on the other hand” has destroyed man dreams.

“On second thought” can create doubt and confusion when we are trying to be positive. It feeds a negative thought into our computer which could cause a change of mind – ending in disaster.

There once was a television sitcom whose lawyer always would present a different point of view about an otherwise perfect crime that had been committed. The object of this strategy was to place doubt in the juror’s minds – that it could have happened in a different way than it had been presented in different way than it had been presented in court.

As strong as the evidence was to prove the victim guilty or innocent of the crime, the situation became unsure as soon as “on the other hand,” “on second thought” was injected. That’s the way it is with most of us when we make decisions.

We first act upon a strong impulse that it is a correct and wise decision, but before long, we’re saying to ourselves, “on the other hand,” “on second thought,” or “what if.” We present ourselves with another point of view which is generally a negative.

If an “on the other hand” situation occurs and it is negative, I believe that’s the devil’s tool to create doubt in your mind. If an “on the other hand” is along the same lines as your original thought, adding positive rather than negative ideas, then I suggest you entertain such ideas.

It is only when “on the other hand” presents a totally negative thought about your idea that it should be canceled immediately. Those thoughts generally destroy you.

We spend so much time thinking about “on the other hand” that we lose the enthusiasm we first had when the idea emerged new and fresh in our minds. Here’s an example: If a person does something for you, your first inclination is to take the gift and enjoy it, free from any conditions. As soon as your mind begins to say to you, “On second thought, why is this person giving me a gift? What does he want from me for this gift?”

Soon the gift becomes entangled with motives, and the meaning and joy diminishes to the point of perhaps returning the gift with excuses such as “Oh, you shouldn’t have!” of “It’s too expensive!”

The main problem is that you allowed the joy to be taken from you by the “on the other hand”syndrome. We must learn not to destroy a friendship, a relationship, a marriage, a business or a lifestyle through our “on the other hand” thinking.

This syndrome can work against you. When the “on the other hand” presents doubt, you will perceive that relationship very cautiously. You will love conditionally. You will become suspicious and jealous because you are unsure.

You will not be able to love unconditionally, and consequently, will not be able to get the full, wholesome value of a loving and meaningful relationship. Everything you do, every act you take, will be based upon the “on the other hand” syndrome.

It will command you to proceed cautiously. “Do not give your all,” “Do not love totally.” Most of the time, you base these “on the other hand” situations on your past experiences and hurts. You judge the other person’s motives, based upon their past actions, thus never really forgiving or forgetting the past.

You must totally free yourself from what used to be or what should be. What matters is what’s happening now, today. Only then will you be able to receive with great freedom and anticipation, not worrying about the motivation or a situation, but only the end result.

Until you rid yourself of the “on the other hand” syndrome, you will never be able to forgive. It is true you can never forget, but you can forgive.

When you forgive totally, you look at the situation through a different eye. You don’t necessarily forget what you are forgiving, but when you think about it, the hurt no longer bothers you.

You think about the problem with a clear conscience and a loving heart. You no longer become uptight. You must first learn to forgive. Don’t worry that you can’t forget, because that tape recorder in your life has been running and recording since birth. It can recall through its memory banks every hurt and emotion. It is good that we don’t forget. There are good memories and good experiences you never want to forget.

The bad experiences, once forgiven, actually become good experiences because you have learned from them. Forgiving allows us to recycle that bad situation or hurt. It filters the pain, then presents it as a cleaning, conditioning fact to help you.

Ask yourself the question, “If I had done this to someone else, would I forgive myself?” This sometimes makes it easier to forgive others.

If I am basing my “on the other hand” syndrome on someone’s past, I have to base it on mine, because I used to be different than I am today. I must allow that person to be different than they were before.

Do I want someone to believe and trust in me for who and what I am today, or judge me on what I used to be? The answer is apparent. We all need to be forgiven and given a new chance, – free from the attachment and stigma of the past.

Yesterdays don’t count anymore, and since I don’t believe in fortune tellers, tomorrow cannot be predicted. We cannot judge a person on what they will turn out to be, based on what they used to be. We can only judge them on what they are now! When we do that, we free ourselves of negative thoughts about each other.

We no longer try to determine why a person is doing what he’s doing. We should enjoy being the recipient of someone’s love, regardless of what that person’s motive might be.

It becomes the other person’s problem if their motives are insincere or conniving. You simply enjoy that moment of good feeling and pleasure, for now, because that is all that matters.

As soon as you allow “on the other hand” to come into the situation, you lose the joy. You don’t respond totally. You begin to act cautiously with a different attitude, thus presenting an unrelaxed atmosphere. This causes a conditional, reciprocal situation, which generally ends up in separation of an otherwise loving relationship.

You now know how to love unconditionally. Remove the “on the other hands,” or “second thoughts” and enjoy life and love for the moment. That is all we’ve got!

We learn not to be jealous or insecure in our relationships when we love in the “now.” That worry comes from “on the other hand,” or “what ifs.” Here’s an example: “What if I am not his or her best friend?” “What if he’s just using me?”

Please understand that everybody “uses” someone else every day of our lives. We use each other’s talents, knowledge, love, emotions, every day. There is nothing wrong with that. So what if you feel used?

To me, it is great to be used, to have acquired something that someone else can use that only I have. That makes me “special.” We feel wrongly used when we will not share this freely. When we do, we should feel glad that we are used – to give life to someone else.

You can use a talent, but you cannot take the talent. Today you are used – yesterday, you were abused. There is a difference. Abused is when a person destroys you at the same time they use you.

A good thing to remember is that we must forgive those who abuse us. We must recondition that abuse and use it, again and again. In other words, don’t be afraid to love again and live again.

Do not base your love on past experiences, but learn and love even harder. Do not deny yourself good feelings, good things, achievements and prosperity because of your own “on the other hand” syndrome.

Success only come to people who are willing to be used and sometimes abused, but who bounce back with an even more determined outlook to “do it again.” Love for today and forgive now.

Forget yesterday. Think of today. Remember past experiences. Cling to the good things. “On the other hand,” cling to your first thoughts and forget your “second thoughts.”

Copyright ©1990, 2002, 2008, 2013

I have played the game of Hopscotch and I loved it. I have also watched the game being played by some very serious players – mostly children. It reminds me how I have played the game of life.

I vaguely remember the rules of the game of Hopscotch. I remember jumping over the pebbles in certain blocks. Some jumps were easier than others. If I made a mistake and landed in one of the blocks that was occupied, I had to start all over. If I lost my balance as I leaned over to pick up my pebble and stepped on the lines or out of bounds, I had to begin again.

Each time I started over, the game became easier. I learned to avoid the pebbles. As I played, I began to relate the rules of the game with my development in life.

Jesus often taught in parables and stories. He did this to make sure we understood the teaching – to make it clear. I find myself teaching Love All People students in a similar manner, as evidenced in this lecture and others.

When one starts out in life, he does not know from day to day what events will occur that might change the entire course of his life. As we set our goals in life, we often find it’s like the game of hopscotch reaching those goals.

When obstacles are thrown in our way, we have to jump over, around and beside them. Many times as we attempt to jump, we slip and fall, landing on on the line or on someone else’s spot. That means we must start over again.

We learn by our mistakes and jump over the hurdles. We hop all the way to the top, turn around and come back down, facing new challenges. We find different directions and greater goals, and then start the game all over again.

Each time we play, we become stronger and get closer to fulfillment – toward finding our purpose in life, which is the same as God’s purpose for us.

Some people choose to quit playing the game of Hopscotch rather than starting over and growing from their experiences – learning more each day about themselves.

My saying is, “I am not a mistake. I am a miracle, full of mysteries to be unraveled.” I find it challenging each day to make new and exciting discoveries about myself. I find that I am getting stronger, that I am finding out about my talents.

I am ambitious and excited about life. I find that I am loved, if not by my brother or sister, then certainly by God. In knowing this, I am already a winner.

Copyright ©1990, 2002, 2008, 2013

PART I:

God is the Creator of all three areas of life: the giving, the sustaining and the saving. He has chosen each of us to carry out certain responsibilities. We can reach our full potential by becoming willing to take the steps under God’s direction.

GIVING LIFE: It takes a man and a woman to give life. In God’s plan, this happens when two people love one another, marry and want to start a family.

Often, life is given as a result of lust, or an “accident” (unwanted pregnancy). We see “babies having babies.” Problems result, such as divorce. Single parents try to sustain life without having the tools to do so. There are various reasons for failure to sustain life in a positive way.

Some parents just don’t want to accept the responsibility of sustaining life; others try to “get even” with each other by pulling the child in two different directions. Some want”carbon copies” of themselves in raising children,. and others simply are incapable because of lack of knowledge, love and understanding.

The end result is often the same: Leave the rearing of the children to “someone else,” the school or the juvenile system (the courts). It takes very little effort to give life. It takes a lifetime to sustain and save life.

SUSTAINING LIFE: Our parents, either natural or adopted, teach us to grow. They educate us. They guide our lives and act as role models for us. They allow us to experience life and to choose our careers. They support us in our decisions.

Our parents advise us, but do not control us. The lead, but do not push they understand, but do not condemn. They love us through all the seasons of our lives.

When natural parents cannot do these things for various reasons, we look for someone who will. Some of us are very lucky if and when we find people to fill that role because we are helped to grow and find ourselves. We learn to love ourselves and can then love others.

SAVING LIFE: Jesus came to save our lives. He came through God’s love; by His grace, we have salvation. It is only through Jesus Christ that we can see God. He reunites us with our Father, the Creator.

Jesus paid for us with His life while we were still sinners. He takes a chance on you and me. We are not mistakes. We are mysteries, unraveling the unknown about ourselves each day as we grow and expand, create and discover.

PART II:

As I look around and get in touch with all the hurt that has encompassed young teenagers today, I tell them not to bathe in self-pity because of rejection or a difficult childhood. They are using these misfortunes as an excuse to be “bad”.

I tell them to take life as it comes, – deal with it, conquer every situation that comes their way – and appreciate how they got where they are today. Someone gave them life, someone sustained life for them, and someone loved them enough to pay the price to save their lives for all eternity.

As you know, it takes very little effort to five life. God, in His infinite wisdom, created life and then gave power to His creations to recreate life.

Unfortunately, life can be given through lustful actions with no love at all. Sometimes babies are made through sexual satisfaction without love, – sometimes through incest or rape.

Since life can be given very easily, it isn’t very important how you got here. In today’s “modern” technology, life can even be given by way of the test tube (test-tube babies). It can be given by implanting a sperm into an egg and having a surrogate mother carry the baby until it’s born.

Many times, the person who brought you into the world is unable to sustain your life. Some of us had natural parents who gave us life and then gave us away. The put us up for adoption or left us on doorsteps.

Genealogy is not as important as having someone to nurture and love you, – to bring you up. If no one would take the newborn and begin to mold it, teach it, take care of it, feed and nourish it as you would take care of a flower, then that life would soon die.

Often someone other than your natural parents will teach and guide you, bring you up through school, direct and sustain your life. Many of us go through our entire lives and go no further than this second phase.

I would like to introduce to you the most important phase. Meet God, Who through His only-begotten Son Jesus will take that given and sustained life and save it for eternity, so that you will never die.

Through grace, He saves your life, and then helps you find your real purpose here. It is the power you receive through Christ Jesus that gives you a more fruitful life.

Sooner or later, we accept the fact that we do a pretty poor job of sustaining and maintaining our own lives. Once we allow Jesus to take charge of our lives through the Holy Spirit, we find our true purpose in life.

In giving your life to Jesus, you will be directed and sustained, and you will find the void filled up. The missing link within each of us is the yearning to communicate with our Creator, our Father God.

So I’m telling you, young people, – do not continue to have pity on yourselves about the hurts or your biological mother or your genes. Know you can’t do anything by yourself. You need love; you need others.

Become more concerned with what you do with the life that has been given to you. The important thing is that you can have a fruitful and successful life.

Jesus is the only One Who can give you that fruitful life as well as eternal life. He loves you, and it is His desire that you accept Him as your Lord and Savior, so you can walk with Him always.

Each one of us has a built-in need to see God and worship Him. We cannot do this on our own; we have fallen short. Only through Jesus can we have this most-needed fellowship. He stands with open arms, hoping that we will use our free will and choose Him.

Copyright ©1990, 2002, 2008, 2013

Laughter is contagious. It is a gift. Not everyone can laugh for real; that is a privilege. When we laugh, we can make others laugh too, just as when we cry, others cry. It is an emotion which releases tension, causes happy feelings and eases fears. It gives a feeling of relief.

It seems to be a medical fact that laughter actually helps a patient get better. Crying cleanses the soul. Salty tears release tension and give us a cleansing feeling.

We hear the statement, “I laughed so hard I cried.” Sometimes the emotions are so close together that we can’t tell which we are caught up in. We hear, “It was so funny, I cried,” or “It was so tragic that I laughed.” We become confused about which to do and when to do it.

Laughter is an emotion we have difficulty containing. We just can’t help ourselves. We can think of things that happened years ago and those things are still funny because our memory banks stored that emotion and registered it as “funny.” If the incident has been forgotten, it is difficult to feel any emotion.

Some people laugh at things at the expense of the feelings of others. Some people are ticklish and others aren’t. It all depends upon the individual.

We have power over laughter and many times misuse it. That power can be compared with the power of the tongue, which is hard to control and can be either good or bad. The tongue can praise or it can destroy. It is the most powerful organ of the body. It can save lives or it can kill.

Once a statement of comment has been made, it can never be recalled. It has already been said; it has had its effect on the situation and the people involved. So it is with laughter. Once we laugh at something, it’s over. The effect has been made.

We often misuse laughter. We use it for our own selfish reasons. We use it to control others or put them down. We use it to make ourselves look important or to cover up our weaknesses. We use it to mock others or to get attention. We use it at others’ expense or misfortune.

Laughter was not intended for those purposes at all. It was intended to be used to bring pleasure though humor, to release pressures. It was intended to be used to relax, to forget and forgive, to cheer the sorrowful and to be medicine for the lonely.

Laughter is a serious emotion, and we should choose carefully how we will use it. We control it, since we decide what is funny. We should not allow peer pressure to influence us to decide what is funny for us. We should be able to risk being called a “square” or a sourpuss.

We all want to feel like we belong, a part of the group, not different. Consequently, we will laugh at something we know is not funny just so we belong. We will even laugh at unfunny jokes about ourselves in order to be accepted. We’re searching for love in all the wrong places, even in laughter.

After the laughter has subsided, we are still alone and hating ourselves all the more for being weak. We may have laughed at ourselves all the more for being weak. We may have laughed at unfunny statements about ourselves or our family, our traditions or our values. Perhaps we laughed at our life, someone we love, – even our Christ. When will we grow up and tell someone that something is not funny?

Our entire nation is known to laugh at tragic situations, saying it will help to ease the pain. The pain still remains after the laugher has ceased; it takes more than laughter to stop it.

We laugh at anything just because we do not know how else to handle a situation. We must stop using this emotion as our escape from reality, as some of us use drugs. Just as with drug use, after we stop laughing, we are lower than we were before.

When we laugh together, it’s great! We do and say funny things. We make funny mistakes and sing funny songs. “The joke is on me.” But my features are not funny; my size is not funny. My color is not funny. My accent is not funny. My misfortunes are not funny.

I will no longer laugh at an unfunny situation just to feel a part of the crowd. I will not laugh at other people’s misfortunes to feel superior to them. It was not funny when Jesus was crucified, yet the soldiers laughed at him and mocked Him. Jesus said that what we do to the least of our brothers, we also do to Him.

God created each person in His own image, not as a “clown” to be scoffed. I can be funny-acting, say and do funny things. We should all enjoy that emotion of laughter when such things occur. I am not a prude just because I refuse to stoop to one’s level of disgust about what they think is funny. I have more class than that.

I will always remember that I am somebody, not something to be laughed at. No one will control me with their “mojo” laughter. In doing this, I believe I can set new trends in our family. The more we laugh at each other instead of with each other, the deeper the hurt.

Laughter is contagious, and so is love. Use them both wisely. Learn to laugh and relax. Be real to yourself. Stop being phony just to please others. Grow; get in touch with what is funny in and about yourself and share it with others. Enjoy the laughter, – together.

Copyright ©1990, 2002, 2008, 2013

There is a drive within me to do what I’m doing that is so strong that nothing can stop me. I cannot be prevented from achieving what I have set out to do.

The desire to succeed is nearly an obsession. I want it so badly that I will sacrifice for it, I will fight for it, and I will hold on with every ounce of energy in my body until I accomplish it.

I dream of my achievement. I hope and pray for it, and I have faith and trust that God will honor the desire of my heart. I am determined and committed. I discipline myself for it.

It is my life; it is what I am all about. I am willing to convince those I love, my family and friends. If I cannot, I will chance losing them, because ultimately I will lose them anyway and they will lose me.

I will not compromise. I will seek God’s wisdom always and follow His lead. He has revealed His plan for my life. I know this because of the serenity I have inside.

I rise each day with renewed strength to keep going. I don’t listen to the negative comments; I go through the pain and disappointments, and I am protected. I ask Jesus to “go ahead, make my way.” I ask Him to lead me and open the impossible doors, and see myself walking through.

I am surrounded by those who share my dream of making it – a good support system. I acknowledge my shortcomings, but I am not afraid to face new challenges. I study and train to meet them.

I am humble (teachable), listening to others’ advice and positive comments. I know that if I want to reach my goal badly enough, it will eventually be mine. I will not sell myself short, now will I exploit my fellow man.

I will be delighted to compete fairly. I will grow from the risks I take and will not harm anyone along the way. I will be patient, knowing if I hold on long enough, my time will come.

It is in the believing in myself, knowing that I am not a mistake, that I make this voyage of self-discovery. It’s like reading an exciting novel with the next chapter better than the last.

Others do not always understand the growth we go through. They fight you, dump garbage on you, blot out the good points and underline the mistakes. I have learned to pray for them and love them with God’s love.

I do what I do because I like it. It makes me feel good inside when I provide a service for others. I help make people happy, change attitudes, set trends and motivate. I help them forget their problems for awhile. I inspire, challenge and entertain, sometimes all at the same time.

My particular career is so demanding that my lifestyle sometimes become a role for aspiring your musicians and entertainers. I feel good sharing my God-given talent with others, using if for God in many ways.

Putting God first in my life, I watch Him recreate me, mold me and use me. I do what I do because I love what I am doing, I love God and I love people.

It no longer matters what people say or think of my career. As long as I control it, and it doesn’t control me, I will enjoy it. I will survive. I will remain true to myself and to my Father God – my Creator.

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