One of my students at Globe University wrote this for his blog and I thought it was worth the reblog - great words of advice!

manman612:

Are you speaking POSITIVE words?

           What are you saying to yourself? What are you saying to others? Words can limit your thinking, or they can expand your horizons. Words can bring on discouragement and despair, or they can provide the encouragement to do great things. One of the quickest and easiest ways to improve your world is to improve the words you use when thinking to yourself or speaking to others. You always have the power to choose your words, so it makes sense to choose the best, most positively powerful ones. You’ve no doubt experienced the enormous impact that a kind, encouraging word can have. Rather than letting your words amplify a troubling situation, choose the words that will lead the way to a more positive reality. What you say to yourself and what you say to others truly matters. When you make your language more consistently positive, your attitude cannot help but follow right along!

My Feet Are Off The Ground
By Tyler Perry: Writer and Actor

This morning I awoke and was so frustrated about all of the stuff that I’m dealing with in trying to get this studio open.

I was about to open my mouth & start complaining when I remembered something that happened to me a year ago.

I was walking to my car when this woman who appeared to be homeless started walking towards me. I’m ashamed to say this but I thought, ‘I don’t feel like being hustled today.’

Then I got quickly convicted. I felt guilty so I started digging in my pocket for some money. As she got closer I noticed that she had the kindest eyes that I had ever seen.

As I was reaching into my pocket she started to speak. I thought, ‘Here goes the sales pitch’. She said ‘Excuse me sir, I need some shoes. Can you help me?’ My eyes filled with water because I remember being out on the streets and having only one pair of run over shoes. I was taken aback for a second.

I took her inside the studio and had my wardrobe people find shoes in her size. As she put the shoes on she started crying, praising God, and saying, ‘My feet are off the ground! My feet are off the ’ ground! Several of the wardrobe people started crying. I was crying.

But I never forgot those words. ‘My feet are off the ground!’ I thought, ‘Wow! All she wanted was some shoes.’ She quickly disappeared and never asked me for a dime. I realized that I still had the money in my hand so I went out looking for her. She was gone just that quick so I looked all around the neighborhood for her. I found her standing on a corner looking down at her shoes, still crying. I was so touched.

I asked her how she had gotten homeless. She told me that she had AIDS and that she was waiting to get into a shelter. She said that her family had turned their backs on her and that she had no place to go, but she knew that God would make a way for her. I said to myself, ‘He just did.’

Her faith and her praise moved me. I took her to a nearby hotel and put her up until she was able to get on her feet I had someone that worked for me to check on her from time to time and to make sure that she had food and clothes. After about a month or so we lost touch, but I never forgot her.

This past summer I was shooting ‘Daddy’s Little Girls’ and this woman walks up to me smiling. I didn’t recognize her face, but her eyes were familiar. She had on a really nice dress and her hair was done. It was her! She told me that the little help that I had given her had changed her life.

She was in a house now and doing very well. I said all of that to say this. After I met this woman, every time I think about complaining and mumbling I remember, ‘My feet are off the ground!’

I wanted to share this with you just to let you know that when I say that I am thankful for you, I mean it. And when I say that you are a blessing to me, I mean it.
 
We take so much for granted sometimes that I just wanted all of you to know that I am grateful to God for you every day. Thank you for being in my life.

~Tyler Perry


When God takes something from your grasp. He’s not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better… “When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others”.

May you all be blessed and remember that today your feet may be off the ground, tomorrow may be a different story, so when you have the blessed privileged to help someone else, I pray that you won’t hesitate to do it, no matter how great or how small you think your actions are. Be blessed!”

 

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STYLE & HIV

As an AIDS activist does style have anything to do with the effectiveness of my message?  Is it important to have a “look” when promoting my message and does this help save lives?

The short answer to this is, absolutely YES!  Now, I am not here to promote that we should be overlooking those who are suffering from AIDS or struggling to pay for HIV medications, but what I am saying is that I have to work that much harder to get people’s attention on an issue that most seem to dismiss as an issue affecting “those people over there.”

When I started sharing publicly that I was living with HIV I never knew that what I wore and my physical appearance was going to play such a significant role in the effectiveness of my message.  For example, I have appeared on TV interviews and many young people have stopped to watch because of the hat I was wearing - they didn’t care what I had to say (at that initial point) but the hat got them to stop and listen…and hear about HIV/AIDS and my story.  There have been times when someone was going to commit suicide but when they watched one of our interviews they stopped because of the shoes I was wearing and then heard that I was living with HIV and they didn’t end up dead.

This theory is obviously going to cause some controversy, however, one thing I encourage everyone to do regardless of your work in life is BE YOURSELF!!!  If being yourself is wearing hats - then wear those hats.  If you like those big high heels - then wear them!  Be who are meant to be and don’t be shameful for it.  You are uniquely created and called in life and how you look matters when it makes you feel good and confident.  If you feel confident then your work or message in life will come across that much stronger!  Just be sure you are not putting your entire identity, however, in the things you own because in essence they will “own” you if you have this thinking.

With regards to fashion and HIV - I think that our world has lost attention towards HIV/AIDS.  If we are going to get it back, we can’t make HIV always look sad, depressing, sick and dying…no one wants to watch or see this.  That’s the reality even if it is reality in the global HIV community.  We must make HIV look hip, trendy and something that people actually want to hear about.  I am not talking about making it look cool to have HIV but I am saying marketing HIV prevention and personal life stories MUST be packed with some “SWAG.”  People are never going to “buy” the message of prevention or caring for those living with HIV if we don’t package ourselves better and yes our image does matter.

With all of this said - I am showing the four things that people ask me about all the time that has helped me get my message across.  How are you sharing your message? 

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