THE THREE TREES

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."

Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."

Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best

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Just4real...

Email:just4real_ng@yahoo.com

+2348053418607 

"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative." W. Clement Stone

COURAGE THAT CHANGES YOUR LIFE

"The scars you acquire while exercising courage will never make you feel inferior." -- D.A. Battista

"Courage is a special kind of knowledge: the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared." -- David Ben-Gurion
"Courage is fear that has said its prayers." -- Dorothy Bernard
Courage. It is a word that conjures up images of great and dramatic actions. And yet I realize that we all have the opportunity to be courageous every day, in small and large ways. And it is when we choose to be courageous that we change our lives and the lives of those around us.
Can you name anything of any significance that did not emanate from some sort of courageous decision? I can't. Think of the changes that we have experienced in the last few decades and trace them back to their initial decision. Chances are, someone exhibited courage.
So what is courage? It is simply acting on what we know we should do, regardless of any fear we may have. It is the choice to disregard worry. It is the choice to do right, to pursue our dreams, to be successful people, to lead the way for others.
Courage changes lives. Yes, it changes lives.
First, the day you begin to stare down your fears and worries, and instead act courageously, your life will change. You will be set free to fly like you never have before. You will accomplish things you once only dreamed of. You will experience things you thought were only for others - the courageous ones. You will realize that your fears were baseless and just paper tigers, a mirage. You will begin to live your dreams. You will become a person of character!
You will also change the lives of others. Simply put, courageous people pull others along with them. Everybody benefits from courageous people. I have a friend who I admire greatly. A little over a year ago he decided to leave a lucrative career and pursue a dream.
All obstacles were thrown his way. The day he left his company, he found out that his wife had cancer. He went into a great deal of debt to finance his dream. He raised millions of dollars, putting his name and reputation on the line. He acted courageously. A year later, he has over fifty employees and growing monthly. Those employees are reaping the benefit of his courage! And his wife, who beat cancer, is acting courageously with him!
Here are some quick tips for acting courageously:
- Know what you want. Courage is about choice. If you are to act courageously, you need to know what the right choice is. Be clear about your dream and vision.
- Do not worry. I heard recently that worry is the wrong use of the imagination. That is perhaps the best definition I have ever heard. Worry is just thinking about all of the bad possibilities, isn't it? Well, courage is just thinking about all the great possibilities and then acting upon them!
- Do your homework. It helps to get the facts. It helps because then you can make an informed decision that will put your heart and mind to rest. There will probably be a downside but we understand it, choose alternatives, and act decisively instead of those.
- Act. There is no substitute for the first step. Do you know what you want? Have you thought of the possibilities? Have you done your homework? The next step is to take the first step, and ACT!

Have a wonderful time
just4real
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GOALS & HAPPINESS

What makes you happier than anything else you do? Where does real contentment come from?
If you understand and apply the following definition of happiness, you also open the door to unlimited success for yourself, your family and your group.
"Happiness could be defined as the emotion of progress toward desirable goals. There is an instant of contemplation of the last goal in which one is content. But contentment becomes boredom immediately that new goals do not come to view. There is no more unhappy thing than a man who has accomplished all his ends in life." — L. Ron Hubbard
Examine how three facts, from this definition of happiness, make happiness come and go in your life.
1. "There is an instant of contemplation of the last goal in which one is content."
Think of goals you have reached in the past. Remember how you felt on your wedding day or when you graduated from school or a training course? In each case, you achieved a goal!
Remember those times when you were content with life? Maybe when you started a business or landed a great job? When you paid off your debts?
At every point in your life when you felt content or happy, you can probably find you were either making progress toward a goal or had reached a goal
2. "But contentment becomes boredom immediately that new goals do not come to view."
Without a new goal, you get bored. Boredom leads to stress and misery. For example, planning a vacation is exciting. But toward the end of a vacation many people are bored to tears as they no longer have a goal.
Arguments during honeymoons are common if the newlyweds do not set goals for their marriage.
Planning your retirement and the first day of retirement is a thrill. But the joy of freedom quickly turns to boredom and early death if you do not work on new goals.
"There is no more unhappy thing than a man who has accomplished all his ends in life."
Think of a time you were very bored. Had you completed a major goal without starting a new one? Look at other times you were bored. Examine your goals, or lack of goals, at those times.
3. "Happiness could be defined as the emotion of progress toward desirable goals."
We can use this definition to understand unhappiness as well. When were you last unhappy?
In each case, you probably 1) had no goal, 2) were trying to reach an undesirable goal, or 3) you were making no progress toward a goal.
Using the definition of happiness makes happiness easy to achieve. Simply chose desirable goals and make progress toward them!
Exercises
The following steps will help you put this definition of happiness to use.
1. List goals you have not yet reached.
Small goals, large goals, old goals, failed goals and current goals. Make a very complete list.
2. Circle those goals that interest you the most.
Drop out the goals that do not excite you as you can’t reach a goal unless it interests you.
However, if an uninteresting goal is vital for you to reach, find ways to get excited about that goal. Examine the goal’s benefits. For example, maybe the goal to "Pay off all debts" does not thrill you until you examine the benefits: Save $5319 in interest this year, financial freedom, less anxiety.
If you cannot find any benefits of the goal, eliminate it.
3. Add new, desirable goals.
Push the envelope of your self limitations and set goals you really, really want. What are your greatest desires?
If you had unlimited time, money and support, what would your life be like? What would you do? What would you have?
If you knew you could accomplish ANYTHING, what would your goals be?
Add these goals to the list.
4. Line up your goals in a logical sequence.
The better your goals align with each other, the more likely you will reach them. For instance, if you have a goal to travel the world for six months this year and another goal to make more money this year than ever before, you might have problems.
However, if you line up your goals, your odds of success are better because your focus is constant. Example of aligned goals: "Finish my training program so I can double my productivity and income." "Help my husband lower our monthly debts so we can spend more time with the kids." "Delegate all of my sales activities to the sales manager so I can open a new office."
5. To complete the procedure and become happier, you now need to start making progress toward your goals.
Big steps or baby steps, any progress is progress.
Plan out next week. Plan out the month of January. Plan your best year ever.
Make a new habit of reviewing your goals each day to keep your attention and efforts aligned with your goals. At the start of each day, ask yourself: What can I do today to make progress toward my goals?
The more progress you make toward your most desired goals, the happier and more successful your new year will be!

Enjoin A Life Full of Happiness.
Justreal..

THE INDISPENSABLE QUALITY

By Brian Tracy
DARE TO GO FORWARD
Winston Churchill once said, "Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues because upon it, all others depend." Courage is the chief distinguishing characteristic of the true leader. It is almost always visible in the leader's words and actions. It is absolutely indispensable to success, happiness and the ability to motivate other people to be the best they can be.

FOLLOW THROUGH ON YOUR VISION
In a way, it is easy to develop a big vision for yourself and for the person you want to be. It is easy to commit yourself to living with complete integrity. But it requires incredible courage to follow through on your vision and on your commitments. You see, as soon as you set a high goal or standard for yourself, you will run into all kinds of difficulties and setbacks.

REFUSE TO COMPROMISE
You will be surrounded by temptations to compromise your values and your vision. You will feel an almost irresistible urge to "get along by going along." Your desire to earn the respect and cooperation of others can easily lead to the abandonment of your principles, and here is where courage comes in.

STICK TO YOUR PRINCIPLES
Courage combined with integrity is the foundation of character. The first form of courage is your ability to stick to your principles, to stand for what you believe in and to refuse to budge unless you feel right about the alternative. Courage is also the ability to step out in faith, to launch out into the unknown and then to face the inevitable doubt and uncertainty that accompany every new venture.

AVOID THE COMFORT ZONE
Most people are seduced by the lure of the comfort zone. This can be likened to going out of a warm house on a cold, windy morning. The average person, when he feels the storm swirling outside his comfort zone, rushes back inside where it's nice and warm. But not the true leader. The true leader has the courage to step away from the familiar and comfortable and to face the unknown with no guarantees of success. It is this ability to "boldly go where no man has gone before" that distinguishes you as a leader from the average person. This is the example that you must set if you are to rise above the average. It is this example that inspires and motivates other people to rise above their previous levels of accomplishment as well.

THE ATTACK OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia, was one of the most superb leaders of all time. He became king at the age of 19, when his father, Philip II, was assassinated. In the next 11 years, he conquered much of the known world, leading his armies against numerically superior forces.

LEAD THE ACTION
Yet, when he was at the height of his power, the master of the known world, the greatest ruler in history to that date, he would still draw his sword at the beginning of a battle and lead his men forward into the conflict. He insisted on leading by example. Alexander felt that he could not ask his men to risk their lives unless he was willing to demonstrate by his actions that he had complete confidence in the outcome. The sight of Alexander charging forward so excited and motivated his soldiers that no force on earth could stand before them.

ACTION EXERCISES
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, set big goals for yourself and force yourself out of the comfort zone by acting boldly - even when there is no guarantee of success. Go boldly where no one has ever gone before.

Second, resolve to act quickly and decisively when you are confronted with a difficult or dangerous situation. Dare to go forward. Practice audacity in all things.

Acting with courage builds your courage and confidence higher and higher.

Have a Wonderful time.
Just4real....