The Seven Life - Changing PrinciplesThat Lead To Purpose and Fulfillment by Samuel Rodriguez

1. Life's greatest opportunites arise in our darkest hour.

2. Faith and fear always run together.

3. God programmed us to have partners.

4. There's always an empty tomb right before a filled upper room.

5. Order precedes promotion.

6. There is transformation, followed by recognition.

7. You are assured a filled upper room.

These principles were based on Christ resurrection on the third day.

My comments

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I was personally touched by the second principle. Faith will overcome fear.

The Ten Commandments of Working in a Hostile Environment by T.D. Jakes

1. Know that you are anointed for the job or position you now hold

2. Don't expect to be appreciated

3. Embrace opportunities for change

4. Do the job well while remembering the vision

5. Don't Let the Environment Get Inside of You

6. Increase your capacity to work with difficult personalities

7. Where you are is not where you are going

8. Achieve optimal results with minimal confusion

9. Do not pledge allegiance to cliques and groups

10. Always keep your song near you

My comments
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Although I am not inclined towards liking and accepting a hostile environment, I welcomed this "commandments". 

The Sea Lion by John Eldredge (Part III)

  Three weeks after the wind ceased to blow, the sea lion had a dream. Now, as I told you before, there were other nights in which he had dreamed of the sea. But those were long ago and nearly forgotten. Even still, the ocean that filled his dreams this night was so beautiful and clear, so vast and deep, it was as if he were seeing it for the very first time. The sunlight glittered on its surface, and as he dived, the waters all around him shone like an emerald. If he swam quite deep, it turned to jade, cool and dark and mysterious. But he was never frightened, not at all. For I must tell you that in all his dreams of the sea, he had never before found himself in the company of other sea lions. This night there were many, round about him, diving and turning, spinning and twirling. They were playing.

Oh, how he hated to wake from that wonderful dream. The tears running down his face were the first wet thing he had felt in three weeks. But he did not pause even to wipe them away, he did not pause, in fact, for anything at all. He set his face to the east, and he began to walk as best a sea lion can.

" Where are you going?" asked to tortoise.

"I am going to find the sea."

The Sea Lion by John Eldredge (Part II)

It was in May that the winds began to blow. The sea lion had grown used to wind, and at first he did not pay much heed at all. Years of desert life had taught him to turn his back in the direction from which the wind came and cover his eyes with his flippers, so that the dust would not get in. Eventually the winds would always pass.

But not this time. Day and night it came, howling across the barren lands. There was nothing to stop its fury, nothing to even slow it down. For forty days and forty nights the wind blew. And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. The sea lion lifted himself to have a look around. He could hardly believe his eyes.

Every single leaf had been stripped from his tree. The branches that remained, with only a twig or two upon them, looked like an old scarecrow. And I do not need to tell you that there was no longer any shade in which to hide. But worse than this, much worse indeed, was what the sea lion saw next. The water hole was completely dry. 

The Sea Lion by John Eldredge

The sea lion was not entirely alone in those parts. For it was there he met the tortoise. Now this tortoise was an ancient creature, so weathered by his life in the barren lands that at first, the sea lion mistook him for a rock. He told the tortoise of his plight, hoping that this wise one might be able to help him. "perhaps" the tortoise mused, "this is the sea." His eyes appeared to be shut against the bright sun, but he was watching the sea lion very closely. The sea lion swept  his flippers once against his side, gliding to the end of the water hole and back. "I don't know," he said. " It isn't very deep." "Isn't it?" " Somehow, I thought the sea would be broader, deeper. At least, I hoped so."

      "You must learn to be happy here, " the tortoise told him one day. " For it is unlikely you shall ever find this sea of yours." Deep in his old and shriveled heart, the tortoise envied the sea lion and his sea. "But I belong to the sea. We are made for each other." "Perhaps. But you have been gone long now, the sea has probably foegotten you," This thought had never occurred to the sea lion. But it was true, He had been gone for a long, long time. "If this is not my home, how can I ever feel at home here?" the sea lion asked. "You will, in time." The tortoise appeared to be squinting, his eyes a thin slit. "I have seen the sea, and it is no better than what you have found here." "You have seen the sea!" " Yes. Come closer," whispered the tortoise, "and I will tell you a secret. I am not a tortoise, I am a sea turtle. But I left the sea of my own accord, many years ago, in search of better things. If you stay with me, I will tell you stories of my adventures."

   The stories of the ancient tortoise were enchanting and soon cast their spell upon the sea lion. As weeks passed into months, his memory of the sea faded. "The desert," whispered the tortoise, "Is all that is, or was, or ever will be." When the sun grew fierce and burned his skin, the sea lion would hide in the shade of the tree, listening to the tales woven by the tortoise. When the dry winds cracked his flippers and filled his eyes with dust, the sea lion would retreat to the water hole. And so the sea lion remained, living his days between water hole and tree. The sea no longer filled his dreams.

My comments

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I wish I won't end up like the sea lion. Living in between.