Goethe, the German poet and dramatist in the early 19th century, said, “Treat a man as he appears to be and you will make him worse. But treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be and you make him what he should be.”

Everybody needs encouragement. None of us achieve anything without help. The great achievers in history became all that they were because of the people in their lives. Words of encouragement can change the course of a person’s life.

Mark Twain said, “One compliment can keep me going for a whole month.”

A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach his or her potential.

The bottom line is that positive words can be the biggest influence in a person’s life. The Bible says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” (Pr. 16:24)

Recently, I read the following in a daily devotional:

“One day a principal called in

three teachers and said, “You three are the finest in the system, so we’re giving you 90 high-IQ students to

see what you can do with them.” Those students achieved 30 percent more than the other students in

the school. At the end of the year

the principal called the three teachers in and said, ‘I’ve a confession to make. You didn’t have 90 of the

most promising students; they were run-of-the-mill. We picked them at random and gave them to you.’ The teachers naturally concluded that their exceptional teaching skills

must have been responsible for the students’ great progress. ‘I’ve another confession,’ said the principal. ‘You’re not the brightest teachers; your names were the first three drawn out of the hat.’ So, why

did those students and teachers perform at such a level? Because they were encouraged to believe they could!

The definition of encourage in the Webster’s Dictionary is to give courage, hope, or confidence. Just think of how much better our community would be if we all made a commitment, every day, to encourage someone.

If you have any questions, or comments, please write to Get High on Life, P.O. Drawer U, Reserve, LA 70068, call (985) 652-8477, or e-mail: hkeller@comcast.net.