“I wanted this house to be vast. I wanted to make a statement, not in any grand or boastful way, but to let people know what God can do when you believe,” he says. “I don’t care how low you go, there’s an opposite of low, and as low as I went I wanted to go that much higher. And if there was an opposite of homelessness, I wanted to find it.”~Tyler Perry
This afternoon I sat with my girls, my daughter Sade and my cousin Keta, and watched for the “humpty” time “Madea’s Family Reunion” where Madea just brings us to laughter, I mean serious laughter, and where Tyler warms my heart and uplifts my soul. There are a number of lessons in this movie, and as the “lesson searcher” I have become in my 30’s, I am constantly taking note of each single one. There was a moment in the movie today which has touched me and I felt I needed to share this with You. 
It is about Love being everything but UNSURE! Hum….
I will be sure to share my feelings and thoughts on the above statement an older lady in the movie shares with a younger niece who is engaged and not so sure of her love. Here I am, however, to share a moment of inspiration with you on the overall feeling that took over my being at the end of the movie: Tyler Perry’s life story. I will be sharing it with all Dream Believe Inspire Online Club members. At this moment however, I will briefly share it with you to encourage you, uplift you, motivate you, and, I pray, EMPOWER YOU!
The man behind the creation of Madea and all the various movies and plays that amuse, teach, enlighten, and empower, is Tyler Perry. For the first 28 years of his life, Tyler lived a very challenging life full of pain, poverty, and profound unhappiness directly connected with child abuse he had to endure growing up.
One day, at the age of 28, Tyler listened to Oprah mention how liberating and life changing it can be to commit our feelings and thoughts to paper. He took her word for it and ashamed of admiting who the character of his journal entries was, Tyler made up names and began journaling. From these writings Tyler’s very first play was born: “I know I’ve been Changed”.
Now, this is what my sharing moment is all about: how did this change came about? I mean, how do you go from being in depression, pain, poverty, to becoming successful, joyful, and empowered? Pay close attention to Tyler’s words for they may hold the very secret to liberate and empower you to no end.
“It’s nothing like real forgiveness, a deep-down forgiveness where you don’t hold any grudges against people,” he says. “I forgave [everybody] for the things they didn’t know and for the things they didn’t know to do.”
And THAT is when it ALL changed! FORGIVENESS! Letting go, NO MATTER WHAT, is the way out of a prison we, unconsciously, choose for ourselves. I encourage you to stop for a moment upon finishing reading this message. Stop it ALL and go within. Look for any and all individuals, including yourself, you must forgive once and for all. I do not mean becoming available for these individuals to again hurt you. I simply mean forgiving them so that YOU may move ON with your life in a ever more peaceful way. That is possibly, in my view, step number 1 to achieving a life of peace within.
Now, you MOVE ON! Now you have allowed yourself to move on ever more strong, joyful within, peaceful, powerful!
From that place of strength you can then find the ever needed ingredient for success: PERSISTANCE!
WIth a clean and light heart it is so much easier to become clearer on what we really, I mean truly, are here for. Once you know your why, find the strenght to follow your heart and persist, for YOUR DREAMS CAN become true.
Most likely you will fall. Tyler did. His first attempt at releasing his play to the public was a total disaster with only 30 people showing up after he had invested all the money he could save to bring this dream to life, $12,000. Everyone around him, including his mom, out of love and concern, advised him to give up his dream and… find a 9 to 5 job! He did not! And his second attempt turned into a huge success with sold-out shows many times over!
And then, there were “those critics” that thought what he was doing was not good enough! When this happens to you, may you have the awareness to listen to “the August Wilson’s”" of YOUR life. They are there, you simply need to raise your awareness. Why do I tell you this? Because even Perry began to feel doubtful and even ashamed of his productions. Until playwight August Wilson gave him a few words of advice:
“‘Do what you do. Don’t worry about these people, do what you do because I don’t think it’s bad at all,” Perry recalls. “And his words just shed a whole new light on everything.”
There is always someone who believes in you, who can encourage you, who can be there for you. Just raise your awareness and you will find them. Even if that someone is your own SELF.
Today Tyler lives at “Avec Chateau” (french for “with a castle”), a 16,000 sq.ft mansion! Pretty impressive, is it not? Well, as Tyler says, this is indeed a wonderful way of showing others what God (the Universe or any higher power you may believe in) can do when WE choose to BELIEVE!
Now keep it up. Keep DREAMING BIG DREAMS. BELIEVE You can do what it takes to bring them to life. Choose to INSPIRE others around you to do the same! And please, please, please, look into Tyler Perry’s work and DO share the movies with your teenagers, discuss the lessons in them. And above all, share Tyler’s story with all the young ones in your life. Make it a point to have “Real Life Story Moments” shared with/by the entire family where you talk about life stories like Tyler’s. THEY need it!!!!! These are the stories THEY will remember when the inevitable life road blocks and challenges come their way.
May power, joy, and peace be with YOU and ALL the YOUNG ONES in your life!
As for FORGIVENESS AND PERSISTENCE: Own Them! For when you do…..your Young Ones will GET IT!
And now I leave You and your Young Ones with a gift.
In Forgiveness and persistence,
I’m Selma Santos
Child/Youth Honoring Leader
Dreamer, Believer, Inspired
