Ugh... fake people . We all have a couple of them in our midst -- perhaps at work, in school, or via Facebook. They wear different masks depending on the situation and context. They change  their attitudes, opinions, and stories whenever they know it will benefit them. They'll do and say just about anything to look good in front of others. And they can't be trusted . The moment you tell them something in confidence, they turn around and spill the beans. They'll step on your toes just to get ahead. They'll pretend to be your friends, then throw you under the bus when you're not around. They're backstabbing opportunists . They'll post a barrage of Facebook updates in which they gloat about their vacations, meals, cars, and jewelry. They pretend to have the perfect life in an attempt to make others jealous. Little do these fake people know that there are some highly perceptive individuals out there who can see right through their little charad...

Have you ever heard or used the word apocryphal before? When I first stumbled upon the word in a book I was reading, I thought the word had a dark, brooding feel to it. Perhaps it's because you can almost spell "crypt" in the word. In reality, it means something -- whether a story, account, or statement -- that is of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true. Synonyms for apocryphal include fictitious, untrue, spurious, unsubstantiated, bogus, and false. I'm sure we can all point to one specific thing in school or the workplace that can often be described as apocryphal: rumors and gossip. Many of the statements made by candidates during the presidential election last year could also be classified as such, which is why fact checking has become all the rage in politics. All of us have friends, relatives or coworkers who relate stories that at times seem, well, exaggerated. And, yet, even though their authenticity may seem questionable...