While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.

    The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.

    I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I'm not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold—his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.

    I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.

    But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.

    No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.

    A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.

    Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to Sydney.

    In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog.

Dear John,

    My name is Amber and I want to share my story with you because what you've shared about life and positive energy has changed my life. This past year has been one of the hardest for me. I felt I was stuck in a position that had nothing to do with what I wanted to do with my life. In January, after two years of being together, my boyfriend left me.

    I read your blog every morning as I drink my coffee at work, but it wasn't until this March that I told myself "no more negativity" as you taught readers in your blog.

    Since then I've got into new habits at work to keep my energy positive. When people walk in the front door, I'm the first face they see, so I smile big when I say "good morning" to them, especially on Mondays. Instead of waiting for someone to ask me for help, I offer it with an open mind. The CEO noticed my change and offered me the executive assistant position that I wanted.

    One of the biggest things I've taken to heart from your blog is changing my opinions on my job. Yes, it was not an important position, but when I was passionate （热情的） about it, I could make my life fulfilling.

    All in all, I have to thank you somehow for having the passion to help others because it truly is inspiring to me. So thank you so much, John. My life has changed because your words pointed me in the right direction, Take care!

                                                 Sincerely ,

                                                     Amber

    It's rare that you see the words “shyness” and “leader” in the same sentence. After all, the common viewpoint is that those outgoing and sociable guys make great public speakers and excellent networkers and that those shy people are not. A survey conducted by USA Today referred to 65 percent of executives who believed shyness to be a barrier to leadership. Interestingly, the same article stresses that roughly 40 percent of leaders actually are quite shy—they're just better at adapting themselves to situational demands. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Charles Schwab are just a few “innies”.

    Unlike their outgoing counterparts who are more sensitive to rewards and risk-taking, shy people take a cautious approach to chance. Rather than the flashy chit-chat that defines social gathering, shy people listen attentively to what others say and absorb it before they speak. They're not thinking about what to say while the other person is still talking, but rather listening so they can learn what to say. Along the same lines, shy people share a common love of learning. They are intrinsically (内在地) motivated and therefore seek content regardless of achieving an outside standard.

    Being shy can also bring other benefits. Remember being in school and hearing the same kids contribute, until shy little Johnny, who almost never said a word, cut in? Then what happened? Everyone turned around to look with great respect at little Johnny actually talking. This is how shy people made good use of their power of presence: they “own” the moment by speaking calmly and purposefully, which translate to a positive image.

    Shyness is often related to modesty. Not to say that limelight-seekers aren't modest, but shy people tend to have an accurate sense of their abilities and achievements. As a result, they are able to acknowledge mistakes, imperfections, knowledge gaps and limitations.  Since shy people have a lower sensitivity to outside rewards than outgoing ones, they're more comfortable working with little information and sticking to their inner desires. Shy people are also more likely to insist on finding solutions that aren't primarily apparent. Don't believe me? Maybe you'll believe Albert Einstein, who once said, “It's not that I'm so smart, it's that I stay with problems longer.” Obviously, finding certainty where uncertainty is typically popular is a huge plus for any successful person.

    The myth that shy people are less effective leaders than their outgoing fellows is just a misunderstanding. Make wise use of your personality strengths to lead your business no matter what side of the range you fall on.

    Anyone can try to lead a group, but not every individual is cut out for leadership. The better leaders possess a few qualities that can mean the difference between the success and failure of the group. These are the qualities the leader of higher rank will look for when choosing a leader for a group, or when evaluating the performance of a leader. They're also the qualities team members want in a group leader, and appreciate when they find them.

    Take Responsibility

    Group leaders might share tasks around a group as necessary, but eventually a group leader needs to be able to accept that responsibility lies on his shoulders. That means that if things go wrong in a group project, he's the one who must accept the consequences and work out what mistakes are made. The group leader won't always have the power to control everything group members do, but he should be ready to admit any mistakes the group has made as a result of his leadership

    Concern for Members

    The group leader has a commitment to the task or project at hand, but perhaps more importantly, he has a real concern for each and every person who is part of his group. This means getting to know the strengths, weaknesses and goals of team members, as well as making time to build the group through collective activities. The group leader should make sure that everyone is included, even if an individual is new to a group.

    Good Listener

    The group leader needs to be able to listen to the suggestions, complaints and ideas of group members. Not only will this allow complaints to be addressed and potentially suitable ideas to be put into practice, but a leader who listens will also encourage group members to share their concerns and thoughts, creating an atmosphere of free speech and productivity.

    When it comes to the most famous 20^th century painters of the United States, Grandma Moses should be mentioned, although she did not start painting until she was in her late seventies. As she once said to herself:" I would never sit back in a rocking chair, waiting for someone to help me." No one could have had a more active old age.

    She was born on a farm in New York State, one of five boys and five girls. At 12 she left home and was in domestic service until at 27 she married Thomas Moses, the hired hand of one of her employers. They farmed most of their lives, first in Virginia and then in New York State, at Eagle Bridge. She had ten children, of whom five survived; her husband died in 1927.

    Grandma Moses painted a little as a child and made embroidery(刺绣) pictures as a hobby, but only changed to oils in old age because her hands became too stiff(僵硬的) to sew and she still wanted to keep busy and pass the time. Her pictures were first sold at the local drugstore and at a market and were soon noticed by a businessman who bought all that she painted. Three of the pictures were exhibited(展览) in the Museum of Modern Art, and in 1940 she had her first exhibition in New York. Between the 1930's and her death, she produced some 2,000 pictures: careful and lively portrayals of the country life she had known for so long, with a wonderful sense of color and form. "I think really hard till I think of something really pretty, and then I paint it" she said.

    Almost every night for more than 10 years, Kirk Alexander, 48, ordered a late dinner from his local restaurant Domino's Pizza. But for the past two weeks, he hasn't called for even once.

    "A few of my staff mentioned that we hadn't seen his order in a while. Then I found that it had been 12 days since he last ordered, which is not like him," Domino's general manager Sarah Fuller said, feeling she could no longer ignore Kirk's recent absence.

    Sarah has known Kirk since 2009 when she started working at the Domino's Pizza as a delivery driver (送餐员) and often made the short trip to Kirk's home about six minutes away. She knew Kirk worked from home, and neighbors said he seldom left. She also knew that he suffered some health problems in the past. Something, Sarah worried, was wrong.

    Around 1 a. m. on May 8, Sarah sent delivery driver Sean Hamblen to visit Kirk's home. Sean arrived at Kirk's home and knocked on the front door several times. There was no answer. He later noticed that the lights and the TV in the home were on. When he called Kirk's phone, it went straight to voice mail.

    Sean drove back to the restaurant to tell Sarah and they decided to call 911. Soon, officers arrived at Kirk's home. So did Sarah and Sean. They heard a man calling for help from inside. Officers broke down the door and found Kirk on the floor in need of medical attention at once after suffering from a heart attack (心脏病发作). One day later, they might have been too late.

    So is keeping an eye on regular customers (老顾客) part of Domino's business plan? Not really. "Kirk is part of our family here and we feel like we need to do something." Sarah said.