Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family, and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I'm not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances don't come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that's just the reality of how life is.

    However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And, in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it'll require even more time, time that most people won't put in.

    This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don't enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.

    When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success, you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost. It's sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent, but thinking that way does you no good, and there's a huge chance that you're wrong anyway.

    Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you're not willing to put in the time and work, don't expect to receive any rewards. Consistent, hard work won't guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.

    My first book had been rejected by every major American publisher. My first agent, wasn't communicating. My dream of a life as a successful author was in tatters.

"It isn't going to happen," I said to my friend. "And I have to accept it."

"If you lose faith in your product, no one else will have faith in it," she told me.

    And, I knew she was right. But, how could I believe in myself when I hit a wall at every turn? I knew I had a good product. The book featured interviews with world-famous people who had learned how to succeed and lead—the hard way. It had information that could help other people. As a consumer, I would have loved that book because it had the great wisdom I so desperately needed. And, their stories made for good reading. I had a good book. What I didn't have was a publisher. I had to find a way to get that book sold and on the shelves. But, how?

    The hardest challenge was forcing myself to do battle again. I had to find the strength to believe in myself when it seemed like no one else believed in me. When I hit a wall, I usually need to get more information to figure out what is going wrong. So, I did some research and found out that my initial vision for the book-where all the interview subjects got their own chapters-wasn't marketable to big publishers because that format does not sell tons of books. What I had to do was recognize, restructure and rewrite.

    I needed an agent. There are thousands of agents. Surely one of them was right for me. So, I started sending out query（询问）letters. Within a week, I had a dozen agents who wanted the book. I chose the one who I thought would believe in me and my dream. She did get me my choices of publishers.

    Hard won Wisdom wound up being a best-selling book. But, it almost never was.

    With her pretty face and soulful voice, Zhang Bichen was thought a possible champion when she first set foot on the stage of the TV show The Voice of China.

    On Oct 7, 2014, the 25-year-old girl won the fierce competition and received the title of the “Voice of the Year”. Zhang's dream of being a singer star came true as last. What impressed people was not only Zhang's singing skills, but her willingness to make an effort. “I gained the opportunity to sing on The Voice of China,” she said.

    In fact, being a singer has always been her dream. She wanted to apply to a college for singing, but her parents insisted that she should have an easy job after graduation because she did very well at school. So Zhang gave in to her parents and learned French at university. However, in the first year of her college, she was discovered by a South Korean company when she entered a singing competition. To realize her dream, Zhang signed a contract（合同）with the company, started her career in South Korea, and became a member of a band.

    “My company had rules that did not allow us to use cell phones. During the first few months after I arrived in South Korea, a totally unfamiliar country, I felt terribly homesick. But I could only phone my parents in the restroom when nobody noticed.” Zhang said. “When I did not have much income, I had to eat noodles every day for months.”

    It was her positive attitude and outgoing character that helped her through. “When I feel down, I tell myself it is not winning or losing that matters. The most important things are standing on the stage and singing for people.” she said.

Dear Alcohol,

    You've been around forever. I can remember all the pain you've caused for me.

    Do you remember the night you almost took my father's life? I do. He loves you. Sometimes I think he loves you more than he loves me. He's addicted to you, to the way you promise to rid him of his problems only to cause more of them. You just sat back and laughed as his car went spinning through the street, crashing into two other cars. He wasn't the only one hurt by you that night.

    Do you remember the night of my first high school party? You were there. My friends were intrigued by you. They treated you as if they were never going to see you again, drinking all of you that they could. I spent two hours that night helping my friends who had fallen completely. "I'm so embarrassed," they said as I held their hair back so that they could vomit (呕吐). "I'm sorry," they said when I called taxies for them, walking them out and paying the driver in advance. "This won't happen again," they said as they were sent to the hospital to have their stomachs pumped. Two 15-year-old girls slept in hospital beds that night thanks to you.

    Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17-year-old neighbor who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lessons? Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car and killed the two people in the other car? He died the next morning too. His sister walked home from her dance lesson, and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio. She didn't realize her brother was in the midst of it all. She never saw him again. And it's all your fault.

    I wish you'd walk out of my life forever. I don't want anything to do with you. Look at all the pain you've caused. Sure, you've made people happy too from time to time. But the damage you've caused in the lives of millions is inexcusable. Stop luring (引诱) in the people I love. Stop hurting me, please.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

    My father was attached to gardening by birth. One of my earliest memories is following Dad barefoot around in the garden with both hands blackened from digging in the soil. The garden was a wonderland full of possibilities.

    As Dad grew older, he still loved gardening. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer, he still planted all sorts of plants. Sometimes, I would come over to visit, and we would walk together in the garden. But then, something changed. Like the weeds that took over his garden, the cancer grew rapidly in Dad, and the doctor gave up. I stayed with Dad twenty-four hours a day and I found myself in all kinds of uncomfortable situations with Dad until I promised to care for the garden.

    Though I had heard the words of the doctor, what really made me believe that Dad was dying was the state of his garden. That year, he only planted tomatoes. Too tired to weed them, he simply tied them with strong strings to the fence and let them be. It made me sad to see them ignored, so I would come over and water them once in a while, and remove the weeds. I still remember the day I picked the last tomato from the vine(藤). That day was one of the saddest I had ever experienced in my life.

    Three years ago, I decided to plant my own garden. I decided I would start out with just a few tomatoes. That morning when I moved to the garden, something caught the corner of my eye and I had to smile. It was my eight-year-old son Nathan, standing barefoot in the soil, happily playing in soil.

    Have you ever been into a cave? If not, please follow us and explore some of the most beautiful caves from around the world!

    Marble Caves

    Located in the center of Lake General Carrera, the Marble Caves in Chico, Chile, are only accessible by boat. The surrounding crystal clear waters allow visitors to see the rock formations beneath them while the rock ceilings above change color(depending on the writer levels and the season). The best time to visit: during sunrise and sunset, when the sun's rays light up the cave walls, making it an experience to remember.

    Reed Flute Cave

    Reed F1ute Cave known as "the Palace of Natural Arts" is located in the northwest of Guilin in southern China. The limestone cave offers a grand fairyland of stalactites(钟乳石), stone pillars, stone curtains, birds, plants and animals in fantastic shapes and colors.

    Fingal's Cave

    This incredible sea cave is located on the uninhabited island of Staffa in Scotland. The cave's size, shape, and naturally­arched(拱形的) roof combine with the waves to create strange sounds that enhance its cathedral­like atmosphere.

    The Blue Grotto

    The Blue Grotto is the symbol of Capri. It is a sea cave found on the coast of the island and is a well-known spot to all who visit the area. This cave is unique for its brilliant blue light which comes from two sources: the entrance to the cave and a bigger hole beneath the entrance. When viewed from inside the cave, the entrance appears as a brilliant white light just above the waterline, while the underwater hole, which is the larger source of light, provides a blue light.