I always preferred to take on（承担）more than I should when I was a young man. At times, it was to prove to myself that I could 1 it. At other times, it was to please someone and gain 2 for my efforts. This sometimes led to 3 or frustration（挫败）.

    When I was an IT manager after college graduation I was 4 to work with a wealth customer and be a go-between（中间人）for my company. I took on the assignment 5, thinking that this might be my time to shine. 6, the customer's demands proved to be more than I could do with. And the company chose to 7 the customer and try to meet his unreasonable requirements rather than stick to what we had 8 offered in the contract. As you can imagine, this led to a lot of unexpected 9 and arguing with some of the staff（职员）who 10 to do anything outside their scope（范围）of work. I remember walking into my office one morning, opening my laptop and 11 the blank screen for long, thinking to myself: What should I do? That was a(n) 12 time in my life and then I finally had to give up my first job and 13 that company sadly.

    Perhaps, I thought then, I could find the 14 that didn't involve dealing with difficult people and difficult situations. But later I realized: Is this15 in our modern world? No, it is impossible. Now, I know, I shouldn't run away from the 16 I faced in life. I had to learn how to deal with them. I 17 not persevering（坚持）in my job. We should train ourselves to look at things from a 18 point of view, because that is far better than being 19 in the bad circle depression. I've come to 20 that when faced with difficulties, I should not give up, but preserve.

    Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something 1to say. When one asked Jerry 2he was so happy every day, he replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two3today. You can choose to be in a good mood or in a bad mood. I choose to be in a4mood. Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation will be5 . The bottom line: It's your choice 6you live life." Several years later, Jerry was held up(持械抢劫) by three armed robbers and shot. 7 , Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local aid center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive 8, Jerry was released from the hospital with pieces of the bullets(子弹) still in his body. When someone asked him what had gone through his mind as the9took place, Jerry replied, "as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, 10 I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Then, what happened next?" "Well, there was a nurse11 questions at me", said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic（过敏的）to 12 . 'Yes', I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ' Bullets !' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live.13on me as if I am alive, not dead'. " Jerry lived, 14 the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. Attitude,15, is everything.

    Valerie was very worried about her dad. For some time now she had noticed he was 1 his hair. One day, she asked him, "Daddy, every day you have less hair. 2is that?" Her father smiled and said, "It's the hair thief. He visits my 3during the night when I'm asleep.

    One by one he pulls out my hair, and there's no way to 4him."

    This worried Valerie, but she was 5to help her dad. That night she stayed 6as long as she could. When she was 7her dad and mom had fallen asleep, she took a hammer and went to their bedroom slowly and 8. She didn't want the hair thief to 9her. When she arrived at her father's side, she carefully inspected her father's head in order to catch the hair thief as soon as he 10. Before long, she saw a shadow on her father's head and she 11it with the hammer.

    Her father12a loud cry and got out of bed at once. He turned the 13on, and trembling with 14, he saw Valerie waving her hammer in the air. "Daddy, I 15got him. But it looks like he 16!" said Valerie. Meanwhile, the mother 17. She burst into 18 when she knew what had happened.

    So Valerie's father had to explain that the hair thief didn't exist, and that losing hair is something that just happens naturally to most fathers. Valerie still 19about her daddy, but she no longer waited for the hair thief. 20 she bought her father a very nice sleeping hat.

    In high school I had a math teacher, Mrs. Davies, who took her job seriously and expected her students to put forth the same degree of commitment (付出). Strict but fair, she held our attention with her great method. One of her 1 was for students who were more advanced academically. I chose to 2 it and soon realized that the course was a bit over my head. I 3 with the complex problems that others seemed to learn without much effort.

    One Friday we were tested 4 our ability to use a theorem (定理) that no one in the class thoroughly understood. The teacher would 5 our papers based on our ability to progress through the problem which easily filled two pages of formulaic notations (公式符号). I was absolutely 6. Finally, I didn't use the required theorem. Instead, I decided to use more familiar theorems to arrive at an 7. I knew I had failed because I hadn't done the 8 assignment. I became resigned (顺从) to my fate.

    Our test papers were 9 back the following Monday. Everyone received a "C" except for me. To my surprise, I received an "A". I 10 that there must be a mistake. I watched 11 as the teacher approached my desk, smiled, and asked for my test 12 back. She then went back to copy my work onto the blackboard, 13 the class how I had arrived at the correct answer. "Mathematics is meant to be a creative tool, pushing our minds to a rewarding answer," she said with confidence. 14 I didn't use the required theorem, she seemed really proud of how I'd worked through the problem. The class saw her fold my test paper and put it into her textbook. She announced that it would be 15 with future classes.

    My teacher would have been justified (合理的) in giving me a 16 grade. Instead, she used the 17 to deeply influence a student who often struggled. And after forty years, I still cherish the 18. It helped change my self-image. I 19 up to a broad boundary of possibilities which has made my life an adventure. She understood that teaching went beyond strict demands and could be used to 20. Thank you, Mrs. Davies.

    A beautiful September evening, my 11-year-old grandson, Josh, and his team were warming up for their first football game of the season.

    At six, the 1called the captains forward, said something and 2 his whistle. The two teams 3 separately. I was 4 .The other team was,  5, ten inches taller than our players. It didn't take long for their 6 advantage to show. They took a 7-0 lead very 7 .At the half, the score stood at 34 to 6. Josh 8 minimal play time. In the second half, they used Josh more often. The score climbed to 40 to 6.

    Once again, the other team began their 9 down the field. Their quarterback threw the ball. The receiver caught it and 10 the goal. There was only one man in his 11 —Josh. Josh dove and 12 that boy's legs with all his strength. The receiver dragged Josh a couple of yards and 13 fell down.

    On the next play, their quarterback shot through an opening and rushed to the goal, but there was Josh again. Josh took him off his feet and 14 another goal. They scored on the last play, but it wasn't Josh's 15 .The game ended with a score of 48 to 6.

    On the way home. I wanted to 16 Josh, but he turned to me with a 17 smile. “Grandpa, that was a 18game.”

    “But you lost, 48 to 6!”

    “I know, but I did good.”

    The boy understood the 19 better than I did. They didn't win, but he did his best. I was proud of him. More 20, he was proud of himself.

If you ask 100 people what subjects they wish they had been taught in school, there is a chance that the vast majority of them will complain about the lack of personal finance education. In my case, I did learn a bit about financing while in school — just not in the classroom. One of my earliest lessons on the basics of budgeting came from an unlikely source: the cafeteria.

My lunch budget was a set amount each week. Without a plan, it would be all too easy to blow through the budget long before meeting all expenses. Therefore, my very first budgeting lesson was to make a budget well. A bit of simple arithmetic (算术) helped me determine exactly how much money I could spend each day if I wanted to actually have lunch all week. 

Besides, my school had relatively diverse lunch offerings. You could not only get the common hot school lunch but also find many other foods of varying attractions. As far as I was concerned, what attracted me most was the ice cream. Unfortunately, I couldn't blow my daily lunch budget on ice cream. And I'd already figured out that splurging early in the week made for a rough time for the rest of the week. Hence, I learned my second important budgeting lesson: save for a goal. Because of this lesson, when Friday rolled around, I would have just enough left over for a wonderful lunch and the highly desirable ice cream. 

Nowadays, my budget is a bit more complicated than the lunch budget in the past. Although I no longer have to save my pennies for a frozen treat, budgeting my money today uses the exact same skills I learned all those years ago. Actually, whether you're budgeting for school lunches or credit card bills, the basics remain the same. And it's never too early — or too late — to learn how to make a proper budget.