Last year, I was on a plane with my friend, waiting for it to take off. The pilot's voice was heard throughout the plane: “Sorry for the delay, ladies and gentlemen. Our engines don't work. We are going to jump-start them. Once we get them going, we'll get up in the air and see what happens.”

    That was all he said. “See what happens? Shouldn't we have had a better plan than that?” At that point, I could only laugh nervously. One woman started crying: “Oh, no! We are going to crash!” There are sighs of desperation and anxiety, and we hadn't even taken off yet.

    The pilot even seemed unhappy. He told us one engine was working double time, and his plan was to get up in the air and see what happens! Then we did. We got up in the air, and what happened? Nothing. We arrived in Norfolk, and no sooner had the wheels touched down than applause burst out as everyone on the airplane breathed a sigh of relief.

    All too often, people stop achieving their goals just because they don't have a guaranteed result. But success will never be guaranteed. The best thing that you can do is to just get up in the air, and see what happens.

    If your aim is to build a business, then get up in the air and see what happens! Don't give yourself all the reasons why you can't. Do not wait until you have everything you need. You never will.

    If your goal is to start a friendship, say “Hello”, get up in the air and see what happens! The results could be very rewarding. If your goal is to learn a new skill, get up in the air and see what happens! It might not be as difficult as you think. It could be fun!

    One day，Mr.Arnold was teaching a lesson，and things were going as normally as ever.He was explaining the story of mankind to his pupils.He told them that，in the beginning，men were nomads(游牧人)；they never stayed in the same place for very long.Instead，they would travel about，here and there，in search of food，wherever it was to be found. And when the food ran out，they would move off somewhere else.

He taught them about the invention of farming and keeping animals.This was an important discovery，because by learning to cultivate(耕作)the land，and care for animals，mankind would always have food steadily available.It also meant that people could remain living in one place，and this made it easier to set about tasks that would take a long while to complete，like building towns，cities，and all that were in them.All the children listening were attracted by this story，until Lucy jumped up：

    “And if that was so important and improved everything so much，why are we nomads all over again，Mr.Arnold？”

    Mr.Arnold didnt know what to say. Lucy was a very intelligent girl.He knew that she lived with her parents in a house，so she must know that her family were not nomads；so what did she mean?

“We have all become nomads again，” continued Lucy.“The other day，outside the city，they were cutting the forest down. A while ago a fisherman told me how they fish.Its the same with everyone：when theres no more forest left, the foresters go elsewhere，and when the fish run out, the fishermen move on.Thats what the nomads did，isnt it？”

The teacher nodded,thoughtfully. Really,Lucy was right. Mankind had turned into nomads. Instead of looking after the land in a way that we could be sure it would keep supplying our needs，we kept developing it until the land was bare.And then off we would go to the next place！The class spent the rest of the afternoon talking about what they could do to show how to be more civilized.

    The next day everyone attended class wearing a green T-­shirt，with a message that said，“I am not a nomad！”

    And，from then on，they set about showing that indeed they were not.Every time they knew they needed something，they made sure that they would get it using care and control.If they needed wood or paper，they would make sure that they got the recycled kind.They ordered their fish from fish farms，making sure that the fish they received were not too young and too small.They only used animals that were well cared for，and brought up on farms.

    And so，from their little town，those children managed to give up being nomads again，just as prehistoric men had done so many thousands of years ago.

    You have probably been told by your high school instructor that writing is an important and practical skill. However, you may not be convinced that the ability to write will be important in your own future. If so, you will be surprised at the results of a recent survey by the National Institute of Education. More than four thousand working men and women who had graduated fifteen years earlier were asked to name the courses they would have taken in college if they had known better. The designer of the survey expected people to name courses in computer science, mathematics, or business. But the course most often mentioned was writing.

    If you already have a job, you are probably not surprised at their answers. Many jobs require the ability to write. Despite the increasing use of the telephone and the computer, much information must be communicated in writing.Some ten million people—managers, engineers, sales representatives, and many others— write regularly as part of their jobs. Summaries, reports, reports, letters and speeches are required in today's work world. The ability to write, therefore, is an important skill. The successful individual is almost always the one who can communicate successfully in writing.

    Writing communicates your thoughts and feelings to others; it also tells you something about yourself. Maybe this is what Eldridge Cleaver had in mind in his autobiography, “I started to write... to save myself...I had to seek out the truth... I had to find out who I am and what I want to be ,what type of man I should be ,and what I could do to become the best of which I was capable.”

    Physics is a different world now. Will there ever be another Einstein?

    Scientists say a new Einstein will appear, but it may take a long time. After all, more than 200 years separated Einstein from his nearest rival (对手) , Isaac Newton. Many physicists say the next Einstein hasn't been born yet, or is only a baby now. That's because the searching for a unified(统一的) theory that would explain all the forces of nature has pushed current mathematics to its limits. New math must be created before the problem can be solved.

    But researchers say there are many other factors working against another Einstein appearing anytime soon. For one thing, physics is quite a different field today. In Einstein's day, there were a few thousand physicists worldwide, and fewer theoreticians. Education is different, too. One extremely important aspect of Einstein's training that failed to be considered is the philosophy he read as a teenager. It taught him how to think theoretically about space and time.

    And he was a skilled musician. The interplay between music and math is well known. Einstein would fiercely play his violin as a way to think through a knotty physics problem.

    Today, universities have produced millions of physicists. There aren't many jobs in science for them, so they go to Wall Street and Silicon Valley to apply their analytical skills to more practical and rewarding efforts.

    Besides, those who stay in science don't work alone. It's very difficult to imagine an independent person like Einstein ever tolerating this.

    A Harvard study of their graduates over thirty years found that there were only a small percentage (3%) of them who actually wrote down their goals-and these were the most successful! You can be certain that every one of those students had repeatedly heard the value of goal setting. Yet only 3% actually wrote down their goals consistently. Imagine what you can do if you both write down your goals and, then, focus on them consistently, until they are accomplished!

    What is it that causes the "New Year's Resolution Syndrome"? People make resolutions, work hard at them for a few weeks, maybe even a few months, and then forget them. Next year, they make the same New Year's resolutions. That is the syndrome. So why do so many people do it?

    They may be making goals that are too global, and too unrealistic. The elephant analogy (比喻) is still the best one I know of to illustrate good goal setting. "How do you eat an elephant? One spoonful at a time." So it is with goals. Make spoon size goals and accomplish them easily. Once you've mastered this, get a bigger spoon!

    You may have too many people in your life who consciously or subconsciously are unwilling or unable to support you to reach your goals. Surround yourself with people who want you to have what you want for yourself. Support each other and you'll all achieve your highest goals.

    We must be careful not to confuse busyness with progress. Be selective about how you use your time and what you focus on. Success often comes when you know what to leave out, rather than what to include in your life.

    Goal setting is like the pig and chicken who were out for a walk in town early one morning. The chicken became really excited when she saw a sign that said "Ham & Eggs, $2. 99". She said to the pig, "Look, we've got double billing again." The pig grunted and said, "That's all right for you to say. For you, it's all in a day's work. For me, it's total commitment." Goal setting is all in a day's work. Goal achievement is total commitment.

    It was dark. As John was walking on his way home, he suddenly found an ugly old man staring at him.

    The old man said, "Son, why don't you get a book? It will keep you company."

    John noticed all the books the old man had were related to the super nature (超自然界). Trying to act bravely, he found one and the old man said, "That's an interesting book. It's $25."

    The old man kept staring at John, which almost frightened him. He quickly searched his pockets and found $25.

    John quickly paid for it. Then the old man called out, "Whatever happens, don't turn to the last page. Do remember, or you will regret it!"

    Reaching home, John heard his parents talking about a strange old book seller that appeared only at night during a full moon and then disappeared. Nervously, he ran straight to his room.

    At midnight, as he was sound asleep in bed, a blast (股) of cold wind blew in through the window and woke him up. He looked at his table and saw the book. For a while, he was frozen in fear, but he was so curious. Slowly he got out of bed and carefully picked up the book.

As he took a look at the last page, he cried out and fainted (晕倒).

    This is what he read on the last page!

    Retail (零售) Price: $10.99