Michael Jordon is the greatest basketball player so far. Once he was making a television advertisement. All Michael needed to do in the advertisement was to miss a shot. For Michael, this was difficult. He always succeeded whenever he was throwing the ball. Every time he threw a basketball, it went in. Every time he tried to miss a shot, he failed. In total, it took him over 20 times before he missed a shot.

For Michael, success is a strong habit. He had formed a habit which was so strong that it took him a lot of time to break it and “fail”. Just like drinking, smoking and collecting things, success is also a habit. Like all habits, once it is established, it is difficult to break. Many people think that success is difficult to maintain（维持）. They feel that it will be hard work and will need too much action and focus. The truth is that it is simply a habit, and as easy to keep as any other habit.

Spend some time making success a habit in your life. Once you have developed it, it is not something you will want to change again. Then, the only thing you will fail is failing.

Paul: Hi, Bill! Have a look atmy house in the country. I'm sure you can enjoy yourself.

Bill: I'd love to.But I hear that the food is not delicious, and your house is not good. Is it so?

Paul: No, that's not true. Go and see!

Then Bill goes to the countryside with Paul.

Bill: Why do you live in a hole in the field? You should come and live in the city. You would live in a nice house made of stone. You would have better food to eat. You must come and see me at my house in the city.

Paul: Thanks! Maybe you are right. I'll visit your house one day.

Several days later Paul goes to Bill's house in the city. The house is big and beautiful. They are sitting in the sitting-room, having a big dinner comfortably. Suddenly, there a great noise.

Bill: Run! Run! The cat is coming!

Paul: Oh, no! It's terrible! Both the house and the food are nice, but I do not like living in the city. I enjoy living in my hole in the field, for it is nice to be poor but happy than to be rich but afraid.

    He met her at a party. However, she never paid any attention to him. After the party, he invited her for coffee. In order not to be rude, she went along.

In a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything. Suddenly, he asked the writer, "Could you put some salt in my coffee?" The waiter and she looked at him in surprise. "Why salt with coffee?" she asked. "I used to live near the sea. Whenever I drink salty coffee, it reminds me of my hometown and my parents," he answered.

    She was touched. A man who is homesick(想家的) must love his home. So she talked with him a lot and slowly found she was just the man she was looking for.

    Later they married and lived happily together and every time she made coffee for him, she put in some salt. After 40 years, he passed away and left her a letter, which said, my dearest, please forgive my life-long lie. Remember the first time we met? I was so nervous that I asked for salt instead of sugar Dear, I don't exactly like salty coffee. But having you with me was my greatest happiness.

    A few years ago, I worked at a church（教堂） and since my son was home schooling, he went with me to the church every day. Most mornings, we'd stop at a local convenience store, getting a chocolate drink for him and a cup of coffee for me.

    The clerk at the store we chose to visit refreshed our lives each day, and so we returned again and again. She had found her own way of enjoying life and her job. I'm not even sure that she was realizing that her energy put a smile on the face of each customer.

    When a customer brought cookies to the counter, any other clerk could have asked, "Would you like some milk with those cookies?" Instead, she inquired, "Would you like a lottery ticket（彩票） with those cookies? "

    She might have asked me if I wanted a donut with my coffee. But instead, she asked, "Would you like some batteries（电池） with that coffee?"

    Yes, life is what you make of it. This clerk's method of dealing with what some think is a boring job, and with the customers she met daily, made the hours in her day more enjoyable. In doing that, she also refreshed the lives of others and made them laugh.

    Sometimes, if my day at the church had been particularly tiring, we'd stop at that store before heading home. We'd giggle（咯咯笑）as we left the store, the clerk's words echoing（回响）behind us. "Would you like some shampoo with that soda?"

I am David. My home town, Bao Loc, is just a small town in Vietnam (越南). But for me, it's really a paradise (天堂). 

The weather is very comfortable. It's not very hot or cold. In the centre of the town, there is a beautiful lake. You can lie on the bank (河岸) and see the white clouds in the blue sky or count (数) the stars at night. You can go there just to relax when you have a lot of things to think about. One of the most famous places is Dambri Waterfall (瀑布). You can enjoy this beautiful waterfall if you come. Don't forget to take some pictures with your camera. 

Bao Loc is very small. It will take you 45 minutes or 1 hour to go around this town. It's so small that people here know each other. They are very friendly. 

Tea and coffee are Bao Loc's local food. I think you will like them very much. 

Why does Bao Loc become a paradise? Because my family are here and they always make me feel warm and safe.

This was our last trip before high school. I had been looking forward to it for weeks. But at the roller coaster, my stomach felt too tight to say anything at all.

The big girl beside us was Tasha, my best friend Dan's sister. We came here in her car. She was a singer. She was fantastic on the stage. Just the image of her up there made me think she was so cool.

Our roller coaster car pulled up, and my friends rushed forward, I felt my legs couldn't move. All I could think about was the roller coaster might fly off into the sky. Without a word, I turned, ran out of the line. I knew what people were saying about me, but I didn't care. I just kept moving past the crowd, found a bench near the bathrooms to sit down and put my head in my hands.

"Hey! Steve! Are you okay?" I looked up. It was Tasha!

"Oh, uh, yeah, I just started feeling, um, sick." I responded.

"You know, it's okay if you were scared. Everyone gets scared." She said.

"You don't." I said in a low voice. "I've seen you on that stage. You were fearless."

"I'm glad it looks like I'm not scared!" Tasha smiled. "But that's not true. I get really scared and nervous before I perform."

Before I noticed she was on the bench by my side, her words moved on.

"Hey, look, singing is important to me. And I want to share what I love with my people. So, even if I'm scared. I do it anyway. I push through the fear and just get up and do it. Is taking roller coaster important to you? "

"Yeah, it is. And I want to be able to look back and remember having fun with my friends. I don't want to remember running away and sitting alone by the bathrooms."

"Everyone gets scared, but brave people don't let fear control them." She looked into my eyes. Still being lost in what she said, I saw my friends coming towards me.

I got up and went with them to the coaster.

When we were leaving, Tasha took a photo of my big smile in front of the coaster. I put it on my door. It stayed there through all four years of my high school, a reminder* of what was more important to me than fear.