In the early 1980s, one of our neighbors asked my mom if she would make a few gift baskets for her to give as gifts for the holidays. My mom agreed and news of the unique gift baskets my mom was making spread like wildfire throughout the neighborhood. My mom was busy throughout the holiday season, so she asked a friend to help her. When the orders continued after the holiday season for baby gifts, birthday gifts and more, it occurred to them that maybe this job could be turned into a business and they did it.

    My mom went into her business because she had creative ideas. She got orders and filled order. But there was no goal and no real plan. In 1991, my mom's partner got into financial trouble and there was not enough money to support either mom or her partner.

    So if you are led by your creativity or enthusiasm, make sure you ask yourself what you purpose to do your business is. If you don't set goals, how will you know which direction to go in? Do you want to create jobs and growth in the economy? Are you looking for a hobby? You can't keep scores if you don't know what game you are playing.

    After my mom's partner quit, she had to abandon her business to support herself. She swore she would run a business again and do it differently the next time. However, there wasn't a “next time” for her. She passed away just after her 51st birthday. She never had someone tell her how important having a goal was, she never had a chance to be everything she could be.

    There are no right or wrong goals, only the ones that matter to you. Set them so that you can make progress and achieve success, whatever they may mean to you.

    No one has a temper naturally so good, that it does not need attention and cultivation, and no one has a temper so bad, but that, by proper culture, it may become pleasant. One of the best disciplined tempers ever seen, was that of a gentleman who was naturally quick, irritable, rash, and violent; but, by taking care of the sick, and especially of mentally deranged (疯狂的) people, he so completely mastered himself that he was never known to be thrown off his guard.

    There is no misery so constant, so upsetting, and so intolerable to others, as that of having a character which is your master. There are comers at every tum in life, against which we may run, and at which we may break out in impatience, if we choose.

    Look at Roger Sherman, who rose from a humble(低下的) occupation to a seat in the first Congress of the United States, and whose judgment was received with great respect by that body of distinguished men. He made himself master of his temper and cultivated it as a great business in life. There are one or two instances which show this part of his character in a light that is beautiful.

    One day, after having received his highest honors, he was sitting and reading in his sitting room. A student, in a room close by, held a mirror in such a position as to pour the reflected rays of the sun directly in Mr. Sherman's face. He moved his chair, and the thing was repeated. A third time the chair was moved, but the mirror still reflected the sun in his eyes. He laid aside his book, went to the window, and many witnesses of the rude behavior expected to see the ungentlemanly student severely punished. He raised the window gently, and then-shut the window blind(百叶窗)!

    I can not help providing another instance of the power he had acquired over himself. He was naturally possessed of strong passions, but over these he at length obtained an extraordinary control. He became habitually calm and self-possessed. Mr. Sherman was one of those men who are not ashamed to maintain the forms of religion in their families. One morning he called them all together as usual to lead them in prayer to God. The "old family Bible "was brought out and laid on the table.

    Mr. Sherman took his seat and placed beside one of his children. The rest of the family were seated around the room, several of whom were now grown ups. Besides these, some of the tutors of the college were boarders in the family and were present at the time. His aged mother occupied a corner of the room, opposite the place where the distinguished Judge sat.

    At length, he opened the Bible and began to read. The child who was seated beside him made some little disturbance, upon which Mr. Sherman paused and told him to be still. Again he continued but again he had to pause to scold the little offender, whose playful character would hardly permit it to be still. At this time he gently tapped its ear. The blow, if blow it might be called, caught the attention of his aged mother, who now with some effort rose from the seat and tottered across the room. At length, she reached the chair of Mr. Sherman, and in a moment, most unexpectedly to him, she gave him a blow on the ear with all the force she could gather. “There, "said she, "you strike your child, and I will strike mine.”

    For a moment, the blood was seen mounting to the face of Mr Sherman. But it was only for a moment and all was calm and mild as usual. He paused; he raised his glasses; he cast his eye upon his mother; again it fell upon the book from which he had been reading. Not a word escaped him; but again he calmly pursued the service, and soon sought in prayer an ability to set an example before his household which should be worthy of their imitation. Such a victory was worth more than the proudest one ever achieved on the field of battle.

    Diet pills, diet Coke, diet Pepsi, no-fat diet, vegetable diet… We are surrounded by the word "diet" everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically.

    Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing  our brains to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale (秤) instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word "diet" in food labels.

    On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don't have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.

    The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients. Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemicals that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.

    Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological and physical harm that comes from using them.

    The pub is a great British invention. Here, experts pick their favourites for Sunday lunch, picturesque settings, craft beer, history and more.

    Free Trade Inn, Newcastle

    House favourites

    Fyne Ales Jarl, 3.8%

    Scream for Pizza food truck, every Wednesday, £5 (if pre-booked)

    Moors and oceans are great, but looking up the Tyne towards the city's bowed bridges from this pub in Ouseburn is another kind of delight. It is especially exciting at sunset, as the Instagrammers and amateur photographers of north-east England have discovered — city lights gleaming(闪烁) against Miami Vice skies.

    The Angel on the Bridge, Henley-on-Thames

    House favourites

    Brakspear Bitter, 3.4%

    Slow-roast belly pork, £13.50

    For those who prefer their views more landscaped than wild. The river is peaceful, the ducks entertaining, the air clean, and sunsets and mist keep the view varied all year round. The pub even has its own moorings for people with boats.

    Duke of Marlborough, Suffolk

    House favourites

    Adnams Dry Hopped Lager, 4.2%

    Braised beef cheek, £13.50

    Time has a habit of leaving its trace on village pubs and the Duke is no different. Originally built as a medieval hall house, it became an inn during the 17th century. With the help of what is obviously a very active community, the pub is a lively place attracting drinkers, foodies and families with kids. Help yourself to dog biscuits if you bring your best friend.

    The Bevy, Brighton

    House favourites

    Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter, 4%

    Sunday roast, £7.95

    In 2010, what was then the Bevendean pub was closed by the police due to a series of antisocial incidents. Four years later it reopened as the Bevy, after locals bought it and carried out essential works. The whole project is an example of how an urban pub in an unfashionable area can be saved.

    Mother Teresa (August 26, 1910-September 5, 1997) was a great woman, who did a lot to improve the social condition of mankind. Due to her contribution in serving the society, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize aged 69.

    She was brought up in a Catholic family. When she was only seven, she lost her father. Even as a young child, she was interested in the life of missionaries (传教士). At the age of 18, she decided that she would become a nun. She left her home and went to join the Sisters of Loreto. It was the first step that she made towards providing services for mankind.

    On the 7th of October in the year 1950, Mother Teresa received Vatican permission to start the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, the mission of which would be to take care of the needy, the homeless, and people who were shunned by the society. Then it had a number of branches all over the country. The journey of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity started with the setting up of homes for "the Dying".

    In the year 1983, Mother Teresa suffered from a serious heart attack, while she was in Rome. However, she recovered. But, later in 1989, she again got an attack. Her health went worse and in the year 1991, she suffered from pneumonia. Taking her health problems into consideration, Mother Teresa decided to resign (辞职) from the post of head of the order.

    A secret vote was conducted in which all the nuns voted for the stay of Mother Teresa except herself. So, she agreed to continue serving as head of the Missionaries of Charity. Day by day her health was getting worse. On September 5, 1997, exactly nine days after her 87th birthday, this great soul departed for heaven.

    Almost every second of every day an older adult falls in the United States. That's approximately 29 million falls per year and nearly 27, 000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Still in the stating stage, the Active Pelvis Orthosis (APO) system in Switzerland wants to make a lightweight, wearable exoskeleton (外骨骼) that could detect signs of balance loss and assist with balance recovery to keep the elderly wearer from falling, only when needed.

    Other exoskeletons, either in development or on the market today, assist with movement and make heavy objects feel lighter. Mobility-impaired people can walk again. But none of these devices predict what the wearer is going to do next and take measures to correct an unsteady move.

    The 3 kilogram (6.7 pound) exoskeleton was built entirely from scratch by the research team and is designed to be worn on the lower half of the body. A waistband connects to two movable carbon fiber braces (支架), each one positioned on the outer side of a leg. Tiny motors and so-called "adaptive oscillators" (适配振荡器) in the computer circuits use a special process to detect the, wearer's unique paces. That part takes just a few minutes.

    While wearing the exoskeleton, a person may feel the braces and the motors pushing slightly on their legs. If their paces go against normal, the motors create a force in the braces that cause them to stiffen up and push a little more strongly against the legs, which provides stability.

    In the next three years, the APO hopes to develop something that is commercially available.