Years ago, acritical event occurred in my life that would change it forever. I met Kurt Kampmeir of Success Motivation Incorporation for breakfast. While we were1 , Kurt asked me, " John, what is your 2for personal growth?"

     Never at a loss for words, I tried to find things in my life that might3 for growth. I told him about the many activities in which I was4 . And I went into a 5about how hard I worked and the gains I was making. I must have talked for ten minutes. Kurt  6patiently, but then he 7 smiled and said, “You don't have a personal plan for growth, do you?”

    “No, I8.

   “You know,” Kurt said simply, “growth is not a(n)9 process.”

     And that's when it10me. I wasn't doing anything11 to make myself better. And at that moment, I made the 12 : I will develop and follow a personal growth plan for my 13.

    That night, I talked to my wife about my 14 with Kurt and what I had learned. I15her the workbook and tapes Kurt was selling. We16 that Kurt wasn't just trying to make a sale. He was offering a 17 for us to change our lives and achieve our dreams.

     Several important things happened that day. First, we decided to18 the resources. But more importantly, we made a commitment to19 together as a couple. From that day on, we learned together, traveled together, and sacrificed together. It was a  20 decision. While too many couples grow apart, we were growing together.

    When my oldest son was in high school, he planned to1 a Christian contemporary concert with the youth group from our church. To my 2 Aaron invited me to go along. I3 accepted; however, by the time the date of the concert arrived, my youngest son had been ill, and I was4 about him. I hesitated (犹豫). Then my husband5 me to attend the concert, promising he would take care of our youngest.

    Finally, the6 was made. Aaron was sixteen years old. How many 7 would I have to do something fun with him8he went away to college? And how many youths actually would 9 their mothers to attend a concert with them that was clearly for teens? I would not miss this opportunity.

At the concert, I 10with Aaron in the third row, putting cotton in my ears to block out the 11 ear-splitting music of the first performer. I stood when the kids stood, clapped when they 12 and never let anyone know how13 I was to feel the floor shaking beneath my feet. Aaron and his friends were 14at my enthusiasm (激情).

    By the time we left the concert, my ears were ringing, but it quickly passed.15 did my son's teenage years.16he was in college and away from home. I missed him more than I could say. Whenever I felt17 I would think back to the concert we attended and be thankful once again that I didn't 18an opportunity to spend time with my son.

    Aaron is now grown and has a family of his own, but he often calls just to 19and tell me about his day. I drop everything and 20the moment.

    George Springer helped his team Houston Astros win the World Series in 2017. He was awarded the Most Valuable Player, 1 his struggle is mostly hidden. His 2 is not trying to hit a fastball, but in 3 it. He stutters（口吃）.

    Growing up in Connecticut, Springer was the kid who would 4 raise his hand in school, the kid 5 every time he opened his mouth.

    “I was the guy who didn't talk,” he said “I would 6 speaking at all costs.

    He was often 7. Sometimes he was bullied（欺侮）. The phone was suffering to him. 8 were worse. If he wanted a dish that he knew would be tough to say, he would 9. If he was with his family, his sister Nicole would 10 for him.

    He remembers a couple of attempts at speech therapy（语言治疗）, but he said he was 11 with encouraging parents, an ability to 12 himself in sports, and a small group of friends who 13.

    “If therapy works for you, 14. But for me, I also developed my own 15to handle it,” he said. “Besides, when I was around all my friends, it didn't really seem to 16 them. If I did it, they would 17 until I was done, then finish the conversation.”

    To help other kids18the same issue, Springer frequently appeared in interviews and even agreed to wear a microphone 19 during the 2017 All-Star Game. He then added “I can't let anything in life I can't 20 slow me down or stop me from being who I want to be.” These 22 words proved it.

    Bob Weiser had been driving for Uber for more than six months 1 a conversation with an old friend sparked the idea. Everyone that rode in his car had a story to tell, a 2 life experience or some wisdom they'd picked up along the way. What if he could collect "a slice of life" from each of the hundreds of people 3 in his car , whose only known 4was that they ordered an Uber in Chicago and had Bob Weiser 5them up in his car?

    Bob Weiser, aged 66, is a 6 pilot who started driving for Uber last year as a way to keep7. "You never really retire, and you always have to do something," he said. He8a black notebook. On the inside cover, he wrote " It belongs to all that read it with a(n) 9heart and mind."

    Now, when passengers get in his car, he'll pass them the 10 and ask if they'd take a moment to write something in it. He has11 more than 800 entries(条目) from passengers from all over the world.

    Weiser 12 one woman who wrote Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's " Be the change you want to see in the world." Then she flipped back and 13 someone else had used the same quote. She told him she was 14 and he said to her, " No, that's okay. That's the type of energy that has been in this 15, nothing but good energy." After his passengers write something , they'll flip through the pages, 16all the advice and opinions shared by the passengers who came before them.

    He flips through it himself sometimes; it always17him that people have so much warmth and positivity to 18. No one has written anything 19, and only a handful have turned him down, 20because they have carsickness.

Be a Traveler, not a Tourist

    Last summer, I had just enough money saved to buy a golden ticket—— a 3-month train pass that would take me to the furthest reaches of Europe. Excited for my journey, I 1all the necessities — 2the guidebook.

    While the 3of the Internet was definitely a contributing factor to my4, this was not the only reason I decided to fly 5.

    To be honest, I find the guidebook 6a journey—like a bossy aunt who is always telling you what to do,7she doesn't always know what's best.8has taught me that there is a clear 9between a tourist and a traveler.

    While waiting in a queue to see Michelangelo's Statue of David in Florence, I met a man who showed me his 10of "Top 20 Things to do in Italy" and told us11that he'd "seen" everything Italy has to 12in just four days.

    The problem I had with this man's way of 13was that he was too 14the information provided by his guidebook. He was 15in the so-called "must-sees" and blind to all that was happening somewhere else.

    So, guidebook-less as we were, I traveled to Estonia. Arriving for no good reason, I had no option but to16some friendly faces for advice. I 17myself and asked them what was happening around town. When this resulted in an 18to a beautiful Estonian home by a river where I enjoyed a 110-degree wood-stove sauna(桑拿), 19picked forest-mushrooms and the good 20of my five new-found Estonian friends,  I was most glad I had left our bossy aunt at home.

    It was many years ago. I was a1father on my way home to my wife and baby boy after spending all day2college classes. I had gone back to school to get a degree in education. I wanted to secure a3job that would help me to build a better life for my growing family. It was a two-hour round trip to the4, so every day I would pray for my 20-year-old car to5it all the way.

    As I started down a lonely stretch of highway about 12 miles from my home I6a car parked along the side of the road with its emergency flashers7. A small woman was struggling to8a flat tire. This was long before the age of cell phones9I knew that any other help might not arrive for a while. I10behind her car and offered to give her a hand. Her own hands were bruised(擦伤的)and11from struggling with the lug nuts(四方螺帽)and she had tears of frustration in her eyes. The lug nuts were rusty(生锈的)and12and the lug wrench(单向扳手)a little small, but after a while I got the flat off and the13tire on. As I said goodbye the little lady hugged me with tears of14this time. I waved and drove off a little embarrassed at her15. After all, it had just been one kind act.

    It took me a lot of years after that to learn the true16of one kind act. One kind act can change the world. One kind act can teach more17than a million words. One kind act can save a lost soul and heal(治愈)a18heart.

    Never pass up the possibility of using your own19to make this world a better place. Every day we are given the choice to be20or kind. Always choose to be kind.