A few days ago my family and I were out for an evening walk. As we headed home, dark 1 started rolling in and we knew we probably wouldn't make it back without getting wet. 2 enough, the rain started falling just as we3our neighborhood. We all 4 down the street and into the house but when we got there I noticed that one of my sons was5I went back out in the rain and found him  6 in an irregular pattern in front of the house. His face was one of 7as he seemed to be going in circles. This is my child that usually hates getting 8.

    I shouted to him, “What are you doing?!!”

    “I hate getting wet!” he 9 back.

    “Then why are you running around in the 10 ? Hurry inside!”

    “I'm trying to but I have to 11 the rain drops!”

    He was getting more wet than any of the rest of us12 he was trying to avoid the raindrops. As I went and put him 13 my arm and walked him inside, I realized that there is a good14in this story.

    How often do you15life “avoiding the raindrops”? How often do you get so worried about the little 16that might happen, the failures that you miss out on the great 17 that you could be having? We can spend all of our time running around in circles trying not to fail or we can accept that failure is going to come and 18forward anyway. Any happy and successful person will tell you that the road to success is 19with failures.

    But every time you fail, you learn. Every time you learn, you improve. The more you improve, the more20 you will be.

    From my second grade on, there was one event I feared every year: the piano recital(独奏演唱会). A recital 1I had to practice a boring piece of music and perform before strangers. Each year I 2ask my father if I could skip the recital “just this once”. And each year he would shake his head, muttering(嘀咕)3about build self-confidence and working toward a 4.

    So it was with really great5that I stood in church one recent Sunday, video camera in hand, and 6my 68-year-old father sweating in his shirt 7rising to play the piano in his very first recital.

    My father had longed to play music since childhood, but his family was poor and couldn't 8lessons. He could have gone on regretting it,9too many of us do. But though he was rooted in his past, he wasn't 10there. When he retired three years ago, he 11 his church music director to take him as a student.

    For a moment after my father sat down at the keyboard, he 12stared down at his fingers. Has he forgotten the 13? I worried, remembering those split seconds14ago when my mind would go blank and my fingers would 15. But then came the beautiful melody(旋律)，from the 16fingers that once baited(装饵于) my fishing lines. And I17he had been doing what music teachers always stress:18the music and pretend the others aren't there.

     “I'm 19of him for starting something new at his age,” I said to my son Jeff.

    “Yeah, and doing it so20,” Jeff added.

    With his first recital, my father taught me more about courage and determination than all the words he used those 30-plus years ago.

    My father enjoys bike riding. Ever since I was little, I have always loved going biking with my dad.1 as I became a teenager, other things began to draw my 2It became important to do things with friends3I saw my dad every evening at home. Why did I have to4my Sundays to all-day bike trips with him, too? If my indifference(冷漠的) hurt him, my father kept5 but he would always let me know when he was planning a bike trip6I wanted to come with him.

    It was a Sunday morning, and I was in low 7 Two of my friends had gone to the movies without inviting me. Just then my father8my room.“It is a beautiful day. Want to go for a9today, Beck?” “Leave me alone!” I impatiently10 Those were the last words I said to him before he left the house that 11.

    Several hours later, the police called us, informing(告知) us that Dad had a traffic 12My father's injuries were serious. It 13 several days before he could eventually(最后) speak. Beside his bed，I held his hand gently，14of hurting him. “Daddy… I am sorry…” “ It's okay, my dear, I'll be okay.”

    “No,” I said, “I 15 what I said to you that day. You know, that morning?”

    “My dear, I don't16anything about that day, not before, during or after the accident. I remember kissing you good night the night before, though.” He 17a weak smile.

    I felt regretful for my thoughtless remark(话语)，for I 18wanted him to leave me alone in my heart. My teacher once told me that19have immeasurable power. They can hurt or they can heal. And we all have the 20to choose our words. I intend to do that very carefully from now on.

    One of the most exciting archaeological discoveries(考古发现) in history was made in November 1922, when Howard Carter was1 in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. After many months of digging, he finally2 an unknown grave.

    3with his friend Lord Carnarvon, who was providing the money for his work, Carter entered the4 tomb. At first there was5, because the tomb was6, and it was clear that it had been robbed (盗窃) at some time in the past. 7, one of the workers eventually found a small stairway that led down to another door that had not been 8.

    Carter went down the dark staircase, walking 9 in case there were any traps (陷阱). As he opened the 10, Lord Carnarvon asked if he could see anything. He replied, “Yes, 11things.” It was clear at once that they had discovered what they had been 12. The tomb of King Tutankhamen was full of treasures of13value. There were over 5,000 objects of silver, gold and precious stones which had been there 14 for thousands of years.

    Lord Carnarvon's 15at discovering the treasures did not last long. Many of the local people were afraid of16 the kings' tombs, and believed that the kings would punish anyone who17 them. Lord Carnarvon had paid little attention to these18, but only a few weeks later, he19 fell ill and died; at the exact time of his death, all the lights in Cairo went out all of a sudden, and far away in England, his dog also20 .

    I would lose things. One1, my parents bought me a brown coat with a matching separate2to protect me from the snowy weather. They had3to buy me a coat with a hood(连衣帽) because they knew my weakness but I begged and promised that I would not lose the hat.

    One day my father came home from work and asked me if I would4my new coat and hat. Upstairs I rushed two steps at a time,5to put on a fashion show. I pulled on the coat but I couldn't find the hat. I6looked under my bed and in the closet, but it was7. Maybe he wouldn't8that I wasn't wearing it.

    I flew9and spun around10on a stage, posing, smiling and modeling my new coat. “How pretty! More pretty with the matching hat!” he said. “I just want to show you the coat.” I said, still dancing around the hallway and trying to avoid the subject of the hat. I knew the hat was11.

    12, my father seemed to have forgotten it, laughing and playing with me.13, in the middle of his laughing, he slapped me hard on the face. His14stung me deeply. I stood there, holding my hand to my burning cheek and15. Then he took my new hat16his pocket. He had found it lying on the street, and as he looked at me over the top of glasses, he said, “Maybe now you'll learn not to be17.”

    I'm a grown woman now, but I18lose things. What my father taught me that day was not a lesson of19. I learned not to20his laughter any longer, because even his laughter hurt.

    I built a company when I approached with a major opportunity that was going to take our company to the next level. Then something1happened. I received an email from the investor that read: "We're going to2…"

    I was crushed(崩溃).The next few days I thought about this3and realized just how4I truly was. I thought maybe it was time to count my 5and get another "real job". Luckily, I realized that having that thought meant I had a problem-my fear of6. If I was going to keep moving forward with my company I'd have to7this fear of being rejected again. So, I8 Google to help solve my problem and I found a game. The 9of the game is to help you get over your fear of rejection by 10seeking out rejection. I loved it. I11 I would try it to help me remove this fear.

    What came next was something I could have12imagined. As my rejection journey continued, I began to feel more and more13when asking for things, realizing I could focus on the14factors.

    In the process of my rejection journey, here is what I learned about rejection. Avoiding it doesn't15mean you avoid failure. Most people believe avoiding rejection is a good thing,16 that's not true. When we17away from rejection, we reject ourselves and our ideas before the world ever has a18to reject them. This is the 19form of rejection and we are overlooked by the world. Therefore, the greatest lesson I've learned from rejection is no mater what, don't be20by the world.