Years ago, I worked at the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. One day, as I was passing the elephants, I suddenly stopped, 1by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front legs. It was 2that they could, at any time, break free, 3strangely enough, they didn't. I asked a trainer the 4for this.

    He said, “When they were very young, we used the 5 size rope, and it was enough to hold them. As they grow up, they believe the rope can 6 hold them, so they never try.”

    Like the elephants, how many of you believe you cannot do a thing, simply because you7 once before? Do you often tell 8 “I cannot dance” or “I'm not good at math”?

         These are 9 of self limiting beliefs. You must realize you're 10 for them. A limiting belief that says you're poor at math may have 11 as a reaction to the embarrassing experiences related to math, or the remarks made by someone important to you which12 you. The cool thing is that because you create the 13you can choose to change it! Here is how:

    First, 14 it with “I am good at math”. Once you change your 15 , your subconsciousness(潜意识) will make this 16 by driving you to act. That might be to take a math course or to go online 17 help, etc. Gradually you'll really see your math skills are 18 .

    This is such a simple process that you can 19 it today. Don't be like the poor elephants and make your life 20 in a place because of a limiting belief you developed years ago.

    I believe different people have experienced different adolescence, I must admit I was still an angry1in my first year of college. My 2 was that my parents didn't please me at all.

    Our finances were 3so I chose to go to a (n)4college and take a bus to classes every day. One day I had a(n)5fight with my father, We both explode into shouts,6 out of the house and missed my bus to school.

    I rushed all the way to school. As I7across the campus toward my class, I suddenly I realized didn't have the 8 that was due: a thought card. My professor asked us to 9 an index card with our names and the dales every Tuesday.10 what was to be on the rest of the card, we could write a thought, a question or something else.

    Now, outside the door, ten minutes later. I took an index card.11 to write something on it, I could only think about the 12 I'd just had with my dad. I wrote “I am the son of an idiot!” then13 into the room, and handed it to our professor.

    Next day, our professor 14 the thought cards and I 15 that he wrote, “What does the 'son of an idiot' do with the nest of his life?” The professor's innocent-seeming question16me to the issue: whose problem is it?17, my thinking began to shift, I realized that I had created a life18 I was not a central figure!

    The 19 of growth wasn't easy or fast. Years later, from a 20student, I became a successful student and then a successful teacher.

    As a child, I started learning to play the piano, my favorite musical 1,but I was forced to give up when I started my middle school 2 I could concentrate more on my studies.

    It's one of my biggest 3to stop practicing the piano when I recall sadly today. During the following years, I kept telling my piano teacher that I would4. However, I didn't keep my promise because I was 5 with my study. 6 I lost touch with my teacher. Some years later, my teacher died. I was very sad because I lost such a good teacher. She was a very warm and gentle person. It hurts me to think she may have been 7 that I never returned. I haven't taken lessons since then but to be honest, I 8 to. Sitting at the piano, I couldn't help recalling many 9-- times of my practising at home and playing before my teacher and one time my teacher 10 me after I played entire pieces of music wrong in front of her colleagues. I was so11 that I could hardly say anything. But her12 helped me ease my shame. These memories, 13, good or bad, never caused my 14 for playing the piano again.

    This thought then led me to think that15is like music, and that we all try to play different 16in the instrument of our life. Sometimes the pitch(音高) is 17when we play it well, but sometimes we are out of tone. However, we all continue to create our own 18style of music. No matter what style our music is, it is 19 that we sing the songs of joy, quietness and love. Though I may never make it back to piano lessons, it doesn't20 that I've stopped making music.

    It was a cold and rainy day. I had no 1 to drive up the winding mountain road to my daughter Carolyn's house. But she 2 I come to see something at the top of the mountain.

    3as I was, I made the two-hour journey 4 the fog that hung like veils (面纱). By the time I saw how 5it was near the summit, I had gone too far away. Nothing could be worth this, I 6 as I drove slowly along the dangerous highway.

    "I'll stay for lunch, but I'm heading back as soon as the fog 7." I announced. "But I want you to drive me to the garage to pick 8 my car." Carolyn said. "How far is it?" I asked. She replied:" About three minutes and I'll drive you there."

    After ten minutes on the mountain road, I looked at her 9. "I thought you said three minutes." She smiled. " This is a detour (绕行路线)." Turning down a narrow track, we parked the car and got out. We walked a long path that was thick with pine trees. Gradually the peace and silence of the place began to fill my mind. Then we turned a corner and stopped. I was 10.

    From the top of the mountain to the folds and valleys 11 several acres of daffodils (水仙花) rich in a variety of colors. It looked as if God had painted something gorgeous in front of us. Many questions 12 my mind. Who created such beauty? Why? How? As we approached the home that stood in the centre of the property, we saw a 13 that read: " Answers to the Questions I know you are asking." The first answer was: "One Woman-Two Hands, Two Feet, and Very Little Brain." The second was: " One at a Time." The third: "Started in 1958."

    As we drove home, I was so 14 by what we had seen. I could 15speak. "She changed the world." I finally said, "one bulb (水仙球茎) at a time. She started almost 40 years ago, probably just the beginning of an idea, and she 16at it.

    The 17 of it would not let me go. I said:" Imagine if I'd had a 18 and worked on it, just a little bit every day, what might I have 19? Carolyn looked at me sideways, smiling. "20 tomorrow," she said. "Better yet, start today."

    Nick was not the kind of boy I had expected to spend my summer with. I was hoping to have a1the summer before my busy senior year, but my mother asked me to do her a2. One of her colleagues needed a full-time3. "You planned to volunteer at the local hospital, why not volunteer to4Nick instead?" Then she told me that this six-year-old boy was not a5 child.

    Nick was a lovely little boy who suffered from many disorders. Normal day-care centers would not6him. As a baby, he had serious ear infections which left him with equilibrium(平衡) problems.

    He couldn't7or run properly. I was8if I was to take the job when my mother9.

    "Don't you want to be a nurse in the future? I doubt if you even have the10."

    Then I told her I was11for the job.

    The day started at 7:00 a.m. Nick was my wake-up call! With so much energy and very little 12, he was quite a mix.

    At the park, when he saw all the other children play on the jungle gym and swings(秋千), the boy's face 13up—How he wished he belonged to the group of his age! You would think it would be 14to get a child to go down a slide. Believe me, it wasn't! It took time, a lot of time. But with patience and support. Nick took one step up the slide each day. We worked together to face his 15and gradually he got closer to taking the slide of his life.

    Halfway through the summer, he16it to the top of the slide. With my arms holding him tightly, we flew down the slide! I waited for his17. After realizing that he was safe and sound, he gave me a big18and asked, "May I go down again, alone?"

    I had never been happier in my life when I saw this little child climb the ladder and enjoy what other children19for granted.

    This20child taught me that being a nurse means respect, kindness and patience.

    I fell in love with Yosemite National Park the first time I saw it, when I was 13. My parents took us there for camping. On the way out, I asked them to wait while I ran up to E1 Capitan, a 1 rock of 3,300 feet straight up. I touched that giant rock and knew 2 I wanted to climb it. That has been my life's passion (钟爱) ever since--3 the rocks and mountains of Yosemite. I've long made Yosemite my 4.

    About 15 years ago I started seeing a lot of 5, like toilet paper, beer cans, and empty boxes, around the area. It's 6 me why visitors started respecting the place less and treated such a 7 home-like place this way.

    I tried 8 trash(垃圾)myself, but the job was too big. I would 9an hour or two on the job, only to find the area trashed all over again weeks later. Finally, I got so 10 it that I decided something had to 11.

    As a rock-climbing guide, I knew 12about organizing any big event. But in 2004, together with some climbers, I set a date for a 13. On that day, more than 300 people 14. Over three days we collected about 6,000 pounds of trash. It was 15how much we were able to accomplish. I couldn't believe the 16 we made --the park looked clean!

    Each year volunteers come for the cleanup from everywhere. In 2007 alone, 2,945 people picked up 42,330 pounds of trash and 17 132 miles of roadway.

    I often hear people 18about their surroundings. If you are one of them, I would say the only way to change things is by 19 rather than complaining. We need to teach by 20. You can't blame others unless you start with yourself.