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    Many years ago, a young woman doctor named Jessie received a present-“a parrot” at her birthday party. She was always busy in the hospital and spent little time with the parrot. So over time the parrot developed a bad attitude(态度).

    It got to the point that every word out of the bird's mouth was obnoxious. Sometimes the parrot even shouted at Jessie. She tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else she could think of to “clean up” the bird's attitude.

    Finally, Jessie was angry and shouted at the parrot. The parrot shouted back. Jessie lost her temper and shook the parrot. The parrot became even more rude. Jessie threw the bird into the fridge angrily. For a few minutes the parrot kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total silence.

    Fearing that she'd hurt the parrot, Jessie quickly opened the door to the fridge.

    The parrot walked out onto Jessie's arms and said “I believe I may have offended(冒犯) you with my rude language and actions. I am so sorry for what I said and did just now and I will do everything I can to correct my rude attitude.”

    Jessie couldn't believe the change in the bird's attitude.

    As she was about to ask the parrot what had made such a change in his attitude, the bird spoke-up, very softly, “May I ask what the turkey did?”

    In the 1950s, a female swimming athlete set a goal for herself. She decided to swim across the English Channel before she retired. If she could make it, she would be the first person in the world who did it.

    On that day, she jumped into the sea without any hesitation and swam towards the opposite bank.

    In the journey, she faced heavy fog, heavy rain and heavy waves. Though she was very tired, she carried on swimming.

    But in the end, she gave up. And what she didn't know at the moment she gave up was that the opposite bank was only I mile away.

    Later people asked her about the reason. And she said: "The reason why I gave up is that I could not see the destination which I was so close to."

    Too many success stories have been lecturing us about courage and persistence(坚持). But they never told us where to find courage and persistence.

    You can have courage only when you know where your goal is. You can manage to persist only when you know where your goal is, and prepare yourself well mentally(心理上).

    Courage and persistence never fall from the sky. They come from weighing between input and output.

    A life without goals is like a ship without a compass. It goes nowhere. There is no courage or persistence in a life without goals.

    Abbie was a shy girl. She started her ninth grade in a new school. She soon found she didn't like the new school. This new school was much too cold and unfriendly! No one seemed to care if Abbie felt welcome or not.

    Her parents were very worried about her and they hew since they got divorced(离婚), she needed a friend very badly. They tried everything they could to help her fit in(适应), but it didn't work. She was always lonely and unhappy.

    Abbie once tried joining a music club, hoping to make friends. But her shyness held her back again. She was so upset mat she was thill king of running away from home.

    As she left her warm house, she decided to leave her mother a letter. She opened me mailbox after she finished writing the letter. To her surprise, she found a letter to her in the box. It was from Wesley:

    Dear Abbie,

    I'm sorry for not talking with you sooner. You know, my parents are in the middle of a divorce, so I am hoping you could help me get over it and give me some advice. I think we could become friends.

    Wesley

    Abbie read me letter over and over again. "Become friends," she smiled, realizing that someone cared about her life and wanted her as a friend.

    Both of Omar's parents liked writing poetry. His father taught poetry in a college. Although his mother worked at a bank, she wrote poetry when she was free. His parents spent one evening each week on poetry readings. Most readings were at a small coffee shop.

    Omar loved going to the coffee shop with his parents. The nice smell of coffee and the beautiful voice of reading blew him away. One woman came to the coffee shop every week. People called her Mrs Abboud. She never read, but she always had a bright smile for everyone, and she would clap(鼓掌) loudly after each reading.

    Later, Omar began writing his own poetry. He did quite well. Mrs Francis, Omar's English teacher, advised him to go to a poetry competition. At first Omar was excited. However, when he read the competition rules, he became worried. The competition was an oral (口头的) reading. Omar was sure that he could write good poetry, but he was afraid of reading in front of others. "We'll be very happy to see you in the competition," his father said. And Omar knew that he had to go through with it somehow.

    On the day of the competition, he chose his favourite poem and put on his best clothes. When it was his turn, something wonderful happened! Mrs Abboud was sitting next to his parents. He saw her warm smile. He could almost smell the coffee at the small coffee shop. Now it was easy for him to read. When Omar finished, everyone clapped loudly. Omar felt great joy in his heart.

    Mary complained to her father about how hard she thought life was. She didn't know how to make it and wanted to give up.

    Mary's father took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and put each on a big fire. Soon the pots started to boil（沸腾）. In one he put carrots, in the second he put eggs, and in the last he put coffee powder. He watched them boil, without saying a word.

    Mary waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the fire. He took the carrots and eggs out and put them on different plates. Then he poured the coffee in a cup. He asked, "Mary, what do you see?"

    He asked Mary to touch the carrots. She found that they were soft.  He then asked her to take an egg and break it. She saw a hard-boiled egg after taking off the shell. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee.  Its rich smell brought a smile to her face.

    Each of them had the same trouble, but each reacted differently. The carrot was strong and hard at first, but it became soft and weak. The egg was weak, too. But after going through the boiling water, its inside became hard. The coffee powder changed the water, and created something new. "Which one is you?" he asked Mary. "When trouble comes to you, are you a carrot, an egg, or the coffee powder?"