My father was 44 and knew he wasn't going to make it to 45. He wrote me a letter and hoped that something in it would help me for the rest of my life.

    Since the day I was 12 and first read his letter, some of his words have lived in my heart. One part always stands out. "Right now, you are pretending to be a time killer. But I know that one day, you will do something great that will set you among the very best." Knowing that my dad believed in me gave me permission to believe in myself. "You will do something great." He didn't know what would be, and neither did I, but at times in my life when I've felt proud of myself , I remember his words and wish he were here so I could ask, "Is this what you were talking about , Dad ? Should I keep going ?"

A long way from 12 now, I realize he would have been proud when I made any progress. Lately, though, I've come to believe he would want me to move on to what comes next: to be proud of , and believe in , somebody else. It's time to start writing my own letters to my children . Our children look to us with the same unanswered question we had. Our kids don't hold back because they're afraid to fail. They're only afraid of failing us. They don't worry about being disappointed. Their fear —as mine was until my father's letter —is of being a disappointment .

    Give your children permission to succeed. They're waiting for you to believe in them. I always knew my parents loved me. But trust me：That belief will be more complete , that love will be more real, and their belief in themselves will be greater if you write the words on their hearts："Don't worry; you'll do something great ." Not having that blessing from their parents may be the only thing holding them back.

    It's seven o'clock in the morning in Chennai, India Lavin always has her morning bath before school. But she doesn't have a bath at home. She has a bath in a small river outside with her best friend, a baby elephant.

    Lavin lives at Arignar Anna Zoo with her parents, brothers and sisters. Her father works at the zoo and he is a special keeper for the baby elephants. Lavin is only six years old, but she can control(控制)the elephants and she has a very special friendship with them.

    At eight o'clock in the morning, Lavin goes to school, but she doesn't go on the school bus. She rides an elephant to school. After school, Lavin plays football with her elephants.

    Now it is the evening, and the baby elephants are tired Lavin sits next to them and sings to them. Sometimes, they all sleep together-friends together in the day and friends together at night.

    There was a boy and his family was very rich. One day his father took him on a trip to a place. He wanted to show his son how poor people were there. They spent several days on a farm. There were many poor families living on the farm.

    On their way home, the father asked the son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad," the son answered. "Did you notice how poor people were there?" asked his father. "Oh, yes," said the son. "So, tell me," said his father. The son said, "Well, we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool in our garden, while they have a river that has no end. We have expensive lanterns(灯), but they have stars above their heads at night. We have only a small place of land to live on, while they have the endless fields。We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have high walls around our houses to protect us, but they don't need walls, because their friends will protect them."

    The father had nothing to say. Then the boy added, "Thank you, Dad, for letting me see how poor we are."