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.

Honest Thanks

    I sat down at my desk and started writing. I wrote an emotional letter of gratitude. I put the notecard into the 1 ， sealed it and stuck the stamps on it，but when it came to actually placing the letter into the mailbox...I2.

    The letter was to a schoolmate with whom I kept in contact via Facebook 3.She had inspired me to live a(n)  4 life—for example，by 5 more.

    Her volunteer efforts weren't 6—she wasn't building wells in Uganda，but  7 she was doing small，local good deeds，such as serving as a crossing guard. These were things I could do，too. She made me8 I could make a difference here at home. I felt I should let her know how her 9 positively influenced my life .I could have easily sent her an e-mail，10 that seemed a bit lame for such an important thank you. That's why I ended up 11 the letter. But now I stood before the mailbox，unable to place the envelope inside. What was 12 me? Why was this so 13 to do? I guess I felt strange because it wasn't like she was my best friend，I just knew her，“People don't 14do this，” I thought to myself. However，15 thinking it over，I still felt a(n)16to let her know how grateful I was. Finally，I put the envelope in the mailbox.

    Weeks later I received her reply. She was 17  a tough time and my letter meant the 18  to her. She didn't know she had such a(n)19on others. Not only did this letter make her happy，but her response to it increased my 20 of happiness，I decided to write a gratitude letter to someone each month. Cultivating gratitude is a great skill to practice. Life is too short not to do it.

The Little Angel

    Sally jumped up the moment she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She asked, "How is my little boy?"

    The surgeon said, "I'm 1. We did all we could, but your boy didn't2 it."

    Sally 3 into the chair. The surgeon asked, "Would you like some time with your son before he was transported to the 4?" Sally nodded. While saying goodbye, she ran her fingers 5 through his thick curly hair. "Would you like a lock of his hair?" the surgeon asked. Sally nodded yes. The surgeon cut a few hairs, and handed them to Sally. The mother said, "It was Jimmy's idea to 6 his body to the university for study. He said it might 7 somebody else. "I said no at first, 8 Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom.'"

    "My Jimmy had a heart of 9, always thinking of someone else, always wanting to help others if he could." she went on.

    Sally walked out of the hospital. She put the bag with Jimmy's 10 on the seat beside her in the car. The drive home was 11. It was even harder to enter the 12 house. She carried Jimmy's belongings, and the lock of his hair to her son's room. She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room 13 where he had always kept them. She lay down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, 14 herself to sleep.

    It was around midnight when Sally 15. Lying beside her on the bed was a letter. The letter said,

"Dear Mom,

    I know you're going to 16 me, and me too. I will always love you, Mom, even more 17 each passing day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to 18a little boy so you won't be so lonely, that's OK with me. He can have my room and old toys to play with.

    Don't be sad thinking about me. I don't hurt any more. The cancer is all19. I don't have to stand that 20 any more. The angels in Heaven are so tender. They say I'm a Special Angel! I love you, Mom."

    When I was 13 my only purpose was to become the star on our football team. That meant 1 Miller King, who was the best 2 at our school.

    Football season started in September and all summer long I worked out. I carried my football everywhere for 3.

    Just before September, Miller was struck by a car and lost his right arm. I went to see him after he came back from 4. He looked very 5, but he didn't cry.

    That season, I 6 all of Miller's records while he 7 the home games from the bench. We went 10­1 and I was named most valuable player, 8 I often had crazy dreams in which I was to blame for Miller's 9.

    One afternoon, I was crossing the field to go home and saw Miller 10 going over a fence­which wasn't 11 to climb if you had both arms. I'm sure I was the last person in the world he wanted to accept 12 from. But even that challenge he accepted. I 13 him move slowly over the fence. When we were finally 14 on the other side, he said to me, "You know, I didn't tell you this during the season, but you did 15. Thank you for filling in for 16."

    His words freed me from my bad 17. I thought to myself, how even without an arm he was more of a leader. Damaged but not defeated, he was 18 ahead of me. I was right to have 19 him. From that day on, I grew 20 and a little more real.

    After I graduated from the university, I got so pressured in finding a job. I did a lot of1both online and handing in person to a particular company. It occurred, one day I went to2my CV (履历)to a certain company and I wanted to meet the human resource manager in person because I believed it was the best3than leaving my CV at the reception.

    Unfortunately, in this company the4did not allow me to see the human resource manager and5asked me to just leave the CV with her and that she would6it. I was really7since I knew she wouldn't do that and my CV will just be thrown in the trash can, I thought so because it usually8a lot in some other companies. So I just left with my head9and never thought about it again since I knew I would never get any10from the company.

    Weeks passed and one day I received a call from a（an）11number and guess what… it was the human resource manager of that same company. I was really shocked since I did not12it at all. So he said he received my CV and that he would13it.

    I was so happy and felt bad at the same time for14the receptionist the other day. This humbled me and it was a15to believe in people and not assume things just because of the norm.

When I was a boy, there was but one permanent ambition among my comrades in our village on the west bank of Mississippi River. That was, to be a steamboat man. We had temporary ambitions of other sorts, but they were only temporary.

My father was a justice of the peace, and I supposed he possessed the power of life and death over all men and could hang anybody that offended him. This was distinction enough for me as a general thing; but the desire to be a steamboat man kept intruding(闯入), nevertheless. One of our boys in town, who went away and was not heard of for a long time, turned up as an apprentice engineer on a steamboat. This thing shook the bottom out of all my Sunday-school teachings. That boy was notoriously worldly, and I was just the opposite. There was nothing generous about this fellow in his greatness. He would always manage to have a rust y nail to scrub while his boat stopped at our town, and he would sit on the inside guard and scrub it, where we could all see him. And wherever his boat was laid up he would come home and show off in the town in his blackest and greasiest clothes, so that nobody could help remembering that he was a steamboat man; and he used all sorts of steamboat technical terms in his talk, as if he were so used to them that he forgot common people could not understand them.

This creature's career could produce but one result, and it was speedily followed. Boy after boy managed to get on the river. Despite many choices, pilot was the grandest position of all. The pilot, even in those days of trivial wages, had a princely salary—from 150-250 dollars a month, and no board payment. But our parents would not let us and our worry was that the next year would find us hunting for jobs with low pay again. So by and by I ran away. I said I never would come home again till I was a pilot and could come in glory.