【推荐1】In my senior year of high school, Mike and I were lined up in front of a small group of students made up mainly of the leaders of the senior classes. Our teacher said to us," The two of you will never amount to anything."

There was some snickering (窃笑)from some of the seniors as the teacher continued,"From now on,I am not going to waste any more time on either of you. I am only going to spend my time with these class leaders. You two are the class downs with bad grades, and you will never amount to anything. Now get out of here. "

That teacher did Mike and me the biggest favor of all. While what she said was true in many ways and her words hurt us deeply, her words also inspired both of us to work even harder. They carried us through college and into our own businesses.

A few years ago, Mike and I attended our high school reunion.It was nice to visit with people with whom we had spent three years during a period of time when none of us really knew who we were. It was also interesting to see that most of the so-called senior leaders had not become successful in the years after high school.

I tell this story because Mike and I were not academic whiz kids. We were neither financial experts nor athletic stars. For the most part, we were slow-to-average learners and students. In my opinion,we were not as naturally gifted as our fathers. Yet it was our teacher's stinging words and the snickering from our classmates that gave us the strength to move forward, to learn from our mistakes and to keep doing in both good times and bad times.

Just because you didn't do well in school, were not popular, bad in math, or have other reasons to underestimate yourself-none of them count in the long run. They only count if you think they count.

For those who're considering beginning your own financial fast track, you may have some doubts about your abilities. Trust that you have everything you need right now to be successful financially. All it takes to bring out your natural God-given gifts is your desire, determination and a deep faith that you have a genius and a gift that is unique.

【推荐2】The grocery store might not be your favorite place to visit when you're at home, but is it ever fun when you're in another country? Honestly speaking, they're one of those strange little destinations that I like to sniff out (寻找) everywhere I go, much as other travelers head toward clothing stores, libraries, cafes or galleries.

The biggest beauty of the grocery store-whether it's a huge supermarket or a tiny one-is that it gives you a glimpse into what local people buy to cook. This offers clues into their lifestyles and preferences, and into the agricultural and cooking practices of the country. I stare at the strange fruits and vegetables, the seafood, the cheese, the spices, the breads, and oh, the chocolate... always the chocolate!

Being an environmental person I am,I like paying attention to packaging,which can reflect their attitude towards environmental protection. Italy, for example, has a habit of requiring customers to bag their fruits and vegetables in plastic for weighing, while Sri Lanka leaves everything loose in bins. In Brazil , everything is prepackaged in a layer of plastic.

People in grocery stores tend to be friendlier. They smile, say hello, and sometimes ask questions, which can lead to great conversations. I had a further discussion with a teenaged cashier in Sri Lanka. He insisted that the one labeled “spicy” would be too hot for me, but I told him I was willing to risk it. He laughed and we ended up talking about my favorite Sri Lankan foods for ten minutes.

The financial savings extend to souvenirs, too. Whether it is ground spices for my mom or chocolates for my kids, the grocery store is the first place I look for unique gifts. It's interesting then to come home and look at one's own local grocery store through new eyes. What would a visitor think? What stands out, and what do the food displays say about us as a culture? You might be surprised by what you realize.

【推荐3】As countless unmade beds and unfinished homework assignments prove, kids need rules. Yet how parents make demands can powerfully influence a child’s social skills, psychologists at the University of Virginia recently found after the conclusion on a study investigating the transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Initially 184 13-year-olds filled out multiple surveys, including one to assess how often their parents employed psychologically controlling strategies, such as threatening to withdraw affection. The kids rated, for example how typical it would be for Dad to suggest that “if I really cared for him, I would not do things that caused him to worry” or for Mom to become “less friendly when I did not see things her way.”

The researchers followed up with the subjects at ages 18 and 21, asking the young adults to bring along a close friend. These pairs were asked to answer questions that were purposefully written to cause a difference of opinion. “We wanted to see whether they could handle a disagreement in a healthy way,” says study leader Barbara Oudekerk, now at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Statistics.

In the October issue of Child Development, Oudekerk and her colleagues report that the 13-year-olds who had highly controlling parents floundered in friendly disagreements at age 18. They had difficulty stating their opinions in a confident, reasoned manner in comparison to the kids without controlling parents. And when they did speak up, they often failed to express themselves in warm and productive ways.

The researchers suspect that controlling parents affect their child’s ability to learn how to argue his or her own viewpoint in other relationships. Although parents do need to set boundaries， dominating strategies imply that any disagreement will damage the bond itself. Separate findings suggest that parents who explain the reasons behind their rules and turn disagreements into conversations leave youngsters better prepared for future disagreements.

The consequences of tense or dominating relationships appear to worsen with time. This study also found that social difficulties at 18 predicted even poorer communication abilities at age 21. Psychologist Shmuel Shulman of Bar-llan University in Israel, who did not participate in the work, thinks these conclusions convincingly reveal how relationship patterns “carry forward” into new friendships.