【推荐1】Medicine is a degree that consists of an endless number of exams, and recently I received my first year results. Waiting for those results was one of the most anxiety-generating experiences.

    1     Failure brings judgement from others, a topic of discussion for people and the right for others to say you are not capable. The stress associated with failure is created by others around you, rather than by the event itself.

I have recently been reading The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, which clarifies that failure has a strong presence among those who have achieved success. People will always focus on Warren Buffett’s success as an investor.     2    

The process of achieving success has often involved setbacks and “failures” along the way. I was rejected by medical schools which I’d spent time and effort applying to and preparing for. And I once received a “pass” grade on an important research paper during my master’s, which put my final grade in a dangerous situation.     3     I also began pursuing my doctoral degree last year.

    4     But you should know that with each failure you are closer to success, building further layers to the foundations you started. Behind every successful person are more obstacles and setbacks, but these are not as interesting to focus on or as enviable.

The noise around you, whether it is from coworkers, friends or parents, should not shake your belief in your abilities.     5     Learn what you need and correct your approach until you have success.

【推荐2】Life is short. It may feel as if it takes forever sometimes, but the reality is that you live, and a short time later, you die. It happens so quickly that many people don't even realize they had a life until it's already over.

    1    

If you don't believe in yourself, nobody will. Success starts in your mind, and if all you're doing is putting yourself down and predicting failure, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy(预言).    2    ，instead of not believing yourself. Not only will you be happier and more successful, you'll also spread it to everyone around you.

2. Stop Being Lazy

Lazy people are annoying—it's like pulling teeth and getting them to do anything. If I can't do something as simple as going to the movies with you without wasting an hour convincing you to get your lazy butt (臀部) out of bed, I'd rather go alone. People have enough trouble motivating themselves.    3    .

3. Stop Wasting Time

I’ve said it before. And I'll say it again.     4    , Don't waste your time on unproductive things. If you want to explore the World's dark corners, that's great. I still associate with people who have not-so-kosher(没有固定工作的) careers, but I don’t hang out with those people at the expense of my own short- and long-term goals.

4. Stop Being Wasteful

You don’t finish your meals, and throw away food instead. You leave the faucet running when you brush your teeth,

    5    . You drive to places you could easily walk to, burning gasoline (a non-renewable resource). You are wasteful, and it needs to stop.

【推荐3】A typical lion tamer (驯兽师) in people’s mind is an entertainer holding a whip (鞭) and a chair. The whip gets all of the attention, but it’s mostly for show. In reality, it’s the chair that does the important work. When a lion tamer holds a chair in front of the lion’s face, the lion tries to focus on all four legs of the chair at the same time. With its focus divided, the lion becomes confused and is unsure about what to do next. When faced with so many options, the lion chooses to freeze and wait instead of attacking the man holding the chair.

How often do you find yourself in the same position as the lion? How often do you have something you want to achieve (e.g. lose weight, start a business, travel more) — only to end up confused by all of the options in front of you and never make progress?

This upsets me to no end because while all the experts are busy debating about which option is best, the people who want to improve their lives are left confused by all of the conflicting information. The end result is that we feel like we can’t focus or that we’re focused on the wrong things, and so we take less action, make less progress, and stay the same when we could be improving.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Anytime you find the world waving a chair in your face, remember this: All you need to do is focus on one thing. You just need to get started. Starting before you feel ready is one of the habits of successful people. If you have somewhere you want to go, something you want to accomplish, someone you want to become...take immediate action. If you’re clear about where you want to go, the rest of the world will either help you get there or get out of the way.

【推荐1】When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power. But what are these really, and how do they operate?

Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things. If this is even possible, it is short-tern, and tends to backfire. If you order someone to do something against their will, they may do it because they feel they must, but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term. They will also experience fear.

Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function at his or her best. If they associate you with .his emotion of fear, they will become less functional around you, and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot, but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively. Fear has no place m leadership.

The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion. We can order someone to do something, which may be part of the work day, or we can employ them at the emotional level, so they become fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation. Today’s work place is all about relationships.

Anyone works harder in a positive environment in which they’re recognized and valued as a human being as well as worker. Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like. Leaders understand the way things work. They know the pay check is not the single most motivating factor in the work life of most people.

The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of emotional intelligence—knowing your own emotions, and how to handle them, and those of others. Developing your emotional intelligence is the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationships with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills.

【推荐2】This story happened when I was in Saint Lucia with my family. My sister, Diana, who also happens to be my best friend and one of the funniest and kindest people I know, went blind in one eye about 9 years ago. Diana sometimes feels concerned about the way her eye looks now. The pupil(瞳孔) is no longer black; it’s sort of “glows” in photos. Diana recently purchased a special contact lens(隐形镜片) that makes her eye look like it did before it changed color, but she doesn’t wear this lens often because it becomes quite painful after about an hour.

One night during our holiday, a hotel photographer was taking pictures of the guests as they entered the area set up for dinner. Diana casually said if she had known there were going to be pictures taken to capture this special memory, she would have worn her contact lens so her eye wouldn’t be so shiny in the picture.

The next day, I was sitting with Diana and her husband Ted. While we were talking, the photographer who had been at the dinner the night before, handed her a photo, leaned in and quietly said, “I matched the color of your eyes in the picture.”

As he walked away, my sister happily said to me and Ted, “Look! He fixed my eye！” The photographer stopped. He turned around and walked back to our table. He put his hand on Diana’s shoulder, leaned in again and gently said, “Just to be clear：I didn’t fix your eye. There isn’t anything wrong with your eye. I simply matched the color.”

Her eyes filled up with tears. It was very healing for her heart to hear these beautiful words. It didn’t take much time but made so much difference. It helped her change the way she feels about herself.

I have always loved the quote：“The world is full of good people. If you can’t find one, be one！” Your acts of kindness can impact the world in profound ways!