【推荐1】When Failure Is a Good Thing

Failure is an important process you can learn from.    1    

Most people view failure as something that should be avoided at all costs.    2    It may have been an “F” we received on a paper or the high expectations our parents placed upon our shoulders that stopped us from trying.

Award-winning psychologist and author, Ron Friedman, tells the story of how Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, revolutionized the women's clothing industry and became a billionaire in his book, The Best Place To Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace.

    3     She had zero experience in the clothing industry, lacked an education in business and raised only $5,000 to invest. When asked where she found the courage, she gave all credit to her dad. While most parents ask their kids, “How was your day?" when sitting down for dinner, Sara's parents asked her and her brother, “What did you fail at today?” each and every night.

When interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper, Sara said, “Instead of failure being the outcome, failure became not trying. It forced me at a young age to want to push myself so much further out of my comfort zone.”     4     It became more about learning and less about a personal weakness.

If we view failure as weakness, we avoid stepping out of our comfort zone.     5     It does not define us, but instead matures us. I 'm sure that there are many risks we would all take in our personal, professional and spiritual lives if we could get past a fear of failure.

What has been the greatest lesson you have learned when taking a chance? Please share with us.

【推荐2】There are human angels that appear in my life for small incidents that leave a lasting memory in my mind. One of them was a durian(榴莲)seller in a local supermarket. I couldn’t even remember how he looked like and I didn’t even know his name.

I started part-time work after junior college. I was paid a small sum of $5 an hour ac a part time fashion assistant. Having earned the money the hard way, I definitely learned to treasure every cent.

On Father’s Day, I decided to buy some durian for my father. I went to the local supermarket and looked around at the durian seller’s booth(小隔间)to pick a few packets of durian within my limited budget(预算). I focused all my attention on the cheapest range, which cost $5 a packet, equal to one hour of work standing around as a part-time fashion assistant. I wanted to get 3 packets for my family.

The durian seller appeared and asked me what I wanted. I told him that I would like to get 3 boxes of $5 durian for my father on this special day. He asked me to consider the more expensive choices. I told him I couldn’t afford them. I was ready to pick 3 boxes of $5 durian. The durian seller told me he would sell the durians to me at a discounted price. He took out his marker, adjusted the price, passed me 3 boxes and wished me well. My mind went blank, as I paid only $15 for 3 boxes of durian originally priced at $8 each. Many years later, I still remember his kindness.