1 . I’m an attorney (代理人), a children’s book author, an entrepreneur (企业家), and a regular volunteer at my church. Having moved to California from New York recently, I often wake up to thousands of _________ and emails. Like many of you, I’m a busy person and always on the go.

I started a storytelling _________ called the Auditory Museum. We believe in the power of shared experiences. As part of our mission, we are _________ to using personal stories as a means for social change. One day, I flew back to the east coast for a friend’s wedding. After it, I had a few hours to kill before my red-eye flight back home. Like any other entrepreneurs, I decided to sit in the hotel lobby at _________ with my laptop and get some work done.

While writing an email about the importance of storytelling, I was _________ by a gentleman who was curious as to what I was working on. _________ that I had lost my train of thought, I gave him a fake smile. _________ with my icy response to him the gentleman _________ next to me in the hotel lobby. “Why are you working now? What do you do? Where are you from? ”Now, at this point, the irony was not lost on me. I was so _________ my task that I had prioritized ______________ a non-pressing email over the opportunity to engage in conversation.

I closed my laptop and smiled. I told the gentleman about my job, my company, my passion for storytelling, and my ______________ to create social change through the sharing of personal experiences. He began to tell me his life story. One hour later, he thanked me for my time, wished me good luck and ______________.

That night I learned a very ______________ lesson. We live in a generation obsessed with self-improvement, self-help, self ______________ etc. I don’t think there is anything wrong with focusing on ourselves. In fact, it is arguably necessary for personal growth. However, we can often find the answer to life’s greatest problems outside of ourselves, in human ______________.