1 . One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway and it just wasn’t worth to retrieve the donkey. So, he decided to bury it!

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly, then slowly he quieted down till nothing more was heard.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing! He would shake it off and take a step up!

As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping, never giving up, shaking it off, and taking a step up!

4 . Many of us seem to have lives that follow a certain path. From kindergarten all the way to marriage, every stage of our lives seems to be preset. Although this works well for many people, according to British motivational philosopher Jay Shetty, there is no “right” schedule to live our lives by.

A few months ago, a video of Shetty’s speech Before You Feel Pressure went viral on the Internet across the world. In the video, he sends an important message that we should think “outside of the path” and have the courage to follow our hearts. Shetty adds that, we don’t have to get stressed and put ourselves in a race with our peers or judge our lives based on others. Everything in life happens according to our time, our clocks.

In his inspiring speech, Shetty points out that UK author J. K. Rowling got her famous Harry Potter series published at age 32, after being turned down by 12 publishers. Shetty also mentions that Chinese businessman Jack Ma didn’t even start the Alibaba Group until he was 35 and US actor Morgan Freeman didn’t get his big break until he was 52 years old.

We shouldn’t let anyone rush us. As Albert Einstein once said, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that’s counted truly counts. ”

The key to staying on our own tracks is to be patient and embrace our own passions. In Australian nurse Bronnie Ware’s best-selling book, she recorded the regrets of her dying patients, and the top one on the list was, “I wish l had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the one others expected of me.” Indeed, we are all unique in our personalities and gifts, and there’s no perfect fit for all. We should listen to our inner voices and unlearn what the world has taught us.

“It is important to allow people to go back to being self-aware of their own interests, needs and concerns”, Shetty told National Geographic. “It’s disconnecting from what ‘makes sense’ to what actually moves you and what makes sense internally.”

It was the first day of our new grade. Everyone in the classroom was chatting happily, excited to see each other again after the long holidays. When the door slid open, all of us stopped talking and turned to look. In came our teacher Ms. Sullivan, followed by an ordinary-looking boy,

“This boy’s name is Rafael.” Ms. Sullivan announced. “He’s a transfer student (转校生), and he’s going to be in our class starting from today. Make sure all of you welcome him warmly.”

The class clapped. But I didn't want to have a second look at the newcomer, for he had no outstanding qualities considering his small figure and casual T-shirt.

“Oh, I forgot to mention one thing.” Ms. Sullivan spoke up. “Rafael actually has hearing problems. Normally he would have hearing aids on, but his old ones have just been broken.

His doctor suggested that he stay at home until he got his new ones. However, Rafael insisted on attending his first day of school. So if you want to communicate with him, you have to write it on a piece of paper.”

This single speech sent the whole class up into an uproar (嘈杂). Some students looked at each other with expressions of surprise. Others voiced cries of concern out of pity.

Ms. Sullivan calmed everyone down. “I’d like someone to personally help him out throughout the day. Do I have any volunteers?”

“How can a disabled person be intelligent?” I thought to myself. I refused to raise my hand, expecting someone else would. But nobody did or said anything. Dead silence spread across the classroom.

It was by total bad luck that my eyes happened to meet Ms. Sullivan's.

“How about you, James?” She asked me. “Is it okay for you to take care of Rafael just for today?”

It is difficult to refuse a request by someone, especially if that person is a teacher. I sighed and nodded slightly. Ms. Sullivan gestured for Rafael to sit beside me and then asked us to share our holiday stories with the class.

Immediately, the class became excited.

Then Rafael rose and walked onto the platform.

9 . My First Marathon（马拉松）

A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn’t do either well. He later informed me that I was ＂not athletic＂.

The idea that I was ＂not athletic＂ stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!

The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn’t even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces(鞋带) became untied. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted!

At mile 3, I passed a sign: ＂GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!＂

By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

By mile 21, I was starving!

As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.

I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels(世俗标签), I can now call myself a ＂marathon winner＂.