UNIT 1. STARBUCKS
I. Read the text. Look up the vocabulary.
​To say Starbucks purchases and roasts high-quality whole bean coffees is very true. That’s the essence of what we do – but it hardly tells the whole story.
Our Heritage.
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1. Every day, we go to work hoping to do two things: share great coffee with our friends and help make the world a little better. It was true when the first Starbucks opened in 1971, and it’s just as true today.
2. Back then, the company was a single store in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. From just a narrow storefront, Starbucks offered some of the world’s finest fresh-roasted whole bean coffees. The name, inspired by Moby Dick, evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders.
3. In 1981, Howard Schultz (Starbucks chairman and chief executive officer) had first walked into a Starbucks store. From his first cup of Sumatra, Howard was drawn into Starbucks and joined a year later.
4. In 1983, Howard traveled to Italy and became captivated with Italian coffee bars and the romance of the coffee experience. He had a vision to bring the Italian coffeehouse tradition back to the United States. A place for conversation and a sense of community. A third place between work and home. He left Starbucks for a short period of time to start his own Il Giornale coffeehouses and returned in August 1987 to purchase Starbucks with the help of local investors.
5. From the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company. One that not only celebrated coffee and the rich tradition, but that also brought a feeling of connection.
6. Our mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.
Expect More Than Coffee.
7. We’re not just passionate purveyors of coffee, but everything else that goes with a full and rewarding coffeehouse experience. We also offer a selection of premium teas, fine pastries and other delectable treats to please the taste buds. And the music you hear in store is chosen for its artistry and appeal.
8. It’s not unusual to see people coming to Starbucks to chat, meet up or even work. We’re a neighborhood gathering place, a part of the daily routine – and we couldn’t be happier about it. Get to know us and you’ll see: we are so much more than what we brew.
9. We make sure everything we do is through the lens of humanity – from our commitment to the highest quality coffee in the world, to the way we engage with our customers and communities to do business responsibly.
Business Ethics and Compliance.
10. Starbucks believes that conducting business ethically and striving to do the right thing are vital to the success of the company.
11. Business Ethics and Compliance is a program that supports Our Starbucks Mission and helps protect our culture and our reputation by providing resources that help partners make ethical decisions at work.
12. The program develops and distributes awareness materials, including the Standards of Business Conduct; facilitates legal compliance and ethics training; investigates sensitive issues such as potential conflicts of interest; and provides additional channels for partners to voice concerns. Partners are encouraged to report all types of issues or concerns to the program through their choice of the offered communication channels.
13. The majority of reports received by Business Ethics and Compliance involve employee relations issues. This trend is consistent with other companies – retail or otherwise – that provide alternative reporting mechanisms as part of a comprehensive ethics and compliance program.
Standards of Business Conduct.
14. The Standards of Business Conduct booklet is a resource distributed to all partners to help them make appropriate decisions at work. The standards are a brief statement of some of the company's expectations of how we are all to conduct Starbucks business, consistent with our Mission and core values.
Creating A Culture of Belonging, Inclusion and Diversity.
15. At the heart of our business, we seek to inspire and nurture the human spirit - understanding that each person brings a distinct life experience to the table. Our partners are diverse not only in gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religion and age, but also in cultural backgrounds, life experiences, thoughts and ideas.
16. Embracing diversity only enhances our work culture, it also drives our business success. It is the inclusion of these diverse experiences and perspectives that create a culture of empowerment, one that fosters innovation, economic growth and new ideas.
Source: starbucks.com.
II. Watch the video. Look up the vocabulary.
UNIT 2. A NEW TWIST ON MENTAL HEALTH
I. Read the text. Look up the vocabulary.
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1. The psychotherapist was in running gear: black tank top, black leggings and black shoes. Her hair was pulled back. She carried only her phone.
2. Leaving her office on Elena Avenue in Redondo Beach, Sepideh Saremi crossed a couple of streets, walked down a sloping path to the beach, then began to run north, toward the pier.
3. Had I been her patient, that’s when our session would have begun.
4. As we ran along the edge of the ocean, Saremi periodically asked me if I was OK, if the pace was good, if I was comfortable. I had a feeling that she was also reminding me that we were not pals, which struck me as entirely appropriate.
5. Running, I’ve learned over the decades, is the best kind of therapy. You always feel better after. Combining it with actual talk therapy, as Saremi does, seems like such an obvious practice, I wondered why no one had thought of it already.
6. Turns out, a handful of therapists around the world already have.
7. But Saremi, who was born to Iranian parents in Germany, didn’t know that when she began taking male clients for walks. She had recently graduated from UCLA with a master’s degree in social welfare and was treating Farsi-speakers in a community mental health program run by Jewish Family Services. It occurred to her that getting out of the traditional office setting might be helpful, particularly for some of her male clients, who did not seem comfortable in the traditional therapeutic setting.
8. “Some had PTSD, others had severe mental illness like schizophrenia,” Saremi told me before we headed out for our run on Monday. “It was really hard for them to tolerate sitting in a room, talking about their feelings, especially with a young woman. Eye contact was an issue. So walking side by side actually made a lot of sense.”
9. She left that agency to start her own practice a couple of years ago, and decided that walk/run therapy for adults would be her niche. She earned a running coach certificate through the Roadrunners Club of America and hung out her shingle.
10. When a former colleague told me about Saremi’s practice, it struck me as a perfectly sensible, and particularly Californian, way to get therapy.
11. I’ve been running for decades and have had the same running partner for the past 26 years or so. We often talk about how, for us, running is more about mental health than physical fitness, and joke that how we are each other’s favorite therapist.
12. When we run, our guards are down. We offer each other advice, sympathy and support. Sometimes we have spirited debates and get so caught up in conversation that we miss our turnaround point. Other times, we run in silence, attuned to each others’ rhythms and needs. We always run at the beach. We never race. Running next to the ocean, we like to say, increases our “endolphins.” (Sorry. We also laugh pretty hard at our own jokes.)
13. “There’s definitely a bridge between running for fitness and running for mental health,” Saremi said. “I have found it especially helpful for anxiety and depression.”
14. After launching her “Run Walk Talk” practice three years ago, Saremi, 33, discovered other professionals were doing similar things: She has spoken with Wayne Sandler, a psychiatrist in Century City, who has two treadmills in his office. She has also connected with William Pullen, an English therapist with a London practice who coined the phrase “Dynamic Running Therapy.”
15. But the granddaddy of the movement, as Saremi and her colleagues generally acknowledge, is an American psychiatrist named Thaddeus Kostrubala. In 1976, he published “The Joy of Running,” an influential book about the sport’s therapeutic benefits.
16. A lot of Saremi’s running clients, as you might imagine, are high achievers who resist traditional therapy because sitting around talking — while paying $200 an hour — feels like a waste of time.
17. “This is a way to hook them into the therapy,” Saremi said. “I have people coming in who say, ‘I’ve been considering going to therapy for six years.’ I say, ‘That’s a really long time to be struggling and suffering before you step into my office.’ I think the running is what helps them make their decision.”
18. As Saremi and I ran together, we covered many subjects: drug addiction, death, sex and money. Our pace was talking speed for both of us — around 10 minutes per mile.
19. When we reached the Redondo Beach Pier, we walked past the kitschy shops out to where the fishermen were standing with their poles in the water. A night heron was hunched like a little old man, waiting for scraps.
20. After we turned around to run back, we had a pretty good discussion about things that journalists and therapists have in common:
21. We both need to gain trust and get close to people so they tell us about themselves. We must find a way to maintain professional barriers, a particular challenge for a therapist who runs or walks with clients.
22. Forty-five minutes or so after we’d started, we arrived back at Saremi’s office. We were both sweaty and maybe a little breathless. I, for one, was in very good spirits.
Source: LA Times.
UNIT 3. CITY LIVING STRESSES THE BRAIN
I. Read the text. Look up the vocabulary.
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1. It's estimated that by the year 2050, 69% of all humans will live in urban areas. Although city dwellers, on average, are wealthier and have better access to healthcare and other services, there are some downsides to urban living. For instance, people raised in cities are more prone to mental disorders than people who live in rural areas. This is actually not a new news. For some time now scientists have known about the link between city living and mental illness. But, how exactly city living affects the brain has been relatively uncharted territory...until now.
2. New research published a few weeks ago in the journal Nature shows that the brains of city and country folk respond differently to stress. Specifically, when put in a stressful situation, those who either grew up in the city or currently reside in heavily populated areas showed increased activation in areas of the brain responsible for processing negative emotions relative to folks in less populated areas..
3. To show how one's living environment influences the brain, neuroscientists at the University of Heidelberg in Germany used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of volunteers while they performed a series of math problems under time pressure. The math problems were difficult by design - people averaged only between 25% and 40% correct. And, while they did the problems, people got negative feedback via headphones that they were doing poorly.
4. The entire procedure was designed to create a form of social stress. And, indeed, it did. Volunteers showed increases in the stress hormone cortisol compared to a control condition in which there was not pressure to succeed. A hormone produced by the adrenal gland, cortisol is secreted at higher levels when people are in stressful situations. Because of this, cortisol is often referred to as the "stress hormone."
5. In addition to overall increases in cortisol, the stressful math situation activated several different brain areas, two of which specifically related to people's history of urban living. Currently living in a city was related to increased activation in the amygdala during the stressful math task. As I have blogged about before, the amygdala is an almond shaped region deep in the brain that is a major player in our emotional responses. Increased amygdala activity often coincides with unpleasant emotional reactions. And, the cingulate cortex, which helps to regulate the amygdala and processes negative emotions, was more active during the stressful task for people who were brought up in densely populated areas as compared to those who grew up in rural environments.
6. So, yes, city living does have its benefits. But, it also seems to increase our sensitivity to social stress. Given that an urban lifestyle is inescapable for many of us, understanding how exactly city living affects the brain is an important first step in determining how to get the best out of an urban lifestyle while avoiding the negative mental side effects that may come along with it.
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By Sian Beilock Ph.D.
UNIT 4. 24 OF THE MOST POWERFUL LIFE LESSONS
I. Read the text. Look up the vocabulary.
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If you are going to succeed in life, you have to learn life's most important lessons.
How you approach life says a lot about who you are.
a1. There are some who are content to passively coast through, hoping they land where they need to be and know what to do when the time comes.
a2. Then there are others, who make active choices to understand who they are and what they want, and set the goals that will keep them moving in the right direction.
a3. But a big part of having a successful life, is learning how to cope with the lessons that life has to teach us.
Here are 24 powerful life lessons that will happen to us, learn how they will be significant:
1. Make yourself necessary and you will always be needed. If you want to feel successful, learn to create, innovate or design something other people can use and need.
2. Your thoughts are like boomerangs. What you pass along to others is what will come back to you.
3. You are more defined by what comes out of your mouth than what goes in it. The way you speak and the things you say have power. Speech gives us the power to create or destroy.
4. The journey of your success will always begin with the small step of taking a chance. In business, in relationships, and in life, it all begins with a small step grounded in a desire to be better and do better.
5. Your education is never complete. Determine to live fully and continually learn. Prepare for what life has to teach by being open to the lessons in everything you do and experience.
6. Don't allow the voice of your fears to be louder than the other voices in your head. Make sure the voice of reason, the voice of belief, the voice of confidence are all strong enough to drown it out.
7. A good reputation is more valuable than money. Your reputation is built on the foundation of your character; it entails the words you speak and the actions you take. Take care of your character above all other things and your reputation will take care of itself.
8. You never really lose until you stop trying. The words I can't never accomplish anything. I'll try, on the other hand, can perform wonders. Until you try you don't know what you can do.
9. You get more by giving more. Success doesn't result from how much you get but from how much you give. If you want an abundant life, give as much as you can.
10. Rule your mind or it will rule you. When you rule your mind by controlling negativity and doubt, you rule your world. The choice is yours to make every day.
11. Great heroes are truly humble. Most of us underrate the importance of humility. It's an important skill because it keeps you teachable, regardless of how much you already know.
12. Defeat isn't bitter if you're smart enough not to swallow it. At one time or another we will all experience failure. In fact, the more we are willing to risk, the more we will fail. The trick is to think of failure not as the end but as part of the process.
13. Your thoughts are powerful, make them positive. To have a life that's more abundant and more successful, you must think in the limitless terms of abundance and success. Thinking is among the greatest powers we possess, and it's our choice to use it negatively or positively.
14. Forgiveness benefits two people--the giver and receiver. The bravest and the smartest thing you can do in a bad situation is to forgive and move on. Don't allow grudges and grievances to add to the weight you carry on the road to your own success.
15. The word impossible contains its opposite: "I'm possible." What impossible may be a matter of a limited point of view. Allow no limiting beliefs to restrict your outlook on life.
16. Preparation is a stepping stone to success. As the old saying goes, failing to prepare means preparing to fail. Success can be defined as being totally prepared.
17. You are constantly creating your own reality. Your reality is built out of your thoughts, so remember how much power you have. What you think you become, what you feel you attract, what you imagine you create.
18. You are in control of your own heaven or hell. You're the master of your own destiny. You may not always be able to control your circumstances and environment, but how you respond is always within your control.
19. Envy consumes itself. And if you give it a foothold in your life, it will take you with it.
20. You can become bitter or better as a result of your circumstances. Your attitude is always up to you. No matter the circumstance, remind yourself that you have a choice. It's up to you to get the results you want.
21. Those who seldom make mistakes seldom stumble upon new innovation. Mistakes are proof that you're trying, creating, exploring and discovering. Every success story, every fulfilled life needs mistakes. We may think of mistakes as meaning you've done something wrong, but in truth they mean you're doing something right.
22. It's in losing yourself that you find yourself. The greatest challenge in life is discovering who you are, and the second greatest is being happy with what you find.
23. When you're facing the right direction, all you need to do is keep walking. If you're lucky enough to know what you want, you can apply your passion and always love what you do. If you're still working to discover what you want, keep exploring. Either way, stay persistent and determined.
24. Be grateful every day, because that's the source of true power. The most important power lies in a grateful heart. Practice turning your thoughts toward appreciation and thanksgiving, because that is where you will find your gifts, strength and power.
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By Lolly Daskal President and CEO, Lead From Within.
UNIT 5. THE FIVE PATHS TO BEING THE BEST AT ANYTHING
I. Read the text. Look up the vocabulary.
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1. I’ve posted a lot about becoming the best in your field. Looking back, what are the most successful methods for getting there?
10,000 Hours.
2. Let’s get the most famous one out of the way first: Hard work pays off. Malcolm Gladwell popularized the theory in Outliers: approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice at something can turn you into an expert.
Via Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined:
3. …the most elite violinists accumulated about the same number of hours of deliberate practice (about 7,410 hours) by the age of 18 as professional middle-aged violinists belonging to international-level orchestras (about 7,336 hours)! By the age of 20, the most accomplished musicians estimated they spent over 10,000 hours in deliberate practice, which is 2,500 and 5,000 hours more than two less accomplished groups of expert musicians or 8,000 hours more than amateur pianists of the same age.
4. That said, 10,000 hours is an average. And deliberate practice is not just going through the motions. You’ve spent more than 10,000 hours driving but that doesn’t make you ready for NASCAR or Formula One. Deliberate practice means getting feedback and always pushing to improve. It’s not flow and it’s not fun. But it is what molds champions.
Have Great Genetics.
5. Even in this age of hyperspecialization in sports, some rare individuals become world-class athletes, and even world champions, in sports from running to rowing with less than a year or two of training. As with Gobet’s chess players, in all sports and skills, the only real rule is that there is a tremendous natural range. There are also genetic advantages in the area of music, math and writing.
Via The Complexity of Greatness:
Beyond Talent or Practice:
6. Heritability coefficients were strongest in music (.92), math (.87), sports (.85), and writing (.83) of the explained variance. This is usually cause for many to throw up their arms and surrender. (These people do not have much grit, mind you.) But the existence of genetic advantages doesn’t mean you should give up. I’d ask you two questions: Have you tried a wide variety of things to see if you possess genetic advantages at any of them? Have you tried aligning your efforts with the areas where you show a level of natural talent? As David Epstein explains, the model is no longer “good at sports” or “not good at sports” — it’s “which sport was your body designed for?”
Via The Sports Gene:
Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance:
7. But, as Norton and Olds saw, as winner-take-all markets emerged, the early-twentieth-century paradigm of the singular, perfect athletic body faded in favor of more rare and highly specialized bodies that fit like finches’ beaks into their athletic niches. When Norton and Olds plotted the heights and weights of modern world-class high jumpers and shot putters, they saw that the athletes had become stunningly dissimilar. The average elite shot putter is now 2.5 inches taller and 130 pounds heavier than the average international high jumper… Just as the galaxies are hurtling apart, so are the body types required for success in a given sport speeding away from one another toward their respective highly specialized and lonely corners of the athletic physique universe. Tall and thin? Try basketball. Short and thick? Weightlifting. Mom and dad are successful engineers? Give math a whirl. Taking advantage of genetic gifts is a matter of finding what your body and mind might have been designed to excel at and aligning your efforts appropriately.
Be Part Of A Great Team.
8. Working 10K hours and having naturally steady hands can be a great advantage to a doctor but surgeons only get better at their home hospital. Why? That’s where they know the team best and develop strong working relationships.
Via Give and Take:
A Revolutionary Approach to Success:
9. Overall, the surgeons didn’t get better with practice. They only got better at the specific hospital where they practiced. For every procedure they handled at a given hospital, the risk of patient mortality dropped by 1 percent. But the risk of mortality stayed the same at other hospitals. The surgeons couldn’t take their performance with them. They weren’t getting better at performing coronary artery bypass grafts. They were becoming more familiar with particular nurses and anesthesiologists, learning about their strengths and weaknesses, habits and styles. Star analysts on Wall Street? Same thing.
Via Give and Take:
A Revolutionary Approach to Success:
10. Even though they were supposed to be individual stars, their performance wasn’t portable. When star analysts moved to a different firm, their performance dropped, and it stayed lower for at least five years. What about for artists? Yeah, baby.
Via Give and Take:
A Revolutionary Approach to Success:
11. Frank Lloyd Wright’s drought lasted until he gave up on independence and began to work interdependently again with talented collaborators. It wasn’t his own idea: his wife Olgivanna convinced him to start a fellowship for apprentices to help him with his work. When apprentices joined him in 1932, his productivity soared, and he was soon working on the Fallingwater house, which would be seen by many as the greatest work of architecture in modern history.
Be A Giver.
12. Researchers who hog the credit on scientific papers are less likely to win a Nobel prize. Those who give younger academics a bit of the spotlight are more likely to have a trip to Stockholm in their future.
Via The Half-life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date. One striking finding was the beneficence of Nobel laureates, or as Zuckerman termed it, noblesse oblige. In general, when a scientific paper is published, the author who did the most is listed first.There are exceptions to this, and this can vary from field to field, but Zuckerman took it as a useful rule of thumb. What she found was that Nobel laureates are first authors of numerous publications early in their careers, but quickly begin to give their junior colleagues first authorship. And this happens far before they receive the Nobel Prize… By their forties, Nobel laureates are first authors on only 26 percent of their papers, as compared to their less accomplished contemporaries, who are first authors 56 percent of the time. Nicer people are indeed more creative, more successful, and even more likely to win Nobel prizes. We think of givers as getting exploited or walked on. And that definitely happens.
Wharton Professor Adam Grant explained in our interview:
13. What I find across various industries, and various studies is the Givers are most likely to end up at the bottom. That’s primarily because they end up putting other people first in ways that either burn them out, or will allow them to get taken advantage of and exploited by Takers. But that’s not the end of the story. If givers resist being martyrs, or have a circle of “matchers” who protect them, they end up on top:
14. Then I looked at the other end of the spectrum and said if Givers are at the bottom, who’s at the top? Actually, I was really surprised to discover, it’s the Givers again. The people who consistently are looking for ways to help others are over-represented not only at the bottom, but also at the top of most success metrics.
Combine Them.
15. Only got 5000 hours and “pretty good” genetics? Combining these methods can provide powerful results. You don’t need to work endlessly or be born brilliant. There’s a very simple formula we can all use to get a benefit from this information:
1. Always work hard to improve.
2. When choosing tasks and strategies, consider your natural gifts.
3. Pick a great team and get familiar with them.
4. Within reason, always help others.
All other things being equal, I can’t imagine how this combination would not lead to an impressive level of success. Can you?
By Eric Barker. Time.com.
UNIT 6. STEVEN JOBS
I. Read the text. Look up the vocabulary.
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1. Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, to a pair of graduate students who gave him up for adoption because their parents did not want them to marry. Steve was adopted at birth by Clara and Paul Jobs. His mother taught him to read before he went to school. Steve and his father would work on electronics in the family garage, taking apart and reassembling televisions, radios and stereos.
2. In elementary school Steve was bored, and he often played pranks. In fourth grade, he was tested and scored on a high-school sophomore level. He went to Reed College in Oregon, but dropped out after six months. He stayed at Reed and went to some classes that interested him, slept on the floors of friends’ rooms, and got meals at a Hare Krishna temple. He later became a Buddhist. Calligraphy was one class that he enjoyed, and he said that it influenced his interest in design and the use of elegant fonts on Apple computers.
3. Describing the first computer terminal he saw, Steve said. “I fell totally in love with it.”
4. In 1970, he was introduced to Steve Wozniak by a mutual friend. Even though Wozniak was five years older, they shared a love of electronics, Bob Dylan, and practical jokes. Together they created the Apple I and Apple II computers. Wozniak was responsible for the electronics, and Steve concentrated on the design. The Apple II was the first personal computer capable of color graphics. Jobs insisted that Apple design both the software and hardware on Apple products. Apple’s first logo had a picture of Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. Next came the rainbow, striped apple with a bite taken out on the side. The colored stripes represented the fact that the Apple II could create graphics in color. In 1997, it was simplified to a single color that has changed over time.
5. In the early 1980s, Steve visited Xerox PARC. He noticed desktop icons on their computer screens. Most computers at this time used a text-only interface. Steve made an arrangement with Xerox so he could use their idea of a graphical user interface. He improved it a so computers would be more user-friendly. In 1984, the Macintosh computer was launched with a famous commercial at the Super Bowl.
6. Steve said, “In 1984, Apple introduced the first Macintosh. It didn’t just change Apple. It changed the whole computer industry. In 2001, we introduced the first iPod. It didn’t just change the way we all listen to music. It changed the entire music industry.”
7. In 1986, he bought the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm and started Pixar Animation Studios. Jobs let the animators continue to create the stories, but insisted on attention to detail and design.
8. Steve has been described as brilliant, abrasive, self-centered, a perfectionist and temperamental. He was a technologist and a businessman, but he was also an artist and designer. He was difficult to work for, but most employees were extremely loyal because he knew how to motivate them. Larry Ellison said that Steve combined “obsessiveness … with Picasso’s aesthetic and Edison’s inventiveness.”
9. Steve said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
10. Steve Jobs is listed as the inventor or co-inventor on 342 United States patents. He played a key role in the creation of the Apple II, Macintosh, iMac, MacBook, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, and iPad. He died on Oct. 5, 2011, of complications from pancreatic cancer.
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UNIT 7. RULES YOU WILL NEVER LEARN IN SCHOOL
I. Read the text. Look up the vocabulary.
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1. Some say this is a myth, Bill Gates never said that, some say its true. Why it has been attributed to Mr.Bill Gates is still a mystery. And to be honest I've have read different posts in the internet all pointing these rules to Bill Gates, some says it's 10, others say it's 11 and I found one post mentioned 14 rules, but the basic intention of making this post is that the points said are totally legit and inspiring especially for younger generation.
2. The story starts with that Bill Gates once gave a mind blowing speech at a high school explaining them the difference between real life and fictional life that most individuals of new generation fail to understand and are not taught in schools. This set of life changing rules might be one of the core lessons that make him stand out of the crowd and lead a billionaire lifestyle.
3. I hope you take this rules as forever life lessons and be the best and productive you can be in each day of your life.
4. So here are the 11 rules for a successful life which you don’t learn at schools, colleges or institutions:
Rule # 1: Life is not fair, get used to it.
5. When life takes away or doesn’t give you what you always wanted, don’t give up. Direct your anger or frustration towards the right way and earn the life you ever wanted in spite of the biggest obstacles that knocked you down.
Rule # 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself!
6. There is no need to show off what you are going to be in the future, don’t fall in the trap. The most important thing about your dream is that you need to protect it till you turn it into a reality. When you have achieved enough don’t forget to give back, that where the world wants to appreciate you.
Rule # 3: You will not make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
7. Grow slow! Be big! You can’t be each and everything you ever wanted or want to become overnight. It takes time. Work on yourself and your goal rather than finding shortcuts to achieve everything. You will surely become what you dream for, what you have to do is work on getting better at digesting your success.
Rule # 4: If you think your teacher is tough, Wait until you get a boss.
8. Be patient and learn to tolerate your teachers’ or your elder’ scolding on your mistakes. You don’t get people to correct you when you are working, they need the best results anyhow and if you are not able produce the results as quickly and perfectly as possible, you get fired. Take time to correct your mistakes when you still have that time and opportunity.
Rule # 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: They called it OPPORTUNITY.
9. There is no secret to luck, its all about how good you are in grabbing the opportunities coming your way and make the most out of them for your life. No work is small if you do it in a great way. How about you worry about being the best and achieve your goal rather than worrying about your dignity? Success only comes to those who are willing to get their hands dirty.
Rule # 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
10. Note down each and every mistake and work out on correcting them. Stop throwing stones on others. You only get better when you face your weaknesses and mistakes. Never be dependent on your parents or any other person for correcting your own mistakes.
Rule # 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try "delousing" the closet in your own room.
11. So if you think your parents are boring and not that good with you, you know the reason now. The biggest thing you can ever do as a daughter/son is learn to be self served and independent. Start learning to take responsibility about your little things. Stop messing up yourself and your life. Be conscious and loyal about your own good or bad actions you take everyday.
Rule # 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades; they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
12. When you are out in the real world where your fate or survival is in your own hands, you don’t always get second chances. Its do or do not there is no try kind of life you are leading. Be so sure and strongly confident about your choices that you don’t have to regret. Live each and every moment as if you are gonna die next day. Build firm foundations for your life, make your own way through this world.
Rule # 9: When you are out in the real world where your fate or survival is in your own hands, you don’t always get second chances. Its do or do not there is no try kind of life you are leading. Be so sure and strongly confident about your choices that you don’t have to regret. Live each and every moment as if you are gonna die next day. Build firm foundations for your life, make your own way through this world.
13. Always have a sense of productiveness and pace in your work and actions you take everyday to be successful. Don’t wait for anything just go for it and you shall become the one you see in your vision. Be proactive and take more actions, think less and wait less. Life is not gonna give you a vacation from respiration and growth, keep track of your life and be there on time for each and every moment.
Rule # 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
14. Be realistic about everything. You simply want to enjoy discussing about things you think are impossible while someone else is working on them out there and making everything possible for the world. Stay away from your Television, if locks you in the prison of deceptions. Entertainment is important but not compulsory. Living a better life is compulsory. Think from your own brain and stop falling in the trap of going with the flow for everything and anything.
Rule # 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
15. The biggest failure is pleasing people you don’t like for getting things you don’t need. Be yourself, be self driven for undertaking each and every endeavors of your life. Stop contaminating your positive spirit by spending your precious time with negative ones. Always spend time with people who need you and the people from whom you can learn something better, it takes you nearer to your aims and goals.
16. I hope you enjoyed and learned the life transforming lessons from Mr. Bill Gates (or may be not). Share it with your friends and do let me know about your thoughts, opinions, feedbacks or suggestions in comments.
Source: Rami N. Nassar.