Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him. Aldous Huxley
What if at age 46 you were burned beyond recognition in a terrible motorcycle accident, and then four years later were paralyzed from the waist down in an airplane crash? Then, can you imagine yourself becoming a millionaire, a respected public speaker, a happy newlywed and a successful business person? Can you see yourself going white water rafting? Sky diving? Running for political office?
W. Mitchell has done all these things and more after two horrible accidents left his face a quilt of multicolored skin grafts, his hands fingerless and his legs thin and motionless in a wheelchair.
The 16 surgeries Mitchell endured after the motorcycle accident burned more than 65 percent of his body, left him unable to pick up a fork, dial a telephone or go to the bathroom without help. But Mitchell, a former Marine, never believed he was defeated. "I am in charge of my own spaceship," he said. "It's my up, my down. I could choose to see this situation as a setback or a starting point." Six moths later he was piloting a plane again.
Mitchell bought himself a Victorian home in Colorado, some real estate, a plane and a bar. Later he teamed up with two friends and co-founded a wood burning stove company that grew to be Vermont's second largest private employer.
Then four years after the motorcycle accident, the plane Mitchell was piloting crashed back onto the runway during takeoff, crushing Mitchell's 12 thoracic vertebras and permanently paralyzing him from the waist down. "I wondered what the hell was happening to me. What did I do to deserve this?"
Undaunted, Mitchell worked day and night to regain as much independence as possible. He was elected Mayor of Crested Butte, Colorado, to save the town from mineral mining that would ruin its beauty and environment. Mitchell later ran for Congress, turning his odd appearance into an asset with slogans such as, "Not just another pretty face."
Despite his initially shocking looks and physical challenges, Mitchell began white water rafting, he fell in love and married, earned a master's degree in public administration and continued flying, environmental activism and public speaking.
Mitchell's unshakable Positive Mental Attitude has earned him appearances on the "Today Show" and "Good Morning America" as well as feature articles in parade, Time, The New York Times and other publications.
"Before I was paralyzed, there were 10,000 I could do," Mitchell says. "Now there are 9,000. I can either dwell on the 1,000 I lost or focus on the 9,000 I have left. I tell people that I have had two big bumps in my life. If I have chosen not of the experiences you are having which are pulling you back can be put into a new perspective. You can step back, take a wider view and have a chance to say, "Maybe that isn't such a big deal after all."
Remember: "It's not what happens to you, it's what you do
--Jack Canfield and Mark V. Hansen
Questions:
1.What happened to Mitchell when he was 46?
2.Is he married?
相关单词：grafts
grafts解释：移植( graft的名词复数 )； 行贿； 接穗； 行贿得到的利益
grafts例句：
He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。
Her burns were treated with skin grafts. 她的烧伤是用植皮方法进行治疗的。
相关单词：marine
marine解释：adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵
marine例句：
Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
相关单词：setback
setback解释：n.退步，挫折，挫败
setback例句：
Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。
相关单词：moths
moths解释：n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )
moths例句：
The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去，弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
相关单词：permanently
permanently解释：adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地
permanently例句：
The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
相关单词：regain
regain解释：vt.重新获得，收复，恢复
regain例句：
He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。
相关单词：crested
crested解释：adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点
crested例句：
a great crested grebe 凤头??
The stately mansion crested the hill. 庄严的大厦位于山顶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
相关单词：initially
initially解释：adv.最初，开始
initially例句：
The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。
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