The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to a story
“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote
“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’”
“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive an F?’”
“The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’”
“The boy went home and thought
“Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.’”
Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper
Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.
我有个朋友叫蒙提·罗伯兹,他在圣思多罗有座牧马场。我常借用他宽敞的住宅举办募款活动,以便为帮助青少年的计划筹备基金。
上次活动时,他在致辞中提到:“我让杰克借用住宅是有原因的。这故事跟一个小男孩有关,他的父亲是位马术师,他从小就必须跟着父亲东奔西跑,男孩的求学过程并不顺利。高中时,有次老师叫全班同学写报告,题目是长大后的志愿。”
“那晚他洋洋洒洒地写了七张纸,描述他的伟大志愿,那就是想拥有一座属于自己的牧马农场,并且仔细画了一张200亩农场的设计图,上面标有马厩、跑道等的位置,然后在这一大片农场中央,还要建造一栋占地4,000平方英尺的巨宅。”
“他花了好大心血把报告完成,第二天交给了老师。两天后他拿回了报告,第一页上打了一个又红又大的F,旁边还写了一行字:下课后来见我。”
“脑中充满幻想的他下课后带着报告去找老师:‘为什么给我不及格?’”
“老师回答道:‘你年纪轻轻,不要老做白日梦。你没钱,没家庭背景,什么都没有。盖座农场可是个花钱的大工程;你要花钱买地、花钱买纯种马匹、花钱照顾它们。你别太好高骛远了。’他接着又说:‘如果你肯重写一个比较不离谱的志愿,我会重新给你打分。’”
“这男孩回家后反复思量了好几次,然后征询父亲的意见。父亲只是告诉他:‘儿子,这是非常重要的决定,你必须自己拿定主意。’”
“再三考虑好几天后,他决定原稿交回,一个字都不改。他告诉老师:‘即使不及格,我也不愿放弃梦想。’”
蒙提此时向众人表示:“我提起这故事,是因为各位现在就坐在200亩农场内,占地4,000平方英尺的豪华住宅。那份高中时写的报告我至今还留着。”他顿了一下又说:“有意思的是,两年前的夏天,那位老师带了30个学生来我农场露营一星期。离开之前,他对我说:‘蒙提,说来有些惭愧。你读高中时,我曾泼过你冷水。这些年来,我也对不少学生说过相同的话。幸亏你有这个毅力坚持自己的梦想。’”
不论做什么事,相信你自己,别让别人的一句话将你击倒。
相关单词:ranch
ranch解释:n.大牧场,大农场
ranch例句:
He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。
相关单词:jack
jack解释:n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
jack例句:
I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
相关单词:itinerant
itinerant解释:adj.巡回的;流动的
itinerant例句:
He is starting itinerant performance all over the world.他正在世界各地巡回演出。
There is a general debate nowadays
相关单词:detailed
detailed解释:adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
detailed例句:
He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
相关单词:fireplace
fireplace解释:n.壁炉,炉灶
fireplace例句:
The fireplace smokes badly.这壁炉冒烟太多。
I think we should wall up the fireplace.我想应该封住壁炉。
相关单词:gumption
gumption解释:n.才干
gumption例句:
With his gumption he will make a success of himself.凭他的才干,他将大有作为。
Surely anyone with marketing gumption should be able to sell good books at any time of year.无疑,有经营头脑的人在一年的任何时节都应该能够卖掉好书。
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