“嗯，年轻人，我要给你一个小惊喜：其实我是这个世界上最富有的人之一，人们梦寐以求的任何东西我几乎都有。我最初从美国东北部来，凡是金钱能买到的东西，我全都有。但是一年前，我妻子死了，愿上帝保祐她的在天之灵，从那以后，我开始深深地反思人生的意义。我意识到，生活中有些东西我还没有体验过，其中之一就是做一个沿街乞讨的流浪汉滋味如何。于是我对自己发誓要像流浪汉一样活一年。在过去的一年里，我从一个城市流浪到另一个城市，就像流浪汉一样生活。所以，你看，切记不要从封面来判断一本书的好坏，因为封面有时也会蒙骗你。”
“第二，我的孩子，是要学会如何读书。因为这个世界上只有一种东西是别人无法从你的身上拿走的，那，就是你的智慧！”说到这，他俯身向着我，抓住我的右手放在他从书架中找到的书上。那是柏拉图和亚里士多德的著作——上古以降已经流传了几千年的不朽的经典。
Life in the big stones
人生的大石头
One day， an expert in time management was speaking to a group of students and， to drive home a point， used an illustration those students will never forget.
As he stood in front of the group of overachievers he said， "OK， time for a quiz." He pulled out a one-gallon， wide-mouth jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them， one at a time， into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside， he asked， "Is this jar full？"
Everyone in the class yelled， "Yes." The time management expert replied， "Really？" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar， causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more， "Is this jar full？"
By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not，" one of them answered. "Good！" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question， "Is this jar full？"
"No！" the class shouted. Once again he said， "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked， "What is the point of this illustration？" One eager student raised his hand and said， "The point is， no matter how full your schedule is， if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it！"
"No，" the speaker replied， "that"s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is if you don"t put the big rocks in first， you"ll never get them in at all. What are the ‘big rocks" in your life？ Time with your loved ones， your education， your dreams， a worthy cause， teaching or mentoring others？ Remember to put these big rocks in first or you"ll never get them in at all."
一天，时间管理专家为一群学生讲课。他现场做了演示，给学生们留下了一生都难以磨灭的印象。
站在那些高智商高学历的学生前面，他说：“我们来做个小测验”，拿出一个一加仑的广口瓶放在他面前的桌上。随后，他取出一堆拳头大小的石块，仔细地一块放进玻璃瓶。直到石块高出瓶口，再也放不下了，他问道：“瓶子满了？”
所有学生应道：“满了！”。时间管理专家反问：“真的？”他伸手从桌下拿出一桶砾石，倒了一些进去，并敲击玻璃瓶壁使砾石填满下面石块的间隙。“现在瓶子满了吗？”他第二次问道。
但这一次学生有些明白了，“可能还没有”，一位学生应道。“很好！”专家说。他伸手从桌下拿出一桶沙子，开始慢慢倒进玻璃瓶。沙子填满了石块和砾石的所有间隙。他又一次问学生：“瓶子满了吗？”
“没满！”学生们大声说。他再一次说：“很好！”然后他拿过一壶水倒进玻璃瓶直到水面与瓶口平。抬头看着学生，问道：“这个例子说明什么？”一个心急的学生举手发言：“无论你的时间多少，如果你确实努力，你可以做更多的事情！”
“不！”时间管理专家说，“那不是它真正的意思，这个例子告诉我们：如果你不是先放大石块，那你就再也不能把它放进瓶子了。那么，什么是你生命中的大石头呢？也许是你的道德感、你的梦想，值得追求的事业，教育或辅导他人？还有你的一切，切记得先去处理这些大石块，否则，一辈子你都不能做！”
Don’t Quit， Keep Playing
不要停，继续弹
Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano， a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated， the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her.
Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall， the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE.” When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin， the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.
Suddenly， the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror， the mother saw her little boy sitting at the key-board， innocently picking out Twinkle， Twinkle Little Star.
At that moment， the great piano master made his entrance， quickly moved to the piano， and whispered in the boy’s ear， “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”
Then leaning over， Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running accompaniment. Together， the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was mesmerized.
That’s the way it is in life. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best， but the results aren’t exactly graceful flowing music. But when we trust in the hands of a Greater Power， our life’s work truly can be beautiful.
Next time you set out to accomplish great feats， listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master， whispering in your ear， “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”
为了让儿子能在钢琴方面有长足的进步，一位母亲带着儿子去听帕德瑞夫斯基的音乐会。待她们坐定之后，那位母亲看到一位熟人，就穿过走道过去跟朋友打招呼。
小男孩好不容易有机会欣赏音乐厅的宏伟，他站了起来，并慢慢地摸索到了一扇门旁边，上面写着“禁止入内”。大厅里的灯暗了下来，音乐会马上就要开始了。那位母亲回到座位，却发现自己的孩子不见了。
这时候，幕布徐徐拉开，大厅里的聚光灯都集中到了舞台上的士坦威钢琴上。而让母亲吃惊的是，她的儿子竟然坐在钢琴面前，自顾自地弹着《闪烁，闪烁，小星星》。
这时候，著名的钢琴大师走上台，并且迅速地走到钢琴旁边，并在男孩的耳边轻声说道：“孩子，别停下，继续弹。”
帕德瑞夫斯基俯下身去，用左手在键盘上弹奏低音部分。然后，他的右手绕过男孩的身后，弹奏出优美的伴奏。这位年长的钢琴大师和年幼的初学者一起，将原本紧张的气氛变成了一种全新的体验。全场的观众都听得入迷了。
其实，生活也是如此。我们所取得的成就不一定要多么显著。我们尽力了，结果却不一定能演奏出优美流畅的音乐。但是，如果我们相信大师的力量，我们的生活就会变的非常美丽。
当你准备伟大作品的时候，仔细地侧耳倾听，你会听到大师的声音，在你耳边轻声说道：“别停下，继续弹！”
Follow Your Dream
追随梦想
I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.
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 about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable， race track to race track， farm to farm and ranch to ranch， training horses. As a result， the boy"s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior， he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
"That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch， showing the location of all the buildings， the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4，000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.