A book

only for
you..

A name that will

last..

Georgescu Georgian

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INDEX
1. Lessons about life…………………………………page 7
2. Important things…………………………………..page 33
3. Things you need to know………………………page65
 How to improve your life time in one hour..page 66
 How to calm down in less than 5 minutes…page 71
 Relationships between parents and child….page 74
 Why people give up……………………………….……..page 83
 Success factors of millionaires………………….page 93
 Steps to optimize your energy……………………page 100
 Ways to find strength in life………………………..page 104
 Why is not good to be busy………………………….page 111
 Harsh truth…………………………………………………..page 120
4. Morals…………………………………………………….page 129
5. A song for you………………………………………..page 155
6. A short dramatic story………………………….page 161
7. A letter from me…………………………………….page 177

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Lessons
about
life

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 I’ll start thIs wIth a serIes of
important things about life. After
that, you will get details about
everything you want to know and
what “well-known” people thInk
about what happen to you in life. It
will be interesting, trust me. The
next are 50 life lessons that have
remained the same through years.

1. Life is now
We keeping waiting for that
amazing thing to happen in the
future that will be the key to
our happiness. But this is it.
Right now. Life continues to be a
series of right nows. So learn to
love right now, and you'll have
an amazing life. “pull the
trigger, nobody is going to do it
for you”

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2. Fear is an illusion
(mostly)
Most of the things we fear
never happen. Or if they do
happen, they are rarely as bad
as we fear they will be. For
most of us, fear is the worst
thing that will happen to us.
Reality isn't as painful.

3. Relationships rule
At the end of the day, what
matters most are the people in
our lives. Put them first every
single day. Before work. Before
the computer. Before your
hobbies. Treat them like they
are everything to you. Because
they are.

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4. Debt isn't worth it
Nothing is more draining and
humiliating than being in debt.
Spend below your means. Save
money. Live free.

5. Your kids aren't you

You are the vessel to bring
your children into the world
and their caretakers until
they can care for themselves.
You can teach them, love them,
and support them, but you can't
change them. They are unique
individuals who must live their
own lives. Let them.

6. Things gather dust

Time and money spent
accumulating material things
will one day irritate you. You

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must clean, maintain, and move
stuff. The less stuff you have,
the more free you are.
Purchase mindfully.

7. Fun is underrated
How much of your day is fun?
Really fun? Life is short. We
should enjoy it. Don't make
things serious that don't have
to be. Create more fun in your
life. Don't worry about what
other people think of your fun.
Just enjoy it.

8. Failure is good
We try so hard to avoid failure,
but failure is the real evidence
that we've tried. If you avoid
failure, you avoid taking
action. Expect and accept

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that failure is part of the
experience. Learn from it and
move on.

9. Friendships need care

Don’t let your true frIenDshIp
fade away. Take care of them.
anD Don’t make frIenDs just
because you have to.

10. Experiences first

The pleasure and positive
memories afforded by great
experiences far outweigh
material things. If you're trying
to decide between the new sofa
or the family trip, take the trip
every time.

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11. Anger isn't worth it
The feel-good release of anger
lasts a few minutes. The
repercussions last far longer.
Regret, stress, and unhappiness
are the byproducts of angry
outbursts. Learn healthier
ways to communicate your
feelings, and when anger
arises, step away until it
dissipates.

12. Kindness matters

Small expressions
of kindness have an enormous
positive impact on other people.
It doesn't take much to be kind.
Practice it every day, in every
situation, until it's your
natural way of being.

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13. Age is a number
When you're twenty you think
fifty is old. When you're fifty,
you feel thirty. Our
chronological age doesn't have
to define us. Don't allow a
number to hold you back or
prevent you from being the
person you are inside.

14. Vulnerability heals

Being real, open, and
vulnerable invites people in
and allows them to relate to
you on a much deeper and more
intimate level. Vulnerability,
practiced with safe and loving
people, can heal emotional pain
and strengthen relationships.

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15. Posturing builds walls
Creating a persona to impress
or shield yourself from pain
diminishes intimacy and
authenticity. People generally
see through this, and it pushes
them away.

16. Exercise is power

Exercise should be a daily
priority for everyone. It makes
you physically, mentally, and
emotionally stronger. It
improves your health and your
outlook. It is the panacea for
just about everything.

17. Grudges cause pain

Holding on to a grudge is like
injecting poison into your body

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every day. Forgive and let go.
There's no other way.

18. Passion upgrades life

When you find that thing you
love to do with all your heart,
every day feels like a gift. If
you haven't found your passion,
make it your mission to find it.
The joy it brings spills over into
all aspects of your life.

19. Travel expands you

Travel makes you are more
interesting, insightful, and
accepting person. It expands
you, enlightens you, and
teaches you about the variety
of people, lifestyles, and

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cultures. It is a pursuit well
worth saving for.

20. You aren't always right

We think we have the answers,
know what's right and wrong,
good and bad, best for
ourselves and other people. But
we aren't always right. There's
always more than one version.
There are many perspectives
that are valid. Keep yourself
open to that truth.

21. It will pass

Whatever is causing you worry
or pain right now won't cause
you worry and pain forever.
Time heals. Things change. It
will pass.

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22. You define meaning
A meaningful life is what you
define it to be. If you neglect to
define meaning, you won't
experience it. Decide what
makes life worth living for you,
and then design your life
around that.

23. Risk expands you

To make positive change in your
life, you often must take risk.
You must tolerate some level
of uncertainty. Taking
thoughtful, calculated risk
strengthens your change
muscle and helps you grow.

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24. Change is good
Life is change. We shouldn't
resist it. Remaining stagnant is
in opposition to the natural
order of life. Flow with change.
Embrace it and regard it as an
adventure.

25. Thoughts aren't real

Every moment of the day, we
have random thoughts floating
through our brains. Many of the
thoughts are negative and
limiting. You don't have to
believe them. They aren't the
truth or the whole truth.
Thoughts can become our
reality, but only if we let them.

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26. You can't control others
We want people to think and
behave as we do. We want them
to accommodate us and live the
way we think they should live.
We want to change them. But
with awareness, we realize we
can't and shouldn't try to
control others. Instead,
embrace differences and honor
the uniqueness of the people in
your life.

27. Your body is a temple

We all have something, or many
somethings, we hate about our
bodies. But your body houses
your very essence. Treat your
body with respect and care for
the efficient and wondrous way
it takes care of you.

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28. Touch heals
Physical touch is healing and
intimate. It bonds us to other
people and relieves stress and
anxiety. It has a myriad of
health benefits such as
lowering heart rate and
improving the immune system.
Mindful, loving touch with those
you love is a gift that should be
shared.

29. You can handle it

Whatever you think you can't
handle, you actually can. You
have more strength, more
resilience, and more inner
wisdom than you give yourself
credit for. You'll get through it
and survive.

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30. Gratitude multiplies
happiness
Consciously focusing on all you
have rather than thinking
about what you don't have is a
far better use of brain
power. Gratitude fosters
positivity and well-being.

31. Intuition counts

Your judgement is important,
but your intuition super
charges your judgement.
Intuition is data from your
subconscious mind, based on
your past experiences and
patterns in life. It can arise
spontaneously when you are
called on to make a decision or
need information.

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32. Please yourself first
Pleasing others for approval
and acceptance might feel good
in the short term, but
eventually you will lose
yourself and feel resentful.
Please yourself first and give
to others based on conscious
choice, not the desire for
approval.

33. Self-honesty is freedom

When you are in denial about
something, you are
blinding yourself to the truth.
And even if the truth is
temporarily painful, it will
ultimately set you free. Be
radically honest with yourself
so you can live authentically.

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34. Perfection is boring
Perfection is unattainable, and
the pursuit of it makes us
boring. It is our differences, our
foibles, and our imperfections
that connect us to humanity and
make us real.

35. Serving creates meaning

If you want meaning in your life,
start with serving others. Find
a way to make a difference,
even a small difference, and
your life will feel purposeful.

36. Little things matter

It's not the big wins, the great
accomplishments, or the status
in life that really count. It's
the accumulation of little
things — the quiet moments in

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nature, special time with our
kids, seeing the smile on our
spouse's face when we walk in
the door. Pay attention to
these things.

37. Learn forever

There is so much to learn and
explore in our very short
lifetimes. Take advantage of
learning every single day.
Challenge yourself to acquire
a new skill, read something
different, take a class.
Learning keeps our minds
engaged and sharp, even into
old age.

38. Aging happens

Our bodies age. It is a truth we
can't avoid. You can manage

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aging by doing the best with
what you've got. But beyond
that, do your best to let it go.
Enjoying life is the best
antidote to getting older.

39. Marriages change

The person you married will
change over time. You will
change over time. Hopefully you
will change in the same
direction or come to love the
changes in the other person.
Don't let these changes take
you by surprise.

40. Worry is worthless

Worry is useful only if it leads
directly to a solution. But the
very nature of worry implies
that it doesn't. You worry about

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“what If's” that aren't real, anD
the worry itself creates stress
and physical symptoms that
cause real reason for angst.
Learn how to manage your
worry thoughts.

41. Heal your wounds

Don't allow pain from your past
(or present) to linger and
cause you suffering. Don't stuff
it down or pretend it doesn't
matter when it does. Seek
support from a professional
trained to help you heal and
renew your emotional health.

42. Simple is better

A life full of complications,
obligations, and an
overwhelming schedule make

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life more difficult and
stressful. A simpler life in all
regards gives you more space
for joy and engagement.

43. Do the work

If you want something in life,
you must do the work to get it.
There are rarely shortcuts.
But truthfully the work is what
affords the most sense of
accomplishment.

44. It's never too late

This is an excuse for not trying.
Great things can be
accomplished at any age.

45. Action beats angst

Action is the cure for worry,
procrastination, indecision,

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anxiety, and frustration. Stop
thinking and do something, and
you will create momentum that
leads to something valuable or
at the least heals your
turmoil.

46. Creation beats reaction

Be proactive in your life,
designing exactly what you
want rather than reacting to
what life throws at you.
Creation empowers you and
expands your opportunities.

47. Release attachments

Don't become too attached to
outcomes or beliefs. Remain
open to all possibilities and
ideas. You will be surprised how
much more there is to life when

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you don't cling to your life
experience.

48. Your words matter

The words you speak have
power. Consider your words
carefully. Use them for good
rather than harm. Once they
are out, you can't take them
back.

49. Make every day count

If you live to age ninety, how
many days do you have left? It
is a finite number, and one day
you will reach the last one. Be
conscious of the value of every
single day.

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50. Love is the answer
Love is why we are here. It is the
force for good in this sometimes
random and harsh world. Share
it freely. Express is daily.

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IMPORTANT
THINGS

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 In the second part, I will present
you a thirty years-old man who had
learned a lot during his journey. Life isn’t
exactly how it looks like. You know that
every person on this Earth wants to live
at its best so, in conclusion, they make a
lot of mistakes. On the other hand, some
people, have enough wisdom to realize
that, to earn something, you need to
sacrifice something. Great things don’t
come by nature. Do you think that an auto
designer reached this level by learning
how to cook? No, he reached it by
learning about autovehicles and their
evolution, about design and its past. If
you are interested in something, you have
to insist on it. If it doesn’t work, try
again. It isn’t about talent or luck. It is all
about knowledge and developing. People
see life in different ways, but at one

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point, it is the same. Experiences make
people think different, that’s why we are
all special in our way.

 So here’s 20 life lessons from a

wiser generation that we can all
use:

1. The most important person in your

life is the person who agreed to
share their life with you. Treat
them as such.
2. You might live a long life, or you
might live a short one — who knows.
But either way, trust me when I say
that you’re going to wish you took
better care of yourself in your
youth.

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 3. Stuff is just stuff. Don’t hold onto
material objects, hold onto time and
experiences instead.
4. Jealousy destroys relationships.
Trust your significant other,
because who else are you supposed
to trust?
5. People always say, ’’Make sure you
get a job doing what you love!’’ But
that isn’t the best advice. The right
job is the job you love some days,
can tolerate most days, and still
pays the bills. Almost nobody has a
job they love every day.
6. If you’re getting overwhelmed by
life, just return to the immediate
present moment and savour all that
is beautiful and comforting. Take a
deep breath, relax.
7. Years go by in the blink of an eye.
Don’t marry young. Live your life. Go
places. Do things. If you have the
means or not. Pack a bag and go

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 wherever you can afford to go.
While you have no dependents, don’t
buy stuff. Any stuff. See the world.
Look through travel magazines and
pick a spot. GO!
8. Don’t take life so seriously. Even if
things seem dark and hopeless, try
to laugh at how ridiculous life is.
9. A true friend will come running if
you call them at 2am. Everyone else
is just an acquaintance.
10. Children grow up way too fast.
Make the most of the time you have
with them.
11.Nobody ever dies wishing they had
worked more. Work hard, but don’t
prioritize work over family, friends,
or even yourself.
12. Eat and exercise like you’re a
diabetic heart patient with a stroke
— so you never actually become one.
13. Maybe this one isn’t as
profound as the others, but I think

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 it’s important… Floss regularly,
dental problems are awful.
14. Don’t take anyone else’s advice
as gospel. You can ask for advice
from someone you respect, then
take your situation into
consideration and make your own
decision. Essentially, take your own
advice is my advice…
15. The joints you damage today
will get their revenge later. Even if
you think they’ve recovered
completely. TRUST ME!
16. We have one time on this
earth. Don’t wake up and realize
that you are 60 years old and
haven’t done the things you
dreamed about.
17. Appreciate the small things
and to be present in the moment.
What do I mean? Well, it seems
today like younger people are all
about immediate gratification.

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 Instead, why not appreciate every
small moment? We don’t get to stay
on this crazy/wonderful planet
forever and the greatest pleasure
can be found in the most mundane
of activities. Instead of sending a
text, pick up the phone and call
someone. Call your mother, have a
conversation about nothing in
particular. Those are the moments
to hold onto.
18. Pay your bills and stay the hell
out of debt. If I could have paid
myself all the money I’ve paid out in
interest over the years, I’d be
retired already.
19. If you have a dream of being
or doing something that seems
impossible, try for it anyway. It will
only become more impossible as you
age and become responsible for
other people.

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 20. When you meet someone for
the first time, stop and realize that
you really know nothing about them.
You see race, gender, age, clothes.
Forget it all. You know nothing.
Those biased assumptions that pop
into your head because of the way
your brain likes categories, are
limiting your life, and other people’s
lives.

 Teachers spend a lot of time with

their students throughout the
course of the year.They are
influential by nature and often
take advantage of opportunities to
teach life lessons when they
present themselves. Life lessons
taught by teachers have made a
lasting impact on many students.
In many cases, sharing these life
lessons can have a far greater

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 impact than teaching standard
based content.

Teachers often use both direct and

indirect opportunities to incorporate life
lessons.

Directly, there are natural components of

schooling that lead to learning life
lessons. Indirectly, teachers often take
advantage of what they refer to as
teachable momentsto expand topics or to
discuss aspects of life that are brought
up by students during class.

20.You Will Be Held Accountable for

Your Actions.

Student discipline is a major component in

any classroom or school. There is a
certain set of rules or expectations by
which everyone is expected to follow.
Choosing not to adhere to them will result
in disciplinary action. Rules and

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expectations exist in all facets of life,
and there are always consequences when
we push the limits of those rules.

19. Hard Work Pays Off.

Those who work the hardest typically

achieve the most. Teachers understand
that some students are more naturally
gifted than others, but even the
most gifted studentwill not achieve much
if they are lazy. It is nearly impossible to
be successful at anything if you are not
willing to work hard.

18. You Are Special.

This is a core message that every teacher

should drive home to every student. We
all have our unique talents and qualities
that make us special. Too many children
feel inadequate and unimportant. We

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should strive to ensure that all students
believe that they matter.

17. Make the Most of Each

Opportunity.

Opportunities present themselves on a

regular basis throughout our lives.

How we choose to respond to those

opportunities can make all the difference
in the world. Learning is a significant
opportunity for children across this
country. It is essential for teachers to
convey the message to students that each
day presents a new opportunity to learn
something new.

16. Organization Matters.

A lack of organization can lead to chaos.

Students who are organized have a much
greater chance of being successful later
on in life. This is a skill that begins early

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on. One way that teachers can drive home
the importance of organization is hold
students accountable for how their desk
and/or locker looks on a regular basis.

15. Pave Your Own Path.

Ultimately, every person determines their

future through decision making over a
long period of time. It is easy for
experienced adults to look back and see
exactly how we paved the path that led us
to where we are today. This is an
abstract concept for students and
teachers should spend time discussing
how our decisions and work ethic at even
a young age can shape our future.

14. You Cannot Control Whom Your

Parents Are.

Parents have the largest influence on any

child. In some cases, this influence may

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be negative in nature. However, most
parents want the best for their children
although they may not know how to give it
to them.

It is vital that teachers let their

students know that they have the
capability to control their own future,
making different decisions than their
parents, which can lead to a better life.

13. Remain True to Yourself.

Ultimately it does not matter what others

think about you. Making a decision based
on what someone else wants almost always
turns out to be the wrong decision.
Teachers must convey the message of
believing in you, trusting your
instincts, setting goals, and reaching
those goals without personal compromise.

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12. You Can Make a Difference.

We are all potential change agents

meaning we have the potential to make
differences in the lives of those around
us. Teachers demonstrate this directly on
a daily basis. They are there to make a
difference in the lives of the children
they are charged to teach.

They can teach students how they can

make a difference by incorporating
different projects such as a canned food
drive, cancer fundraiser, or another
community project.

11. Remain Trustworthy.

A person that cannot be trusted will end

up sad and alone. Being trustworthy
means that those around you believe that
you will tell the truth, keep secrets (so
long as they do not put others in danger),

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and will carry out tasks that you have
promised to do. Teachers drive home the
concepts of honesty and loyalty on a daily
basis. It is a core part of any classroom
rules or expectations.

10. Structure Is Critical.

Many students will initially reject

a structured classroom, but ultimately
they will come to enjoy it and even crave
it when it is not there. A structured
classroom is a safe classroom where
teaching and learning are maximized.
Providing students with a structured
learning environment can show students
that having structure in their life is a
positive aspect that they need more of.

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9. You Have the Greatest Control of
Your Destiny.

Many people believe that their destiny is

dictated by the situation in which they
inherited by birth. Nothing could be
further from the truth. Every person
controls their own destiny once they
reach a certain age. Teachers fight this
misconception all the time. For example,
many students believe that they cannot
go to college because their parents did
not go to college. It is a predictive cycle
that schools work hard to break.

8. Mistakes Provide Valuable Learning

Opportunities.

The greatest lessons in life result

because of failures.

No one is perfect. We all make mistakes,

but it is the lessons learned from those

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mistakes that help make us whom we
become. Teachers teach this life lesson
on a daily basis. No student is perfect.
They make mistakes, and it is a teacher's
job to ensure that their students
understand what the mistake was, how to
fix it, and to give them strategies to
ensure that those mistakes are not
repeated.

7. Respect Has to Be Given to Be

Received.

Good teachers lead by example. They give

their students respect knowing that the
majority of the students will, in turn, give
them respect back. Teachers often have
students who come from backgrounds
where little respect is expected or given
in the home. School may be the only place
where respect is given and expected to
be given back.

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6. Differences Should Be Embraced.

Bullying is one of the largest problems in

schools today often resulting because of
perceived differences that make some
students an easy target based on how
they look or act. The world is full of
unique and different people. These
differences, no matter what they are,
should be embraced and accepted. Many
schools now incorporate learning
opportunities into their daily lessons to
teach kids how to respect individual
differences.

5. There Are Aspects of Life That Are

Beyond Our Control.

The process of school is one big lesson on

this. Many students, especially older ones,
do not want to go to school but go
because they are required by law. Once
they get there, they are learning lessons

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created by a teacher with little to no
student ownership.

These lessons are being taught because

of state-directed standards. Life is no
different. There are many aspects of our
life with which we have little control

4. Bad Decisions Lead to Serious

Consequences.

Not every poor decision will lead to a bad

consequence, but the majority of them
will. You may get away with something
once or twice, but you will eventually be
caught. Decision making is a critical life
lesson. We make decisions every day.
Students should be taught to think each
decision through, never make a decision in
haste, and be prepared to live with the
consequences associated with that
decision.

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3. Good Decisions Lead to Prosperity.

Making smart decisions is critical to

individual success. A series of poor
decisions can quickly lead to a road of
failure. Making a good decision does not
necessarily mean it is the easiest
decision. In many cases, it is going to be
the harder decision. Students must be
rewarded, recognized, and praised for
good decision making as often as possible.
Teachers can help make good decision
making a habit that will follow students
throughout their life.

2. Working Together Cooperatively

Benefits Everyone.

Teamwork is a valuable skill taught in

schools. Schools often provide the first
opportunities for children to work
together with other children who may be
different. Working cooperatively is

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imperative to both team and individual
success. Students must be taught that
each individual part working together
makes the team successful. However, if
one part quits or does not perform
adequately, everyone fails.

1. You Can Become Anything.

It is cliché, but it is also a valuable lesson

that teachers must never stop teaching.
As adults, we know that it is nearly
impossible to break a generational rut.
However, we should never give up hope
that we can reach a student and help
them break a cycle that has held other
family members back for many
generations. It is our basic duty to
provide hope and belief that they can
achieve and become anything.

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  Parents are our first teachers but
unlearning the harmful lessons
they themselves were taught can
take a long time.

1. On Selfishness

That wanting anything is selfish.

2. That You’re On Your Own

To be a bystander, for lack of a better

term. My parents are very against me
standing up for others and even myself in
some cases, and I had to learn that
standing up for other people is the right
thing to do.

Also how to pronounce cucumbers.

3. That Older Doesn’t Always Mean

Wiser

That just because someone is older than

me doesn’t mean they know more than me.

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Yes it’s true I don’t have as much
experience or knowledge about things in
the world but it is possible for me to
know something that someone who is
older than me doesn’t know. My dad
always used the ‘I’m older/wiser/more
experienced’ line if I said something a
fact or piece of information that he
didn’t agree with or think was true. It
made me feel a little insecure about what
I know and if what I know is right or not.

4. That Dating Leads To Marriage

That you don’t have to marry everyone

you date. My mom was married 7 times
and taught us that you never left anyone!
No matter if they were horrible to you,
took all your money and treated your kids
like shit. And that you could ‘fix’ them if
you married them. It took me a moving
out and talking with other people that
that is not normal and people break up all

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the time. Luckily I never married any of
those guys.

5. That You Should Never Disagree Or

Ask Why

They taught me to never disagree with

anything. In my household, there was no
such thing as ‘No’ or ‘why’.

6. That Generosity Is Foolish

That you should never do anything for

others because nobody will do anything
for you.

I understand because my mom came from

a very rough household growing up, but it
was frustrating whenever she found out I
bought lunch for my friends or gave
someone a ride it would always be the
‘nobody will look out for you, why do the
same?’

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7. That Intense Cleanliness Is A Virtue

My mom is obsessively clean. It took me a

couple years into my marriage to stop
cleaning to her standards. I am not a
dirty person but I don’t have a fit about a
little dust on the baseboards.

She should see my carpet right now. I’ve

been sewing. There are scraps and
threads all over. She’d twitch.

8. Quantity Over Quality

Though my family was economically

stable, privileged even, my parents grew
up in poverty. So their way of buying was
to buy cheap. Which definitely should be
taken into consideration but ultimately, if
the quality is not there you end up
spending more to continuously replace the
item. We could afford to buy things of
better quality that would last longer, but
that’s just not how they grew up.

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It still hurts me to spill $60 on a nice pair
of shoes that will last more than a year,
but I have since learned that I would
much rather spend this $60 one time,
rather than getting 3 pairs of $20 crappy
no-brand shoes that hurt my feet and fall
apart every few months.

9. That Politics Isn’t Just A Way Of

Fighting

All things political. My mothers side of

the family is a constant cycle of choosing
the opposite side of the political
spectrum to spite one’s parents, not for
any actual political reasons.

10. Korean Fan Death

Korean fan death… For those who don’t

know about this, Korean people believe
that if you sleep with a fan on with all
windows and door closed you will die. Still

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can’t convince my parents that this is a
myth.

11. Overapologizing

I do not have to say sorry for everything.

I used to say ‘I’m sorry’ for everything.
Reached for the same cookie? Sorry! We
had different opinions and you’re
frustrated? Sorry! Didn’t grab the right
bag of groceries out of the truck? Sorry!
I said sorry for everything, even when
cashiers didn’t have nickels to give me
back at change, I apologized for me
causing them that inconvenience.
Unlearning that is still a struggle at
times.

12. That Love Can’t Be Forever When

It Can

They consciously taught me that people

(family aside) will never love you forever.
It’s only temporary.

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13. That Parents Can Be Crazy

My mother is the anti-vaxxer, Kony 2012,

chemtrails type person. I believed every
lie she told me and of course I told
everyone at school this shit. It gained me
reputation as the weird kid and nobody
believed me for a long time.

14. That You Have To Love Family

That because someone is family, you

should automatically love them.

15. That Being Special Is Enough

That I’m not a special snowflake. Being

‘smart’ and ‘talented’ stopped mattering
around age 17 and I felt like a fraudulent
fuck-up until I learned how to work and
apply myself.

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16. That Sex Is Gross

That all aspects of sexuality are

disgusting and should make you feel guilty
even thinking about it.

17. That The Worst Will Happen

To always assume the worst might happen.

My parents are conservative in every way,
shape, and form.

Like no mom, just because I’m out having

a good time with my friends and don’t
answer my phone doesn’t mean that I’m
dead.

Now that 100% independent, I’m learning

that sometimes risk equals reward,
whereas my parents had taught my
siblings and I that risk usually leads to
demise.

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18. That You Can’t Be Satisfied With
Anything

That you can always do better. Not that

that’s intrinsically bad, but when you don’t
learn to stop and appreciate what you’ve
accomplished, you’ll never be satisfied.

19. That Bottling It All Up Is The

Way To Go

That mental health is “for pussies.” It’s

okay to feel negative emotions such as
anger or sadness. I wish I could have
found this out earlier.

20. That Homeopathy Is A Real Thing

That homeopathy works and modern

medicine is something to avoid. I hate
homeopathy will all my heart now.

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21. That College And Trying Hard Are
Enough

They instilled in me that all I had to do

was go to college and get through it and
then I’d get “my job” that would pay $60k
(with benefits) and then I’d work there
until I retired, didn’t matter what I
studied or if I networked or pursued
extracurriculars. Just finish school and
you get your job. When that didn’t work…
“put in more applications!”

You have to develop actual skills, be good

at bullshitting, talk to people, keep your
eyes and options open, be willing to
expand your skill set, keep an eye on what
skills are marketable, not be afraid to
jump into something just because you’ve
never done it before, realize that
employer loyalty is a two-way street that
is permanently closed and has been for
years, etc.

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22. That No One Will Help You When
You Need It

Stranger Danger. Most victims of abuse,

murder kidnapping, rape, and molestation
etc. are preyed on by those closest to
them. Teaching us to be afraid of anyone
we don’t know actually harms our social
skills and ability to reach out for help
when we need it, etc. it keeps us in a
fearful shell of sorts.

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And..

Other things you need to

know ..

65 | P a g e
  How to improve your life
time in 1 hour
For most of us, the non-eating portion of
our lunch hour typically consists of browsing
through forums and news sites, making small talk
with colleagues or staring at our phone.

In truth, all that time squandered adds up.

What could you do to improve your life and
emotional well-being if you devoted just one hour
a day to it?

Here are just a few of the most brilliant

ways you can improve your life in one hour, and
take advantage of the lunchtime break.

1. Meditate
From Paul McCartney to Oprah Winfrey,
some of the most successful names in the
showbiz industry swear by meditation for its
stress-reducing and levelling effect. Best of all,
it can take very little time to do.

If you’re lucky enough to have your own

office, close the door or find a quiet place such as

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the park or an unused rec room. From a seated
position – ideally, on the floor with your legs
crossed – rest your arms on your knees and keep
a straight back.

Close your eyes and begin to focus on your

breathing by taking a big breath in through your
nose, slowly pulling the air upwards from the
abdomen for as long as you can.

Then, release the breath through your mouth

in a slow, controlled way, until you have
completely emptied the air out of your lungs.
Repeat for 5-10 minutes. The goal of this focus
on the breath is to distract your mind from
stressful thoughts and worries bouncing around in
your head- by the time you finish the exercise,
you should feel able to think more clearly.

2. Ignore your social media feeds

In defence of squandered hours, Oscar
Wilde once said:

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

While you might normally use your lunch

hour to glance through news stories, Instagram,

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Facebook feeds and group chats, consider putting
a lunchtime ban on mindless scrolling. Instead of
glazing over at your phone screen every day, mix
things up by finding a way to engage with the
environment around you: consider starting a
conversation with someone new, draw something
or start reading a new book. You’ll be much
more aware of what happened in your lunch hour
rather than merely letting the time slip past
uneventfully.

3. Start a project or a blog

If you’re feeling somewhat proactive, consider
starting a project.

Blogging is a relatively low-maintenance

pastime which as well as giving you a place to
open up, can increase confidence and help you
achieve goals- particularly if you are blogging
about a personal journey such as parenthood,
weight loss or body-building.

Treat yourself to a personalized domain name;

there are plenty to choose from, they’re cheap to
run, and give your blog more integrity and a sense
of ownership. Once you’ve started, enjoy
exchanging ideas and inspiration with a like-

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minded online community that will spur you on
in pursuit of your goals.

4. Reach out to someone

We always assume we’ll have tomorrow to do
what we could have done today, and making
the time to catch up with someone or reply to
an email is usually one of these tasks.

If you have just one hour, phoning a family

member, messaging an old friend – or even
making peace with an ex – can do wonders for
your mental well-being. A familiar voice will push
those work-related anxieties to the back of your
mind by reminding you about what really matters
in life, so pick up the phone and prepare to feel a
weight lifted off.

5. Take A Bite Out of a Big Task

The question is, “How do you eat an elephant in
one go?”

You don’t. The answer of course, is to approach

the task in stages.

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 Begin something you’ve been putting off
with the expectation that you are not going to
finish it. This mindset immediately takes the
pressure off and allows you to think pragmatically
about what your first moves will be. Chances are,
if you dedicate yourself to a project or task for
just one hour, you will get in to it enough to keep
going once things get underway and achieve a lot
more than you thought you would. Wouldn’t that
be a satisfying achievement for one little lunch
hour?

6. Make A Worthwhile Purchase

Aside from ordering a lumbar support
cushion from Amazon, booking a mini break or a
holiday could be the smartest purchase you ever
made. Travel is good for the soul, so instead of
just thinking about it, actually commit yourself to
that trip of a lifetime. Whether travelling alone or
with a friend/partner – the more spur of the
moment, the better! Browsing through a
website can be a solid starting point - a good place
for inspiration if you’re not sure where to start.

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And always review your To-Do
Lists are a great way to help you focus on the
things needing urgently addresses in your life, but
to avoid getting overwhelmed by a list of To-Dos
and ‘should have done’s’, by taking stock of your
week past and using this a the basis for reasonable
objectives for the week ahead. Sometimes you
don’t realize how stressed you are until the
volcano in your brain is about to erupt. When
that happens, it’s nice to have a game plan to fall
back on.

 How to calm down in less

than 5 minutes

Number one is music. Nothing has a

more powerful and immediate impact
on motivation and mood. Music is one
of the only treatments that temporarily
reduce symptoms of patients with
late-stage degenerative brain disease.

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If it can work on them, it can work for
you too.

Number two is exercise. Exercise

burns off excess stress hormones that
build up throughout the day. It also
releases feel-good endorphins while
boosting mental clarity with the
production of BDNF in the brain.

Number three is the sense of smell.

Your nose is a direct line of
communication to the amygdala, the
area of the brain most strongly tied to
emotions and memory recall. You can
use it to ground yourself after
moments of high stress.

1. Press play on your strategically

curated chill-out playlist.

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 2. Do a couple of minutes of high-
intensity exercise (push-ups, squats,
lunges, whatever’s accessible and gets
your blood pumping).
3. Take a whiff of success by smelling the
good stuff (could be lavender, could
be anything tied to positive
memories).

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W
SHIP WITH
YRELATION
AFFECTS
PARENTS
YOUR LIFE
 The relationship between
parents and child

The relationship between parents and a

child is among the most significant in
person’s life.

Do you realize that your relationship

with parents can have long-term
implications for your life; and your
future relationship with the one you
love?

Do you realize that your relationship

with your mother and father can have
an impact on the way you treat the
people around you throughout the life?

Well, if you really realize it, you have to

know how family influences you. And

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how the relationship with both your
parents affects the way you see people
and the world.

How Your Relationship With

Your Parents Affect Your Life

The parental relationship is one of

the earliest connections that a child
has; and it definitely sets the bar for
everyone thereafter. However, some
people mistakenly think that we are
born with specific genes that identify
our personalities. Of course, personality
development is governed by certain
genes to some extent. But let’s not
forget, that different environmental

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factors also have an impact on personal
development. The human brain is
flexible enough to develop in different
ways depending on these factors.
Parenting is one of such fundamental
factors: Probably the most fundamental
one; that shapes the child’s physical
appearance and temperament. As well
as defining some of the most important
basic building blocks of the child’s
character.

1. The More Attentive and

Expressive Your Parents, The
More Open & Sociable You
Might Be in The Future

When you are loved by your

parents in childhood, you know what
love is and how it can be shown. In this
case, you won’t be afraid to show your

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love to parents, brothers and sisters;
and other people who will come into
your life over time. Commonly, such
people adore family holiday and little
family gatherings. They never forget to
give happy birthday wishes for a
brother, sister or cousin just to make
the closest person feel good. The
scientists think that unconditional love
and affection from the parents can
make their child emotionally happier
and less anxious. Moreover, parental
affection can actually protect
individuals against the harmful effects
of childhood stresses.

Thus, the parent-child

communication influences how open
you are in future relationships. There is
a golden rule: better parent-child

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communication means fewer
psychological and behavior problems of
the child in adulthood.

And most importantly, attentive

and expressive parents tend to bring up
healthy and successful children who
feel comfortable expressing themselves,
their thoughts and opinions.

2. The More Neglectful Your

Parents, The More Attention
You Will Seek & Demand in
Adulthood

Children who have not received

enough attention from one or both of
the parents can grow up feeling like
they were unwanted and unimportant

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to their mother and father or even to
both parents. A study showed that, as
an adult, such child will seek attention
or even demand it all the time. If you
are lacking sufficient attention from one
or both of your parents at an early age,
you may often find yourself vying for a
romantic interest`s attention, and often
have trouble in your love life.

Some psychologists claim that

inattentive and emotionally-dramatic
parents tend to raise the children with
lower self-esteem, children who feel
more alienated, hostile, aggressive or
even anti-social. In other words,
children who were feeling neglected can
very often grow up to be needy adults.

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3. The More Emotionally-
Reserved Parents, The More
Reserved You Might Be In
Relationships

The less emotionally your parents

are, the more reserved you will be in the
future. It’s a time-honored precept!

If the parents avoid expressing

needs and desires for attention,
affection, and closeness with the child,
they also require such behavior from
their child or children. The study
proved that the child unconsciously
wants the parent`s attention, but
simply doesn’t express it externally and
eventually get used to being stoic and
inexpressive.

80 | P a g e
 Being the child of such parents,
you can express your love, in most
cases, in non-verbal ways with giving
gifts or various forms of physical touch.
At the same time, you are very stingy
with hugs, cuddles, kisses and can
spend all your time at work or on
hobbies so your loved one even may feel
ignored.

4. When Your Parents Are

Divorced or Unmarried, You
Tend to Cynicism About Love
and Variable Relationships

Many people are raised in the

incomplete families, which include
divorced parents, unmarried parents
and single mothers or fathers, and this

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fact affects their attitude towards love,
or even unstable behavior in marriage.
Having divorced or unmarried parents
usually make you either cynical about
marriage or excessively cautious. If you
have an incomplete family, you will be
reluctant to form your own family as
you consistently make to fear for
repeating your parent’s fate.

But, on the other hand, it can

happen that you just throw caution to
the wind and fall in love with someone
you have crazy chemistry with. This, in
turn, leads to the explosive short-lived
relationships and very often they break
up just as fast.

82 | P a g e
  Why People Give Up on the
Journey to Success
After analyzing many successful people, as
well as those who never reached their goals; it
dawned on me that there is a major reason why
some people give up. And why some persevere
on this journey to success. There are primary
factors involved, in which the people who fail do
not embrace. These are the factors make them
give up whilst still only working towards their
goals. Those who finish the race embrace these
factors, while those who fail to embrace them,
never achieve success.
Here are 7 major factors that make people give
up on their journey to success:

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1. Humility
Humility is an essential factor on the road
to success. Success in almost anything requires
individuals to embrace humility. Many
entrepreneurs claim that they had to conduct
door to door sales in the early stages of their
businesses.
Besides this, some actors such as Emilia
Clarke, claim that they had to accept
insignificant roles in the first stages of their
careers before they were given major roles.
Despite the fact that humility is essential
for the early stages of any career, many people
give up after realizing that they will have to be
down to earth in the beginning stages for them
advance further.

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 In this egocentric society people feel
ashamed to act humble, and so they avoid
situations that force them to be humble at all
costs.

2. Extremely Hard Work

Success requires tireless hard work.
Successful people work harder, but also smarter
than failures. People like Elon Musk and Bill
Gates revealed that they work up to 16 hours a
day. 50 Cent revealed that he worked so hard
that he sacrificed sleeping for three days. He
claimed that sleep is for poor people.

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 Hard work is, therefore, the key to
success.
Hard work leads to mastery, self-
confidence, builds character, and it also leads to
luck because luck occurs when opportunity
meets preparedness. Those who manage to
succeed know the importance of hard work, and
therefore, they embrace it by making hard work
a habit.
However, the average person is pretty
damn lazy. They only work 8 to 10 hours a day,
and then clock out and shut off, still expecting
to succeed in life. The average person gives up
when they realize that achieving success
requires them to get out of their comfort
zone and work hard, both day and night.

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 3. Risk Taking
Success requires an individual to take a
massive amount of risks, ranging from personal
to financial risks. Analyse the biographies of
successful people, and you will realize that a
large percentage of them took large risks. Such
as investing all their funds in a project,
dropping out of college, or quitting their jobs.
However, the average person avoids
taking risks, and if he takes a big risk and fails,
he gives up to go back to mind numbing safe
and secure ventures.

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4. Perseverance
Perseverance is a critical factor in the
journey to prosperity. In my opinion,
perseverance is the ability to continue having
faith and working hard towards your goals even
when things are not going as you expected.
Many people give up when they face massive
setbacks.
However, only the brave and the bold
persevere regardless of how man heart-breaking
obstacles they encounter. Jack Ma, the internet
entrepreneur, worked on Alibaba in its early
stages despite the fact that the company failed to
achieve profits in the first three years.

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 Today, Alibaba is one of the most valuable
companies in the world, and Jack Ma is one of
the richest people in the world.

5. Patience
A lack of patience is what makes many
people give up chasing their dreams. Statistics
reveal that it takes 5 to 10 years of hard work on
a project before it becomes incredibly
successful.
However, many individuals give up,
especially if they don’t see huge results after a
month, 3 months, 6 months, a year, even 3 years
in. Giving up after 3 years in is stupid. You’ve
already put in all the hard work. You’re so
close. The modern world is governed by instant

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gratification: people expect success to show up
on their doorsteps after few months of putting in
effort. We want to succeed as fast as possible;
and we, therefore, quit when we realize just
how long it’s actually going to take for even the
first signs of success to appear.

6. Optimism
Gary Vaynerchuk, an author and internet
personality, once said that the main reason why
people fail to achieve success is the lack of
optimism. I absolutely agree with him. Optimism
refers to the confidence about the realization of
a specific expected outcome. In the beginning
steps of the journey to success, many people are

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always optimistic about the achievement of their
goals.
However, after facing some obstacles, the
level of optimism in most people greatly reduces
hence resulting in them giving up. Only the
individuals who are optimistic regardless of
whatever happens are those who manage to
achieve success. The optimists often fail to give
up because even if they face obstacles, they
always believe that success is around the corner.

7. Self-Confidence
Those who manage to achieve financial
success often have faith in their abilities: they
believe in their skills, and they know that

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nothing can stop them.Besides this, it is easy for
a self-confident person to achieve success
because they believe in their ability to overcome
any problems that they might face.
Self-confidence ensures an individual
continues moving forward even if they knows
that there’s a very hard and mentally
challenging climb to come. On the other hand, it
is easy for an under-confident individual to give
up because they’re discouraged by the slightest
problem that they might face.

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  5 Success
Factors of Self-
Made
Millionaires

1. Self-made Millionaires are

honest
One of the best books on wealth
building is ‘The Millionaire Mind’
by Thomas J. Stanley. Stanley,
interviewed hundreds of
millionaires to decode their
secrets to making millions. And on
top of the list of the success
factors that most millionaires
gave, honesty was the most
important.

The idea was, that if you want

to build wealth, it will be through

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people. You will need to be able
to do business with and through
people. There is popular business
maximum that supports this, and it
goes like these: “People only do
business with those whom they know,
like, and trust.”

If you are dishonest, and no

one trusts you, getting business,
making partnerships, and closing
deals will be difficult. Maybe
even impossible. So, the first
rule to follow to eventually become
a self-made millionaire, is to be a
person of your word. Be honest.

2. Self-made Millionaires
Cultivate Self-Discipline
The one success trait that
really stands out in all the
success literature I’ve read, is
that of self-discipline. After
reading book after book on success,
the success trait I’ve seen show

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itself time and time again has been
that of self-discipline.

Almost every self-made

millionaire or successful person
has made the claim, that without
self-discipline, they would be
nowhere near as successful as they
are today.

Even the great millionaire

mogul Robert Kiyosaki once stated,
“Self-discipline is the No.1
delineating factor between the
rich, the middle class, and the
poor.”

So, make it a point to practice

becoming a more self-disciplined
person every day. Because if you
do, you’ll set yourself up to find
the success and wealth your truly
seek.

3. Self-made Millionaires Work

Harder Than Most People

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 Many Titan’s of sports and
entertainment have made the claim
that the only way they were able to
reach the prominence they have
found in their careers, has been a
direct result of their ability to
work harder the most people.

Study any highly successful

person, and you will find this to
be true. If you examine Michal
Jordan’s work ethic, you would
notice it was greater than his
peers. If you had the chance to
witness the late Steve Jobs, you
would notice he also had a knack
for being relentless in his
pursuits.

And the same goes for most

self-made millionaires. They do
what others don’t like to do, and
they typically work harder than
their competition. And by doing
so, they set the stage for their
eventual success and making the big
money.

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4. Self-made Millionaires Have a
Passion For What They Do
You hear it all the time,
follow your passion, follow your
dreams. Most of the time this
sentiment is shared as the path to
finding happiness. However, a
handful of both highly successful
and rich people have extolled the
importance in loving what you do in
order to find success.

Warren Buffet has been known to

state that the people who find
their passion in life are the
luckiest. He made this statement
because he believed that when
people find their passion, or that
thing that they love to do, they
usually end up doing that thing
extremely well.

Meaning, in our competitive

society, if you don’t love what you
do, you put yourself at a

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disadvantage against the person who
does.And the person who loves what
they do has a better shot and
eventually doing that thing they
love, better than you.

Steve Jobs once stated, “The

only way to do great work, is to
love what you do.” He believed in
the passion principle too.

These two Titans of success

believed in the importance of
having a passion for what your
work. So if you really want to find
a way to become self-made, be sure
you love what you do.

5. Self-made Millionaires Know

how to adapt to the market
We’ve established how it is
vital to do what you love if you
wish to be rich someday. However,
it must also be said, that you need
to be able to adapt to the market.

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 If what you love doing is
making art, but there is little to
no interest in your art in your
market, then you must be willing to
adapt. If you don’t, you won’t
make any money. And if you don’t
make any money, you can’t become a
self-made millionaire.

As such, the best way to do

adapt your interests to the market,
is to keep to your true interests,
but also ensure your that business
or art is flexible enough to
incorporate the interests of
others.

If you love making art, but

nobody wants to buy it, then must
consider making art that people are
willing to buy. There is small
sacrifice involved, but, it is
necessary if you wish to stay in
business and or make money doing
what you love.

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 In short, follow your heart.
But be sure your customers are
interested in buying what you are
selling.

 7 Steps to
Optimizing Your
Mental Energy
How we administrate the energy that is
available in our minds will be crucial to
enabling us to work more efficiently. As an
entrepreneur or a busy professional, you
may want to follow these seven tips, to help
optimize the use of your mental energy and
improve your work-life balance when
growing your career:

1. Train Your Brain to Practice

Single-Tasking
By doing one thing at a time, you will
not only be more productive, but you will

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also save the energy consumed when
refocusing.

“It turns out that switching back and

forth between jobs burns more
oxygenated glucose – your brain’s fuel–
and leads to mental exhaustion more
quickly than focusing on one task at a
time.”

2. Put Into Practice the ’80/20 Rule’

The 80/20 Rule is based on a simple
principle: 20% of the tasks, deliver 80% of
your firm’s profits. Identifying your most
crucial activities and focusing most of your
mental strength on them will be essential for
success. Put your mental energy in the 20%
that really matters, then work your way
down to implement the other 80% of the
work that is still important, but doesn’t have
as big an impact on your overall success.

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3. ‘Eat That Frog’ in the Morning
Author of the best-selling book ‘Eat that frog:
21 Great ways to stop procrastinating’, Brian Tracy,
explains why the first thing you should do each
morning is to eat a live frog. And your ‘frog’ is your
biggest, most important task.

4. Build Habits & Routines

Routines are critical to be productive
and get more done, but also to conserve
energy and maximize it. Once we repeat the
same task enough times to interiorize it, a
minimal amount of energy is required to
perform it.

You have experienced this in many

areas of your life without realizing it: when
you have a shower, when you eat, or when
you drive to work for example. It is
sometimes even hard to remember how you
did these things.

A good practice to optimize mental

energy is to pay attention to what works
better for you and build daily routines that,

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once you interiorize them, will save you a
considerable amount of psychological
energy.

5. Avoid Making Use of Your

Willpower
At first glance, this may seem like a
contradiction, but willpower actually uses
up a large sum of mental energy. This is
why, once again, interiorizing routines in
your life will help you save mental energy.
In other words, if you do not have to use
your willpower to avoid a temptation, you
will be keeping more mental energy to use in
other important issues.

6. Set Up the Right Working

Environment
Environmental factors in your
workplace will also have an effect on your
mental energy levels. Some essential aspects
such as having natural light or listening to

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the right type of music, after often
overlooked, but will have a significant
impact on the amount of daily mental
energy you consume.

7. Unsubscribe from Email Lists

You have probably subscribed to many
different newsletters throughout your
career. But how many of those do you
actually read? Look through your last emails
and unsubscribe from those newsletters you
haven’t opened for a long time.

 5 Ways to Find Your

Strengths In Life
Sometimes we can be so focused on
the negative aspects in life, that lose
sight of all the amazing positive

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energies around us. Maybe you’re in
this boat, or maybe you’re just unsure
of what your best set of skills are.

Either way, you’re getting frustrated

because you can’t seem to find the
things you are best at. You’re only
spotting your weaknesses. Given the
fact you’re probably tired of searching
for ways to figure out your best
strengths as an individuals, I’ve got
something for you today.

Fortunately, there are ways you can

figure out all your strengths and
weaknesses, without really doing much
work. And in a lot of the cases below,
it’ll only take you 30 minutes to see the
results.

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1.Take An Aptitude Test
An Aptitude test will help you to
identify the skills in which you excel.
Normally, these tests will ask you a
series of questions, and based on your
answers, will calculate which skills you
are more suited to. Definitely look at
taking the test; it won’t take you long,
and can dramatically help you decide
which career path is best for you.

“A test designed to determine a

person’s ability in a particular skill or
field of knowledge.”

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2. Stick With the Things You
Obsess About
Naturally, the activities you obsess
about will most likely become your
strengths. It may take a while, but
obsession equals passion. Passion
equals effort. Effort equals practice.
Practice equals perfection.

Before you quote me on this, I have to

inform you that this isn’t always the
case. There are people in the world who
have some incredible passions; but no
matter what they do, they aren’t
naturally blessed in that particular area,
and practice doesn’t seem to change
that.

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 3. Take A Personality Test
Much like an Aptitude test, you can
also take a personality test. This will
help you figure out the 3 to 5 main
personality traits among all others; if
you didn’t already know them. Although
this won’t exactly let you know what
your great at, it will help you to
understand your personality more.

Understanding your personality is a

huge factor for figuring out the right
career for you, the right people to be
surrounding yourself with, and the right
goals to be setting.

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4. Use Numerology
Now you may not know too much
about numerology, and you might not
even believe in the concept. However,
as always it’s important to keep an open
mind in life, and you may find this helps
you out a great deal.

5. Ask Your Friend to Help You

This last method involves using a
friend to help you. You’re probably
going to want to pick a close friend that
you can rely on. There are 7 steps
involved, which are:

1. Ask your friend to name three of

your strengths

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 2. Tell your friend your top passion.
3. Have your friend tell an imaginary
story of your life, based on this
passion and your strengths.
4. Take a minute to imagine this
fantasy as your real life. Tell your
friend what appeals to you and
what makes you cringe.
5. Now your friend revises the story
based on your feedback.
6. Keep going back and forth until
the story feels right. This may take
three or 13 rounds—there’s no
need to rush. Your friend will likely
suggest unexpected scenarios.
Don’t let knee-jerk objections
shape your feedback. This is about
crafting a scenario tailored to your
strengths.

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 7. Stop when the story feels
completely satisfying. You’ve just
shaped your passion into a goal
and defined what you do and don’t
want from your calling.

 Why Always Being

Busy Can Be Bad
for Self
Development
Being busy and stressed all the time
isn’t good for your body or your mind –
it can have negative effects on your life
and your health in particular.

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1. Creativity Killer

You might think that this should be

obvious – being too busy can kill creativity.

Researchers who carried out a simple

word association test: found that the people
who were busier and had more on their
minds were less creative in their answers
than people who were at their leisure.

It was found, more specifically, that

people who had more to remember had their
replies stripped back to the most statistically
common answers. Whereas people who had
very little to remember were able to come up
with less stereotypical responses.

This was not a function of them having

less time than was necessary for the task.
Even with plenty of time, the group with lots

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to remember still could not progress beyond
the simplistic answers they gave.This effect
is what many people have found in the real
world as well as in the lab; and
understanding what it has done and is doing
to our creativity is vitally important for
changing things.

Having too much on your mind is

something which can blunt creativity; and so
stop you from either advancing or expanding
on your current career. If you want to
continue to move forward and see where
your path can take you, losing your creativity
can be devastating.

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2. Wrong Priorities

If you are too busy, it can actively

keep you from moving forward with your life.
I have been experiencing this myself
recently. Actively being kept from moving
forward with my plans and my life in general.

Creativity needs some mental head-

space for it to really thrive. If you are too
busy, it can keep you from looking at other
possibilities and other thoughts; and keep
you on one particular path rather than trying
to diversify and see what really works for
you. Being so busy that your creativity is
stifled is what can lead you to prioritise the
wrong things, something which can be bad
overall.

When you are too busy to think, you

can be too busy to truly see what is going

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on; and sometimes that means you can miss
things that you would not otherwise miss:
other creative opportunities, other jobs
which will push you beyond what you are
doing now.

3. No Time to Track
Progress

Being busy can stifle you by keeping

you from seeing where you are. Many
people, especially as they get older and more
established in their careers; have a particular
way they want their career to go. And they
have specific milestones set that they want
to look out for, to help them get there. Being
too busy can keep you from tracking your
progress, and therefore can keep you from
truly advancing in your aspirations. Ideally,

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every step you take in your career should be
focused on how it can help you proceed to
the next stage. Even if you are planning on
staying at that level for a while. if you are
too busy, you can feel unable to truly think
beyond what you are doing; and about how
to reach the next part of your plan.

This can mean you end up stuck in one

particular level for a long time. Perhaps even
so long that the opportunities you were
going to take advantage of, have gone
completely by the time you get around to
them.

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4. You Aren’t Working to
your Potential

When you are very busy, you will find

that you are simply moving from one task to
the next; there is usually very little thought
put into each individual work-piece, because
there is simply no time to put the effort in.

When people are busy, they don’t have

the time to add any extra flair to their work
that creativity might otherwise give. Being
too busy means that you are focused
on getting as much work done as possible.
But that does not mean that the work being
done is your best work. You are at your best
when you can actually take the time to
breathe, and to look over your work at your
leisure.

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 Not only will that help you improve
generally; it’s easier to see mistakes when
you aren’t rushing. You will find that you are
able to bring so much more to the table
when you aren’t rushing.

5. You Put Your Health in

Danger

Working this hard is bad for your

health. It is bad for everything else, but
particularly for your health. If you work this
hard, you will find yourself cutting back on
sleep, proper food, and a proper social life.

Having no space to stretch your

creative muscles, or to go on to other things,
is detrimental overall; because you have
sacrificed food and sleep for stress and

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overwork which is ultimately in the service of
very little.

Sub-par work is all that most people

have to show for their efforts after a long
period of overwork.

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  9 Harsh Truths You
Need to Hear
One of the inherent traits of human
beings is having the drive to be
something more, do something better.
This is the reason why there are many
inventors and entrepreneurs, as they see
a need or a gap and they do their best to
fill it.

To fulfill your goal to be an

entrepreneur or to start your dream
venture, you need to become a better
version of yourself.

While you might be content with

what you have and who you are at the
moment, to make it in the world of
business, you have to accept some harsh

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truths that might be stopping you from
reaching your full potential.

1. You Are The Only Thing that is

Holding Yourself Back
Many people do not even get to
Step 1 of fulfilling their dreams because
they stay on Step Zero forever. This
means even before they make an effort
or just verbalize their goals and dreams,
they have already put themselves down
or held themselves back.

Many people are simply afraid or

others do not believe in themselves
enough. Whatever it is that you keep

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telling yourself, stop holding yourself
back before you even try.

2. Step One Is Always The Hardest

Even if you finally psyched yourself
up to follow your dreams, you might
find that the beginning is the toughest,
most confusing and most discouraging
step of all. There are many reasons for
this.

One is that the goals might be too

big and therefore, too difficult to plan
for and execute. You need to break them
down into small steps and first make a
baby step. Not only can you make your
dream seem more achievable, but you
also break down that huge goal into
smaller and measurable ones.

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 Another reason is the lack of
information. You might have a fantastic
idea but simply lack the knowledge to
figure out how to proceed. In this case, it
is very important to do your research,
ask people, observe, and also do some
small experiments to know what the
status quo is and where your idea fits in
the big picture.

3. Great Things Take Time and

Effort
Once you identify your main and
smaller goals, you need to simply start
making it happen. If you are developing
a product, be prepared to spend a lot of
time designing, creating, testing, and
improving it before you can go further.

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 While our brains are hardwired to
lean towards instant gratification, you
can dictate to yourself that your goal can
take much more time and work.

4. Not Everyone Will Support You

While people closest to you might
be your biggest fans and cheerleaders,
you will encounter many critical people
nonetheless.

Some might be discouraging you

out of jealousy or ambition (they want
to succeed themselves) but simply accept
that you will never please everyone. Your
life can be so much more fulfilling when
you do not think about what other
people really say or think.

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5. You Can’t Succeed Without
Taking Big Risks
You will never be 100% sure that
you will succeed, which is why you have
to take a huge risk at times. If you will
wait or expect this risk to be reduced to
0%, you will never get started.

Unfortunately, in life and in

business, just because your idea makes
complete sense does not mean everyone
will agree and support you. You might
have a perfect concept but you will never
be able to fully predict nor control how
people will react to it.

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6. You Cannot Control Everything
The unfortunate truth is, despite
your best efforts, you cannot make
everything go your way. This is especially
true when it comes to other people’s
actions and behavior.

In these situations, you just need to

let go and let things happen the way they
will unfold. Of course, this does not also
mean that you do not take action and
simply wait for things to happen, but the
art of letting go is vital in managing
expectations and measuring effort.

7. You Can’t Do It All

In connection with the previous
truth, no one can really be a jack of all

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trades. Even as an entrepreneur, you will
need to get some individuals involved to
make your business come to life.

For example, if you want to

eventually manufacture a lot of
products, you will need to work with
a reputable logistics company to find
ways to lessen your work and improve
efficiency. When you let go and let
other people contribute, you free
yourself up to focus on other more
important things as well.

8. It’s Okay to Fail

Failure gets a really bad reputation
because of the strive and the drive to
succeed. However, in the history of
inventors and other innovators, the great
products came about only after many

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mistakes and failure. The good thing
about failing is that you can figure out
what went wrong and improve it to
make it work the next time.

9. Habits vs. Inspiration

While willpower and inspiration do
matter in terms of pushing yourself to
accomplish your goals and becoming
successful, the right habits will influence
more whether you will survive or not.

The important habits of an

entrepreneur like hard work, discipline
and thoroughness can have a direct effect
on your finances and lifestyle. When you
develop the habit, you can continue
doing the action even without thinking
twice about it.

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Morals

129 | P a g e
10. The Elephant Rope
(Belief)
A gentleman was walking through
an elephant camp, and he spotted that
the elephants weren’t being kept in
cages or held by the use of chains. All
that was holding them back from
escaping the camp, was a small piece of
rope tied to one of their legs.

As the man gazed upon the

elephants, he was completely confused
as to why the elephants didn’t just use
their strength to break the rope and
escape the camp. They could easily have

130 | P a g e
done so, but instead they didn’t try to at
all.

Curious and wanting to know the

answer, he asked a trainer nearby why
the elephants were just standing there
and never tried to escape.

The trainer replied;

“When they are very young and

much smaller we use the same size
rope to tie them and, at that age,
it’s enough to hold them. As they
grow up, they are conditioned to

131 | P a g e
 believe they cannot break away.
They believe the rope can still
hold them, so they never try to
break free.”

The only reason that the elephants

weren’t breaking free and escaping from
the camp was because over time they
adopted the belief that it just wasn’t
possible.

Moral of the story: No matter how much the

world tries to hold you back, always continue
with the belief that what you want to achieve is
possible. Believing you can become successful
is the most important step in actually achieving
it.

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9. Thinking Out of the Box
(Creative Thinking)

In a small Italian town, hundreds of

years ago, a small business owner owed a
large sum of money to a loan-shark. The
loan-shark was a very old, unattractive
looking guy that just so happened to
fancy the business owner’s daughter.

He decided to offer the

businessman a deal that would
completely wipe out the debt he owed
him. However, the catch was that we
would only wipe out the debt if he could
marry the businessman’s daughter.

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Needless to say, this proposal was met
with a look of disgust.

The loan-shark said that he would

place two pebbles into a bag, one white
and one black.

The daughter would then have to

reach into the bag and pick out a pebble.
If it was black, the debt would be wiped,
but the loan-shark would then marry her.
If it was white, the debt would also be
wiped, but the daughter wouldn’t have to
marry the loan-shark.

Standing on a pebble strewn path

in the businessman’s garden, the loan-
shark bent over and picked up two
pebbles. Whilst he was picking them up,

134 | P a g e
the daughter noticed that he’d picked up
two black pebbles and placed them both
into the bag. He then asked the
daughter to reach into the bag and pick
one.

The daughter naturally had three

choices as to what she could have done:

1. Refuse to pick a pebble from the bag.

2. Take both pebbles out of the bag and
expose the loan-shark for cheating.
3. Pick a pebble from the bag fully well
knowing it was black and sacrifice herself
for her father’s freedom.

She drew out a pebble from the bag, and

before looking at it ‘accidentally’ dropped it
into the midst of the other pebbles. She said
to the loan-shark;

135 | P a g e
 “Oh, how clumsy of me. Never mind, if you
look into the bag for the one that is left, you
will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

The pebble left in the bag is obviously

black, and seeing as the loan-shark didn’t want
to be exposed, he had to play along as if the
pebble the daughter dropped was white, and
clear her father’s debt.

Moral of the story: It’s always possible

to overcome a tough situation through out of
the box thinking, and not give in to the only
options you think you have to pick from.

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8. The Group of Frogs
(Encouragement)
As a group of frogs were traveling
through the woods, two of them fell into a deep
pit. When the other frogs crowded around the
pit and saw how deep it was, they told the two
frogs that they’re was no hope left for them.

However, the two frogs decided to

ignore what the others were saying and they
proceeded to try and jump out of the
pit. Despite their efforts, the group of frogs at
the top of he pit were still saying that they
should just give up. That they would never
make it out.

Eventually, one of the frogs took heed

to what the others were saying and he gave up,
falling down to his death. The other frog

137 | P a g e
continued to jump as hard as he could. Again,
the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the
pain and just die.

He jumped even harder and finally made

it out. When he got out, the other frogs
said, “Did you not hear us?”

The frog explained to them that he was deaf.

He thought they were encouraging him the
entire time.

Moral of the story: People’s words can have a

big effect on other’s lives. Think about what
you say before it comes out of your mouth. It
might just be the difference between life and
death.

138 | P a g e
7. A Pound of Butter
(Honesty)
There was a farmer who sold a pound of
butter to a baker. One day the baker decided
to weigh the butter to see if he was getting the
right amount, which he wasn’t. Angry about
this, he took the farmer to court.

The judge asked the farmer if he was

using any measure to weight the butter. The
farmer replied, “Honor, I am primitive. I don’t
have a proper measure, but I do have a scale.”

The judge asked, “Then how do you weigh

the butter?”

The farmer replied;

139 | P a g e
“Your Honor, long before the baker started
buying butter from me, I have been buying a
pound loaf of bread from him. Every day
when the baker brings the bread, I put it on
the scale and give him the same weight in
butter. If anyone is to be blamed, it is the
baker.”

Moral of the story: In life, you get what you

give. Don’t try and cheat others.

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6.The Obstacle In Our
Path (Opportunity)
In ancient times, a King had a boulder
placed on a roadway. He then hid himself and
watched to see if anyone would move the
boulder out of the way. Some of the king’s
wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by
and simply walked around it.

Many people loudly blamed the King for

not keeping the roads clear, but none of them
did anything about getting the stone out of the
way.

A peasant then came along carrying a load

of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder,
the peasant laid down his burden and tried to

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push the stone out of the road. After much
pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant went back to pick up his

vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road
where the boulder had been. The purse
contained many gold coins and a note from the
King explaining that the gold was for the
person who removed the boulder from the
roadway.

Moral of the story: Every obstacle we come

across in life gives us an opportunity to
improve our circumstances, and whilst the lazy
complain, the others are creating opportunities
through their kind hearts, generosity and
willingness to get things done.

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5. The Butterfly
(Struggles)
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared. He sat
and watched the butterfly for several hours as
it struggled to force its body through that little
hole. Until it suddenly stopped making any
progress, and looked like it was stuck.

So the man decided to help the

butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily, although it
had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man didn’t think anything of it, and

sat there waiting for the wings to enlarge to
support the butterfly. But that didn’t happen.
The butterfly spent the rest of its life unable

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to fly, crawling around with tiny wings and a
swollen body.

Despite the kind heart of the man, he

didn’t understand that the restricting cocoon
and the struggle needed by the butterfly to get
itself through the small opening were God’s
way of forcing fluid from the body of the
butterfly into its wings to prepare itself for
flying once it was out of the cocoon.

Moral of the story: Our struggles in life

develop our strengths. Without struggles we
never grow and never get stronger, so it’s
important for us to tackle challenges on our
own, and not be relying on help from others.

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4. Control Your Temper
(Anger)
There once was a little boy who had a
very bad temper. His father decided to hand
him a bag of nails and said that every time the
boy lost his temper, he had to hammer a nail
into the fence.

On the first day, the boy hammered 37

nails into that fence. The boy gradually began
to control his temper over the next few weeks,
and number of nails he was hammering into the
fence slowly decreased. He discovered it was
easier to control his temper than to hammer
those nails into the fence.

Finally, the day came when the boy

didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father
the news and the father suggested that the

145 | P a g e
boy should now pull out a nail every day he
kept his temper under control.

The days passed and the young boy

was finally able to tell his father that all the
nails were gone. The father took his son by
the hand and led him to the fence.

“you have done well, my son, but look at the

holes in the fence. The fence will never be
the same. When you say things in anger,
they leave a scar just like this one. You can
put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t
matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the
wound is still there.”

Moral of the story: Control your anger, and

don’t say things to people in the heat of the
moment, that you may later regret. Some
things in life, you are unable to take back.

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3. The Blind Girl (Change)
There was a blind girl who hated herself
purely for the fact she was blind. The only
person she didn’t hate was her loving
boyfriend, as he was always there for her. She
said that if she could only see the world, she
would marry him.One day, someone donated a
pair of eyes to her – now she could see
everything, including her boyfriend. Her
boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see the
world, will you marry me?”

The girl was shocked when she saw that

her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to
marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears,
and later wrote a letter to her saying:

“Just take care of my eyes dear.”

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Moral of the story: When our circumstances
change, so does our mind. Some people may
not be able to see the way things were before,
and might not be able to appreciate them.
There are many things to take away from this
story, not just one.

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2. Puppies for Sale
(Understanding)
A shop owner placed a sign above his
door that said: “Puppies For Sale.”

Signs like this always have a way of

attracting young children, and to no surprise, a
boy saw the sign and approached the
owner; “How much are you going to sell the
puppies for?” he asked.

The store owner replied, “Anywhere

from $30 to $50.”

The little boy pulled out some change

from his pocket. “I have $2.37,” he said. “Can I
please look at them?”

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 The shop owner smiled and whistled.
Out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down
the aisle of his shop followed by five teeny, tiny
balls of fur. One puppy was lagging
considerably behind. Immediately the little boy
singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said,
“What’s wrong with that little dog?”

The shop owner explained that the

veterinarian had examined the little puppy and
had discovered it didn’t have a hip socket. It
would always limp. It would always be lame.

The little boy became excited. “That is the

puppy that I want to buy.”

The shop owner said, “No, you don’t want to

buy that little dog. If you really want him, I’ll just
give him to you.”

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The little boy got quite upset. He looked
straight into the store owner’s eyes, pointing
his finger, and said;

“I don’t want you to give him to me. That

little dog is worth every bit as much as all the
other dogs and I’ll pay full price. In fact, I’ll
give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents a month
until I have him paid for.”

The shop owner countered, “You really don’t

want to buy this little dog. He is never going to
be able to run and jump and play with you like
the other puppies.”

To his surprise, the little boy reached down

and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly
twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big
metal brace. He looked up at the shop owner
and softly replied, “Well, I don’t run so well

151 | P a g e
myself, and the little puppy will need someone
who understands!”

152 | P a g e
1. Box Full
of Kisses (Love)
Some time ago, a man punished his 3-
year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold
wrapping paper. Money was tight and he
became infuriated when the child tried to
decorate a box to put under the Christmas
tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the

gift to her father the next morning and said,
“This is for you, Daddy.”

The man became embarrassed by his

overreaction earlier, but his rage
continue when he saw that the box was empty.
He yelled at her; “Don’t you know, when you
give someone a present, there is supposed to
be something inside?”

153 | P a g e
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her
eyes and cried;

“Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew

kisses into the box. They’re all for you,
Daddy.”

The father was crushed. He put his

arms around his little girl, and he begged for
her forgiveness.

Only a short time later, an accident took

the life of the child. Her father kept the gold
box by his bed for many years and, whenever
he was discouraged, he would take out an
imaginary kiss and remember the love of the
child who had put it there.

Moral of the story: Love is the most precious

gift in the world.

154 | P a g e
A song
just for
you..

155 | P a g e
Keep going on

We found each other

You said keep our business on the “low
low”
I’m just trying get you out the
friendzone
But you know me, you know me, you
know me
Every time i try to forget who I am
You’ll be right there to remind me again
I helped you out of a broken place
You gave me comfort
Tell me what you really like
I can take my time
We don t ever have to fight
Just take it step-by-step
I got my heart right here

156 | P a g e
And that’s my moterfucking words too
Just let me motherfucking love you
I m scared that I’ll mis you
Happens every time

All I ask of you is try to earn my

memory
Make me remember you like you
remember me
You make it look like it’s magic
Cause I see nobody but you
In a world without an end or beginning
I am living life for the feeling
Wasted times were that I spent with
someone else
They weren’t even half of you
Who’s gonna love you like me?

157 | P a g e
But I’ll always be there for you
You don t know what’s in store
But you know what you are here for
Where were you when I needed you?
You sleep one eye closed
Too scared to get heartbroke
Just take my hand let's fly away
I promise I'll be there everyday
Happiness exist when you don’t know a
thing
So I hope you don’t think this song is
about you

Can I be honest with you please?

It s really hard for me to speak right
now

158 | P a g e
just close your eyes let's start to fly
I'm gonna love you until I die

And..
Do I have to tell my friends about the
way I want to scream your name?

159 | P a g e
160 | P a g e
A SHORT
STORY..

161 | P a g e
THE GIRL FROM OTHER
WORLD

A great story is always based on true stories. Reality is,

in most situations, far-fetched. It all happens in a city from
england. People are different in every country you go. They are
all obsessed with their own traditions and customs. You can t
put them all in the same bag. The city i ll be talking about is not
so big, but it is full of unbelievable stories. People are so
different from each other, having different characters,
personalities and past experiences, so much so that some of
them are even considered freaks. One can meet such humans
during their day-to-day life, without ever noticing them as being
peculiar.

One instance would be when a common British man

caught sight of a quite ordinary-looking woman. This happened
on a rainy Wednesday morning, around 10 o’clock, in a bus
station. The man in question, addressed as “J”, didn’t have to
take the bus to work because he would just drive his Mercedes,
even if the place was just two streets away. He was a tall,
imposing person, with dark eyes and black hair, always wearing
a custom-made suit and a Rolex on his left hand. He was
always seen carrying a suitcase containing his laptop and
notebook. His notebook had a special meaning because he

162 | P a g e
was writing down in it daily, just 3 words about how his day
went. He was quite the lone wolf, as he had no family, no
friends or pets. It was just him in a big empty house.

Everybody has bad days from time to time. But this

kind of things never happened to J, mainly due to his strict
routine. On Wednesday morning, he woke up at the usual hour.
He had a dream. A bad one. He’d had so many bad dreams
lately that he could even write a book about them. But he was
already rich and well-known so he didn’t need it. He went to
take a shower, but there was no hot water. Then he tried to
cook (but, sometimes, cooking could be a bad idea). Two eggs
and some stripes of bacon wouldn’t be considered hard to
prepare, but he managed to burn the food. Seeing this, he
decided to pick something to eat on his way to work, so he just
took his cup of coffee and left the house. As soon as he tried to
lock the front door, he dropped the coffee all over his suit.

“This day is already awful and it’s not even 10 o’clock

yet! What could go worse than this!?”he said frustrated. He
decided against going back to change his clothes, so he
started walking towards his car. Once inside, he lit up a
cigarette and tried to start the engine. But, obviously, his car
didn’t work. He angrily hit the steering wheel and got out of the
car closing the door loudly. J was already late for work, so he
just came to the conclusion that it would be best to take the
bus for one station.

Getting close to the bus station, he noticed a lone

figure sitting on a bench, waiting. She was skinny with legs for

163 | P a g e
days, had doe-like eyes, blonde curly hair and was wearing
bright red lipstick. Her way of dressing was a bit on the
conservative side, usually wearing a hat, dressed in a black
dress, with no jewelry besides a sapphire ring on her right
hand. She was so beautiful that every man couldn’t help but
stop and stare; however, no one had the courage to approach
her. I won’t reveal her identity, so I’ll just call her “R”. He was
also immediately love-struck by her.

This was the first time they met, but not the last. While
waiting for the bus, their eyes briefly met. Once the bus number
657 arrived, they both walked in. He was not a spontaneous
person, but, like he was under a spell, he decided to get out of
the bus at the same station as the girl. His eyes were locked on
her, however he made no move to interact with her. When the
last station came, she went down and he hurriedly followed
her. J stopped for a bit to take in his surroundings. All around
him were tall, daunting trees framing a long, winding country
road, at the end of which he could see a grand, eerie mansion.
An unsettling feeling came upon him when he tried to look
closely at the house, as if the house itself didn’t want to be
discovered by outsiders. The last glimpse he caught of the girl
was her entering the house. Instantly, he realized how out of
the ordinary it was for him to just do something in the spur of
the moment.

“This must be her house. But what am I supposed to do

here? I think I exaggerated. I should have gone to work instead
of following a stranger around town”. So he took a cab and

164 | P a g e
went to work. All day, he wasn’t able to concentrate on his work
at all, his mind always going back to the strange girl on the bus.

The days were passing by and J was trying to go on with

his life, but he was unable to stop thinking about her. Even at
work, he wasn’t able to concentrate properly, so he decided to
open up to one of his work colleagues. He told him about how
he saw the mysterious woman while on his way to work and how
she’s been on his mind since then. He asked him what he
should do if he wanted to get to know her. His colleague
advised him to give her a note with his number the next time he
sees her. As J was unable to wait more, he decided to leave the
office early and leave the note in her mail post. He wrote his
number, along with his name and his wish to go out with her.

After leaving the note, he went home and started

pacing around the phone, waiting for her call. After hours of
waiting, the phone finally rang. His heart jumped when he saw
the unknown number, so he picked up, hoping it was her.

“Never look for me again. Never try to call me or text

me back. It’s better this way. ” The voice said furiously and
closed the phone.

After the call, he was confused, a lot of things going

through his mind, one of them being that maybe she was
already committed to someone.

Soon, he started seeing her in the most random of

places, but never for more than a few seconds. Once, while

165 | P a g e
being in his office, he glanced outside the window and there
she was, looking straight at him. He did a double-take, but she
wasn’t there anymore. And like this, in more instances. J
started to think that he was going crazy. One day, he received a
text from the same unknown number, saying “I’m sorry for
shouting at you. I would like to make up for this by meeting for
a coffee. 15 o’clock at 40 Maltby Street?”. He accepted the
invitation happily.

After one hour of him talking much more than her, she
convinced him to go for a walk, arriving at Pendle Hill. The
scenery was monumental and he was awed by it, so he asked
her if she knew anything about this place. As soon as she
started revealing the story behind, J became fidgety, a feeling
of dread coming upon him. It was said that 12 witches were
hanged and buried on the ominous Pendle Hill and that their
ghosts were still around, searching for revenge. The man
wanted to leave the place as soon as possible after hearing the
story, but he still wished to spend more time with the woman.
Therefore, he asked her if she was available to take dinner with
him that evening. To his happiness, she accepted.

They met at the restaurant as they previously

discussed. Inside, he ordered some wine and, while waiting for
the food to come, he decided to get to know her more as he
was the one talking more even when they met for coffee. But to
his surprise, any personal question he asked her, he received
only vague answers or no answer at all. The woman’s face was
expressionless during the dinner, while he was enthusiastic

166 | P a g e
and full of smiles. It was quite a striking contrast between
them. Curious why he was not getting any satisfying answer, he
asked her why she was so closed off. Without saying a word,
she just took her bag and went out from the restaurant.

Dejected by her behavior, he paid their bill and went

home. A million questions were running through his head, so
he tried to find some answers on the internet. He wrote her
name on Google, but there were very few results. One of them
was the link of a brothel. He clicked on it and a picture
appeared. The woman in it looked like R, but it was not
identical. The hair a fiery red, but her eyes were the same as
hers. Seeing this, he understood one of the reasons why she
didn’t want to let him in. The man resigned and tried to get
used to the thought that he had to give up on her.

Days passed away and J could only think about R,

without receiving any calls or texts from her.He started
imagining of their own universe, one in which she was
wonderful girl with whom he could built his future.
Unfortunately for him, that was not the reality he was living in.

In spite of what had happened at the restaurant,while

at work, the man was received a text message from her
including an invitation to her place for that evening. She
wanted to have dinner together and relax with a glass of wine.

Even though he was quite irritated by her behavior

during their past meeting, he accepted to give her a second
chance, but only if she would offer him some answers and

167 | P a g e
would let him, at least, take a peak at her life. “Should I just
refuse her? That would be a normal decision after her stunt at
the restaurant. But I want answer; no, I need answers. I should
go. No one can stop me from leaving whenever I want.” he
debated with himself, unsure of what to do. In the end, he
decided to accept R’s invitation.

Arriving home from work, J immediately started getting

ready for his date with R. He was pretty nervous and would
inspect himself in the mirror every 5 minutes. Tired of doubting
himself over what would look nicer on him, he briskly got out
from his house and went to his car. On his way to her house, he
tried to keep his thought at bay by listening to cheerful songs.
His mind was in a jumble; he was feeling nervous, impatient,
afraid and even a bit anxious.

As soon as he got out of the car and closed the door, a

chill came over him, making him jump out of nervousness. He
was in front of R’s house, a grand mansion that looked worn by
time and nature. He got an evil vibe from it. The house looked
like it was decaying in some places, even though the main
structure seemed fairly solid. Right on the front of the building,
a fine line could be seen from the roof going to the ground, as
if it was slicing the house in two. But the evil vibe was not
coming only from the mansion; the decaying trees and murky
ponds that surrounded it helped a great lot with this effect. As
he was coming closer and closer to the entrance, his anxiety
levels were going up, too. One step from the door, as he was
about to knock, R opened the door with a small smile on her

168 | P a g e
exhausted face and invited him in. They made their way
through long, dark passages towards the room were R
prepared everything for their dinner. Along the way, J kept
looking at her, as if inspecting her, and noticed she looked
much more tired and paler than the last time he saw her.

They sat at a round table that had a dusty old vase on

top. Even if she looked exhausted, she was still so gorgeous in
his eyes. Sometimes, he found himself staring at her and
unable to concentrate properly. He tried looking around the
room to ease his nervousness. There was a window that kept
on slamming because of the wind, but it was too high up for
someone to close it. The floor squeaked at any pressure put on
it. Along the walls, there were some cupboards so shabby, they
looked like they will swing open at any time, revealing the
secrets inside them. A mirror was in the far corner and, every
time someone would move, they would see their reflection in it.
The moon started rising, its light shining off every metallic
object in the room. All these creepy details didn’t seem to
bother R at all, but J was started to feel a bit light-headed from
all the anxiety that was building inside him. It was as if the
house didn’t want him in there and was trying to make him
leave.

“Do you want tea or coffee for starter?” R asked the man with a
full smile on her face.

“Coffee, please. ”, answered J while he rubbed his hands.

169 | P a g e
 While the man was walking towards the window to light
a cigarette, R felt that something was wrong with him and
wanted to find out what it was: “ Did something happen? Are
you not feeling well? Or there is something else bothering
you?” Unable to keep his emotions at bay, J, spurred on by the
anxiety the house was giving him, told her that he found her
picture on the internet, but on the site of a brothel, and that,
combined with what happened in the restaurant made him feel
unsure about her. Laughing, R showed him one of the photos
on the far wall. In the picture, there were two young girls, side
by side, looking almost as if they were twins. “You must have
mistaken me. That’s my older sister, not me. My family is not
one of the good ones, but I try to be, for myself.”

Hearing this, a weight lifted off his shoulders and J felt

that, maybe, what he was dreaming of a few days earlier could
become true. Looking at her face more and more, he felt that
he could see himself falling in love with her and having a
perfect life together. He was attracted to her and she to him,
taking into the consideration that she invited him over to her
place. In a cheerful mood, they talked for several hours, J
forgetting all about the uneasiness and anxiety he was feeling
earlier. When he wanted to leave, R walked him to the door
and kissed him. He wanted to prolong all the feelings she was
igniting inside him, so continued to make out with her.
Everything felt right for him, so he decided to just spend the
night with her and went back into the house.

170 | P a g e
 The next morning, J woke up, but he found out he was
alone in the bed. Scared that she might have left him again
with no explanation, he rushed to the kitchen where he found a
note from her: “I went to work. I left you breakfast and a cup of
coffee on the table. Kisses! See you tonight!” Happy that
everything was alright, he went back to the bedroom with the
coffee in one hand. He sat on one of the armchairs and began
to look around, to see how R’s room looked like. On the
nightstand next to the bed, he noticed a black notebook. His
first feeling was curiosity, but he didn’t want to open it since it
was a personal object. But his interest was too big, so he did it
anyway. To his frustration, there was only a list of men’s
names. Just names. No any other personal information. He
decided to not question R about this thing yet, from fear that
she will close herself in front of him again. He thought that he
will ask her later or he will just find by himself by searching the
rest of the house.

Months passed and J didn’t find anything else

suspicious about R, besides the notebook. It was just one
another instance, but he didn’t pay it any heed. They were
taking dinner at a restaurant and a man entered the room they
were in. The moment that man saw R, he paled and ran
straight away from there, not looking back. He thought it was a
bit strange, but didn’t care since he was so in love with her.
And she looked like she loved him, too. Everything they did,
they did together. They would travel together, go out on dates,
watch movies, they did everything together. They even started
thinking of planning the rest of their lives together.

171 | P a g e
With time, she began to open up more to him, told him about
her childhood, her adulthood and about the life they were
going to have. J thought that they were a match made in
heaven. R was falling in love with him, too, but she was afraid
that they were that similar since her purpose in life was
different from his.

On a Friday morning, the girl went to visit her mother,

while J stayed home to clean the house. He cleaned all the
rooms as he wanted to surprise her. While cleaning one of the
downstairs rooms, he pulled aside the carpet. He found a door
masked in the ground, so he thought that was the basement. J
wanted to store some of the things that were laying around, so
he opened it and went down. Once down in the basement, he
opened the light and the most horrifying surprise of his entire
life lay in front of his eyes. The room wasn’t at all a storage
room or a normal basement as he had thought. The fear and
anxiety that he first felt when he saw the house the first time
hit him in full force. His heart started pounding and his vision
started to get blurry. He thought he was going to have a heart
attack right then and there. The entire room was transformed
in some kind of laboratory. But not any kind of laboratory,
more like the room Frankenstein was made. There was a
metallic table in the middle of the room and some body parts
were organized on it, forming an incomplete human body. But
the parts didn’t fit quite right. The walls were lined with all
kinds of jars. In them he could see all kinds of organs, all
floating around in a gross green liquid. The coldness in the
room entered his heart and spread like ice. He couldn’t believe

172 | P a g e
his eyes. He heard the front door closing, so R was back home.
He hurriedly went up the stairs and walked fast towards the
kitchen. He tried to compose himself, so he lit a cigarette,
trying to put his thoughts in order. R entered the kitchen and
smiled at him. She came to hug him and kissed his cheek.

“Hey, baby. Are you okay? You look kind of pale and you are
even a bit sweaty.” she asked concerned.

“Yes, I’m fine. I just feel a bit light-headed. Maybe it’s because
I didn’t eat anything today…” he decided to lie, not able to
believe that his angel, the sweet woman in front of his eyes
could ever do something so gruesome. He refused to accept
this fact and just concentrated on his feelings of love for her.
He thought that, maybe, if they will leave this house, everything
can be forgotten and normal for him. So he asked her if she
would want to go on a spontaneous vacation with him. R
looked surprised at him, but accepted anyway.

J went the next morning to book everything for their

vacation. He even went and bought a ring, hoping he will be
able to ask her to marry him on one of the days they will spend
on the island he was planning on taking her. Obviously, he was
denying so hard what he witnessed the day before that his
brain thought that it was a hallucination or some kind of
nightmare. He decided to not think about that anymore and
follow his dream of building a life with R.

Next morning, they both woke up extra early and went

to take the plane. Initially, J didn’t want to tell R where they

173 | P a g e
were going, saying it was a surprise. But then he thought that
she was going to see the destination anyway when they were
boarding the plane, so he told her they were going to a smaller
island in the Caribbean. He wanted a special place where they
would be able to relax and spend more time together. On the
island, a rented car was waiting for them. J began driving to
the bungalow he rented a day before. On the road they looked
like a couple one would see in the Golden Age movies: the man
driving, the woman singing and laughing, both having the time
of their lives, everything else forgotten. Arrived at their
destination, they decided to take a walk around the small
touristic village. They climbed a nearby hill, from where they
could see the entire panorama of the island. The sun was like a
yellow ball of fire that was slowly changing to hues of orange
and tangerine. The fiery orb slowly sank beneath the horizon,
and threads of light lingered in the sky, mingling with rolling
cotton-like clouds. The sea turned into a mirror and the two of
them were able to see the silhouettes of birds flying home
across the sky in the water that now was sparkling from all the
colors in the sky.

Although that was the most amazing view J had seen in

his life, when he turned to look at R, her face didn’t mirror his.
Even more, she was expressionless again, closed off and cold
as ice. She turned to look into his eyes and J was shocked by
what he could read in them: anger, frustration, malice and a
bit of craziness.

174 | P a g e
“Do you think I’m stupid? Do you really think I don’t know you
were in the basement? Of course I know. And here you are,
pretending like everything is fine and taking me on a vacation.
I was going to keep you for a while longer since I really enjoy
spending my time with you, but now it’s too late. You
discovered my secret and I cannot let you go away with it. Why
couldn’t you wait a bit more? Why?”

J was speechless. He stood frozen, trying to gather his

thoughts and form a coherent sentence. But nothing came out.
The woman in front of him wasn’t at all the R he knew and grew
to love unconditionally. He wanted to ask what the meaning of
all the things he saw in her basement was, but his mouth
wouldn’t move.

“I bet you want to know what all those things you saw were”
she continued. “Well, I kept a part of every man I’ve been with.
Let’s call it a physical memory. I want to have the perfect man,
one that would be only mine. And the notebook you wonder?
Their names. Just a small token that they will not be forgotten.
So, now, that you know everything, do you have any last words
you want to say?”

Those were the last words J would ever hear. The

moment R finished what she wanted to say, she took a knife
from her bag and pushed it deep in his heart. She kept it there
until he gave his last breath. As soon as he was dead, she got
up, cut his tongue and left him there. She didn’t wept. She
even had a small smile on her face. His death meant that she

175 | P a g e
was one step closer to fulfilling her wish, one step closer to the
perfect man.

And J was forgotten with time. His work mates declared

him missing, but since he had no family member or close
friends, no one tried hard enough to discover what really
happened to him since no one knew a lot of details about him.

Sometimes, love can even kill, if one

is not careful enough.

176 | P a g e
And in the
end;

A letter from me

177 | P a g e
 Hey you ! This is a very special day for
both of us, especially for you. I want to
wish you a happy birthday in my way. I
pray for the best things for you and I
hope you realize how lucky you are. I
wrote this because I want to say how
important you are for me. When I am
thinking about love, the first thing that
come in my mind is you. We are not the
same, but true love is not about finding
yourself in another. I love the person
you are. The emotion felt when I am
with you is indescribable; full of
happiness , joy and excitement. You are
my last thought in my mind before I
drift off to sleep and the first when I
wake up each morning. I can’t help
thinking of a morning without saying
“Good morning” to you; that would be a
really sad day. I hope you won’t get
discouraged by anyone and also, I hope
that you know that I am here everytime
for you. I trust our relationship and I

178 | P a g e
trust you. I believe that we can solve our
problems without hesitating. I have
moments when I drive my car, a song
appears and all its lyrics remind me of
you. I think of you singing to me or
dancing or singing and dancing. I
also imagine unappropiate things, and
they lead me into jealousy. But that’s all
because I have true feelings for you and
at the beginning, we were just
friends,too. I love spending time with
you, talking to you, laughing with you,
driving, walking, even eating with you.
I can’t imagine how other girl would do
this with you. In the future, I would
like to walk our dog together, play with
our child, visit our parents and clean
our enormous mansion. These are my
dreams, maybe not yours. Though, I
hope they are. There are so many people
in this world who stay with someone just
because “it’s good” for them; the nearby
person giving them security and

179 | P a g e
 eventually money. I don’t want to be
that kind of person and for the moment,
I don’t feel like. I want to live everyday
happily because my best friend is my
lover.

I care for you, and even if our ways will

go separately, you can always trust me. I
will always be there if you need
anything.

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181 | P a g e