當事情進展不順利時，你是否本能地為自己貼上了“失敗者”的標簽？你評價自己的語言可以變成一種有力的現實。一次又一次地稱自己是位尚未被雇用的售貨員，而不應說自己失業了——也就是你在社會生活中的失敗——這樣說，你就可以認為自己是“擁有選擇權”的人。你可以選擇參加學習班來培養新的技能，或者勇敢地選擇從事另一個行業。
3. 作好準備
規劃一個災難計劃來幫助你自己在災難降臨時不會受到影響。問問你自己，會發生的最糟糕的事情是什麽？設想一下失去工作或配偶的情形，會讓你清晰地考慮現實的選擇。你有足夠的保險或存款來使你渡過困難時期嗎？如果你的老板解雇了你，你的才能會為你帶來收入嗎？請記住，漢字中“危機” 一詞的詞義包含兩方麵：“危險”與“機遇”。
4. 學會聰明地失敗
休斯敦某大學教授傑克·馬斯頓開設了一門課程，該課程被學生們叫做“失敗101”。他讓他的學生製造沒人會買的冰激淩棒模型。馬斯頓說：“他們設計成像倉鼠似的熱容器和在颶風中放的風箏。”
盡管這些想法都很可笑，可是一旦學生們把失敗看做創新而不是失敗時，他們會很勇敢地去嚐試做任何事情。馬斯頓說，在獲得成功之前，大多數學生都至少失敗了五次，他們學會了不把失敗當做最後的結局。“學生們學會了整裝待發，再次準備嚐試。”
5. 永不言棄
1975年，厄爾利的Harrisonburg 建築公司破產了。那時25歲的他向家人借錢維持經營，而並沒有宣布破產。他繼續做建築工作，努力掌握管理上的複雜關係。1982年，他厚著臉皮又借了更多的錢來重新開辦自己的公司，並於困難時期在銀行中留下了良好的口碑。
厄爾利謹慎地擴大了自己新建築公司的規模。他還去學校學習商業管理課程。1988年，厄爾利的公司被《Inc.》雜誌評為世界發展最快的500家企業之一。
厄爾利沒有自滿，他時常會想起那段艱難的日子。他說：“我不因成功而自滿，所以我總在努力發展我的事業。”
失敗並不可怕，從某種意義上說失敗意味著進步。盡管原地踏步永遠不會失敗，但是也永遠不會有任何驚喜，失敗說明你正在嚐試新事物，每一次的失敗都表明你距離成功又近了一步。所以隻要換個角度看，失敗並不是什麽壞事情，關鍵在於人們看待它的心態。
tout [tat] v. 標榜；吹捧；吹噓
It is not so serious as you say actually， you tout its virtue too much！
明明不像你說得那麽嚴重，你也太誇大其詞了！
castor ['k鎠t] n. 蓖麻
This kind of mixture is made up of petrol ， castor oil and vinegar.
這種混合物是由汽油、麻油和醋組成的。
reverse [ri'v：s] n. 失敗，挫敗
The failure and reverse which await men and one after another sadden
the brow of youth add the dignity to the prospect of human life，which no arcadian success would do.
盡管失敗和挫折等待著人們，一次次地奪走青春的容顏，但給人生的前途增添了一份尊嚴，這是任何順利的成功都不能做到的。
calamity [k'l鎚iti] n. 災禍；災難；不幸之事
An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity； a pessimist sees a
calamity in every opportunity.
樂觀者在每一次災難中看到機會，悲觀者在每一次機會中看到災難。
他們能夠欣然接受失敗，並從失敗中懂得：無論嚐試什麽，都是成功的最好機會。
永遠不要害怕，人人都有一次機會，沒有誰會一生都失敗。
失敗僅僅是在尋找新的挑戰時所付出的代價。
People who profit from loss are the kind of foot soldiers business leaders seek.
profit from：得益於；利用
Those opinions include taking classes to develop new skills or bravely striking out on another career.
strike out：想出；刪去
生命最堅強的意誌
Determination
佚名 / Anonymous
In 1883， a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with Manhattan Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He first managed to convince his son Washington， an up-and-coming engineer， that the bridge in fact could be built. Then together they developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration， they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well， but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage， which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.
All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this， he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife' s arm， until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man' s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work， and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world.
Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life， our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence， no matter what the odds are. Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.
1883年，一位極具創造力的工程師約翰·羅布林冒出了一個想法——在紐約市與曼哈頓半島之間搭建一座宏偉的橋梁。然而，全世界的建築業專家都認為這是一項根本不可能完成的工程，於是勸告羅布林放棄這個念頭。
羅布林不能抹掉他在大腦中對這座橋的幻想。他首先想方設法說服了他的兒子華盛頓——一位嶄露頭角的工程師，使他相信這個工程是可以實現的。於是，他們一起構思該如何完成以及如何克服障礙，最終懷著興奮的心情與偉大的靈感，雇用了工作隊，開始建造他們的夢想之橋。
建橋計劃開始很順利，但是僅在幾個月後，建築工地發生了一場事故，約翰·羅布林在這次事故中喪生，華盛頓的腦部受傷，導致他不能說話，不能走路，甚至連移動都成問題。盡管如此，華盛頓並沒有氣餒，仍然懷著強烈的建橋欲望，而且他的思想還如從前般敏銳。
他隻有一根手指能動，於是他決定要好好地利用它。通過移動這根手指，他慢慢開發了一套與妻子溝通的代碼。他用手指敲打妻子的胳膊，告訴工程師該做什麽。這好像很愚蠢，但是工程就在這種方式下開始了。
華盛頓用手指敲打妻子的胳膊發出指令，這種方法持續了13年，直到大橋最後竣工。今天，宏偉壯觀的布魯克林大橋巍然屹立，正是對華盛頓不屈不撓的精神以及其永不言敗的決心的頌詞，這也是對工程師們與他們的工作組的團結精神的頌詞，是對他們對一位被認為了半個世紀癲狂之人的信賴的頌詞。
我們在日常生活中時常會麵臨障礙，可是與其他人相比，這種障礙真是微不足道。布魯克林大橋的建成向人們表明：隻要我們下定決心，堅持不懈，不管成功的概率有多大，都能夠實現那些看似不可能的夢想，即使再遙遠的夢想也可以實現。
spectacular [spek't鎘jul] adj. 壯觀的；雄偉的；引人入勝的
The largest group of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures in
South America stands in a wild， spectacular landscape.
在南美洲一片壯觀的原始風景區內，豎立著一些巨大的宗教性的紀念像和雕塑。
up-and-coming adj. 有前途的；大有希望的；精力充沛的；精明能幹的
An up-and-coming artist with a great set of skills and strong beliefs that he
represents in his art.
他富有技巧，並在其作品中表達出強烈的信念，是一位冉冉升起的新秀。
tribute ['tribju：t] n. 稱讚；頌詞