Success Is a Journey, Not a Destination
Listen to the article,and then try to answer the following questions.
1. What’s author’s law of life?
2. Why is it important to follow this law of life?
It is very important to have a law of life to base your life on. A law of life that means a lot to me is: sucess is a journey, not a destination. It means that what matters is not necessarily where you are at the end, but what you accomplish while you are trying along the way. It means that no matter what, as long as you try, you can never fail. It means you can learn from your mistakes and continue on the next journey a little wiser.
One person I believe that shares my law of life is Mark McGwire. He didn’t get caught up in the home-run chase in the 1998 season, but instead played every game in the best way he could. And, most of the time, he helped his team. He didn’t just go out there and hit home runs because he wanted to be ahead in the end, but because he wanted to make it a good season for his teammates and him.
I also think the l999-2000 St. Louis Rams as a whole are utilizing my law of life. They play every game with their full potential instead of letting a few winning games go to their heads. They stay focused on playing in the Super Bowl. They know that even if they don’t go all the way, they still will be successful because they have had a good journey. Even though they lost some games, they didn’t give up.
It does not matter if you do not have the ability to be on top in the end, to win the championship; all that matters is that you worked hard the whole time. There are a few people in the world who already understand what it means. They understand that success is a journey, not a destination. But wouldn’t it be a much better world if everyone did, if everyone would realize that someone will win and someone will lose, but what’s important is that both sides need to try their best? After all, it’s not who wins or loses, but how well you play the game, and I hope I have applied this in my own life.
生活中有“人生法则”作基础是极其重要的，给我带来极大影响的一条“人生法则”就是：成功是过程，不是终点。它意味着重要的不是你最终到达哪里，而是你在这一旅程中努力做了些什么；意味着不管你做了什么，只要努力了，就一定不会失败；还意味着你能从错误中吸取经验教训，以便更好地继续下一段旅程。
我相信一定会有一个人同意我的“人生法则”，那就是马克·麦戈维尔。在1998年的赛季中，他虽然没有打完全场，但每一场球赛他都竭尽全力了，并且大多数时间他都在帮助队友们。他并非一心为了取胜才去参加比赛，只是因为他希望这个赛季能够成为自己和队友们的一个好的赛季。
与此同时，我认为在1999—2000年比赛期间，圣路易·拉姆斯在整体上也遵循了我的“人生法则”。他们在每一场比赛中都充分发挥，而不是赢了几场比赛就被胜利冲昏了头脑。他们在超级杯比赛时全力以赴。他们明白即使不能走完全程，他们也是成功的，因为他们经历了一个精彩的过程。尽管输了几场球赛，但他们从未放弃。
假如你最终没能登上成功的峰顶，取得胜利的桂冠，那又何妨，重要的是你一直都在努力。世界上只有极少数人懂得这个道理——成功是过程，不是终点。假如所有人都明白这个道理，大家都意识到有人会成功，也有人会失败，最为重要的是两者都尽了他们最大的努力，那么我们的世界将会是多么美好啊！毕竟，重要的不是输或赢，而是我们在比赛中努力了。我希望在生活中，我就是这样做的。
心灵小语
诚信而又有心智的人注重过程，并不太看重结果。相信滴水穿石，来得容易走得快。结果容易变化，太多因素会影响结果的稳定性。你有一个梦，是你想要的结果，可不知道你能否实现它，但你还是要执著地为梦想而奋斗。你很幸运，有一天，你的梦变成了现实，也就是你得到了你想要的结果。在当天或者第二天，你发现那结果给你带来了很多麻烦，你需要花费更多的精力也许你的余生去处理那些后果。
Learning for Better Understanding
Keywords and expressions
accomplish
作动词：实现，达到
例：1. In their eyes, they can accomplish anything with enough money.
在他们的眼中，只要有足够多的钱，什么事都能得到解决。
2. Without a stable environment, we can accomplish nothing and may
even lose what we have gained.
没有稳定的环境，什么都搞不成，已经取得的成果也会失掉。
Practicing for Better Learning
Do the following statements agree with the information in the reading text?
Write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
(1) It does not matter if you do not have the ability to be on top in the end, to win the championship; all that matters is that you worked hard the whole time.
(2) The author doesn’t agree with the law that success is a journey, not a destination
Now a Try
What’s your law of life?Do you agree with the author?