if i were a boy again, i would practice perseverance more often, and never give up a thing because it was or inconvenient. if we want light, we must conquer darkness. perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results. “there are only two creatures,” says a proverb, “who can surmount the pyramids—the eagle and the snail.”
if i were a boy again, i would school myself into a habit of attention; i would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. i would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once.the habit of attention becomes part of our life, if we begin early enough. i often hear grown up people say “ i could not fix my attention on the sermon or book, although i wished to do so” , and the reason is, the habit was not formed in youth.
if i were to live my life over again, i would pay more attention to the cultivation of the memory. i would strengthen that faculty by every possible means, and on every possible occasion. it takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately; but memory soon helps itself, and gives very little trouble. it only needs early cultivation to become a power.
假如我又回到了童年,我做事要更有毅力,永不放棄,不論它是否困難。如果我們想要光明,我們必須征服黑暗。毅力在效果上有時(shí)能同天才一樣。“只有兩種動物,“俗話說,”誰能登上金字塔,鷹和蝸牛。”
假如我又回到了童年,我就要養(yǎng)成專心致志的習(xí)慣;我決不讓任何東西讓我分心。我要牢記:優(yōu)秀的滑冰手從不試圖同時(shí)滑向兩個(gè)方向在關(guān)注這個(gè)習(xí)慣成為我們生活的一部分,假如我及早開始的話。我常聽成年人說:“雖然我希望能集中注意聽牧師講道或讀書,盡管我希望這樣做”,其原因是,年輕時(shí)沒有養(yǎng)成這種習(xí)慣。
假如我現(xiàn)在能重新開始我的生命,我就要更注意記憶力的培養(yǎng)。我要采取一切可能的辦法,并且在一切可能的場合。需要一點(diǎn)努力工作首先要記住的東西準(zhǔn)確;記憶能幫忙且不麻煩。只需及早培養(yǎng)便能變得有能力。