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1/48Unit1TextANever,evergiveup!1Asayoungboy,Britain'sgreatPrimeMinister,SirWinstonChurchill,attendedapublicschoolcalledHarrow.Hewasnotagoodstudent,andhadhenotbeenfromafamousfamily,heprobablywouldhavebeenremovedfromtheschoolfordeviatingfromtherules.Thankfully,hedidfinishatHarrowandhiserrorstheredidnotprecludehimfromgoingontotheuniversity.Heeventuallyhadapremierarmycareerwherebyhewaslaterelectedprimeminister.Heachievedfameforhiswit,wisdom,civicduty,andabundantcourageinhisrefusaltosurrenderduringthemiserabledarkdaysofWorldWarII.Hisamazingdeterminationhelpedmotivatehisentirenationandwasaninspirationworldwide.2Towardtheendofhisperiodasprimeminister,hewasinvitedtoaddressthepatrioticyoungboysathisoldschool,Harrow.Theheadmastersaid,Younggentlemen,thegreatestspeakerofourtime,willbehereinafewdaystoaddressyou,andyoushouldobeywhateversoundadvicehemaygiveyou.Thegreatdayarrived.SirWinstonstoodup,allfivefeet,fiveinchesand107kilosofhim,andgavethisshort,clear-cutspeech:Youngmen,nevergiveup.Nevergiveup!Nevergiveup!Never,never,never,never!551073Personalhistory,educationalopportunity,individualdilemmasnoneofthesecaninhibitastrongspiritcommittedtosuccess.Notaskistoohard.Noamountofpreparationistoolongortoodifficult.Taketheexampleoftwoofthemostscholarlyscientistsofourage,AlbertEinsteinandThomasEdison.Bothfacedimmenseobstaclesandextremecriticism.Bothwerecalledslowtolearnandwrittenoffasidiotsbytheirteachers.ThomasEdisonranawayfromschoolbecausehisteacherwhippedhimrepeatedlyforaskingtoomanyquestions.Einsteindidn'tspeakfluentlyuntilhewasalmostnineyearsoldandwassuchapoorstudentthatsomethoughthewasunabletolearn.Yetbothboys'parentsbelievedinthem.Theyworkedintenselyeachdaywiththeirsons,andtheboyslearnedtoneverbypassthelonghoursofhardworkthattheyneededtosucceed.Intheend,bothEinsteinandEdisonovercametheirchildhoodpersecutionandwentontoachievemagnificentdiscoveriesthatbenefittheentireworldtoday.92/484ConsideralsotheheroicexampleofAbrahamLincoln,whofacedsubstantialhardships,failuresandrepeatedmisfortunesinhislifetime.Hisbackgroundwascertainlynotglamorous.Hewasraisedinaverypoorfamilywithonlyoneyearofformaleducation.Hefailedinbusinesstwice,sufferedanervousbreakdownwhenhisfirstlovediedsuddenlyandlosteightpoliticalelections.Laterinlife,hesufferedprofoundgriefoverthetragicdeathofthreeofhisfourchildren.Yethisstrongwillwasthespurthatpushedhimforward,strengtheninghisoptimism,dedicationanddetermination.Itintensifiedandfocusedhiseffortsandenabledhimtotriumphovertheoverwhelmingfailuresandprofounddifficultiesinhislife.Ahundredyearslater,peoplefromaroundtheworldcommendAbrahamLincolnasthegreatestAmericanpresidentofalltime.5JustlikeChurchillandLincoln,onlythosewhokeeptheireyesontheprize,thosewhoupholdacommittedandfocusedwillandspirit,willfindtheirendeavorssuccessful.Manyartists,statesmen,writersandinventorshavehadthesameexperience.Theyachievedprosperitybecausetheypossessedafiercewilltokeeppreparingandworkingandapassiontosucceed.Theyattainedsuccess,notbecauseitwaseasy,butbecausetheyhadthewilltoovercomeprofoundobstaclesandtoworkdiligentlyinthepursuitoftheirgoals.6Aftergrowinguponacattleranchwithoutrunningwaterorelectricity,SandraDayO'Connorfoughttoachievethebesteducationpossible.Consistentlygraduatingatthetopofherclass,sheworkedherwayintoStanfordLawSchool,whereshegraduatedwithhonors.Butdespiteallofherhardwork,SandraDayO'Connorwasstillawomaninthe1950s.EvenwiththeprestigeofherdegreefromStanford,shewasrejectedfromtheentirelawcircuitasfirmspreferredtohirelessqualifiedmenratherthanriskhiringafemalelawyer,whichwasunprecedented.YetSandraDayO'Connorrefusedtogiveuponherdreams.ThroughsheerpersistenceshewaseventuallynominatedandthenappointedthefirstwomanSupremeCourtJusticeoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica.There,sheactedasacrucialvoteonissueslikeabortionandwomen'srights.20507Manypeoplesimplysaythattheywantsomething,buttheydonotexpendthesubstantialeffortrequiredtoachieveit.Manypeopleletthethreatoffailurestopthemfromtryingwithalloftheirheart.Thesecretofsuccessisbaseduponaburninginwarddesirearobust,fiercewillandfocusthatfuelsthedeterminationtoact,tokeep3/48preparing,tokeepgoingevenwhenwearetiredandfail.Asawisesayinggoes:It'snothowmanytimesyoufalldownthatmatters.It'showmanytimesyougetbackupthatmakessuccess!8Focusonbecomingmoreknowledgeable.Focusongradual,consistentprogress.Maintainthestrongwilltokeepgoingevenwhenyouaretiredandwanttoslackortheoddsseemtoolarge.Keepyoureyesontheprize!Wherethere'sawill,there'saway!Withhardwork,determination,dedicationandpreparation,youcantranscendanyhandicap,accomplishanyfeat,andachievesuccess!Unit1TextBChancefavorstheprepared1LesBrownandhistwinbrotherwereadoptedbyMamieBrown,akitchenworker,shortlyaftertheirbirthinapoverty-strickenMiamineighborhood.2Becauseofhisoveractivebehaviorandnonstoptalkingasachild,Leswasplacedinspecialeducationclassesforthelearningdisabledallthewaythroughhighschool.Upongraduation,hebecameagarbagecollector.Theprospectiveopportunitiesforhisfuturelookedslimtoothers,butnottoLes.Hehadapassion,adreamabigdreamthathewasreadytoworkhardfor