Adam was an orphan. He worked in a factory and every day he got a little money. Hard work made him thin and weak. He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn to paint pictures, but he did not think he could pay off the debts.

One day a lawyer came and said to him, “One thousand dollars, and here is the money.” As Adam took the huge package of notes, he was very shocked. He didn’t know where the money came from and how to spend so much of it. Later he thought to himself, “What could I do with it? If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it’s too much for the first and too little for the second.”

“Here is the reading of your uncle’s will,” said the lawyer, “telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it.”

“Yes, I see. I’ll do that.” said the young man.

My very first sea voyage was in a small merchant ship out of New York called the Alba. I was 12 years old at the time, and full of dreams of adventures upon the high seas. The moment I stepped upon the noisy deck（甲板）, my uncle Joseph told me about shipboard life and then he sent me below the deck to get myself situated.

Here was a sticky（闷热的） space barely（勉强） tall enough for me to stand up straight in. It was the middle of July, and the heat was unbearable. There seemed to be no air at all. There certainly were no windows, and the smell that rose up from the bottom was so strong that it made me hard to breathe. From the shadows, a pair of eyes materialized. They be longed to a dirty boy no older than me.

"Hello mate, you must be the new guy just shipped aboard. I'm Nigel. Follow me. We're just in time for dinner." My new friend led me into the tiny dining room where the crew messed. The horrible smell of so many men together was overpowering.

After dinner, Nigel showed me our berth. It was a tiny lightless room near the bow of the boat, only six feet long and only five feet high. There was a small area where I could pack my clothes, and at night we would string up our beds side by side with two other boys.

That night when we were under way, the ship ran into a violent Atlantic storm. The waves attacked the Alba like it was a tiny boat. The ship made such noises； I was afraid it would simply break apart a t any moment. As I lay there miserably rocking back and forth in my damp bed, I asked myself, "What have I gotten myself into?"

I love training with my husband Chris. We do our own exercises separately, but then we really enjoy spending 30—40 minutes doing something we both like together. I also train with my family — my brother, his wife and our cousins will come to our house every now and then to train together. It's like family fun time! A little bit of competition also makes us work out harder.

Laziness, as you know, is contagious. But so is enthusiasm. If you can get your partner on board, you will be able to encourage each other on those days when the other doesn't feel like moving. If you set yourself a challenge and add competition to the mix, I promise you that the training will be much more fun. Time will fly by and you'll want to do it again.

This is why I wanted to learn Chris' favourite sport — surfing. Not only would we have more things to do together, but it would be a great challenge for me. In turn, I have introduced Chris to two of my favourite activities: horse riding and motorbiking. Now he also loves them, which means we have even more chances to have fun together. Encouraged by our example, my brother and his wife now train together too. This is what it's all about at the end of the day: quality time with your partner.

What if you don't have a partner? Well, I'm sure you have a friend who would love to train with you. Or, if you have young children, why not train in the backyard with another parent while they play? You just need some music. The important thing is to have a plan and to make the time to do it. It will be much more fun than doing it on your own.