After ten years of working for a Wall Street bank, I determined to go beyond a nine-to-five job. Scanning advertisements, I learned a financial company was to hire more consultants. With great excitement, I made a(n) ______ with a branch president. That day, it went so well that I was ______ he would hire me on the spot ______ , he told me to come back for 12 more interviews with his top salespeople!

Over the next five months, every one of them ______ me from working as a consultant in finance. “You are better off in a safe nine-to-five job.” “Eighty percent of newcomers fail within their first year.” The more they attacked my dream, the more my stomach ______ . I realized I would have to “fake it till I make it”, though.

Eventually, the last interview with the president came. “You’ve got the job!” he announced, and then added, “On one   ______ that you must resign, participate in our training and take an exam.” I accepted. “It’s 250 questions long and you must pass it without one point lost on the first ______ !”

I nearly choked at the prospect of taking a huge leap of faith into the unknown. However, attracted by this great ______ and the courage I had never had, I ______ hard and said, “I’ll take it.”

As instructed, I cut my lifeline to the bank and leapt into ______ waters. After the training, I took the exam and when the scores were displayed, I let out a loud sigh of ______ .

My experience ______ the truth of Thoreau’s words: “If one advances ______ in the direction of his dreams and ______ to live the life which he had imagined, he will meet success ______ in common hours.”

Last week I met a homeless man over the phone when I was calling Father Benno’s, a soup kitchen（贫民救济处）. I invited him to have lunch with me at the Soup Plantation   _______ he could eat as much as he wanted to fill his stomach, I felt ________ inside made me invite him to lunch. Since he did not have a ________, I offered to pick him up.

We had a ________ four-hour lunch. I learned a lot about his ________ but more importantly, I left lunch feeling ________ for a roof over my head, warm shower, comfortable bed, and food on the table-all of which we may not ________ twice about. He, too, ________ the connection, his lunch, and a rest from spending his afternoon on the streets.

I learned long ago that one person alone cannot ________ the homeless epidemic（泛滥）in California or the U.S. ________, each person can make an effort to ________ the homeless in their own way. Did you know that 40% of the U.S. population get salary that barely cover the ________ living expenses. Should a ________ emergency or burden occur, any one of those 40% can end up ________ on the streets.

For this holiday season, perhaps you may want to ________ something new to help the homeless. Buy a meal for the person asking for money instead of giving him spare ________. If you can make the time and find courage, invite them to ________ a meal with you. Jesse Jackson once said, “Never look down ________ anybody unless you are helping them up,” and Rumi ________ us, “When we practice loving ________ and sympathy, we are the first one to profit.”