Truly happy and successful people get that way by becoming the best, most genuine version of themselves they can be. Not on the outside — on the inside. It’s not about a brand, a reputation, a persona (外表形象) . 【小题1】 Who you really are!

Sounds simple, I know. It is a simple concept. 【小题2】 If you want to do great work, it can take a lifetime to figure it out. And it’s going to take a lot of hard work to do it. You are going to have to break out of your comfort zone and take some chances that will scare you.

【小题3】 But you know, I can’t think of a better way to spend your life. I mean, what’s life for if not finding yourself and trying to become the best, most genuine version of you that you can be?

That’s what Steve Jobs meant when he said this at a Stanford University graduation speech: Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. 【小题4】 You have to trust in something your gut (直觉) , destiny, life, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

Not only that, but what Jobs talking about, what I’m talking about, requires focus and discipline, two things that are very hard to come by these days. Why? 【小题5】 It’s so much easier to give in to distraction and instant pleasure. It’s easy and addictive.

Climbing, I once thought, was a very manly activity, but as I found my way into this activity, I came to see that something quite different happened on the rock.

I started climbing when I was an undergraduate in Liverpool. I didn’t come from a climbing family, but I reveled in outdoor activities. I often swam in rivers and pools, walked around in fields and went out for Sunday walks in the hills and woods. Moving to Liverpool was quite a contrast. Suddenly, I was in a busy city environment, surrounded by streetwise kids. It was fun, but I felt out of place.

Therefore, I joined the university mountaineering club. I began climbing inside an old church in Liverpool and instantly fell in love with the sport. Indoor climbing was safe, warm and fun. It made me sociable. I loved placing my body on the wall and following the lines of hold-ups towards the ceiling. I soon got the hang of climbing. When the climbs went well, everything flowed in a delightful dance.

With those same mountaineering friends, I began rock climbing. But climbing on real rock did not bring me the same instant rush of pleasure. Fumbling (笨拙地摸找 ) for routes and following more experienced male leaders, I struggled with moves and was frequently told off for using my knees on crags (峭壁) — apparently that was bad form. I fell off and hung on the rope, shouting for help from my partner who would do his best to help me by shouting out directions down from the top of the crag.

But climbing has taught me to better deal with risk, understanding my own vulnerability while also developing strengths I never had before. I have gained an insight into the movements between people and stone. Working with gravity, geology and rhythms of weather, I gain a unique relationship with the earth. This connection lies at the heart of my passion for rock climbing.

Out in the woods stood a nice little Fir Tree. It was the sun shining on him and the fresh air surrounding him that made him gorgeous. In summer, children often came and sat down near him and said, “What a nice little fir!” In winter, when the snow lay glittering on the ground, a hare hopped over the little tree. But he never felt any pleasure. What the little Fir wanted so much was to grow into a big tree as his neighbors.

“Oh! Were I but such a high tree as the others are,” thought he. “Then I should be able to spread out my branches, and with the tops to look into the wide world!”

When Christmas came, quite young trees with the finest looking were cut down. And so was the Fir Tree. He found himself, in the middle of the living-room, stuck upright in a bucket that was filled with sand and decorated with the most splendid things-apples, colorful lights and at the very top a large golden star, which made him incomparably beautiful.

“What a splendor!” thought the Fir Tree, believing he would take root here and forever stand covered with decorations!

However, the splendor never came back again. After the Christmas, the servant dragged him out of the room, and up the stairs into the loft in a dark corner, where no daylight could enter.

“If it only were not so dark here, and so terribly lonely. Not even a hare!” he sighed. “They surely stored me here for the next Christmas.”

One day, the tree was pulled out and a man drew him towards the stairs, where the daylight shone. Feeling the fresh air and the first sunbeam, now he was out in the courtyard. Seeing all the beauty of the flowers and the freshness in the garden, he firmly believed he would be replanted there.

“Now a merry life will begin again,” thought the tree, spreading out his branches only to find they were all withered and yellow！When seeing the gardener getting close with an axe (斧头), he recalled his first youth in the wood and sighed so deeply! Each sigh was like a shot.