Most teens I meet these days lack basic social courtesy when dealing with people.
My own son, who basically grew up with his grandmother, the original guru, has perfect table manners. This is partly because he was to manners at a very young age. However, when we eat at home, he would not manners. So I asked him why. He said,” I behave the way I am supposed to when I’m out, but when I am at home I want to be .”
That’s when I realized that most parents, myself included, do their children the proper way to behave outside the home, but they are also to believe that at home, anything goes.
My to him was “good behavior has nothing to do with where you are or whom you are with”.
Then he answered, “But I behave when I’m with others so that they think better of me.” And that is when I realized that I was doing things all . I explained to him that it had nothing to do with what people think. This him even more.
So I went on to explain that behavior, whether in your everyday with people or at the dining table at home, is an of who you are. Well, at the age of 13, he got it.
So basically, what I am saying is that teaching your children comes with the underlying lesson that it is not about to do or not to do, but rather, who they are. This way it is not ; it comes from within.
Teach your teens or children the courtesy of greeting their friends’ parents and themselves when they go to someone’s home. Teach teenage boys to open the door of a car, or any door that matter, for any girl, whether they are their girlfriends or not. This includes holding elevator doors or letting women step out of the elevator first.
Just that teenage boys who practice good manners’ and courtesy grow up to become men who respect people in general.
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Another person’s enthusiasm was what set me moving toward the success I have achieved. That person was my stepmother.
I was nine years old when she entered our home in rural Virginia. My father 36 me to her with these words: “I would like you to meet the fellow who is 37 for being the worst boy in this county and will probably start throwing rocks at you no 38 than tomorrow morning.”
My stepmother walked over to me, 39 my head slightly upward, and looked me right in the eye. Then she looked at my father and replied, “ You are 40 . This is not the worst boy at all, 41 the smartest one who hasn’t yet found an outlet for his enthusiasm.”
That statement began a (n) 42 between us. No one had ever called me smart. My family and neighbors had built me up in my 43 as a bad boy. My stepmother changed all that.
She changed many things. She 44 my father to go to a dental school, from which he graduated with honors. She moved our family into the country seat, where my father’s career could be more 45 and my brothers and I could be better 46 .
When I turned fourteen, she bought me a secondhand 47 and told me that she believed that I could become a writer. I knew her enthusiasm, I 48 it, and I saw how it had already improved our lives. I accepted her 49 and began to write for local newspapers. I was doing the same kind of 50 that great day I went to interview Andrew Carnegie and received the task which became my life’s work later. I wasn’t the 51 beneficiary(受益者). My father became the 52 man in town. My brothers and stepbrothers became a physician, a dentist, a lawyer, and a college president.
What power 53 has! When that power is released to support the certainty of one’s purpose and is 54 strengthened by faith, it becomes an irresistible force which poverty and temporary defeat can never 55 .
You can communicate that power to anyone who needs it. This is probably the greatest work you can do with your enthusiasm.
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My parents ran a small restaurant in Seattle. It was open twenty-four hours a day, six days a week. And my first real job, when I was six years old, was 31 the diners’ shoes. My father had done it when he was young, so he taught me 32 to do it well, telling me to 33 to shine the shoes again if the customer wasn’t 34 .
I was proud of working in the restaurant 35 I was also working for the good of the family. But my father 36 said that I had to meet certain standards(标准) to be part of the team. I 37 to be on time, hard-working, and polite to the 38 . I was 39 paid for the work I did at the restaurant. One day I made the mistake of suggesting to Dad that he 40 give me $10 a week. He said, “OK. How about you paying me for three meals a day you have here? And for the times you bring in your friends 41 free soft drinks?” He 42 the amount of money I owed him, about $40 a week.
I remember returning to Seattle after being 43 in the US Army for about two years. I had just been promoted(升职) to Captain at that time. And full of pride, I walked into my parents’ restaurant, but the 44 thing Dad said was, “How about your 45 up tonight?” I couldn’t 46 my ears! I am an officer in the Army! But 47 didn’t matter. As far as Dad was concerned, I was just 48 member of the team. I reached for the mop(拖把).Working for Dad has taught me that the devotion(奉献) to a 49 is above all. It has nothing to do with 50 that team is for a family restaurant or the US Army.
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A businessman, with a large amount of money, was walking through a remote (偏远的) area. Upon 31 this, a thief followed him, planning to 32 his money at a certain time. The businessman noticed something was 33 , and he started to pay much more 34 to the thief.
The businessman soon asked the thief if he 35 help find some water nearby, and when the thief went to 36 the water, the businessman put all of his 37 into the thief’s bag. Then the thief returned and told the businessman 38 the water was. 39 the businessman left to get some water, the thief quickly 40 the businessman’s bag. Certainly, there was nothing that the thief 41 .
The thief was 42 , but he still did not give up hope. After some time, the businessman returned and they both 43 for a long time. Then the businessman got tired and 44 under a big tree. The thief again checked the businessman’s bag and still did not find any money. So the thief 45 that the businessman did not actually have any money with him.
Finally, they arrived at a city. When the thief went after a job and left his own bag behind, the businessman 46 in and took back all of his own money he had put there 47 . When the thief came back, he was surprised to see that the businessman was 48 some jewels with the money in his bag. The thief couldn’t 49 asking the question, “I didn’t know you had money on the 50 .” The businessman smiled to him, “Of course you didn’t, because it is not yours.”
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