I want the future to be better than the past. I don’t want it contaminated by the mistakes and errors with which history is filled. We should all be concerned about the future because that is where we will spend the reminder of our lives.

The past is gone and static. Nothing we can do will change it. The future is before us and dynamic. Everything we do will effect it.

Each day will brings with it new frontiers, in our homes and in our businesses, if we will only recognize them. We are just at the beginning of the progress in every field of human endeavor.

翻译：未来尽在掌控

我不知道这段文字是谁写的，我一直很喜欢并用它们来提醒自己，那就是未来操之在我。

我们可以掌握神秘而不可知的未来，从中创出我们所能想象的任何东西，一如雕刻家可以将未成型的石头刻出雕像一样。

我们每个人都是农夫。我们若种下好种子，就会有丰收。倘若种子长得不良且长满杂草，我们就会徒劳无获。如果我们什么也不种，就根本不会有什么收获。

我希望未来会比过去更好。我不希望未来会被那些充斥在历史中的错误所污染。我们应关心未来，因为往后的余生都要在未来中度过。

往昔已一去不复返而且是静止的。任凭我们怎么努力都不能改变过去。英语短文未来就在我们眼前而且是动态的。我们的所作所为都会影响未来。

只要我们体会的出来，每天都可以发现新的知识领域伴随而生，可能是在家里，也可能是在我们的事业中。我们正处在人类所努力钻研的每个领域中进步的起点。

励志小短文九：Burning Your Soul Candle

I have a few candles stored in a drawer in my dining room. They’re meant for romantic dinners and special occasions, but since the arrival of our three children they have lain unnoticed among the napkins and other things. They are waiting to be taken out and lit to share their glow with anyone who will take the time to bask in their brilliance.

Are not our souls like those candles, patiently waiting for someone to come and let us be ourselves? We are all waiting for our own moments to shine; we each have a special light, unmatched by any other.

Candles are made up of wax and a wick; we have bodies, but our essence lies in our minds and souls. Candles are unique in their colors, shapes and designs. Our life histories and experiences are the backdrops of who we are, but our minds are like candle wicks, and make our passions flame. Unlike the candles in my drawer, who get used or not used depending on my whims, we control our own thoughts, and how brightly we will burn or dimly we will shine.

Is your soul candle dimmed by circumstance or lack of passion and direction? Is it hidden in a drawer of stress, worry or resentment? Make a choice to let yourself shine the way you were meant to shine.

翻译：点亮心灵的蜡烛

在我餐厅的抽屉里放着几根蜡烛。它们会用于浪漫的晚餐和一些特殊的场合，但是自从我的三个孩子出生之后，它们便被遗忘在餐巾纸和其他杂物之间了。它们一直在等待着被拿出抽屉，被点亮，以和任何一个愿意花费时间去感受它们温暖的人分享那些光亮。

我们的灵魂不也像蜡烛么？耐心地等待有人来发掘我们，让我们发光发亮。我们一直等待着发光发亮的一刻；我们都有自己独特的光亮，是别人所不能匹及的。

蜡烛由蜡状物和蜡烛心组合而成；人类有肉体，而我们的本质却存在于精神和灵魂中。蜡烛有它们独一无二的颜色、形状和图案。我们生命的历史和经历是决定我们是谁的大背景，但是只有我们的心灵才是蜡烛心，使热情形成火焰。与在抽屉里等着别人一时的兴致来决定是否被点燃的蜡烛不同，我们可以决定自己的思想，决定自己能够发光发亮还是黯淡无光。

你心中的那支蜡烛是否因环境或者缺少激情，没有方向感而黯淡无光？它是否藏匿于压力、担忧和怨恨的抽屉里？做出选择吧，以自己注定的方式去发光。

励志小短文十：Embark on a New Beginning

It is the road you take that decides your destiny but not your destiny that decides the road you take.

The question is: Are you satisfied with who you are? Are you doing what you are capable of doing? Do you get excited about what you are going to do when you get up in the morning? It is high time you asked these questions that reflect the truth about your life. More often than not we have the ability to achieve much greater things, but we get caught in the average things in life and waste our potential. Each one of us has immense ability. But most of us fail to use it. Why?

1. There is no exact purpose for your life.

2. You underestimate yourself.

3. You are too busy to think about any-thing.

4. You are in a comfortable zone.

5. You fear failure.

Ask yourself, what difference am I making in the lives of others? Would you be happy and satisfied with what you have achieved? Are you following your passion? You must find what you love and what gives you fulfillment.

Don’t be afraid to make a new beginning. Go deep and explore the possibilities. As you go deeper and deeper, you begin to add meaning to your life.

翻译：踏上新的征程

你所走的路决定你的命运,而不是你的命运决定你应该走什么样的路。

问题来了,你满足于你的现状吗？你正在做自己力所能及的事吗？每天起床后,你会对自己要去做的事感到兴奋吗?英语短文是时候问问这些能反映自己真实情况的问题了。我们总是有机会获得更大的成功的,但是却又常常被日常琐事所累,从而白白浪费了自己的潜力。每个人的能力都很强,但是我们却常常无法正确利用它。为什么呢?

1. 生活没有明确的目标

2. 低估自己

3. 忙到没时间思考

4. 安于现状。

5. 害怕失败。

自问一下,我给别人的生活带来了什么改变吗？你对自己的成就感到快乐和满意吗？你正充满激情吗？你必须找到你所爱的和能给你带来满足感的事物。

不要害怕重新起跑。更深入地去发现可能性。当你对生活理解加深的时候,你就给生活增添了意义。