Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him. Aldous Huxley
What if at age 46 you were burned beyond recognition in a terrible motorcycle accident, and then four years later were paralyzed from the waist down in an airplane crash? Then, can you imagine yourself becoming a millionaire, a respected public speaker, a happy newlywed and a successful business person? Can you see yourself going white water rafting? Sky diving? Running for political office?
W. Mitchell has done all these things and more after two horrible accidents left his face a quilt of multicoloredskin grafts, his hands fingerless and his legs thin and motionless in a wheelchair.
The 16 surgeries Mitchell endured after the motorcycle accident burned more than 65 percent of his body, left him unable to pick up a fork, dial a telephone or go to the bathroom without help. But Mitchell, a formerMarine, never believed he was defeated. "I am in charge of my own spaceship," he said. "It's my up, my down. I could choose to see this situation as a setback or a starting point." Six moths later he was piloting a plane again.
Mitchell bought himself a Victorian home in Colorado, some real estate, a plane and a bar. Later he teamed up with two friends and co-founded a wood burning stove company that grew to be Vermont's second largest private employer.
Then four years after the motorcycle accident, the plane Mitchell was piloting crashed back onto the runway during takeoff, crushing Mitchell's 12thoracic vertebrasand permanently paralyzing him from the waist down. "I wondered what the hell was happening to me. What did I do to deserve this?"
Undaunted, Mitchell worked day and night to regain as much independence as possible. He was elected Mayor of Crested Butte, Colorado, to save the town from mineral mining that would ruin its beauty and environment. Mitchell later ran for Congress, turning his odd appearance into an asset with slogans such as, "Not just another pretty face."
Despite his initially shocking looks and physical challenges, Mitchell began white water rafting, he fell in love and married, earned a master's degree in public administration and continued flying, environmental activism and public speaking.
Mitchell's unshakable Positive Mental Attitude has earned him appearances on the "Today Show" and "Good Morning America" as well as feature articles in parade, Time, The New York Times and other publications.
"Before I was paralyzed, there were 10,000 I could do," Mitchell says. "Now there are 9,000. I can either dwell on the 1,000 I lost or focus on the 9,000 I have left. I tell people that I have had two big bumps in my life. If I have chosen not of the experiences you are having which are pulling you back can be put into a new perspective. You can step back, take a wider view and have a chance to say, "Maybe that isn't such a big deal after all."
Remember: "It's not what happens to you, it's what you do about it."
--Jack Canfield and Mark V. Hansen
Questions:
1.What happened to Mitchell when he was 46?
2.Is he married?
雅思听力场景讲解:医疗场景
雅思听力环保场景解析
雅思听力课堂的开场白
雅思听力考试中的四种替换原则
雅思听力四种题型的练习方法
65个雅思听力经典词组
突破雅思听力四类题型的黄金法则
雅思听力需注意冷门知识点
雅思听力的四大特点及备考方法
攻克雅思听力的五大秘诀
雅思听力立体训练最有效
雅思听力提高法宝:增强语感最重要
适应海外生活习惯 提高雅思听力
雅思听力考试心得:心态好你也能拿8分
雅思听力场景分析:新生报到篇
从细节上全面快速提高听力
雅思听力场景section2:学习生活困难
雅思听力常考英美地名
雅思听力场景分析:电话场景篇
雅思听力陷阱分析:牢记五点注意事项
雅思听力考试实用技巧整理
雅思听力陷阱分析:五点注意事项
雅思听力场景分析:动物场景篇
应对雅思听力地图题的三大法宝
雅思听力场景讲解:旅游场景
影响学生雅思听力水平的因素
雅思听力考试的答题要诀
雅思听力高级阶段的练习方法
如何吃透雅思听力试题?
雅思听力号码考点的对策和技巧
| 不限 |
| 英语教案 |
| 英语课件 |
| 英语试题 |
| 不限 |
| 不限 |
| 上册 |
| 下册 |
| 不限 |