Tag: Perseverance
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The Cost of Delicious Lentils
Earlier this week, we went to an Ethiopian restaurant nearby. Like our last visit two years ago, Shita, an Ethiopian woman in her fifties, greeted us with a warm, soft smile and hurried back into the kitchen. She was the only person working. Taking phone orders, cooking, serving — it was all her. The chickpea…
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How Joel Embiid Became an NBA MVP
1. The Process Joel Embiid landed in Florida in 2010, fresh from Cameroon. At the age of 16, he spoke little English and didn’t know anyone in America. Joel signed up for a summer basketball camp three months before his trip. That was his first time playing basketball. At seven feet, he dunked on another…
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Did He Waste 27 Years?
Before Nelson Mandela helped end apartheid and became the first democratically elected in South Africa, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his political involvement. His bed in prison was a straw mat. The prison guard physically and verbally harassed him. As a prisoner, he was required to do hard labor and break rocks into…
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Failure is Not the End
While writing her first novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, author J.K. Rowling went through a dark period in her life. At one point, she was jobless. Her short-lived marriage ended. She lived in a mouse-ridden apartment as a single parent on government assistance. She reflected on those difficult times: “Failure meant a stripping away of the…
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4. From Devastation to Triumph: A Basketball Story of Perseverance
Steve Nash is one of the best point guards in NBA history. Throughout his 18-season career as a player, he made more than 9 out of every ten free throws across 1,300-plus games. His three-point percentage was 42.8%*. Most impressively, he contributed more than 10,000 assists^. He attributed his success to preparation. “If every basketball player…
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Use what you have
If you don’t have a pencil, use a pen. If you don’t have blue, use black. If you don’t have lime, use lemon. Use what you have. Don’t get stuck.