I will never forget what my old headmaster told me. Normally when you are only 15 years of age you may not remember most of the things that are preached by your teachers. But, this particular story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I get reminded of this story.

It was a normal Monday morning at an assembly, and he was addressing the students on important things in life and about committing ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:

An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.

His house was filthy, and a stench came out of the house and it smelled horribly. The neighbors could not stand the smell anymore, so they asked the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.

The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one of the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.

He said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg.

Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing, commitment. We should remain true to our course, although it may mean committing ourselves to things that people around us would normally disapprove. Just keep it in mind that Commitment attracts wealth.

【助读词汇】

-preach v. 讲，反复灌输，说教

-assembly n. 集会

-filthy adj. 不洁的，污秽的，肮脏的

-stench n. 恶臭，臭气

-commitment n. 致力，献身

【参考译文】

我永远忘不掉老校长的那席话。一般说来，当你只有15岁的时候，老师讲的大部分教导都可能无法记住，但是他讲述的这个故事却是令我终生难忘的重要一课。每次当我偏离正轨时，就会想起这个故事。

那是一次普通的星期一早晨集会，他对学生发言，讲述人生中重要的事情和如何投身其中。故事是这样的：

有一个老人住在伦敦的某个地方，每早醒来后便前往地铁站。他会搭去市中心的地铁，然后坐在街角落乞讨。日复一日，每天如此。他坐在同一个角落，乞讨了近20年。

他的家很脏，从房子里飘出的臭味很难闻。邻居受不了这个气味了，所以他们请来警察把那房子清理清理。警察打开门进去，把房子打扫干净。里面到处都是小袋子，装着他这些年来乞讨回来的钱。

警察数了数这些钱，发现这位老人其实是个百万富翁。他们满心期待，在房子旁边等着他回来告诉他这一好消息。晚上他到家的时候，看到了其中一位警察。警察告诉他不用再乞讨了，他已经是一个很有钱的人，一个百万富翁了。

他什么都没说，走进房子锁上了门。第二天，他像平常一样起床，去地铁站，搭地铁，坐在街边继续乞讨。

很显然，这位老人对他的人生没有什么宏伟的计划或梦想。这个故事教给我们一个道理那就是，全心投入我们热衷的事情。我们应该忠实于自己的道路，即使这意味着旁人可能不认同我们专心致志做的事。但是记住专注带来财富。

【人生启迪】

中国有句警句：常立志不如立长志。我们总是心血来潮一下子要干这个，一下子要干那个，到头来白白蹉跎了岁月，一事无成。我们谁都明白滴水穿石的道理，不管你的目标多么远大，不管你的力量多么渺小，只要你坚持不懈地努力，就有成功的那天。