A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

When people are struck with hardships in life, the way they react reveals their true character. Having a certain mindset can greatly influence how they handle problems, differentiating one person from another. Many can feel discouraged and feel like giving up when they hit a rough patch. In other cases, the will to be in a position better than where they are at the moment gives them the motivation to succeed. Adversity can have a positive effect on the development of an individual's character, providing them with the drive to overcome their current situation.

The thematic statement, “Ambition may lead to negative outcomes” is very true and unfortunately has applied to me. In the summer of 2010, I found myself to be very ambitious and I wanted to learn how to swim, so i asked my grandma to sign me up for swimming lessons. I was very excited, but I was also very nervous. When she finally agreed to sign me up, i was was bursting with excitement. The anticipation was growing and my swimming class were only a week or so away, and I was extremely excited.

Perfecting a certain skill can take a very long time and a lot of hard work.

the expectation that the means to achieve goals is to work harder than others.” (McGraw−Hill,

Proverbs 14:8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.

Hardships have the power to make a break a person, as Roman poet, Horace, once said, “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant”. Everyone has or will have to face adversity at some point in their lives, it is a universal truth. Although misfortunes usually have a negative connotation, depending on the struggle and how one deals with it, it is likely the person will come out of misfortune better prepared for the world. Contrastly, if a person never experienced any hardships, they would lack a sophisticated understanding of the world and lack the ability to handle difficult situations. Adversity gives people strength they can not obtain with success.

Many people try and many people have failed. Everyone hopes to succeed in something, whether it be anything from sports to seminary, school, or just life. Every day there are people who invent things, they try over and over again until it works out. There are many successful people in this world and they didn’t get there easily. Success is something earned not given, and comes with trial and error.

“To every disadvantage there is a corresponding advantage” (W.Clemente Stone). Many people have disadvantages, but many use their disadvantages to make them into an advantage. People see it and take as a chance to change. They also see it as motivation to become successful. It motivates people to do better and accomplish the goals they set on themselves.

The non-fiction work Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell covers the stories of countless successful people upon this earth, deceased or otherwise. In chapter 2 of the book, Gladwell focuses on a theory titled “the 10,000 hour rule,” which hypothesizes that it takes at least ten thousand hours of practice to become proficient in any given field. Within the main topic of the importance of practice, there are two sub-ideas: opportunity and luck. Gladwell supports his ideas with examples of these things at work.

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will " (ch. 23 pg. 280) This quote intensifies Jane’s transitional character from her former ruled life to her now independent life. The metaphor of the bird tells an allusion as unlike a bird she has no entrapment and she can move around whereas as a bird has a cage trapping its freedom.

A proverb (Hebrew marshal) is a short poetic sentence conveying wisdom in a concise and memorable form. (p.259) Solomon the writer of proverbs, was told by God” he could ask for anything he wanted and God would give it to him. Solomon asked for wisdom to lead the people, so they would know the difference between right and wrong.”(1Kings 3:5-9 paraphrased) According to Hindson and Yates “Hebrew wisdom literature taught people not only how to make good choice s in life but how to make godly choices.” (p.259) Proverbs shows many parallels and contrasts, usually in a two sentence form. In this essay we will look at the teachings of Hebrew wisdom on diligence and laziness, and how it corresponds with the contrast between wisdom and folly.

Ambition is the desire and determination to achieve success. It is something that every person should have to live fulfilling lives, but too much of it can be dangerous. People would interpret someone’s ambition as positive or as negative depending on what it is they want to achieve. Some people would say that having ambitions that are big will lead that person to a life of success and happiness. However others might say that those big ambitions can only lead someone to a life full of misery and disappointments when they either don’t happen or they fail entirely.

This closed-minded view of success is what Shames goes on to call a flawed philosophy in society, as the hunger to have more will always arise. He targets this piece of writing mainly to youth who still have the power to change this narrow way of thinking, the way we look at success in our world and to create a place where this concept does not have to necessarily equal material possessions. For example, one of the many things taught from an early age is to get to know yourself and your strengths and weaknesses. This is key when it comes to setting goals for yourself since no person is the same, how can we expect to achieve the same narrow target of “success”? With this in mind, we do need to be realistic in our aspirations, but that does not mean that we must limit

Proverbs are phrases use to explain certain solutions. Proverbs can explain specific situations within certain words to get the point across. The function for proverbs is to describe something without having to be forward with what is being said. There were five proverbs from things fall apart that stuck out to me. These proverbs are “when a man says yes chi also says yes”, what is good in one place is bad in another”, “If I fall down for you and you fall down for it is play”, “A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness” and “If one brought oil soiled it others”

Everybody hopes to one day achieve some sort of goal. Being successful requires ambition and motivation. Ambition is a strong desire to do or to achieve a particular goal that a person has in hopes to become successful. Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, once said that “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” Ambition is a good thing because people should always work hard to do their best and achieve more. If people weren’t ambitious than they wouldn’t strive to achieve and be successful in life.