One of my father’s favorite sayings as I was growing up was “Try it!” I couldn’t say I didn’t like something, whatever it might be, until after I tried it. Over the years I’ve come to _______how much of my success I owe to my _______of those words as one of my values. My _______ job was just one I decided to try for a couple of years until I _______ what I want to do as a career_______ I believed I would work for a few years, get married, stay home and raise a family, so I didn’t think the job I took _______ that much. I couldn’t have been more _______ I mastered the skills of that beginning level position and I was given the opportunity to move up through the company into different _______ I accepted each new opportunity with the thought, “Well, I’ll try it; if I don’t like it I can always go back to my _______position. ” But I was with the same company for the past 28 years, and I’ve ________ every career change I’ve made. I’ve discovered I ________ a large number of different talents and skills that I never would have thought were within me had it not been for my being open to trying new opportunities. I’ve also discovered that if I ________ what I’m doing and work hard at achieving my ________ I will succeed. That’s why I’m so ________ to be a part of Career Fables. com. I think ________ has come and I am determined to make it a success.

A son and his father are walking on the mountains. _________, the son falls, hurts himself and screams: “AAAhhhhhhh!!!” To his surprise, he hears the voice _________, somewhere in the mountain: “AAAhhhhhh!!!”

_________, he shouts: “Who are you?” He receives the _________: “Who are you?” And then he screams to the mountain: “I admire you!” The _________ answers: “I admire you!” Angered at the response, he screams: “Coward (懦夫)” He receives the answer: “Coward!”

He looks to his father and asks: “What’s going on?” The father smiles and says: “My son, pay attention.” Again the man screams: “You are a _________!” The voice answers: “You are a champion!” The boy is _________, but does not understand. Then the father _________: “People call this ECHO (回音), but_________this is LIFE. It gives you __________ everything you say or do.

Our life is__________a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, __________ more love in your heart. If you want more competence (能力) in your team, __________ your competence. This relationship __________ everything, in all aspects of life; Life will give you back everything you have given to it. “YOUR LIFE IS NOT ACOINCIDENCE. IT’S A __________OF YOU!”

When my experiments didn’t produce the exciting results they were supposed to, I thought I just needed to work more, for the idea that I would be ______ if I worked hard enough was deeply rooted in me. It was late in the evening. A postdoc (博士后) ______my suffering and gently asked how I was doing. I told him about my ______ with the experiment. He said, “I think it’s time to go home and get some sleep. Taking a break is also hard work, you know?”

Those comments planted the seed of a new ______. Previously, when my friends questioned whether the “always working” view that is _______among academics was normal or healthy, I had __their concerns. Now, I ____ that they were on to something. I started to go __ on myself, trying to make being in the lab from early morning to late evening the exception rather than the ______. Pushing back against the______that long working hours are the ______of a good researcher was hard, and I ______ back into my old routine more than once. In the back of my head I still felt __ for not working “enough”. I hadn’t_______ understood what the postdoc was trying to ______ to me.

During my Ph.D., the penny _____ the rest of the way. One day, my adviser said, “We need to work smarter, not harder.” The conversation helped me ____ it —that novel ideas do not come from a mind constantly under _______. My best ideas almost always come after I allow my mind to_______—whether that’s playing video games with my brother or cooking a nice dinner. Part of working smarter, I realized, can be taking a _____.