Finally I Am Graduated Quotes

I am a librarian. I discovered me in the library. I went to find me in the library. Before I fell in love with libraries, I was just a six-year-old boy. The library fueled all of my curiosities, from dinosaurs to ancient Egypt. When I graduated from high school in 1938, I began going to the library three nights a week. I did this every week for almost ten years and finally, in 1947, around the time I got married, I figured I was done. So I graduated from the library when I was twenty-seven. I discovered that the library is the real school.

Time is so subjective, its measure totally dependent upon the means by which we mark its passage. When we follow the conventional milestones, meting out our lives with birthdays and graduations and anniversaries and funerals, we are left with voids along the way-vast stretches of empty space lost forever, never to be filled. As time grows short, the significance of each moment increases, until finally every heartbeat is of monumental importance. Or so it seems at first. I have discovered, almost too late, that time is not just arbitrary, but of no great consequence after all. She has taught me that a touch is a lifetime, a kiss forever, and that passion will transcend the limitations of fragile existence to span eternity. I no longer worry about the beat of my heart-I need only the memory of her to live on. My soul, my very being, pulses with wonder at the places within me that she has filled, with gratitude for the wounds she has healed, and with everlasting devotion for the love she has given. In her arms, I found passion and peace and a place to rest. No matter where I travel or what road I take to reach my detestation, I will always have the comfort of her hand in my and the soft whisper of her voice reminding me that I do not need to be afraid. This, this has always been my secret desire, and now I need search no further. I am Loved, and I am content,

INTERVIEWER You’re self-educated, aren’t you? BRADBURY Yes, I am. I’m completely library educated. I’ve never been to college. I went down to the library when I was in grade school in Waukegan, and in high school in Los Angeles, and spent long days every summer in the library. I used to steal magazines from a store on Genesee Street, in Waukegan, and read them and then steal them back on the racks again. That way I took the print off with my eyeballs and stayed honest. I didn’t want to be a permanent thief, and I was very careful to wash my hands before I read them. But with the library, it’s like catnip, I suppose: you begin to run in circles because there’s so much to look at and read. And it’s far more fun than going to school, simply because you make up your own list and you don’t have to listen to anyone. When I would see some of the books my kids were forced to bring home and read by some of their teachers, and were graded on—well, what if you don’t like those books? I am a librarian. I discovered me in the library. I went to find me in the library. Before I fell in love with libraries, I was just a six-year-old boy. The library fueled all of my curiosities, from dinosaurs to ancient Egypt. When I graduated from high school in 1938, I began going to the library three nights a week. I did this every week for almost ten years and finally, in 1947, around the time I got married, I figured I was done. So I graduated from the library when I was twenty-seven. I discovered that the library is the real school.

What is a Gallagher Girl?” Liz asked. She looked nervously down at the papers in her hand even though I knew for a fact she had memorized every word. “When I was eleven I thought I knew the answer to that question. That was when the recruiters came to see me. They showed me brochures and told me they were impressed by my test scores and asked if I was ready to be challenged. And I said yes. Because that was what a Gallagher Girl was to me then, a student at the toughest school in the world.” She took a deep breath and talked on. “What is a Gallagher Girl?” Liz asked again. “When I was thirteen I thought I knew the answer to that question. That was when Dr. Fibs allowed me to start doing my own experiments in the lab. I could go anywhere—make anything. Do anything my mind could dream up. Because I was a Gallagher Girl. And, to me, that meant I was the future.” Liz took another deep breath. “What is a Gallagher Girl?” This time, when Liz asked it, her voice cracked. “When I was seventeen I stood on a dark street in Washington, D.C., and watched one Gallagher Girl literally jump in front of a bullet to save the life of another. I saw a group of women gather around a girl whom they had never met, telling the world that if any harm was to come to their sister, it had to go through them first.” Liz straightened. She no longer had to look down at her paper as she said, “What is a Gallagher Girl? I’m eighteen now, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that I don’t really know the answer to that question. Maybe she is destined to be our first international graduate and take her rightful place among Her Majesty’s Secret Service with MI6.” I glanced to my right and, call me crazy, but I could have sworn Rebecca Baxter was crying. “Maybe she is someone who chooses to give back, to serve her life protecting others just as someone once protected her.” Macey smirked but didn’t cry. I got the feeling that Macey McHenry might never cry again. “Who knows?” Liz asked. “Maybe she’s an undercover journalist.” I glanced at Tina Walters. “An FBI agent.” Eva Alvarez beamed. “A code breaker.” Kim Lee smiled. “A queen.” I thought of little Amirah and knew somehow that she’d be okay. “Maybe she’s even a college student.” Liz looked right at me. “Or maybe she’s so much more.” Then Liz went quiet for a moment. She too looked up at the place where the mansion used to stand. “You know, there was a time when I thought that the Gallagher Academy was made of stone and wood, Grand Halls and high-tech labs. When I thought it was bulletproof, hack-proof, and…yes…fireproof. And I stand before you today happy for the reminder that none of those things are true. Yes, I really am. Because I know now that a Gallagher Girl is not someone who draws her power from that building. I know now with scientific certainty that it is the other way around.” A hushed awe descended over the already quiet crowd as she said this. Maybe it was the gravity of her words and what they meant, but for me personally, I like to think it was Gilly looking down, smiling at us all. “What is a Gallagher Girl?” Liz asked one final time. “She’s a genius, a scientist, a heroine, a spy. And now we are at the end of our time at school, and the one thing I know for certain is this: A Gallagher Girl is whatever she wants to be.” Thunderous, raucous applause filled the student section. Liz smiled and wiped her eyes. She leaned close to the microphone. “And, most of all, she is my sister.

I’m completely library educated. I’ve never been to college. I went down to the library when I was in grade school in Waukegan, and in high school in Los Angeles, and spent long days every summer in the library. I used to steal magazines from a store on Genesee Street, in Waukegan, and read them and then steal them back on the racks again. That way I took the print off with my eyeballs and stayed honest. I didn’t want to be a permanent thief, and I was very careful to wash my hands before I read them. But with the library, it’s like catnip, I suppose: you begin to run in circles because there’s so much to look at and read. And it’s far more fun than going to school, simply because you make up your own list and you don’t have to listen to anyone. When I would see some of the books my kids were forced to bring home and read by some of their teachers, and were graded on—well, what if you don’t like those books? I am a librarian. I discovered me in the library. I went to find me in the library. Before I fell in love with libraries, I was just a six-year-old boy. The library fueled all of my curiosities, from dinosaurs to ancient Egypt. When I graduated from high school in 1938, I began going to the library three nights a week. I did this every week for almost ten years and finally, in 1947, around the time I got married, I figured I was done. So I graduated from the library when I was twenty-seven. I discovered that the library is the real school.

It may take a decade or two before the extent of Shakespeare's collaboration passes from the graduate seminar to the undergraduate lecture, and finally to popular biography, by which time it will be one of those things about Shakespeare that we thought we knew all along. Right now, though, for those who teach the plays and write about his life, it hasn't been easy abandoning old habits of mind. I know that I am not alone in struggling to come to terms with how profoundly it alters one's sense of how Shakespeare wrote, especially toward the end of his career when he coauthored half of his last ten plays. For intermixed with five that he wrote alone, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, The Winter's Tale, Cymbeline, and The Tempest, are Timon of Athens (written with Thomas Middleton), Pericles (written with George Wilkins), and Henry the Eighth, the lost Cardenio, and The Two Noble Kinsmen (all written with John Fletcher).

What do you know about me, Isabeau?" He leaned forward, and I forced myself to stay still instead of shying away. He was so close that I could smell the subtle notes of his cologne: musk and wood with a hint of leather. What did he want me to say? That everyone said he was an ogre? Or that they all wanted to sleep with him anyway? "I..." "Go on. You won't hurt my feelings." He was still smiling, slight dimples visible in both cheeks. The sight was destracting, to say the least. "I know that you're the youngest CEO and partner in the company's history, and I know that you earned the spot by working your way up after graduate school instead of using your inheritance as a crutch." "Everyone knows that. What do you know about me? The real stuff. None of this press release bullshit." I looked down at my hands, anything not to have to look up at his face so close to me. "Um. People say... they say that you're scary. And that your assistants don't last long." He laughed, a deep, warm sound that seemed to fill up the office. I glanced up to see him smirking at me. I relaxed my grip on the desk a little. Maybe I wasn't being fired after all. "What else do they say?" Oh, God. He can't possibly want me to tell him everything. Does he? The look on his face confirmed that he did. It was clear by the way he looked at me that I wasn't leaving this office until I gave him exactly what he wanted. "They say. Um... They say that you're very, uh, good looking... and impossible to please." "Oh they do, do they?" He sat back, and tented his fingers beneath his chin. "Well, do you agree with them? Do you think I'm scary, handsome and woefully unsatisfied?" My mouth dropped open, and I quickly closed it with a snap. "Yes. I mean, no! I mean, I don't know..." He stood, then, and leaned in close, towering over me. "You were right the first time." Anxiety coursed through me, but I have to admit, being this close to him, smelling his scent and feeling the heat radiating off his body, it made me wonder what it would be like to be in his arms. To be his. To be owned by him... His face was almost touching mine when he whispered to me. "I am unsatisfied, Isabeau. I want you to be my new assistant. Will you do that for me? Will you be at my beck and call?" My breath left me as his words sunk in. When I finally regained it, I felt like I was trembling from head to toe. His beck and call. "Wh-what about your old assistant?" Mr. Drake leaned back again and took my chin in his hand, forcing my eyes to his. "What about her? I want you." His touch on my skin was electric. Are we still talking about business? "Yes, Mr. Drake." His thumb stroked my cheek for the briefest of moments, and then he released me, breathless, and wondering what I'd just agreed to.

Because it wasn’t okay and never will be. We will power through it; I will continue to power through it – all the stagnant, soul crushing grief – but it will never be okay that my mum is not here. That she will not be at my high school graduation; that she will never give me the lecture, and I won’t be able to play along and pretend to be embarrassed and say, come on, mum; that she will not be there when I open my college acceptance letters (or rejections); that she will never see who I grow up to be – that great mystery of who I am and who I am meant to be – finally asked and answered. I will march forth into the great unknown alone.

I am here because I worked too hard and too long not to be here. But although I told the university that I would walk across the stage to take my diploma, I won’t. At age fifty-seven, I’m too damned old, and I’d look ridiculous in this crowd. From where I’m standing in the back of the hall, I can see that I am at least two decades older than most of the parents of these kids in their black caps and gowns. So I’ll graduate with this class, but I won’t walk across the stage and collect my diploma with them; I’ll have the school send it to my house. I only want to hear my name called. I’ll imagine what the rest would have been like. When you’ve had a life like mine, you learn to do that, to imagine the good things. The ceremony is about to begin. It’s a warm June day and a hallway of glass doors leading to the parking lot are open, the dignitaries march onto the stage, a janitor slams the doors shut, one after the other. That banging sound. It’s Christmas Day 1961 and three Waterbury cops are throwing their bulk against our sorely overmatched front door. They are wearing their long woolen blue coats and white gloves and they swear at the cold. They’ve finally come for us, in the dead of night, to take us away, just as our mother said they would.

When I made the decision to come to D.C., I worried that by making that choice, I was closing all the other doors open to me at that moment. But it was sort of liberating to make a choice about something. Finally. And, if anything, this job has just opened more doors for me. Now I feel really confident that I will have several iterations of my career—or at least time for several iterations—and that I will be able to do other things in life. For a long time, it was such a relief to have this job—I felt like I could just live my life and not worry about direction—worries that immobilized me in the years after I graduated. Now I am at a point where I don’t want to continue in my current position—and I’m pissed! It’s hard to think all over again about what the next step is. But it’s easier now because I know from experience that I have to take action, that debating isn’t going to get me anywhere. Sometimes making choices feels like planning for my life in a way that seems boring. Sometimes making choices to pursue things that seem like good fits, or that match my interests, seems boring simply because it makes sense. I find myself wanting to go off in an unexpected direction—Arabic! Cambodia! I know this is a sort of crazy impulse. I know that the way to live a good life is to pursue things that are not only interesting to you but that make sense. Above all else in my life, I feared being ordinary. Now I guess you could say I had a revelation of the day-to-day. I finally got it there’s a reason everybody in the world lives this way—or at least starts out this way—because this is how it’s done.

My wife and I have had the joy of working with thousands of college students and have engaged in countless conversations with them about what they’re going to do as they approach graduation. Up to that point, they had felt safe and secure knowing they were simply coming back to campus for another year of school. But now that they were being kicked out of the nest, they felt a strong need to pray, get counsel, pursue options, and make decisions. As I chat with these twenty-one to twenty-five-year olds, I love to pose an unusual question. “If you could do anything with your life, what would you want to do? Just for a moment, free your mind from school loans or parents’ wishes or boyfriend pressure. Put no constraints or parameters on it. Write down what you would love to do with your life if you got to choose.” There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart. Pursue those! Most have never allowed their mind or heart to think that broadly or freely. They’ve been conditioned to operate under some set of exterior expectations or self-imposed limitations. A few have sat there so long staring at that blank sheet, I thought they might pass out! They finally get an inspirational thought, and begin enthusiastically scribbling something. They finish with a smile, pass it over to me, and I take a look. Nine out of ten times I pass it back to them, look deep into their eyes and quietly say, “Go do this.” There is a reason they feel so excited about the specific direction, cause, or vocation they wrote down. It’s because God is the One who put it in their heart. “Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). “Are you delighting yourself in the Lord?” I ask the graduating senior. “I am certainly seeking to,” they reply. “Well then,” I respond, “you’ve just written down the desires of your heart. So, go for it.” Too simplistic or idealistic? I probably do have a more “wide-open” view of helping a person discover God’s direction for their life, but I believe this exercise strikes at the core of understanding what each of us were designed to do.

For Dylan, this electric assault threatened to suck the air out of everything else, only there was too much radio oxygen to suck. “Like a Rolling Stone” was the giant, all-consuming anthem of the new “generation gap” disguised as a dandy’s riddle, a dealer’s come-on. As a two-sided single, it dwarfed all comers, disarmed and rejuvenated listeners at each hearing, and created vast new imaginative spaces for groups to explore both sonically and conceptually. It came out just after Dylan’s final acoustic tour of Britain, where his lyrical profusion made him a bard, whose tabloid accolade took the form of political epithet: “anarchist.” As caught on film by D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary Don’t Look Back, the young folkie had already graduated to rock star in everything but instrumentation. “Satisfaction” held Dylan back at number two during its four-week July hold on Billboard’s summit, giving way to Herman’s Hermits’ “I’m Henry the Eighth, I Am” and Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe” come August, novelty capstones to Dylan’s unending riddle. (In Britain, Dylan stalled at number four.) The ratio of classics to typical pop schlock, like Freddie and the Dreamers’ “I’m Telling You Now” or Tom Jones’s “It’s Not Unusual,” suddenly got inverted. For cosmic perspective, yesterday’s fireball, Elvis Presley, sang “Do the Clam.” Most critics have noted the Dylan influence on Lennon’s narratives. Less space gets devoted to Lennon’s effect on Dylan, which was overt: think of how Dylan rewires Chuck Berry (“Subterranean Homesick Blues”) or revels in inanity (“Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”). Even more telling, Lennon’s keening vocal harmonies in “Nowhere Man,” “And Your Bird Can Sing,” and “Dr. Robert” owed as much to the Byrds and the Beach Boys, high-production turf Dylan simply abjured. Lennon also had more stylistic stretch, both in his Beatle context and within his own sensibility, as in the pagan balalaikas in “Girl” or the deliberate amplifier feedback tripping “I Feel Fine.” Where Dylan skewed R&B to suit his psychological bent, Lennon pursued radical feats of integration wearing a hipster’s arty façade, the moptop teaching the quiet con. Building up toward Rubber Soul throughout 1965, Beatle gravity exerted subtle yet inexorable force in all directions.

There was this new minister who went to the cemetery sorry, cemetery and he got his PhD and his DD and he’s got assign to his first church. I’ll never forget this. When he got there the church was a little lively but he was dead and he told the people now that am your new pastor we gonna do things a little different around here. He said, no more shouting, we’re going to do things in order. And theres going to be a quietness. He said I want you to follow my lead. He said I’ve graduated from the seminary and I’ve been educated and we’re going to do things in order and we’re going to take away this noise. It took him about 6 months to get things all tone down, he thought. He never even bothered to write his sermons out because some of the people were still shouting. But after 6 months he had everything under control and everything was dead. Dead quite. I mean quite. And finally he worked on his message all week long, had it all type written out on 15 pages, double space. Had everything perfect and now he is going to demonstrate his educational powers. Ready to wax eloquent and have them know they have an educated preacher/minister. He got into his message that he was reading. And he got to page 5, there was an ooooooooooooold fashion deacon in the back and let out one of them big old weeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllll gloryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy !!!!!. that was like an atom bomb that struck. And he became frustrated and all 15 pages of notes fell on the ground and he lost his place. He was never been so humiliated in all of his life. He could not finish his sermon. The only thing he could do is stop and pray and put the benediction on. He became so aggravated at the brother at the back. He said I did not know what I said to make him shout but he said am going to visit him in the morning and am going to found out what I said. And whatever I said am going to cut it out of my mind and I’ll never say it again so he won’t shout. Monday morning he headed out and he went to this brother who was a farmer. He didn’t even bother to go to the house. He wanted to handle this man to man. The brother offered a cup of coffee but the pastor refused it. He said I came out here to talk man to man sir. Do you remember when I first came to the church I said we were going to do things differently. He said yes sir I do remember. You remember I said nobody was going to make some noice. He said yes sir I remember that. He said yesterday you embarrassed me. I only got half way through my sermon. He said I want you to be honest with me brother. What was it that I said that made you shout because whatever it is am not going to say it no more. The brother breathed and said let get one thing straight pastor, you’ve been here six months. aint nothing you ever said made me shout. Nothing at all. But when I get to thinking how deep I was in sin and Jesus brought me out and cleaned me and wrote my name the book of life. How so good He’s been to me. When I was thinking of what He done for me, I couldn’t help but shoouuuuuuuuuuuuuuut to His gloryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I don’t just shout in church, here with my mules thinking of Jesus, I feel another shouuuuuuuuuuuuut coming up.

Sometimes I feel compelled to do something, but I can only guess later why it needed to done, and I question whether I am drawing connections where none really exist. Other times I see an event – in a dream or in a flash of “knowing” – and I feel compelled to work toward changing the outcome (if it’s a negative event) or ensuring it (when the event is positive). At the times I am able to work toward changing or ensuring the predicted event, sometimes this seems to make a difference, and sometimes it doesn’t seem to matter. Finally, and most often, throughout my life I have known mundane information before I should have known it. For example, one of my favourite games in school was to guess what numbers my math teacher would use to demonstrate a concept, or to guess the words on a vocabulary test before the test was given. I noticed I was not correct all the time, but I was correct enough to keep playing the game. Perhaps partially because of the usefulness of this mundane skill, I was an outstanding student, getting straight As and graduating from college with highest honours in neuroscience and a minor in computer science. I was a modest drinker even in college, but I found I could ace tests when I was hungover after a night of indulgence. Sometimes I think I even did better the less I paid attention to the test and the more I felt sick or spacey. It was like my unconscious mind could take over and put the correct information onto the page without interruption from my overly analytical conscious mind. At graduate school in neuroscience, I focused on trying to understand human experience by studying how the brain processes pain and stress. I wanted to know the answer to the question: what’s going on inside people’s heads when we suffer? Later, as I finished my PhD in psychoacoustics, which is all about the psychology of sound, I became fascinated with timing. How do we figure out the order of sounds, even when some sounds take longer to process than others? How can drummers learn to decode time differences of 1/1,000 of a second, when most people just can’t hear those kinds of subtle time differences? At this point, I was using my premonitions as just one of the tools in my day-to-day toolkit, but I wasn’t thinking about them scientifically. At least not consciously. Sure, every so often I’d dream of the slides that would be used by one of my professors the next day in class. Or I’d realize that the data I was recording in my experiments followed the curve of an equation I’d dreamed about a year before. But I thought that was just my quirky way of doing things – it was just my good student’s intuition and it didn’t have anything to do with my research interests or my life’s work. What was my life’s work again?

One of the older professors in the department didn’t find my talk very convincing and made sure that everyone in the room knew of his unhappiness. The next day he sent an e-mail around to the department faculty, which he was considerate enough to copy to me: Finally, the magnitude of the entropy of the universe as a function of time is a very interesting problem for cosmology, but to suggest that a law of physics depends on it is sheer nonsense. Carroll’s statement that the second law owes its existence to cosmology is one of the dummest [sic] remarks I heard in any of our physics colloquia, apart from [redacted]’s earlier remarks about consciousness in quantum mechanics. I am astounded that physicists in the audience always listen politely to such nonsense. Afterwards, I had dinner with some graduate students who readily understood my objections, but Carroll remained adamant. I hope he reads this book.

Yet, as Brandon explained with a mixture of bitterness and regret, college proved to be the start of a long series of disappointments. Unable to pass calculus or physics, he switched his major from engineering to criminal justice. Still optimistic, he applied to several police departments upon graduation, excited about a future of “catching crooks.” The first department used a bewildering lottery system for hiring, and he didn’t make the cut. The second informed him that he had failed a mandatory spelling test (“I had a degree!”) and refused to consider his application. Finally, he became “completely turned off to this idea” when the third department disqualified him because of a minor incident in college in which he and his roommate “borrowed” a school-owned buffing machine as a harmless prank. Because he “could have been charged with a felony,” the department informed him, he was ineligible for police duty. Regrettably, his college had no record of the incident. Brandon had volunteered the information out of a desire to illustrate his honest and upstanding character and improve his odds of getting the job. With “two dreams deferred,”2 Brandon took a job as the nightshift manager of a clothing chain, hoping it would be temporary. Eleven years later, he describes his typical day, which consists of unloading shipments, steaming and pricing garments, and restocking the floor, as “not challenging at all. I don’t get to solve problems or be creative. I don’t get to work with numbers, and I am a numbers guy. I basically babysit a team and deal with personnel.” When his loans came out of deferment, he couldn’t afford the monthly payments and decided to get a master’s degree—partly to increase his earning potential and partly to put his loans back into deferment. After all, it had been “hammered into his head” that higher education was the key to success. He put on twenty-five pounds while working and going to school full-time for three years. He finally earned a master’s degree in government, paid for with more loans from “that mean lady Sallie Mae.”3 So far, Brandon has still not found a job that will pay him enough to cover his monthly loan and living expenses. He has managed to keep the loans in deferment by continually consolidating—a strategy that costs him $5,000 a year in interest. Taking

standing on end. “We’re twenty minutes out from Athebyne, so hydrate! We have no idea what kind of scenario is waiting for us,” Xaden calls out, his voice carrying over the squad. “You doing all right?” Liam asks, coming my way as Tairn and Andarna both take the few steps they need to access the water. “Stay with Tairn,” I tell Andarna. She’s a shiny target this far from the protection of the Vale. “I will.” Gods, I should have left her at Basgiath. What the hell was I thinking, bringing her out here? She’s just a kid, and this flight has been grueling. “It was never your choice,” Tairn lectures. “Humans, even bonded ones, do not decide where dragons fly. Even one as young as Andarna knows her own mind.” His words bring little comfort. When push comes to shove, I’m responsible for her safety. “Violet?” Concern furrows Liam’s brow. “If I say I’m not sure, will you think less of me?” There are so many ways to answer that question. Physically, I’m sore but fine, but mentally… Well, I’m a mess of anxiety and anticipation for what the War Games will bring. We were warned the quadrant always loses ten percent of the graduating class in the final test, but it’s more than that. I just can’t put my finger on it. “I’d think you’re being honest.” I glance to the left and see Xaden deep in conversation with Garrick. Naturally, the section leader made the cut for Xaden’s personal squad. Xaden looks my way, our eyes locking for a second, and that’s all it takes to remind my body that I had him naked a few hours ago, the lines of his carved muscles straining against my skin. I’m so damned in love with that man. How am I supposed to keep it off my face? Just be professional. That’s all I have to do. Though the way I’m hyperaware of each and every thing he’s said and done since leaving his bedroom pretty much makes me a walking example of why first-years shouldn’t sleep with their wingleaders, let alone fall in love with them. Good thing he’s only my wingleader

Hire the right people. “We will continue to focus on hiring and retaining versatile and talented employees,” he wrote in an early shareholder letter. Compensation, especially early on, was heavily weighted to stock options rather than cash. “We know our success will be largely affected by our ability to attract and retain a motivated employee base, each of whom must think like, and therefore must actually be, an owner.” There are three criteria he instructs managers to consider when they are hiring: Will you admire this person? Will this person raise the average level of effectiveness of the group he or she is entering? Along what dimension might this person be a superstar? It’s never been easy to work at Amazon. When Bezos interviews people, he warns them, “You can work long, hard, or smart, but at Amazon.com you can’t choose two out of three.” Bezos makes no apologies. “We are working to build something important, something that matters to our customers, something that we can all tell our grandchildren about,” he says. “Such things aren’t meant to be easy. We are incredibly fortunate to have this group of dedicated employees whose sacrifices and passion build Amazon.com.” These lessons remind me of the way Steve Jobs operated. Sometimes such a style can be crushing, and to some people it may feel tough or even cruel. But it also can lead to the creation of grand, new innovations and companies that change the way we live. Bezos has done all of this. But he still has many chapters to write in his story. He has always been public spirited, but I suspect in the coming years he will do more with philanthropy. Just as Bill Gates’s parents led him into such endeavors, Jackie and Mike Bezos have been models for Bezos as he focuses on missions such as providing great early-childhood education to all kids. I am also confident that he has at least one more major leap to make. I suspect that he will be—and is, indeed, eager to be—one of the first private citizens to blast himself into space. As he told his high school graduating class back in 1982, “Space, the final frontier, meet me there!

The book, The Holy Longing, resulted from that conversation. And Eric Major’s instincts were correct; there was a crying niche for that kind of book. The book found a huge audience, inside of all Christian denominations. But while The Holy Longing is a solid book, one that offers a certain basic foundation in Christian spirituality, it remains precisely that, a foundational book, a needed Spirituality 101 course, but not a graduate or final course. The Holy Longing is a book that is intended to help us “get our lives together,” to help us achieve an essential discipleship. But where do we go from there? What lies beyond the essentials, the basics? Where do we go once some of the basic questions in our lives have been answered, or at least brought to enough peace that our focus can shift away from ourselves to others? Where do we go once the basic questions in our lives are no longer the restless questions of youthful insecurity and loneliness? “Who am I?” “Who loves me?” “How will my life turn out?” Where do we go once the basic questions in life become: “How can I give my life away more purely, and more meaningfully?” “How do I live beyond my own heartaches, headaches, and obsessions so as to help make other peoples’ lives more meaningful?” The intent of this book is to try to address exactly those questions: How can we live less self-centered, more mature lives? What constitutes deep maturity and how do we reach that place? And, not unimportantly, what constitutes a more adult, Christian discipleship? What constitutes a truly mature following of Jesus? This book will try to answer those questions. It will try to be true to what its subtitle promises: A Vision for a Deeper Human and Christian Maturity.

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（McGill麦吉尔大学毕业证咨询顾问qq/微信: 1954 292 140）回国认证、应付家人、回国工作入职、国外申请学校等。致力于为每一位因特殊因素拿不到学位证的同学服务。Over the past ten years, the study abroad service company has countless overseas models, and can perfectly restore the degree, Diploma, Transcripts, certificate and other graduation materials of overseas universities in 1:1. ◇高规格，高质量！选择我们-就是选择安心，全程保密，让你办的放心。 ◇留学学历认证，非正常毕业留学生。留信网认证。 ◇服务: 留学学历认证, 未毕业 原版毕业证, 留学保录取。 No matter where you are, as long as you need it, we will meet your needs with the most efficient work efficiency Just a little hope that everyone understands! This is a gray industry with its special nature. I am doing this for everyone, and I have a heavy legal responsibility. Some friends consulted for a long time, and finally asked, "If I am looking for you, how can you prove that you are not deceiving?" "If I am looking for you to prove how your things are reliable?" "How to prove that you are good people?" Since we have chosen us, we should trust us and buy goods to shop around. I have no problems at all. I have never urged my clients to handle it with me, and I never object to customers consulting more. After all, who is the best, I believe everyone sees it. Wherever gold shines! Business Selection Guidelines 1. the work has not been determined to return to the country to first see the parents, relatives and friends to see the diploma. You can apply for a diploma for your school. 2. returning to the country to enter private enterprises, foreign companies, their own business situation These units do not query the authenticity of the graduation certificate and there is no channel in the country to inquire about the authenticity of the foreign diploma does not need to provide real education department certification. In view of this, you can apply for a diploma; 3. into the state-owned enterprises, institutions, civil servants, etc. These units are required to provide real Ministry of Education certification for the Ministry of Education certification required for a large number of materials and cumbersome all materials you must provide the original we rely on rich experience and fast green channel to help you Quickly integrate materials to make you less detours.

诺瓦艺术与设计大学毕业证书咨询顾问qq/微信: 1954 292 140）回国认证、应付家人、回国工作入职、国外申请学校等。致力于为每一位因特殊因素拿不到学位证的同学服务。Over the past ten years, the study abroad service company has countless overseas models, and can perfectly restore the degree, Diploma, Transcripts, certificate and other graduation materials of overseas universities in 1:1. ◇高规格，高质量！选择我们-就是选择安心，全程保密，让你办的放心。 ◇留学学历认证，非正常毕业留学生。留信网认证。 ◇服务: 留学学历认证, 未毕业 原版毕业证, 留学保录取。 No matter where you are, as long as you need it, we will meet your needs with the most efficient work efficiency Just a little hope that everyone understands! This is a gray industry with its special nature. I am doing this for everyone, and I have a heavy legal responsibility. Some friends consulted for a long time, and finally asked, "If I am looking for you, how can you prove that you are not deceiving?" "If I am looking for you to prove how your things are reliable?" "How to prove that you are good people?" Since we have chosen us, we should trust us and buy goods to shop around. I have no problems at all. I have never urged my clients to handle it with me, and I never object to customers consulting more. After all, who is the best, I believe everyone sees it. Wherever gold shines! Business Selection Guidelines 1. the work has not been determined to return to the country to first see the parents, relatives and friends to see the diploma. You can apply for a diploma for your school. 2. returning to the country to enter private enterprises, foreign companies, their own business situation These units do not query the authenticity of the graduation certificate and there is no channel in the country to inquire about the authenticity of the foreign diploma does not need to provide real education department certification. In view of this, you can apply for a diploma; 3. into the state-owned enterprises, institutions, civil servants, etc. These units are required to provide real Ministry of Education certification for the Ministry of Education certification required for a large number of materials and cumbersome all materials you must provide the original we rely on rich experience and fast green channel to help you Quickly integrate materials to make you less detours.

（办理卡莫森学院毕业证咨询顾问qq/微信: 1954 292 140）回国认证、应付家人、回国工作入职、国外申请学校等。致力于为每一位因特殊因素拿不到学位证的同学服务。Over the past ten years, the study abroad service company has countless overseas models, and can perfectly restore the degree, Diploma, Transcripts, certificate and other graduation materials of overseas universities in 1:1. ◇高规格，高质量！选择我们-就是选择安心，全程保密，让你办的放心。 ◇留学学历认证，非正常毕业留学生。留信网认证。 ◇服务: 留学学历认证, 未毕业 原版毕业证, 留学保录取。 No matter where you are, as long as you need it, we will meet your needs with the most efficient work efficiency Just a little hope that everyone understands! This is a gray industry with its special nature. I am doing this for everyone, and I have a heavy legal responsibility. Some friends consulted for a long time, and finally asked, "If I am looking for you, how can you prove that you are not deceiving?" "If I am looking for you to prove how your things are reliable?" "How to prove that you are good people?" Since we have chosen us, we should trust us and buy goods to shop around. I have no problems at all. I have never urged my clients to handle it with me, and I never object to customers consulting more. After all, who is the best, I believe everyone sees it. Wherever gold shines! Business Selection Guidelines 1. the work has not been determined to return to the country to first see the parents, relatives and friends to see the diploma. You can apply for a diploma for your school. 2. returning to the country to enter private enterprises, foreign companies, their own business situation These units do not query the authenticity of the graduation certificate and there is no channel in the country to inquire about the authenticity of the foreign diploma does not need to provide real education department certification. In view of this, you can apply for a diploma; 3. into the state-owned enterprises, institutions, civil servants, etc. These units are required to provide real Ministry of Education certification for the Ministry of Education certification required for a large number of materials and cumbersome all materials you must provide the original we rely on rich experience and fast green channel to help you Quickly integrate materials to make you less detours.

滑铁卢大学毕业证成绩单咨询顾问qq/微信: 1954 292 140）回国认证、应付家人、回国工作入职、国外申请学校等。致力于为每一位因特殊因素拿不到学位证的同学服务。Over the past ten years, the study abroad service company has countless overseas models, and can perfectly restore the degree, Diploma, Transcripts, certificate and other graduation materials of overseas universities in 1:1. ◇高规格，高质量！选择我们-就是选择安心，全程保密，让你办的放心。 ◇留学学历认证，非正常毕业留学生。留信网认证。 ◇服务: 留学学历认证, 未毕业 原版毕业证, 留学保录取。 No matter where you are, as long as you need it, we will meet your needs with the most efficient work efficiency Just a little hope that everyone understands! This is a gray industry with its special nature. I am doing this for everyone, and I have a heavy legal responsibility. Some friends consulted for a long time, and finally asked, "If I am looking for you, how can you prove that you are not deceiving?" "If I am looking for you to prove how your things are reliable?" "How to prove that you are good people?" Since we have chosen us, we should trust us and buy goods to shop around. I have no problems at all. I have never urged my clients to handle it with me, and I never object to customers consulting more. After all, who is the best, I believe everyone sees it. Wherever gold shines! Business Selection Guidelines 1. the work has not been determined to return to the country to first see the parents, relatives and friends to see the diploma. You can apply for a diploma for your school. 2. returning to the country to enter private enterprises, foreign companies, their own business situation These units do not query the authenticity of the graduation certificate and there is no channel in the country to inquire about the authenticity of the foreign diploma does not need to provide real education department certification. In view of this, you can apply for a diploma; 3. into the state-owned enterprises, institutions, civil servants, etc. These units are required to provide real Ministry of Education certification for the Ministry of Education certification required for a large number of materials and cumbersome all materials you must provide the original we rely on rich experience and fast green channel to help you Quickly integrate materials to make you less detours.

纽约理工学院毕业证成绩单咨询顾问qq/微信: 1954 292 140）回国认证、应付家人、回国工作入职、国外申请学校等。致力于为每一位因特殊因素拿不到学位证的同学服务。Over the past ten years, the study abroad service company has countless overseas models, and can perfectly restore the degree, Diploma, Transcripts, certificate and other graduation materials of overseas universities in 1:1. ◇高规格，高质量！选择我们-就是选择安心，全程保密，让你办的放心。 ◇留学学历认证，非正常毕业留学生。留信网认证。 ◇服务: 留学学历认证, 未毕业 原版毕业证, 留学保录取。 No matter where you are, as long as you need it, we will meet your needs with the most efficient work efficiency Just a little hope that everyone understands! This is a gray industry with its special nature. I am doing this for everyone, and I have a heavy legal responsibility. Some friends consulted for a long time, and finally asked, "If I am looking for you, how can you prove that you are not deceiving?" "If I am looking for you to prove how your things are reliable?" "How to prove that you are good people?" Since we have chosen us, we should trust us and buy goods to shop around. I have no problems at all. I have never urged my clients to handle it with me, and I never object to customers consulting more. After all, who is the best, I believe everyone sees it. Wherever gold shines! Business Selection Guidelines 1. the work has not been determined to return to the country to first see the parents, relatives and friends to see the diploma. You can apply for a diploma for your school. 2. returning to the country to enter private enterprises, foreign companies, their own business situation These units do not query the authenticity of the graduation certificate and there is no channel in the country to inquire about the authenticity of the foreign diploma does not need to provide real education department certification. In view of this, you can apply for a diploma; 3. into the state-owned enterprises, institutions, civil servants, etc. These units are required to provide real Ministry of Education certification for the Ministry of Education certification required for a large number of materials and cumbersome all materials you must provide the original we rely on rich experience and fast green channel to help you Quickly integrate materials to make you less detours.

美国普林斯顿大学毕业证书原版制作咨询顾问qq/微信: 1954 292 140）回国认证、应付家人、回国工作入职、国外申请学校等。致力于为每一位因特殊因素拿不到学位证的同学服务。Over the past ten years, the study abroad service company has countless overseas models, and can perfectly restore the degree, Diploma, Transcripts, certificate and other graduation materials of overseas universities in 1:1. ◇高规格，高质量！选择我们-就是选择安心，全程保密，让你办的放心。 ◇留学学历认证，非正常毕业留学生。留信网认证。 ◇服务: 留学学历认证, 未毕业 原版毕业证, 留学保录取。 No matter where you are, as long as you need it, we will meet your needs with the most efficient work efficiency Just a little hope that everyone understands! This is a gray industry with its special nature. I am doing this for everyone, and I have a heavy legal responsibility. Some friends consulted for a long time, and finally asked, "If I am looking for you, how can you prove that you are not deceiving?" "If I am looking for you to prove how your things are reliable?" "How to prove that you are good people?" Since we have chosen us, we should trust us and buy goods to shop around. I have no problems at all. I have never urged my clients to handle it with me, and I never object to customers consulting more. After all, who is the best, I believe everyone sees it. Wherever gold shines! Business Selection Guidelines 1. the work has not been determined to return to the country to first see the parents, relatives and friends to see the diploma. You can apply for a diploma for your school. 2. returning to the country to enter private enterprises, foreign companies, their own business situation These units do not query the authenticity of the graduation certificate and there is no channel in the country to inquire about the authenticity of the foreign diploma does not need to provide real education department certification. In view of this, you can apply for a diploma; 3. into the state-owned enterprises, institutions, civil servants, etc. These units are required to provide real Ministry of Education certification for the Ministry of Education certification required for a large number of materials and cumbersome all materials you must provide the original we rely on rich experience and fast green channel to help you Quickly integrate materials to make you less detours.

新版加利福尼亚大学欧文分校毕业证咨询顾问qq/微信: 1954 292 140）回国认证、应付家人、回国工作入职、国外申请学校等。致力于为每一位因特殊因素拿不到学位证的同学服务。Over the past ten years, the study abroad service company has countless overseas models, and can perfectly restore the degree, Diploma, Transcripts, certificate and other graduation materials of overseas universities in 1:1. ◇高规格，高质量！选择我们-就是选择安心，全程保密，让你办的放心。 ◇留学学历认证，非正常毕业留学生。留信网认证。 ◇服务: 留学学历认证, 未毕业 原版毕业证, 留学保录取。 No matter where you are, as long as you need it, we will meet your needs with the most efficient work efficiency Just a little hope that everyone understands! This is a gray industry with its special nature. I am doing this for everyone, and I have a heavy legal responsibility. Some friends consulted for a long time, and finally asked, "If I am looking for you, how can you prove that you are not deceiving?" "If I am looking for you to prove how your things are reliable?" "How to prove that you are good people?" Since we have chosen us, we should trust us and buy goods to shop around. I have no problems at all. I have never urged my clients to handle it with me, and I never object to customers consulting more. After all, who is the best, I believe everyone sees it. Wherever gold shines! Business Selection Guidelines 1. the work has not been determined to return to the country to first see the parents, relatives and friends to see the diploma. You can apply for a diploma for your school. 2. returning to the country to enter private enterprises, foreign companies, their own business situation These units do not query the authenticity of the graduation certificate and there is no channel in the country to inquire about the authenticity of the foreign diploma does not need to provide real education department certification. In view of this, you can apply for a diploma; 3. into the state-owned enterprises, institutions, civil servants, etc. These units are required to provide real Ministry of Education certification for the Ministry of Education certification required for a large number of materials and cumbersome all materials you must provide the original we rely on rich experience and fast green channel to help you Quickly integrate materials to make you less detours.

（阿尔伯塔大学毕业证书原版咨询顾问qq/微信: 1954 292 140）回国认证、应付家人、回国工作入职、国外申请学校等。致力于为每一位因特殊因素拿不到学位证的同学服务。Over the past ten years, the study abroad service company has countless overseas models, and can perfectly restore the degree, Diploma, Transcripts, certificate and other graduation materials of overseas universities in 1:1. ◇高规格，高质量！选择我们-就是选择安心，全程保密，让你办的放心。 ◇留学学历认证，非正常毕业留学生。留信网认证。 ◇服务: 留学学历认证, 未毕业 原版毕业证, 留学保录取。 No matter where you are, as long as you need it, we will meet your needs with the most efficient work efficiency Just a little hope that everyone understands! This is a gray industry with its special nature. I am doing this for everyone, and I have a heavy legal responsibility. Some friends consulted for a long time, and finally asked, "If I am looking for you, how can you prove that you are not deceiving?" "If I am looking for you to prove how your things are reliable?" "How to prove that you are good people?" Since we have chosen us, we should trust us and buy goods to shop around. I have no problems at all. I have never urged my clients to handle it with me, and I never object to customers consulting more. After all, who is the best, I believe everyone sees it. Wherever gold shines! Business Selection Guidelines 1. the work has not been determined to return to the country to first see the parents, relatives and friends to see the diploma. You can apply for a diploma for your school. 2. returning to the country to enter private enterprises, foreign companies, their own business situation These units do not query the authenticity of the graduation certificate and there is no channel in the country to inquire about the authenticity of the foreign diploma does not need to provide real education department certification. In view of this, you can apply for a diploma; 3. into the state-owned enterprises, institutions, civil servants, etc. These units are required to provide real Ministry of Education certification for the Ministry of Education certification required for a large number of materials and cumbersome all materials you must provide the original we rely on rich experience and fast green channel to help you Quickly integrate materials to make you less detours.