What does it take to be successful? Michelle Obama commented (said something) about that recently. So did the president of Harvard University and Michael Lewis, who wrote the book Moneyball, which became a very successful movie. But let me start with what we call The American Dream and Frederick Douglass.

The American Dream isn’t the kind of dream you have at night while you’re sleeping. It’s an unwritten expression (a way to show how you feel, what you think) of American values (ideas about what’s right and wrong or important). Everyone’s American Dream is probably a little different. But at the core (the center) there are some values that most people agree about.

Much of the American Dream grows out of (comes from) the Declaration of Independence, which says that “all men are created equal” and have been given certain rights (something you are allowed to do or have). These rights include “Life, Liberty and the pursuit (to try to get or achieve) of Happiness.” According to the American Dream, these rights make it possible for someone to succeed, become prosperous (rich and successful), and move up in society by working hard.

Many years ago, in 1859, Frederick Douglass described the secret of success in a speech he called “Self-made Men”. According to Douglass, self-made people (people who are responsible for their own success) succeed in only one way: they work hard. Success doesn’t come from being born into the right family, knowing the right people, having social or economic status (position in society), receiving money from your parents, going to the right school, or any of the things we often believe to be necessary for success.

Douglass should know: he lived the American Dream; he was a self-made person. He was an African American who escaped from slavery and became a famous public speaker, writer, statesman (national leader, especially one who is wise), and early leader in the anti-slavery movement.

Even though Douglass stressed (emphasized) the importance of hard work, he acknowledged (say that something is true) that other people contribute to (add to; help) our success. He said that nothing can make someone totally independent of the people who came before (lived earlier). In other words, even hard-working, successful, self-made people need other people.

Michelle Obama’s recent Democratic National Convention speech has received a lot of well-deserved (appropriate) attention. In her speech, she told about the people who contributed to her and President Obama’s early success. She said, “We learned about gratitude (being thankful) and humility (not thinking you’re too important); that so many people had a hand in (contributed to) our success, from the teachers who inspired (encouraged) us to the janitors who kept our school clean; and we were taught to value (to consider important) everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect.”

Earlier this summer, President Drew Faust reminded Harvard graduates (someone who has completed a university degree) that they were “extremely lucky” to be graduating from Harvard. She reminded them that even if they had worked hard to overcome (fight and win) many obstacles (something that makes a situation difficult), their success was partly due to good fortune, to events they couldn’t control.

Michael Lewis told Princeton graduates the same thing. And he illustrated (showed) what he meant by telling the story of his life. For example, he got his first job because he sat next to the wife of a company executive at a dinner. After the dinner, she told her husband about Lewis and insisted that he give him a job. Lewis would say that he was lucky, or fortunate, to get that job. He got it because of a situation he didn’t create or couldn’t control.

In addition to recognizing the importance of other people and good fortune, Lewis challenged (strongly encouraged) the graduates to remember people who aren’t so lucky, or fortunate. He told them that success creates an obligation (responsibility) to help people who aren’t so fortunate. In other words, successful people need to help people who aren’t as successful as they.

What do you think it takes to become successful? Are there any people we can truly call self-made? Do you agree that success brings obligations to help other people?

~ Warren Ediger – English coach/tutor and creator of Successful English, where you’ll find clear explanations and practical suggestions for better English.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Dull and boring are synonyms (words with a similar meaning). They both mean uninteresting, not very exciting, or not entertaining. You can use them together in a sentence: “He was a dull, boring speaker who put me to sleep.” As of June of this year, however, dull and boring have an entirely (completely) new relationship.

Dull, you see, is not just an adjective in English. It’s also the name of a village (very small town) in Scotland. And Elizabeth Leighton, who is from Dull, was here in the United States not too long ago (recently), bicycling through the state of Oregon, located just north of California. As she was riding her bike, she came across (discovered without looking for it) another town with a similar name: Boring, Oregon. And then it hit her (suddenly she had a great idea or realized something important): Dull and Boring should be sister cities!

Sister cities are when two different towns or cities in different countries decide form a “relationship,” usually sending gifts or representatives to the other city (we talked about sister cities in English Cafe #234). Los Angeles has 25 different sister cities, including Beirut (Lebanon), Berlin (Germany), and Nagoya (Japan).

Dull and Boring wanted to be sister cities, too, but there was a problem: Dull is too small to be an “official” sister city for Boring. That fact didn’t stop the residents (people who live in) Dull and Boring, however. The citizens of Dull voted to “pair” (associate, put together) the two cities anyway. So now, when you drive into Dull, you will see a sign that says the two towns are paired.

If you ever visit Dull or Boring, be sure to let us know.  I’m sure you’ll have a real exciting time there.

~Jeff

Photo credit: Boring, Oregon sign, Wikipedia CC

“I don’t know an awful lot about it,” said Ted shaking (moving back and forth) his head, “except that it was given to the foster father (a foster parent is someone who takes care of someone else’s child) of my grandmother. It’s been lying on the back of a chair [in our house].”

“And do you know who made this weaving* (blanket)?” asked the appraiser (someone who tells the value of something). “Do you know what kind of blanket it is?

“It’s probably a Navajo (a group of Native Americans), but that’s all I know.”

“So you haven’t had anybody look at it or…?”

“Nobody’s ever looked at it that I’m aware of,” replied Ted.

“Well, Ted,” the appraiser hesitated (paused, waited) a moment, “did you notice that when you showed this to me that I kind of stopped breathing a little bit?”

“Yeah, you did!

“I’m still having trouble breathing here, Ted.”

“It took me by surprise because I didn’t think much about it,” said Ted. “It’s probably a chief’s (leader of a Native American tribe) blanket, but….”

“Exactly,” the appraiser interrupted, “and it’s not just a chief’s blanket….”

I remember this conversation. I heard it about eight years ago on the Antiques Roadshow. And even though it wasn’t a long conversation, you could feel the excitement grow moment by moment.

The Antiques Roadshow describes itself as part adventure, part history lesson, and part treasure hunt (where you try to find valuable things that are hidden). It’s the most popular weekly television program on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), and it’s been nominated (officially suggested) for many awards during its 16 years.

Every week people like Ted bring heirlooms (valuable objects owned by a family for many years), yard sale bargains (something you buy for less than it originally cost), and items found in attics (the space below a roof) and basements (the space under a house) to the Antiques Roadshow to be appraised (tell the value of). And every week, almost 10-million television viewers watch while professionals from large auction houses (where objects are sold to the people who offer the most money), like Christie’s and Sotheby’s, and independent dealers (someone who buys and sells a particular product) from across the U.S. reveal (make known) fascinating facts about these items and estimate (say approximately) their value.

I’m fascinated by the history lesson part of the Roadshow. A table that was given to someone’s grandmother as a wedding gift more than 100 years ago, that traveled with the family across the country through good years and bad, and has been handed down from one generation (all people of about the same age) to another until it reaches the present owner tells a unique story. We learn a lot about groups of people and society from these stories. And they help us understand the lives and experiences of ordinary people in a special way.

Let’s return to the conversation between Ted and the appraiser.

“It’s the first type of chief’s blanket made,” explained the appraiser. “These were made in 1840 to 1860. It’s a Ute (Native American tribe) wearing blanket. It’s Navajo-made. They were made for Ute chiefs. This is Navajo weaving in its purest form. This is the beginning of Navajo weaving.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Ted.

“And not only that,” continued the appraiser, “the condition of this is unbelievable. [And] an interesting thing: this is almost like silk. It’s made from hand-woven wool, but it’s so finely done, it’s like silk. Do you have a sense (an idea) at all of what you’re looking here in terms of value?”

“I haven’t a clue (idea).”

“Well, sir,” the appraiser paused as he looked for the right words, “I have to tell you, on a really bad day this textile (piece of fabric) would be worth $350,000. On a good day it’s about half a million dollars. You have a national treasure!”

“I can’t believe this!” Ted exclaimed.

Not every Roadshow story ends this way. Sometimes the appraiser begins with “Unfortunately” or “I’m sorry, but…” before he or she gives the bad news. Even then, in spite of the owner’s disappointment, a little more history is revealed.

Notes:

• *The word weaving is used here as a synonym for blanket. Later in the conversation it is used to describe a method of making fabric, or cloth.
• The conversation between Ted and the appraiser was adapted (modified for this post) from the transcript found on the Antiques Roadshow web site. You can read and listen to this conversation and conversations about other great finds (discoveries) on their site.

~ Warren Ediger – English tutor/coach and creator of Successful English, where you can find clear explanations and practical suggestions for better English.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.