卡爾·馬龍的明星之路

As a young boy， I grew up with my eight sibilings in a tin-roofed shack in Summerfield， Louisiana. I didnt see my circumstance as an obstacle， even though we didnt even have a real toilet in the house. I saw my life more as a card that had been dealt to me and I tried to make the most of it.

I was the youngest of five boys and also had four sisters who had to pull together and take care of each other. Dad wasnt around， so I never knew him well. He committed suicide when I was three years old， leaving Mom with the job of raisiring and providing for nine kids. She worked at a sawmill running a foklift for fifty dollars a week and had another job at a poultry plant. She was a very hard worker， and in order to make ends meet， she hardly ever rested.

My mom believed in doing all she could do to take care of her responsibilities， so no matter what. she never asked for a handout. You can imagine： we kids didnt get what we wanted， but we always got the things we needed. With my mom as my example， I learned that hard work is the best way to get what you want.

While growing up， I was surrounded with temptations to do negative things like drugs， alcohol and all that. I chose not to go there. Even as a little boy， I knew I was going to be successful. Some people take that to be cocky or conceited， but I wasnt going to let anybody tell me that I couldnt do whatever I set out to do.

Of course， I dreamed about what I wanted to be when I grew up. At first， I would be a state trooper， then I wanted to be in the Special Forces. After a while， I decided that I wanted to drive eighteen-wheelers. There was even a period of time that I wanted to be in construction. I wanted to play football in high school; in fact， I still do. But regardless of what I chose， I wanted to make my brothers， sisters and mom proud of me—not only by being successful in what chose to do， but also a person who could be looked up to for the night reasons.

Suprising as it might seem， basketball wasnt in my plans. One day， my mom cut a rim off an old water barrel and then held it up for me to throw an old rubber ball through. By junior high， I started playing basketball on a team. I loved to compete. There was a positive high I got by going out and playing against other people and working hard to win. For me， it paid off. I just let my success in basketball take its course， but I always put the effort in， every day.

No matter what Ive done， some people wait for my downfall， saying， “Karl Malone cant do it.”Instead of letting people like that get to me， thay are actually my motivation and I continue to prove them wrong every single day. I try to do the best job！ can in a positive way on and off the court. I realize that no matter what Im dealing with， theres somebody else out there who has it a little worse off. Ive been there. And I know that without continued hard work， I could be there again.

I am graceful for the life Ive enjoyed as a basketball star. But when I see those shirts that say “Basketball is life，”I think Yeah， right！? It is not life. It can be exciting. But the important thing about basketball is that gives me a way to do good things for others as I move through this jourey called life.

Success is really about choosing right from wrong， making a positive contribution to the world around you and valuing the things that are really important—like family and friends.

While everyone was looking to popular athletes， actors and musicians as positive role models， my mom was my inspiration， and she contiues to be all these year later. She taught me that hard work never killed anybody. My mom is my hero. She， my family and friends bring me more joy than anything else in life does.

At the end of my life， I dont want to be remembered as the kind of person who just sit on his rear end and said， “Ive made it.”I dont ever want to have to say that I didnt gibe it everything that Ive got. Sure there are days that I dont feel like working hard but I do it anyway， because that who I am.

當(dāng)我還是個(gè)小男孩的時(shí)候，我同我的八個(gè)兄弟姐妹在路易斯安娜薩默菲爾德的一個(gè)鐵皮棚屋中長大。即使在這屋子里都沒有一個(gè)真正的廁所，我也沒有將這種環(huán)境視為一個(gè)障礙。我更多地將我的生活看做是發(fā)給我的一副牌，我要努力打得最好。

在五個(gè)男孩中，我是最小的一個(gè)，我還有四個(gè)姐妹。家境迫使我們做什么事都齊心協(xié)力，互相照顧。爸爸已不在人世，所以我無法充分地了解他。在我三歲的時(shí)候他自盡了，把撫養(yǎng)九個(gè)孩子的責(zé)任都留給了媽媽。她在一家鋸木廠開叉車，周薪50美元，她還在一個(gè)家禽廠做著另一份工。媽媽工作非常努力，為了養(yǎng)家糊口，她幾乎從未休息過。

媽媽相信，只要竭盡全力，她就能盡好照顧我們的責(zé)任，因此無論發(fā)生了什么情況，她從來沒有乞求過施舍。你可以想象到，我們這些孩子們是得不到我們想要的東西，可必需的東西卻從未缺少過。有媽媽這樣的榜樣，我懂得了辛勤工作是你達(dá)成所愿的最佳途徑。

在成長的過程中，我的周圍總是充斥著各種消極事物的誘惑，如毒品、烈性酒等。我從不選擇和這類事情沾邊，甚至在我還是個(gè)小孩子時(shí)，我就知道有一天我會成功。有些人認(rèn)為這是過分自信或者自以為是，但我不會讓任何人對我說出我做不到我已決意要做的任何事。

當(dāng)然，我也有著長大以后想干什么的夢想。起先我想當(dāng)個(gè)州警察，后來就是想進(jìn)人特種部隊(duì)，不久，我決定了要去駕駛18輪的大卡車，甚至還有一段時(shí)間我想進(jìn)建筑業(yè)發(fā)展，中學(xué)時(shí)我想打橄欖球。事實(shí)上，現(xiàn)在我還會這么想。但是，不管我的選擇是什么，我都要讓我的兄弟姐妹和媽媽為我感到驕傲——不僅是因?yàn)槲以谧约核x擇的領(lǐng)域中獲得成功，而且是因正當(dāng)?shù)睦碛墒苋藲J佩。

這似乎顯得出乎意料，因?yàn)榛@球并不在我的計(jì)劃之中。有一天，媽媽從一個(gè)舊水桶上割下一個(gè)圓框，然后掛了起來，并讓我往里扔一個(gè)舊橡皮球。到了初中，我開始在一個(gè)籃球隊(duì)里打球。我喜歡競爭，走出門外與他人對抗并努力爭取勝利給我?guī)砹朔e極向上的快感。于我而言，籃球讓我收獲了回報(bào)。我只是讓我在籃球方面的成功自然發(fā)展，但我總是不遺余力——天天都如此。

無論我做什么，總有一些人在等著看我失敗，他們會說：“卡爾·馬龍不會成功的。”他們的打擊非但沒有讓我沮喪，反而轉(zhuǎn)化成了我的動力，每一天我都繼續(xù)以實(shí)際行動證明他們錯(cuò)了。無論是在籃球場上，還是籃球場外，我都會以積極進(jìn)取的態(tài)度，努力將一切做到最好。我明白不論我將面對怎樣的境遇，總有一些人的生活比我還要糟糕。我曾經(jīng)是他們中的一員，而且我也知道假如我不堅(jiān)持努力，就可能會回到原來的處境。

我非常享受作為籃球明星所擁有的舒適生活?？僧?dāng)我看到那些T恤上寫著“籃球就是生活”時(shí)，我想是啊，是這樣的！但它又不等于生活?；@球可以激動人心，只是籃球最重要的一面還是，當(dāng)我在名為生活的旅途上行進(jìn)時(shí)，它為我提供了一條為他人做好事的途徑。

成功實(shí)際上就是在正確與錯(cuò)誤中抉擇，為你周圍的世界作積極的貢獻(xiàn)，以及珍視那些真正重要的東西——就像家人和朋友。

當(dāng)所有人都將目光聚焦到運(yùn)動明星、影星和音樂家上，并將其視為正面榜樣時(shí)，我的媽媽卻成了鼓舞我力量之人，稍后的這些年來依然如此。她教導(dǎo)我，辛勤工作從不會累死任何人，媽媽就是我心目中的英雄。她同我的家庭，還有朋友要比生活中的任何其他東西為我?guī)砀嗟南矏偂?/p>

當(dāng)我的生命結(jié)束時(shí)，我不愿被銘記為那種坐著輕描淡寫地說一句“我成功了”的人。我永遠(yuǎn)不想不得已地說出，我沒有為我取得的成功竭盡全力——確實(shí)有些時(shí)候我不想努力工作……可無論如何我還是干了，因?yàn)槲铱枴ゑR龍就是這樣的人。