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Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own.My mom was one of those people.
My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen.While I was growing up, we lived a very 1 life.We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love.Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would 2 my life, “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”
At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never 3 again.Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I didn’t want to be bad enough.She 4 that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her.A year later, I returned to school-walking on my own!
When the Great Depression(大蕭條) 5 , my mom lost her job.Then I left school to support(支撐)both of us.At that moment, I decided never to be 6 again.
Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success.But the real 7 point happened on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1916.I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels for families and was angry that they charged(收費)an extra $2 for each child.That was too 8 for most American families.I told my wife that I was going to open a hotel for families that would never charge extra for 9 。There were plenty of doubters at that time.
Not 10 , mom was one of my strongest supporters.She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style.As in any business, we experienced a lot of hard time.But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my heart, I 11 doubted we would succeed.Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world-Holiday Inn.In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $1 billion a year.
You may not have started out life in the best situations.But if you can find a 12 in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.