From my father, I have learned a lot. And I'm very thankful to him. I remember when I was a child, my father always got up very early, quietly put on his clothes and went off to work. To arrive in time to open his tiny store at 8∶30, he needed to leave our apartment at 6∶30. After all (毕竟), he had to take a bus and then the subway The last journey was a long walk through a neighborhood, much of which was full of the smell of rubbish. I learned it is very important to work. No excuse.

When I was 12, I would, on some Saturdays, go to my father's store to help out. After helping set up the outside clothing display, for the rest of the day, I'd watch to make sure no one stole anything. When I noticed someone looking unusual or strange, I would look the person in the eye, smile and say, "May I help you?" Usually that worked, but sometimes, someone would run off with something. The first time, I ran after the thief but my father shouted, "Martin, stop! There is no need to do that. "It's true that safety is more important than money. After 10 years of hard work, he saved up enough money to buy his first car, a cheap one-he wouldn't buy one until he could afford to pay for it without borrowing money. I learned: buy only what you can afford. Buying necessary food and clothing won't make us go into debt (债务). The unnecessary things won't give us happiness, which comes from achievement (成就) only.