The Analects of Confucius contain a lot of very inspirational and eyeopening quotes that can change the way you view certain aspects of life.Here is a list of some of the Confucius quotes that I thought were the strongest. I hope you enjoy reading them.It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues.Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their affairs.Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action.Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression.The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.

The Keys to Success in Any Discipline Are:HARD WORK - All people that have been successful have had to work hard to achieve their success! To work hard, you need many other character traits, but it is very important that if you have an objective that you want to get to you know how hard you have to work to achieve it. You have to be aware of the hard work that lies ahead of you - and then you must start working!PERSEVERANCE - Whether you want to be a lawyer or an athlete, you are always going to have to reach for a goal and continue working your way to achieving that goal. You have to have perseverance and despite the consequences you have to keep working until you accomplish what you wanted to accomplish.DISCIPLINE - In all areas of life, you have to be disciplined. To achieve any goal (even if it's personal) you have to be disciplined to work hard enough to achieve what you want to achieve. You even need discipline to get out of bed and go to school if you are a student. Discipline is what can make you improve. DETERMINATION - To be successful, you have to be determined and focus on your goal. You have to make sure that you are determined and that you are pushing yourself to your fullest. You can't let anything distract you if you are determined.STRENGTH OF CHARACTER - In any discipline, you will get criticised because nobody is perfect! You have to have a strong character to be successful and that means being open to criticism. If someone tells you that you aren't good enough, you have to work harder and not take anyone's insults personally. PASSION (LOVE OF WHAT YOU DO) - In my opinion passion is the most important key to success. If you don't love what you do you will never be successful and you will never be good at what you do, because you won't have the will to achieve it. If you have passion, you will have the will to work hard and you will accomplish great things.CREATIVITY - Everyone that is successful has to be creative. Every discipline needs a different type of creativity. An entrepreneur has to be creative with the way he designs his companies. A diplomat has to be creative with the way he talks to people. An artist has to be creative with his paintings, and a dancer has to be creative with his choreography. Creativity is always different, and always important.INDEPENDENCE - To accomplish a goal, you must be able to work independently and be able to do things alone without anyone's help. You must be able to do things at a great level without relying on anyone else, or you will never be able to live life, let alone achieve a goal and work well!INTERDEPENDENCE (TEAMWORK) - Even though independence is very important, interdependence is important, too. Interdependence means being able to work well with others. Working well with others is a skill that is important throughout your whole life - to be able to communicate with others and create good results by working with other people. To achieve a goal you will need other people's help and you will also need to be able to do things not only alone!

To many people, ballet is just a type of dance. To be a ballerina, everyone knows you have to be flexible, skinny, and graceful. When ballerinas dance on stage, they don't show any effort. They can do countless turns on pointe shoes (which, from personal experience, are very painful and hurt your feet very badly) without even changing their facial expression. If a football players makes an ugly face while scoring a goal, nobody would notice. But if a ballerina would make a slightly cringing face while she is dancing, she would be on the cover of the news. So, the stereotype of ballerinas (skinny, flexible, and graceful), may be right, but so much lies behind that description. First of all, most ballerinas - whether they are soloists or just "background dancers" from the corps de ballet - have to attend a ballet school to achieve a ballet future. Of course, there have been some exceptions like Misty Copeland, principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, who never attended ballet school however almost all ballerinas had to attend a ballet school from age 13 at the latest. Many Russian ballet dancers went to ballet school at very young, about 4 years old. Students at ballet school have to train for at least 6 hours everyday and they have to make sure that they are taking care of their bodies. Not a lot of people are aware of the competition behind getting into a good ballet school. To get into the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, 90 girls compete for only 1 spot. Many people also think that to be a dancer, all you have to do is attend ballet class. However, actually, all ballerinas have to do lots of exercise like Pilates designated specially for ballerinas to keep in shape. All of their muscles - abdominals, legs, back, shoulders - have to be very strong in order to keep your balance when you are doing jumps and to maintain the correct ballet technique. Many ballerinas like Carla Fracci have to take shots before going on stage to numb the pain that they are feeling while dancing. Ballerinas truly have to exert themselves to succeed.

In the middle of 2013, expert dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze was fired from his teaching and dancing job at the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow because he was controversial and disrespectful towards his bosses, plus acting very rudely about the acid attack on January 17, 2013 on the artistic director of the Bolshoi, Sergei Filin, calling it a staged piece of nonsense.It was a big surprise when he was elected rector or director of the world-famous and best ballet academy in the world, the Vaganova Ballet Academy in October, 2013.Many star ballet dancers and students were appalled. Star student that achieved records from the Vaganova Academy, Diana Vishneva, also considered the event a disgrace. She said she hopes that the election of Nikolai Tsiskaridze as the director of Vaganova won't diminish the school's excellency.Many other dancers also commented in a similar manner on this new event. They said that this was an unfair act and that it was for sure something related to bribery or something of the sort. Some dancers from the Academy that held an important position were also fired because of reasons that helped Tsiskaridze move up to rector of the Academy.But, is this true? Now we are in 2016, and Tsiskaridze has been rector of Vaganova for a little less than 3 years. The Vaganova Academy is quite flourishing and the RT made a documentary, "Dance of the Little Swans", portraying life at Vaganova and also featuring their rector, Tsiskaridze, which has been made famous online.The Vaganova Academy remains a famous and celebrated academy even after changing its director and is still as wonderful in my opinion. What do you think?

I have decided to make a blog with a list of quotes I find especially motivational and inspiring in life, so you can read them, analyze their meaning, and be inspired! "The mind is everything; what you think, you become." - Buddha"Knowledge makes humble; ignorance makes proud." - Confucius"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius"For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories." - Plato "There is nothing impossible to him who will try." - Alexander the Great"Nothing is impossible; the word itself has im (I'm) possible in it!" - Audrey Hepburn"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius." - Mozart"To follow, without halt, one aim: there's the secret to success." - Anna Pavlova (influential Russian ballerina)"One who asks a question remains a fool for 5 minutes; one who doesn't answer the question remains a fool forever." - Chinese proverb"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or heard or even touched; they must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller (a woman that became blind and deaf when she was just a few months old and worked to be able to speak and understand)

"The mind is everything; what you think, you become." These are the words that were spoken by the young and enlightened Buddha, now worshipped all over the world by so many.This is the quote I live by, and the quote that helped me achieve success whenever and wherever I wanted to achieve it. The most important key to achieving success is being motivated and keeping the right mindset all the way through, not straying from your path to the top. It is very important to approach your objective with the right attitude, and with an idea of what strategies you are going to use to keep motivated up the long road and up the high mountain that leads to your success. This quote applies to every area you want to achieve success in, whether you are planning to shine in sports, dance, art, writing, or playing the piano.What do I mean by "the right mindset"? In my opinion, the right attitude or mindset, whatever you want to call it, would be alway remembering to: Believe in yourself. This may seem like the cliché little saying you hear little children repeating over and over again like parrots, but if you really apply it to your life, it will become an important part of achieving your dreams. Stay positive. Never think (though it is very hard not to) "I am the worst", or "I will never achieve what I want to". You don't have to fool yourself and say, "I'm the best!" but you should be telling yourself, "I am not perfect yet, but I am improving, and if I keep working I will become the best."Remember, "What you think, you become."Stay concentrated, remember you can do it, and make sure you always stay motivated and inspired by the things around you! You can always read some inspirational quotes, stories, or ask for help to keep motivated and be inspired - these two things really help you quicken your journey to the top.

I first discovered China Daily a few years ago. It was my first visit to China, and I was waiting for my tour guide to arrive. I sat down in the lobby of the St. Regis, Beijing, and picked up an English-written newspaper with the title (in its famous capital white and blue letters) CHINA DAILY. I opened the newspaper, and from that day on, in every hotel I visited, when the staff asked me, "Would you like a newspaper delivered to your room?", I would always answer, "Do you have China Daily?" And if they said no, there would be no newspaper in my room the next morning. Why had I immediately taken a liking to China Daily after just one reading of it? I think that China Daily is a very influential newspaper for many reasons. First of all, China Daily writes about both Western and Chinese culture, so both sides of the world can learn something about their cultural traditions. An example to support this reason, is an article I read just the other day: When the Bard met his Chinese Match. This article is about how both China and the UK will honor their most famous playwrights with a series of events this year. The playwrights are, William Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu. Both the wonderful playwrights died in 1616, and China Daily wrote an article about the events to honor these writers this year. The newspaper managed to compare two influential playwrights from China and the UK. Second of all, China Daily writes not only about culture, of course, but also about economic and political matters. For example, yesterday on my WeChat China Daily (you can subscribe to their official account), I read that a Chinese gay couple lost a same-sex marriage case. China Daily wrote about the case, the laws in China regarding same-sex relations, and more regarding this matter. China Daily is able to write about all kinds of topics with their talented writers. Third of all, one of my favorite things about China Daily is that there are always articles that are made up of simply photos and captions of China and its special areas. For example, I recently read (also on WeChat): Photos | Time-tripping steam train is SW China. This article was made up of breathtaking photos of a steam train using the same steam engines as used in the 1950s. The pictures were quite heartbreaking as you saw the quality of the old steam trains, and many locals from small villages boarding this steam train. China Daily is able to show a contrast between the modernization and rural areas of China, as shown here: Another example of one article with photos and captions is, Photos | Discover Beautiful China in Spring Blossom. This article was made up of simply gorgeous photos of China during spring. There are many more types of great articles in China Daily including forums, news, and more. There was an article about China Daily 35 years on: your memories in my China Daily WeChat version as well, with information about how to participate and the requirements. Interested in what people from all over the world had to say about China Daily and this writing competition, I was reading the comments below to see what people loved about China Daily. I saw the comment, "China Daily always helps improve my English level. Thank you China Daily!" Someone else wrote, "It is a great opportunity to express our views and share ideas with followers." China Daily influences so many people in so many ways! Thank you China Daily, for changing my view on Chinese culture, beauty, and China forever! You taught me and showed me so much. Thank you for everything China Daily, and I can't wait for the years to come that China Daily will grow!

My Story:When I was a child about 9 or 10, I dreamed of becoming good at ballet - really good. I dreamed of doing the splits both ways and doing many special tricks with my flexibility. The problem, however, was that I was doing absolutely NOTHING to try to make those dreams come true. Being a very inflexible girl that could barely touch her toes, all I did was think about becoming this skilled at gymnastics and ballet.I told my mother and father about these dreams of mine, and they immediately signed me up to the best ballet classes they could find where we lived. I was to have classes three times a week for one hour.I began training everyday at home; I bought an extra pair of ballet slippers for training, a stretching elastic, and many other special practice tools. So, after about four or five months of stretching I was able to do the splits the front way. This was a big achievement for me, as when I had started stretching I was nowhere close to doing them. As for my ballet, it was hard for me; I was 11, and I had to have classes with very little girls half my age at the beginning, as I had actually started classes quite late. But after a year or so, I was already in class with girls older than me.NOW, a few years later from that beginning, I am in the most advanced ballet class at my ballet school, I am dancing on pointe, which was always my dream, and I am really happy with myself. However, there are always places for improvement, like I have to learn to do the splits horizontally, which I cannot do yet.Keys to Achieving Your Goal:Instead of just dreaming of achieving your goal, WORK and DO things to achieve it.Talk to people who you care about, and they will help you achieve your goal.Don't give up at the very beginning; no beginner is the best.PRACTICE. Practice everyday, as much as you can.When you achieve your goal, keep working on it, so you never lose it. (When I did the splits and I stopped training for a few weeks, I had to catch up until I could do them again.)When you reach your goal, remember that YOU CAN ALWAYS STILL IMPROVE. PERSEVERE, NEVER GIVE UP, and I wish you luck in achieving your goal!

The Teatro alla Scala is an opera house located in Milan, Italy. It was founded on August 3rd in 1778, and has been a beehive of the performing arts since. The Teatro opened with Antonio Salieri's opera (L'Europa Riconosciuta).<div>The theater was built when the Royal Ducal Theater, which was back then the main source of opera and performing arts in Europe, was burnt by a fire in 1776. Teatro alla Scala was built on the land where once stood a church of Santa Maria alla Scala, which explains the name of the theater.<br><div>Although it is formally considered an opera house, the Teatro alla Scala (commonly known as La Scala) is not only that; it is also an amazing place to see many other arts apart from opera such as many types of dance and instrumental performances.</div><div><i>In my personal opinion, </i>the Teatro alla Scala is one of the best, if not the best, (European) opera houses/theaters in the world.</div><div>I have seen many ballets and operas in the Teatro and it is truly magnificent.</div><div>The building in which La Scala is located is also incredibly beautiful, and it is of the typical architecture of the Italian late 18th century. It was designed by the great Italian architect, Giuseppe Piermarini. </div><div>(If you are interested in seeing how this style may look, I recommend you to look at the historical sites of Italian cities such as Milano, Bergamo, Firenze, and so on and so forth.)</div><div>Nowadays, there are many diverse performances in La Scala, including special ones for children.</div><div>If you are on a trip in Italy, and perhaps stop by in Milan, I strongly advise you to visit the Teatro alla Scala. You can buy tickets to the performances online. <i>Buon viaggio!</i></div></div>

Ballet is a beautiful style of dance and an art that started in the 15th century, and developed in Russia.Today, ballet is practiced in so many countries, and it is an art that should carry on for hundreds of years.Ballet is most prominent and prestigious in Russia, and the best ballet schools in Russia and in the world include, the Vaganova Academy of Ballet, the Russian Imperial Ballet Academy, and more. Some modern-day ballet stars include, Svetlana Zakharova, Nikolay Tsiskaridze, Maria Alexandrova, Antonina Chapkina, Jacopo Tissi, and more. Some ballet stars from history are, Anna Pavlova, Violetta Bovt, Natalia Dudinskaya, and Catherina Chislova.Probably the most influential composer for ballet pieces is Piotr I. Tchaikovsky, who composed the music for famous ballets such as Swan Lake, the Nutracker, and more.If you are interested in seeing beautiful ballets, I strongly recommend you to visit the Teatro alla Scala Opera House (which I will mention in my next blog) and the Russian Imperial Ballet State Theatre, as well as other large Russian ballet theaters and ballet theaters in many other countries. Please note that the above statements are my opinion, and please do not comment if you have negative things to say, unless it is feedback that will be found useful. Thank you very much!