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In this school, we have the choice of being an honor student, a mediocre one, or a dropout. Whatever grade we receive here will be ours forever. In fact, our grade is the only thing we can carry beyond the grave. Have you ever seen anyone take gold to the grave? A man thought he could. Before his death, he told his friend, "People say you can't take anything with you, I am going to prove them wrong." Shortly before his death, he turned his wealth into cash, put the cash in three envelopes, gave one envelope to his friend, one to his lawyer, and one to his minister. In his will he specified that when his body was lowered to the grave, the three envelopes were to be dropped on to his coffin. His will was followed- but not quite. After the man was buried, the lawyer asked the other two if they had faithfully followed the will. The dead man's friend said, "Thoughts and thanks are more precious than money. Instead of cash, I put a thank-you note in his envelope." The lawyer said that he was not so wordy. He summarized his message in only three words. He wrote, "Are you kidding?" The minister said, "You both are so untrustworthy. I wrote him a personal check for the total amount!" (1:20) Some people are quite good at gambling with the gifts of life. They act like a man who went to a casino in a $50,000 Cadillac and returned on a $350,000 bus! (1:21) We are worth not as much as we have but as much as we are
(1:22)
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