Looking for something entertaining to do? Check out some wonderful festivals around the world.

Koningsdag or King’s Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is celebrated on 27 April (26 April if the 27^th is a Sunday), the date marking the birth of King Willem-Alexander. Orange is the national color, and the streets become a sea of feather boas (羽毛围巾) and body paint as crowds gather in the plazas and on the boats in the rivers. Amsterdam is the center of this outdoor party, with many live music events, but nearly every town is alive with orange on this day.

Thai National Elephant Day is a national holiday in Thailand. Thai National Elephant Day has been celebrated on March 13^th of every year since 1998. Because the elephant is the national animal of Thailand, it is highly respected and treasured. During the festivals elephant are honored during a ceremony (典礼) in which they are fed with bananas, other fruit, and sugarcane.

On the last Tuesday of January the entire town of Lerwick, Shetland is in flames. At the festival, you’ll find yourself sitting, dancing, or stumbling around the largest bonfire you’ve ever seen in your life. The festival lasts only one day but takes the entire year to plan. Be prepared for an evening of singing, dancing, and fast paced activities, and don’t worry about making it to work next day — it’s a national holiday!

Holi, the Festival of Color, is a Hindu celebration full of joy and one of India’s most important holidays. On the last full moon day of the lunar month, usually late February or early March, the air is full of bright-colored powder. The festival is celebrated differently throughout the country, with bonfires and music, but the cheerful spirit is common throughout Hindu communities around the world.

   A young Los Angeles actor in need of a second job to pay his bills has come up with a brilliant way to supplement his income — people walking.

Chuck McCarthy originally considered becoming a dog walker to earn some extra cash, but soon realized that the job requires more than walking dogs on a leash. However, walking people doesn’t require much when they are out on walks. Chuck realized there would be money to be made if he walks people around Los Angeles instead.

It might sound like a joke, but The People Walker, as he calls himself, is very serious about his new job. For $7 per mile, he offers to walk with clients around L. A., listening to their problems or simply making conversations and offering them a sense of security. At 6 feet, 2 inches, and with a bulky figure and bushy beard, Chuck doesn’t look like the kind of guy you’d want to mess with.

Chuck’s services are aimed at people who need a motivational boost to go walking, those who don’t feel safe walking alone in some areas, and those who are afraid that people might see them walking by themselves and think that they have no friends. “I wear my The People Walker shirt upon request and on the first walk with a new client, so he can be 100% sure it’s me,” McCarthy says. However, he admits some people are a bit uncomfortable with this policy, as they don’t necessarily want everyone to know that they’re being walked.

So far, Chuck McCarthy has already had another five people walkers employed, covering various areas, like downtown L. A., Hollywood, Eagle Rock, or Fairfax County. Once he posted signs around the city, his phone started ringing and clients began rolling in. And with all the free publicity he has been getting in the press lately, more requests are coming.

While he hopes that his acting career will take off soon, Chuck is very happy with his people walking business. After all, it’s literally a walk in the park and it pays the bills.

   Many people want to achieve success in life, but it's easier said than done because there are so many distractions(分散注意力的事). Then how to be successful? 【小题1】

Imagine becoming successful.

Einstein said imagination is more important than knowledge. The more carefully you imagine your success, the easier it will be for the rest of yourself to follow through. 【小题2】 What is your success like? Taste the feeling of your success, and use it as motivation(动机)to encourage yourself.

Find the purpose of your life.

Find out the things you love to do, and use this information to find the purpose of your life. Finding what you love to do will give you motivation along the way. 【小题3】 Pretty difficult, right? Now imagine the opportunity to join in a chess game. It's much easier to achieve your goal if that is what you enjoy.

Surround yourself with people who are successful.

When you're surrounded with people who are highly driven, it's encouraging. 【小题4】 Model some of your ways around theirs, if possible. Knowledge is as free as it is powerful.

Collect as much information as you can.

Listen. Study. Understand. Learn. Repeat. Humans are amazing creatures because we can look at the world, make intellectual(理智的)connections,and use those connections to make our lives better. This is what information allows us to do. 【小题5】 You never know when your flash of wisdom will come!