与其用泪水悔恨今天，不如用汗水拼搏今天。英语美文中有很多励志故事和小短文都能起到激励人的作用。
A boy found an eagle's egg and he put it in the nest of a prairie chicken. The eagle hatched and thought he was a chicken. He grew up doing what prairie chicken do-scratching at the dirt for food and flying short distances with a noisy fluttering of wings. It was a dreary life. Gradually the eagle grew older and bitter. One day he and his prairie chicken friend saw a beautiful bird soaring on the currents of air, high above the mountains.
"Oh, I wish I could fly like that!" said the eagle. The chicken replied, "Don't give it another thought. That's the mighty eagle, the king of all birds-you could never be like him!" And the eagle didn't give it another thought. He went on cackling and complaining about life. He died thinking he was a prairie chicken. My friends, you too were born an eagle. The Creator intended you to be an eagle, so don’t listen to the prairie chickens!
一个小男孩发现了一只老鹰下的蛋，把它放进了一只山鸡的窝里。鹰被孵出来了，但他以为自己是一只山鸡。渐渐的他长大了，却做着山鸡所做的事---从泥土里寻找食物，做短距离的飞翔，翅膀还啪啪作响。生活非常沉闷，渐渐地鹰长大了，也越来越苦恼。有一天，他和他的山鸡朋友看见一只美丽的鸟在天空翱翔，飞的比山还高。
“哦，我要能飞的那么高该多好啊！”鹰说。山鸡回答说，“不要想了，那是凶猛无比的鹰，鸟中之王---你不可能像他一样！”于是鹰放弃了那个念头。他继续咯咯地叫，不停的抱怨生活。最后他死了，依然认为自己是一只山鸡。朋友们，你们天生就是雄鹰。造物主有意把你造就成一只雄鹰，所以不要听信山鸡的话！
简短50字英语励志故事两篇【一】
Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.
无论是60岁还是16岁，你需要保持永不衰竭的好奇心、永不熄灭的孩提般求知的渴望和追求事业成功的欢乐与热情。在你我的心底，有一座无线电台，它能在多长时间里接收到人间万物传递来的美好、希望、欢乐、鼓舞和力量的信息，你就会年轻多长时间。
【二】
A young man asked Socrates the secret of Success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning.
They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him towards the river.
When the water got up to their necks, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water.
The man struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until he started turning blue. The young man struggled hard and finally managed to get out and the first thing he did was to gasp and take deep breath.
Socrates asked, “What you wanted the most when you were there?” The man replied, “Air.”
Socrates said, “that's the most secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted air, you will get it. There is no other secret.”
一个年轻男子向苏格拉底请教成功的秘诀。苏格拉底告诉他次日早晨在河边相见。
两人如期而遇。苏格拉底要这个年轻男子和他一起向河中走去。
当河水漫到他们脖子的时候，苏格拉底突然抓住该男子并把他猛按入水中。
男子挣扎着想出来，但是苏格拉底非常强壮有力，一直摁着该男子，直到他脸色变青。年轻男子拼命挣扎并最终冲出了水面，紧接着就是大口喘气与呼吸。
苏格拉底问道：“在水里时，你最想得到什么?”男子答道：“空气。”
苏格拉底说：“这就是成功的最佳秘诀。当你像渴望空气一样迫切渴望成功时，你将会成功。没有其他的秘诀。”
