John's Keys to Success

John is an incredibly accomplished and successful businessman. As such, he is quite popular as a

mentor. He enjoys showing young professionals the ropes. The first thing he says is that his career
has certainly not always been smooth sailing. In fact, he learned a number of lessons along the
way. "First and foremost," John said, "don't believe that success is ever mana from heaven." He
said that everyone he had met had a similar rags to riches story, and that a lot of hard work had
gone into the success.

John believes in hard work, but also in recognizing the right opportunities. "It's absolutely
essential to never spread yourself too thin" John advised. "If you have too many irons in the fire,
you'll certainly miss out on real opportunity" he continued. "I've seen people as busy as a bee who
never really seem to do anything" he pointed out. The more I thought about this advice, the more
I understood what he was saying. If you put on your thinking cap, you'll realize that it's impossible
to really concentrate if you have to worry about fifty different things. Another important lesson
was that it's important to know which side your bread is buttered on and make sure to give that
activity your full attention. In other words, you need to ride the gravy train. Don't start looking for
new challenges if everything is working out for the best!

John stressed that the most important ability of any successful entrepreneur was to have the
presence of mind to not only take advantage of an opportunity but also to keep your eye on the
ball. Some people are quick on the uptake, but then they get bored. It's important to be consistent,
but not spread yourself too thin. Finally, make sure to never show your hand to your opponents.
In any case, that's how to be successful according to John.

Idioms Used in the Story

smooth sailing = an easy life with no problems

know which side one's bread is buttered on = to understand what is most important for
oneself
ride the gravy train = to make money by doing something that is already proven to be
successful
keep one's eye on the ball = to concentrate and continue doing well
mana from heaven = surprise riches
from rags to riches = from poor to rich
show someone the ropes = to explain and show by example how something is done properly
as busy as a bee = very busy (also busy as a beaver)
work out for the best = to end with the best possible result
quick on the uptake = to understand very quickly
have the presence of mind to do something = to be aware and able to grasp an opportunity
show one's hand = to show others what advantages you have in a situation
put on one's thinking cap = to concentrate
spread oneself too thin = to do too many things
have too many irons in the fire = to do too many things
Idioms Quiz

1. My friend is as ________________ these days. He never gets time to relax.

2. We've been lucky in life. It's been _____________ since the very beginning.
3. I'm sure the situation will improve. It will _________________.
4. You need to ____________________ for this problem. It requires a lot of
concentration.
5. Alan ___________________ during the negotiations for the business deal.
6. Franklin went from ________________ in his life. He started with nothing and ended
up a very rich person.
7. Some artists are lucky and have a huge hit early in life. Then they
______________________ for many years afterwards.
8. My boss _________ me ______________ at work because it was my first week.

Create 5 questions to the text and write their answers too.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Write a letter to your best friend. You have just come back from a
foreign country where you spend your vacation. Your vacation was a
total disaster and you want to tell your friend about it. (150 words)