Expert: Anne Benington - 9/4/2009

Question
1.

Ex: If a person is very smart and talented, if others can’t count on him then it’s useless no matter how excellent the records are that he achieves.

I wonder if there’s a better way to revise the sentence above.


2.
Ex: Successful people have more energy to do anything they want to do no matter how difficult the situations in which they find themselves.

I have revised the above sentence as the following. Please give me some feedback.
I wonder if there’s a better way to revise the sentence above.

Successful people are energetic and interested in whatever they do no matter how difficult the situation may be.

3.
Ex: Successful people are always optimistic when facing any troublesome problems. They’re always insisting that success is possible up to the last moment.

Should I leave out “troublesome” in the sentence? What does “success is possible up to the last moment” mean? Or is there a better way to rephrase it?


Answer
Hello Oppo,

Sentence #1 is a bit confusing.  If a person concentrates, he or she can understand the meaning but you might say it this way for clarity:

"Even if a person is very smart and talented, his excellent records are of no value if others can’t count on him."

The revision of your second sentence is very good.  I would not change it.

"Success is possible up to the last moment" means that until a project or problem is really over, one can still solve the problem or make the project a success.  Many times people give up and say, "There is no answer to this problem," but creative, intelligent people will never take this answer. They will always strive to find a solution.

You might write the sentence this way:  "Successful people are always optimistic when facing complicated problems, insisting that success is possible up to the last moment."