文前
这就引出了我的第一条原则,也是最重要的原则:
This brings me to my first and most important principle:
独立思考,并保证头脑极度开放
THINK FOR YOURSELF WHILE BEING RADICALLY OPEN-MINDED
回顾自己的人生旅途,我现在明白,时间就像一条河流,推着我们前行,途中会与现实相遇,需要我们做出决策。
Looking back on my own journey, I can now see that time is like a river that carries us forward into our encounters with reality that require us to make decisions.
我们无法停止前行,也无法回避现实。
We can’t stop the movement down this river and we can’t avoid the encounters.
我们只能以最好的方式应对现实。
We can only approach them in the best possible way.
一生中,你会遇到无数件事,需要做无数的决定。决定的质量将决定你的生活质量。
好的决定会带给你好的结果,糟糕的决定则会伤害你。
In your lifetime you will have millions of encounters that will require you to make millions of decisions. The quality of your decision making will determine the quality of your life.
Good decisions will reward you with good outcomes and bad decisions will hurt you.
如果你够聪明,你所遇到的事将教会你现实是如何运作的,并教给你一些原则,以更好地应对现实。
If you’re smart, these encounters will teach you how reality works and will give you principles for dealing with your realities well.
起初,我并没有这些原则。我是从一生的经历当中获得了这些原则——主要是通过犯错误和反思错误。
I didn’t start out with my principles. I acquired them over a lifetime... mostly from making mistakes and reflecting on them.
从我还是孩子的时候开始,我就奋力追求自己想要的东西……
Ever since I was a kid I ran after the things I wanted…
跌倒了……
...crashed…
爬起来,接着跑……
...got up and ran again...
再次跌倒。
...and crashed again.
每次跌倒,我都吸取教训……
Each time I crashed, I learned something...
变得更厉害……
...got better...
也就更少跌倒。
...and crashed less.
通过不断跌倒—反思—积累经验—继续前进,我学会去享受这个过程,包括跌倒本身。
我还学会把每次遇到的问题都看作一个谜题。如果我能破解谜题,就会得到宝石作为奖励。
这个谜题就是“下次遇到这种情况,我该怎么做”,而宝石就是在将来对我有益的一条原则。
我的原则就是这样积累下来的。我把它们写下来,并不断完善。
我建议你也这样做。
By doing that over and over again I learned to love this process, even the crashing part of it.
I also learned to view problems like puzzles that would give me gems if I could solve them.
The puzzle was “what should I do in this situation next time?” and the gem I would get by solving it was a principle that would help me in the future.
That is how I got my principles. I wrote them down and modified them over time.
I recommend that you do that, too.
这个过程教会了我一条最基本的原则,那就是……
This process taught me one of my most fundamental principles, which is that...
要想做出好的决定,知道真相是什么,至关重要。
KNOWING WHAT IS TRUE IS ESSENTIAL FOR MAKING GOOD DECISIONS
知道真相是什么,也就是知道现实是如何运行的。为了成功,我们必须遵循自然法则,这些自然法则并不是由人类创造的,但如果我们能理解这些自然法则,就能利用它们来实现自己的目标。
By knowing what is true, I mean knowing how reality works. People didn’t create the laws of nature that we have to live by in order to be successful, but if we can understand these laws we can use them to achieve our goals.
这让我成为一个超级现实的人:拥抱现实并妥善应对现实,而不是否定现实,还抱怨现实不如自己的意。
This makes me a hyperrealist: someone who embraces reality and works with it well as it is — not someone who wishes it were different and complains that it is not to their liking.
这就引出了我的第三条原则:
That brings me to my third principle:
梦想+现实+决心=成功的生活
DREAMS + REALITY + DETERMINATION= A SUCCESSFUL LIFE
换句话说,如果你能一直专注于实现自己的梦想,主动去理解对你有影响的现实,找到应对现实的方法,并且有决心付诸实践,那么你就会学到通往成功的原则。
In other words, if you keep focused on achieving your dreams, take responsibility for understanding the realities that affect you and how to deal with them well, and do that with determination, you will learn principles that will give you a successful life.
那么,什么是成功的生活呢?
So what is a successful life?
我们每个人都必须自己决定什么是成功的生活。我无所谓你是想成为“宇宙的主宰”……还是想悠然度日……还是有其他追求。我真的无所谓。
We each have to decide for ourselves what it is. I don’t care whether you want to be a “Master of the Universe”...or to live under a palm tree...or anything else. I really don’t.
你想要什么完全取决于你自己。我只是想让你快乐、健康,自己进化的同时,也为人类进化做出贡献。
What you want is up to you. I just want you to be happy and healthy, having your own great evolution while contributing to evolution.
然而,无论选择哪条道路,你都必须去拥抱现实……
However, whatever path you choose, you must embrace your realities...
尤其是那些你但愿从未发生的现实。
...especially the ones you wish weren’t true.
一开始,我的问题、错误和弱点让我很痛苦,主要是因为我陷入了不想面对它们的情绪。
At first, my problems, mistakes, and weaknesses caused me a lot of pain, mostly because I was stuck wishing I didn’t have them.
后来,我意识到这些痛苦是一种信号,提醒我需要反思自己的现状,以及反思如何最好地应对现实。
After a while, I learned that these pains were messages that were signaling that I needed to reflect on my realities and how to best deal with them.
那时我才明白:
That’s when I learned that:
痛苦 +反思=进步
PAIN + REFLECTION= PROGRESS
认识到这些,我发现通向成功需要遵循“五步流程”。
Discovering these things made me see that being successful is just a matter of following the 5-Step Process.