成功宝典.doc

THE RULES THAT EVERY ACHIEVER KNOWS In October 1982, a 25-year-old woman finished the New York City Marathon. No big deal-- until you learn that Linda Down has cerebral palsy and was the first woman ever plete the -mile race on crutches. Down fell half a dozen times, but kept going until she crossed the finish line, 11 hours after she started. Her handicap limited her speed but not her determination. ]1982 年10月,一位 25岁的姑娘跑完了纽约市马拉松赛的全程。这没什么了不起——可是当你了解到琳达·道恩患有大脑性麻痹,是第一位拄着双拐跑完 英里的女子的时候,你就会改变想法了。道恩摔倒了五、六次,但仍坚持不懈,一直跑到终点。这时她已跑了 11个小时。残疾限制了速度,但不能减弱她的决心。 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote: "Great is the art of beginning, but greater the art is of ending." How nice it would be if we all had a genie who could help us finish what we begin. Unfortunately, we don't. But what we do have isa dynamic called discipline---which extracts a high price. Following one of Paderewski's performances, a fan said to him, "I'd give my life to play like that." The brilliant pianist replied, "I did." 19世纪美国著名诗人亨利·瓦兹沃思·朗费罗曾写道:“善始固然伟大,善终更为伟大。”如果能有一位神灵帮助我们去完成业已开始的事情,那该多好呀!只可惜,我们没有。但是,我们却拥有一种叫做自律的动力——它要求我们付出很高的代价。听完帕德雷夫斯基的演奏,一位音乐迷对他说:“要是能弹得象您这样, 我宁愿付出整个生命。”这位卓越的钢琴家答道: “我已经付出过了。” plishment is often deceptive because we don't see the pain and perseverance that produced it. So we may credit the achiever with brains, brawn or lucky break, and let ourselves off the hook because we fall short in all three.