The men that have risen to the highest positions have usually had to gain their victories against big odds. Think of the hardships many of our inventors have gone through before they became a success. Usually they have been very much misunderstood by relatives and friends. Very often they did not have the bare necessities of life， yet， by sheer determination and resolute courage， they managed to exist somehow until they perfected their inventions， which afterwards greatly helped in bettering the condition of others.
Everyone really wants to do something， but there are few that will put forward the needed effort to make the necessary sacrifice to secure it. There is only one way to accomplish anything and that is to go ahead and do it. A man may accomplish almost anything today， if he just sets his heart on doing it and lets nothing interfere with his progress. Obstacles are quickly overcome by the man that sets out to accomplish his heart' s desire. The "bigger" the man， the smaller the obstacle appears. The "smaller" the man the greater the obstacle appears. Always look at the advantage you gain by overcoming obstacles， and it will give you the needed courage for their conquest.
Do not expect that you will always have easy sailing. Parts of your journey are likely to be rough. Don' t let the rough places put you out of commission. Keep on with the journey. Never sit down and complain of the rough places， but think how nice the pleasant stretches were. View with delight the smooth plains that are in front of you.
在緊要關頭被委以重任的人通常並不是什麽天才，他不比別人擁有更多的天賦，但是他懂得隻有堅持不懈地集中精力去做，才能取得成功。商界人士所創造的“奇跡”並非“偶然”。他知道，讓奇跡發生的唯一方法就是：找尋新的理念，並領悟它。這也正是有人失敗有人成功的唯一奧妙所在。成功者往往去看已經完成的事物，並且一直抱有成功的信念。而失敗者常常會去看失敗的事物，因此失敗總會降臨在他身上。
在我看來，每一個接受過正確訓練的人都能夠成為成功者。有很多人，他們才華橫溢、能力極強，卻任自己的才能白白浪費，真可謂是一件令人羞愧的事。我希望有一天，可以看到哪位慈善家出資建造一所學校，來教授那些失敗者如何取得成功。我相信，他把錢花在這方麵是最明智的選擇。在一年的時間裏，應用心理學就會在他的身上創造奇跡。他們會發現，自己之所以失敗，完全是因為意誌力不堅定，經常受到悲傷與不幸經曆的困擾，致使自己失去了再戰的勇氣。
失敗者首先需要做的，就是自食其力，但他們反而往往會在這裏摔倒。結果便是，他們的天賦從來都得不到發展，這是他們自己和世界的損失。我堅信，在不久的將來，一定會有人捐出自己的錢，用來幫助失敗的人們重新站立起來，幫助他們認識到自身所擁有的巨大潛能，並將其用到實處；幫助他們擺脫絕望的情緒，讓他們重拾自信。
當一個人在今天錯失一個機會，他必定會決心找到補救的措施。令人鼓舞的本性使他得到鼓勵和建議少之又少。他必須時常修正自己的路線，停止做削減自己能量的事情，集中精力在有用的事情上。今天，我們要克服自身的弱點，不要期待會有人幫你。抖擻精神，堅定信心，決心克服自身的弱點，擺脫惡習。事實上，真的沒有人能夠為你做這些。鼓勵你，這就是他們所能做的。
除了身體欠佳之外，我想不出還有什麽因素可以妨礙一個人取得成功。世界上再沒有什麽障礙是你無法逾越的。要克服阻礙，更加堅定的決心、更多的勇氣、更堅強的毅力和意誌是必不可少的。
也許今天，擁有勇氣、毅力和意誌的人生活是貧困的，但是數年之後，他一定會變得富有。與金錢相比，意誌的力量是人類更好的財富。隻要你給它機會，意誌就可以帶你跨越失敗的深淵。
地位顯赫的人往往能夠克服重重險阻，從失敗中重新站立起來。想想我們眾多的發明家，在最終取得成功之前經曆了多少艱難啊！他們的行為往往得不到親朋好友的理解，他們更是時常不能滿足生活的基本需求，然而他們靠著堅定的決心和堅決的勇氣生存了下來，直到完成自己的發明創造。他們的發明極大地改善了後人的生活條件。
的確，每個人都希望做些事情，但是隻有很少的人為成功作出必要的犧牲。做任何事情，隻有一種方法可以完成，那就是勇往直前。如今，如果一個人下定決心去做，並且不讓任何事物阻礙自己前行，那麽也許他就可以完成任何事情。強烈渴望成功的人，會很快克服任何困難。 “困難像彈簧，你弱它就強。”多看看你戰勝困難後自己所取得的優勢，它會給你征服阻礙所需要的勇氣。
你不要期望總會一帆風順。你的旅途中很有可能有暗礁險灘。不要讓險途阻擋你前進的腳步，繼續走下去。永遠不要坐下來休息和抱怨，想想這段路程是多麽美好。前方的美景會撫平你的苦痛。
crucial ['kru：l] adj. 決定性的；緊要關頭的；至關重要的；關鍵性的
One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team， but one man cannot
make a team.
一個人可以是一個團體的關鍵要素，但一個人永遠不能成為一個團隊。
untiring [n'tairi] adj.不知疲倦的；不懈的
Chinese people has made great untiring efforts to achieve the
aim of the people reborn since centenary.
一百年以來，中國人民為了實現民族複興的目標作出了不懈的努力。
proposition [，prp'zin] n. 論點；主張；建議；提案
It is not a negative idea but a proposition for an ideal administration
attained only after great endeavors.
“無為而治”不是消極的主張，而是要經過努力才能達到的理想的管理狀態。
philanthropist [f i'l鎛rpist] n. 慈善家
The year before， Bill Gates， the mega-billionaire philanthropist
and computer nerd stood here.
前年站在這裏的是比爾·蓋茨先生，他是一個超級富翁、一個慈善家和電腦天才。
成功者往往去看已經完成的事物，並且一直抱有成功的信念。
與金錢相比，意誌的力量是人類更好的財富。
做任何事情，隻有一種方法可以完成，那就是勇往直前。
He knows that the only way they will happen is by sticking to a proposition and seeing it through.
stick to：堅持；遵守
I can think of nothing， but lack of health， that should interfere with one becoming successful.
interfere with：幹擾；妨礙
困境中的福祉
The Blessing in Adversity
邁克爾·E.安吉爾 / Michael E. Angier
When I was about five years old， I lived with my family in Enterprise， Alabama for a few months while my father attended an advanced aviation course at nearby Fort Rucker.
What makes Enterprise， Alabama especially memorable is a strange monument they have in the middle of town. You can't miss it. In fact， you have to drive around it because it sits right in the middle of the road. The monument is a statue to the boll weevil.
It' s probably the only monument in the world erected in honor of an insect. It certainly wasn' t done because of its aesthetic value. The boll weevil is a particularly ugly-looking creature. Surprisingly， it was erected because of the devastation the boll weevil caused to the cotton crops of the surrounding area！
Why did they honor this pest？ Well， had it not been for the boll weevil， the local economy would have continued its unhealthy dependence on its one crop， one-product economy. Until then， everything depended entirely on cotton. When the boll weevil came， the farmers and all the other businesses that were reliant on the cotton farmers were forced to recognize the need to diversify.
In the long run， they saw that the boll weevil had， in fact， done them a favor by destroying their crops. No longer were their eggs all in one cotton basket. They started raising hogs， peanuts and other cash crops， and the entire area was better off for it.