The Principle of Success
佚名 / Anonymous
What is success？
I am not going to try to define success. I think a precise definition is impossible. Is it winning a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games or winning Wimbledon， or being awarded a Nobel Prize？ What else？ I believe personal success could be anything at all—it does not have to involve public recognition. Who is more successful？ A millionaire who is unhappy， or an unnoticed person who has led a simple， happy life？ The simplest definition of success I think is “to set out to do something and to succeed in doing it” . It really doesn’t matter what， or how humble the undertaking is.
Believe you can succeed and you will. Achieving success in whatever endeavor you choose may be the goal of life. Because it gives you freedom from worry. Could that be？
Success means different things to every one of us. Some people believe it is measured in financial terms， i.e. having wealth； others believe it is helping others rather than helping themselves. A bit of both perhaps！Or it could be simply achieving for achievement’s sake. Success is such a personal thing. To many people it is the very root of their being—the reason for existing is to achieve something worthwhile in our lives. To the vast majority of the population it doesn’t matter much whether they want to be successful or not； that’s OK by me， as long as that is what you really want and you are happy with life. However， most people want and are motivated to a great extent by public recognition and a relentless pursuit of achievement. How many people are really happy？ How many people are really doing what they want to with their lives？ (Incidentally， the ability to imagine makes us different from animals).
No matter what motivates you personally...whatever you choose to do with your life， don’t expect instant success. The years of struggle， commitment and learning in excelling at whatever endeavor or trade you choose， is no easy task. I would wholeheartedly agree with that statement. It takes a lot of courage， character and discipline to achieve success in any field. Nearly all successful people have doubted themselves at some point and wanted to give up. Yet they carried on. So many people give up within an inch or two away from the gold in the seam down the mine—a whisker away from success. One thing is for sure： success breeds success， as it gathers a momentum of its own and you get on an inning streak when everything seems to fit into place.
I like all of the following quotations. They all stand for what success means to me personally. So I’ll share them with you...
“Success is the continuous journey towards the achievement of predetermined worthwhile goals.” “To live your life in your own way. To reach the goals you’ve set for yourself. To be the person you want to be—that is success.”
什么是成功？
我并不打算诠释成功的概念，我认为要下一个精确的定义是不可能的。成功是在奥运会上赢得金牌或赢得温布尔登大奖赛，或被授予诺贝尔奖，或是其他的什么吗？我认为，个人的成功其实可以是任何事情——它不必得到公众的认可。不快乐的百万富翁，或者被忽视却过着简单而又快乐生活的人，谁更成功呢？关于成功最简单的定义，我认为是“开始做某件事，并在做的过程中获得成就感”。至于具体做什么，做的事情有多么渺小，都不重要。
相信自己能成功，你就会获得成功。也许，生活的目标就是，无论你选择哪个方面，都努力地去完成。因为它能使你从烦恼中解脱出来，不是吗？
对于我们每一个人来说，成功的意义都有所不同。一些人认为要用金融数目来衡量，比如，拥有的财富；另一些人认为是乐于助人，而不是帮助自己。也许两者兼而有之，或者，只是为了达到目的而已。成功是个人的事。对很多人来说，成功是他们生存的根本——我们存在的理由就是要去完成生命中一些有价值的事。对很大一部分人来说，成功与否无关紧要；在我看来，也无所谓，只要这是你真正想要的，并能快乐地生活就好。但是，很多人渴望并激励自己去追求公众的认可和残酷的竞争得到的成果。多少人会真正快乐呢？多少人是真正在做他们想做的事呢？（附加一句，有能力想象使我们有别于动物。）
不论是什么激发你个人的追求，不管你选择一生做什么，都不要期待立刻成功。在任何你选择进入或从事的行业领域中，坚持多年的奋斗，努力和学习工作都不是一件容易的事。我完全同意这个观点，要想在任何一个领域获得成功，都需要勇气、品质和自律精神。所有成功的人几乎都曾在某方面怀疑过自己，并想过要放弃。但是，他们坚持了下去。在离矿井中的金矿层仅有1～2英尺的时候，很多人却放弃了，他们与成功仅有一步之遥。可以肯定的是：成功孕育成功，因为它自身积累了动力，当万事俱备时，你便获得了飞速成功的机会。
我喜欢下面这些语录。它们都能代表我个人对成功的理解，因而，我将与你们一起分享……
“成功是向预先确定的有价值的目标不断前进的旅程。”“用自己的方式生活，达到自己设定的目标，做自己想做的人——这就是成功。”
1. A millionaire who is_________， or an unnoticed person who has_________a simple， happy life？ The simplest definition of success I think is “to_________out to do something and to succeed in doing it”. It really doesn’t _________what， or how humble the undertaking is.
2. However， most people_________and are motivated to a great extent by public recognition and a relentless pursuit_________achievement. How many_________are really happy？ How many people are really _________what they want to with their lives？
3.“Success is the continuous journey_________the achievement of predetermined worthwhile goals.”
1. 关于成功最简单的定义，我认为是“开始做某件事，并在做的过程中获得成就感”。
2. 对于我们每一个人来说，成功的意义都有所不同。
3. 成功是向预先确定的有价值的目标不断前进的旅程。
1. Incidentally， the ability to imagine makes us different from animals.
different from：与……不同；不同；不同于；与……区别
2. They all stand for what success means to me personally.
stand for：代表；代替；意味着；主张；支持