I would like to make it clear，in parenthesis，that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. ...... I cannot criticise my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves，and I have since been poor，and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear，and stress，and sometimes depression；it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts，that is indeed something on which to pride yourself，but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.
A mere seven years after my graduation day，I had failed on an epic scale.
An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded，and I was jobless，a lone parent，and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain，without being homeless. The fears my parents had had for me，and that I had had for myself，had both come to pass，and by every usual standard，I was the biggest failure I knew.
That period of my life was a dark one. I had no idea how far the tunnel extended，and for a long time，any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.
So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was，and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else，I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged?
第一章 Stay Hungry，Stay Foolish (10)
I was set free，because my greatest fear had already been realised，and I was still alive，and I still had a daughter whom I adored，and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.
Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will，and more discipline than I had suspected；I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above rubies.
You will never truly know yourself，or the strength of your relationships，until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift，for all that it is painfully won，and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.
The fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed，your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person’s idea of success，so high have you already flown academically.
But how much more are you，Harvard graduates of 2008，likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence，your capacity for hard work，the education you have earned and received，give you unique status，and unique responsibilities....... That is your privilege，and your burden.
If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice；if you choose to identify not only with the powerful，but with the powerless；if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages，then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence，but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better.
We do not need magic to change the world，we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already：we have the power to imagine better.
当时，我只想写小说。但是，我的父母出身贫寒，没有受过大学教育。他们认为，我那些不安分的想象力只是一种怪癖，根本不能用来还房贷、挣养老金。
他们希望我再去读个专业学位，而我想去攻读英国文学。最后，达成了一个双方都不甚满意的妥协：我改学外语。可是等到父母一走，我立刻报名学习古典文学。我不记得将这事告诉了父母。他们可能是在毕业典礼那一天才发现的。我想，在全世界的所有专业中，他们也许认为，不会有比研究希腊神话更没用的专业了，连一间宽敞的卫生间都无法换来。
我要申明，我并不责怪父母。他们只是希望我不要过穷日子，我不能批评他们。他们自己很穷，我后来一度也很穷，所以我很理解他们，贫穷是一种悲惨的经历。它带来恐惧、压力、有时还有抑郁。它意味着许许多多的羞辱和艰辛。靠自己的努力摆脱贫穷，确实让人自豪，但是只有傻瓜才会将贫穷本身浪漫化。
我毕业后只过了7年，就失败得一塌糊涂。
短命的婚姻闪电般地破裂，我还失业了，成了一个艰难的单身母亲。除了流浪汉，我是当代英国最穷的人之一，真的一无所有。我父母对我的担忧，我对自己的担忧，都变成了现实。用平常人的标准，我是我所知道的最失败的人。
那段日子是我生命中的黑暗岁月。我不知道还要在黑暗中走多久，很长一段时间中，我有的只是希望，而不是现实。
为什么我说失败是有好处的？因为失败将那些非本质的东西都剥离了。我不再伪装自己，我找到了真正的自己，我将自己所有的精力都投入到完成对我来说最重要的唯一一项工作中去了。要是我以前在其他地方成功了，那么我也许永远不会决心投身于这个我自认为真正属于我的领域。
我自由了，因为我最大的恐惧已经成为现实，而我却还依然活着，依然有一个深爱着的女儿，我还有一台旧打字机和一个大大的梦想。我生命中最低的低点，成为我重建生活的坚实基础。
失败使我的内心产生了一种安全感，以前通过考试也没有的安全感。失败让我看清自己，以前我从没认识到自己是这样的。我发现，我比自己以为的，有更强的意志和决心。我还发现，我有一些比宝石还珍贵的朋友。
只有到逆境来临的那一天，你才会真正了解你自己，了解你结识的人。这种了解是真正的财富，虽然是用痛苦换来的，但是它比我以前得到的任何证书都有用。
……
你们是哈佛毕业生的这个事实，说明你们并不很了解失败。你们也许极其渴望成功，所以非常害怕失败。说实话，你们眼中的失败，很可能就是普通人眼中的成功，毕竟你们在学业上已经很成功了。
但是，所有各位，哈佛大学2008届毕业生，你们对其他人的生活了解多少？你们的智慧、你们的能力、你们所受的教育，给了你们独一无二的优势，也给了你们独一无二的责任……你们的优势就是你们的责任。
你们要用自己的地位和影响，为那些被忽略的人们说话；你们不仅要看到那些有权有势者，也要看到那些无权无势者；你们要学会设想，那些条件不如你们的人们是如何生活的；那样的话，不仅你们的亲人们将为你们感到自豪，而且千千万万的人们将因为你们的帮助而生活得更好。
我们不需要改变世界的魔法，我们自己就有这样的力量：那就是我们一直在梦想着的，让这个世界变得更美好。
导读
2008年6月5日，《哈里·波特》小说作者、英国女作家J·K·罗琳来到哈佛并发表演讲。在演讲中，她几乎没有谈到哈里·波特，而是说了年轻时的一些经历。虽然J·K·罗琳现在是仅次于女王的最富有的女人，但是她曾经有一段非常艰辛的日子，30岁了，还差点流落街头。她更看重的是，自己从这段经历中学到的东西。
单词注解
executive [i^5zekjutiv] adj.执行的；实施的；经营管理的
romanticise [rEJ`mAntisaiz] v.(使)浪漫化；(使)传奇化
adore [E5dC:] v.崇拜，崇敬；敬重
status [5steitEs] n.地位，身份
identify [ai5dentifai] v.确认；识别；鉴定
诵读名句
Of all subjects on this planet，I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.
An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded，and I was jobless，a lone parent，and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain，without being homeless.
The fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure.