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.
在紧要关头被委以重任的人通常并不是什么天才，他不比别人拥有更多的天赋，但是他懂得只有坚持不懈地集中精力去做，才能取得成功。商界人士所创造的“奇迹”并非“偶然”。他知道，让奇迹发生的唯一方法就是：找寻新的理念，并领悟它。这也正是有人失败有人成功的唯一奥妙所在。成功者往往去看已经完成的事物，并且一直抱有成功的信念。而失败者常常会去看失败的事物，因此失败总会降临在他身上。
在我看来，每一个接受过正确训练的人都能够成为成功者。有很多人，他们才华横溢、能力极强，却任自己的才能白白浪费，真可谓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资建造一所学校，来教授那些失败者如何取得成功。我相信，他把钱花在这方面是最明智的选择。在一年的时间里，应用心理学就会在他的身上创造奇迹。他们会发现，自己之所以失败，完全是因为意志力不坚定，经常受到悲伤与不幸经历的困扰，致使自己失去了再战的勇气。
失败者首先需要做的，就是自食其力，但他们反而往往会在这里摔倒。结果便是，他们的天赋从来都得不到发展，这是他们自己和世界的损失。我坚信，在不久的将来，一定会有人捐出自己的钱，用来帮助失败的人们重新站立起来，帮助他们认识到自身所拥有的巨大潜能，并将其用到实处；帮助他们摆脱绝望的情绪，让他们重拾自信。
当一个人在今天错失一个机会，他必定会决心找到补救的措施。令人鼓舞的本性使他得到鼓励和建议少之又少。他必须时常修正自己的路线，停止做削减自己能量的事情，集中精力在有用的事情上。今天，我们要克服自身的弱点，不要期待会有人帮你。抖擞精神，坚定信心，决心克服自身的弱点，摆脱恶习。事实上，真的没有人能够为你做这些。鼓励你，这就是他们所能做的。
除了身体欠佳之外，我想不出还有什么因素可以妨碍一个人取得成功。世界上再没有什么障碍是你无法逾越的。要克服阻碍，更加坚定的决心、更多的勇气、更坚强的毅力和意志是必不可少的。
也许今天，拥有勇气、毅力和意志的人生活是贫困的，但是数年之后，他一定会变得富有。与金钱相比，意志的力量是人类更好的财富。只要你给它机会，意志就可以带你跨越失败的深渊。
地位显赫的人往往能够克服重重险阻，从失败中重新站立起来。想想我们众多的发明家，在最终取得成功之前经历了多少艰难啊！他们的行为往往得不到亲朋好友的理解，他们更是时常不能满足生活的基本需求，然而他们靠着坚定的决心和坚决的勇气生存了下来，直到完成自己的发明创造。他们的发明极大地改善了后人的生活条件。
的确，每个人都希望做些事情，但是只有很少的人为成功作出必要的牺牲。做任何事情，只有一种方法可以完成，那就是勇往直前。如今，如果一个人下定决心去做，并且不让任何事物阻碍自己前行，那么也许他就可以完成任何事情。强烈渴望成功的人，会很快克服任何困难。 “困难像弹簧，你弱它就强。”多看看你战胜困难后自己所取得的优势，它会给你征服阻碍所需要的勇气。
你不要期望总会一帆风顺。你的旅途中很有可能有暗礁险滩。不要让险途阻挡你前进的脚步，继续走下去。永远不要坐下来休息和抱怨，想想这段路程是多么美好。前方的美景会抚平你的苦痛。
crucial ['kru:l] adj. 决定性的；紧要关头的；至关重要的；关键性的
One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot
make a team.
一个人可以是一个团体的关键要素，但一个人永远不能成为一个团队。
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.
一百年以来，中国人民为了实现民族复兴的目标作出了不懈的努力。
proposition [,prp'zin] n. 论点；主张；建议；提案
It is not a negative idea but a proposition for an ideal administration
attained only after great endeavors.
“无为而治”不是消极的主张，而是要经过努力才能达到的理想的管理状态。
philanthropist [f i'l鎛rpist] n. 慈善家
The year before, Bill Gates, the mega-billionaire philanthropist
and computer nerd stood here.
前年站在这里的是比尔·盖茨先生，他是一个超级富翁、一个慈善家和电脑天才。
成功者往往去看已经完成的事物，并且一直抱有成功的信念。
与金钱相比，意志的力量是人类更好的财富。
做任何事情，只有一种方法可以完成，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：坚持；遵守
I can think of nothing, but lack of health, that should interfere with one becoming successful.
interfere with：干扰；妨碍
困境中的福祉
The Blessing in Adversity
迈克尔·E.安吉尔 / 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.