英语名篇诵读 成功的最大秘诀

The Greatest Principles of Success

成功的最大秘诀

I was not delivered unto this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins¹. I am not a

sheep waiting to be prodded² by my shepherd. I am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep

with the sheep. I will hear not those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious³ .

Let them join the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny.

The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to

me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter

at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how

close it lies unless I turn the corner. Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take

another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult.

Henceforth, I will consider each day's effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty⁴

oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor⁵ in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow,

of itself, may be trifling⁶, and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will

eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today. I will be likened to the rain drop which

washes away the mountain; the ant who devours⁷ a tiger; the star which brightens the earth; the

slave who builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small

attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking⁸.

I will never consider defeat and I will remove from my vocabulary such words and phrases as

quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the question, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless,

and retreat; for they are the words of fools. I will avoid despair but if this disease of the mind

should infect me then I will work on in despair. I will toil⁹ and I will endure. I will ignore the

obstacles at my feet and keep my eyes on the goals above my head, for I know that where dry

desert ends, green grass grows.

I will remember the ancient law of averages and I will bend it to my good. I will persist with

knowledge that each failure will increase my chance for success at the next attempt. Each nay¹⁰ I

hear will bring me closer to the sound of yea. Each frown I meet only prepares me for the smile to

come. Each misfortune I encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow's good luck. I must have

the night to appreciate the day. I must fail often to succeed only once.

I will try, and try, and try again. Each obstacle I will consider as a mere¹¹ detour¹² to my goal

and a challenge to my profession. I will persist and develop my skills as the mariner¹³ develops his,

by learning to ride out the wrath¹⁴ of each storm.

I will not allow yesterday's success to lull¹⁵ me into today's complacency , for this is the

great foundation of failure. I will forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were

good or bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of my life. So

long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist. For now I know one of the greatest principles

of success; if I persist long enough I will win.

I will persist. I will win.

我们不是为了失败才来到这个世界，我们的血管里流淌的也不是失败的血液。我不是

等着被牧羊人屠宰的绵羊。我是雄狮，拒绝和绵羊在一起交谈、漫步、入睡。我绝不听他

人的哭泣声和埋怨声，他们的毛病有传染性。让他们跟绵羊做伴吧。失败者的屠宰场不是

我命运的归宿。

生活的奖品是在每次旅行的终点，不是靠近起点。没有人告诉我需要多少步才能到达

终点。走到第一千步我也许还会遭遇失败。但是成功就在道路的下一个拐弯处。除非拐过

弯，否则我怎么也不会知道距离成功有多近。我总会再迈开一步。如果这没有用，就再走

下一步，然后再下一步。事实上，一次一步地走也不算太难。

从今以后，我将把每天做出的努力看成我用刀刃把大橡树砍一次。第一斧也许大橡树

连微微晃动一下也没有，第二斧不动，第三斧也不动。每一斧本身，也许无关痛痒，仿佛

没有任何作用。但是就是靠这小小的一刀又一刀，大橡树终会轰然倒下。我今天的努力也

是如此。我可以将自己比作冲刷山岭的雨滴、吞食老虎的蚂蚁、照亮地球的星星、建造金

字塔的奴隶。我将每次砌一块砖，去建成我的城堡，因为我知道，微小的努力，持之以

恒，终将成就大业。

我决不会考虑失败，我将从我的词汇表中删除这样的词和短语：放弃，不能，不能

够，不可能，不存在可能性，不大可能，失败，行不通，无望，退却。因为这些是蠢人的

语汇。我将回避绝望，不过如果这种心理疾病当真感染了我，我将在绝望中继续努力不

息。我将会埋头苦干，坚忍不拔。我会忽略脚下的障碍，眼睛紧盯着前方的目标。因为我

知道，在干燥沙漠的尽头，就是丰美的草地。

我将牢记古老的平均律，将它朝有益我的方向弯曲。我将坚持下去，因为我知道，每

次失败都会增加下次成功的机会。每次我听到的“不”，都会把我带近“是”的地方。每次的

皱眉，都只为微笑做准备。每次不幸，都携带着明天好运的种子。经历了黑夜，才能领略

白昼的亮丽。我得失败多次才能成功一次。

我将努力，努力，再努力。我将把每个障碍看成达到目标要走的迂回路，看成对我职

业的一种挑战。我将坚持不懈，像航海家练习驾驭惊涛骇浪那样，提高自己的技能。

我不会让昨天的成功诱使自己沾沾自喜，因为骄傲自满是失败的最大祸根。我将忘记

过去的一切，无论好坏，满怀信心迎接新的朝阳，相信这将是我人生中最好的日子。只要

一息尚存，我都要坚持下去。因为我现在知道了成功的最大秘诀，只要我持之以恒，我就

会成功。

我将坚持，我会赢。

1 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 prodded   

v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• She prodded him in the ribs to wake him up. 她用手指杵他的肋部把他叫醒。
• He prodded at the plate of fish with his fork. 他拿叉子戳弄着那盘鱼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

4 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

5 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

6 trifling   

adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的

参考例句：

• They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。
• So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利，不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。

7 devours   

吞没( devour的第三人称单数 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. 若有人想要害他们，就有火从他们口中出来，烧灭仇敌。
• It eats away parts of his skin; death's firstborn devours his limbs. 他本身的肢体要被吞吃，死亡的长子要吞吃他的肢体。

8 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

9 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

10 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

11 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

12 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

13 mariner   

n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者

参考例句：

• A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.平静的大海决不能造就熟练的水手。
• A mariner must have his eye upon rocks and sands as well as upon the North Star.海员不仅要盯着北极星，还要注意暗礁和险滩。

14 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

15 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。