英语沙龙：成功人格

The Success Personality

Is there a “success personality” —

some winning combination of qualities

that leads almost inevitably¹ to achievement?

If so, exactly what is that secret success formula,

and can anyone develop it?

At the Gallop² Organization we recently focused in depth on success,

probing the attitudes of 1500 prominent people selected at random³

from Who’s Who in America.

Our research finds out a number of qualities

that occur regularly among top achievers.

Here is one of the most important,

that is common sense.

Common sense is the most prevailing⁴ quality

possessed⁵ by our respondents.

Seventy-nine percent award themselves a top score in this quality.

And 61 percent say that common sense was very important

in contributing to their success.

To most, common sense means the ability to present sound,

practical judgments⁶ on everyday affairs.

To do this, one has to sweep aside extra ideas

and get right to the core of what matters.

A Texas oil and gas businessman puts it this way:

“The key ability for success is simplifying.

In conducting of meeting and dealing⁷ with industry，

reducing a complex problem to the simplest term is highly important.”

Is common sense a quality a person is born with,

or can you do something to increase it?

The oil man’s answer is that common sense can definitely be developed.

He attributes his to learning how to debate in school.

Another way to increase your store of common sense is to observe it in others,

learning from their — and your own — mistakes.

Besides common sense,

there are many other factors that influence success:

knowing your field, self-reliance, intelligence,

the ability to get things done, leadership, creativity,

relationships with others, and of course, luck.

But common sense stands out.

If you develop these qualities, you’ll succeed.

And you might even find yourself listed in Who’s Who someday.

1 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

2 gallop   

v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展

参考例句：

• They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。
• The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。

3 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

4 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

5 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

6 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。