第一篇：抵抗天賦的誘惑(記貝索斯在普林斯頓大學(xué)2010年學(xué)士畢業(yè)典禮上的演講)

抵抗天賦的誘惑(記貝索斯在普林斯頓大學(xué)2010年學(xué)士畢業(yè)典禮上的演講)我一直相信每一個(gè)人都有自己的天賦，每一個(gè)人的存在都代表著宇宙空間中的一種唯一，然而令我經(jīng)常都在深思的是，既然我們都是這樣的獨(dú)特，又為何偏偏要去模仿和畸變成擁有同類“基因”的人呢？為什么我們中的很多人都不愿意去追逐屬于自己的理想，或者不能為此奮斗一生呢，抑或者一生都是在自欺欺人的辯解？在Randy的The Last Lecture中我深深的感受到了一個(gè)人追逐自己最初理想的意義會(huì)變得如此的偉大，充滿的是一種人生最大的和最根本的價(jià)值。一直在想這樣的一個(gè)問題，當(dāng)社會(huì)尚且艱難，生活尚且苦難的日子里都有如此多人在追逐屬于自己夢(mèng)想的時(shí)候；在一個(gè)生活舒適，物質(zhì)條件優(yōu)越的年代我們竟然不知所措的迷失掉自己的方向，找不到自己前行的路。這是多么可悲和可笑的一種境況！我們，有了更高的天賦，有了更好的環(huán)境，卻因?yàn)橛懈嗟倪x擇而抹殺了我們自己的夢(mèng)...這確實(shí)讓人覺得不可思議！

我相信每個(gè)人都有自己最初的夢(mèng)想，在這樣的一個(gè)年代，在這樣一個(gè)至少?zèng)]有饑寒交迫的時(shí)代，我堅(jiān)信追逐自己理想的人會(huì)獲得生命盡頭最高貴的禮物和人生最大的價(jià)值！

記：在一個(gè)可以實(shí)現(xiàn)最初夢(mèng)想的時(shí)代選擇不可以的沉默必將是這個(gè)時(shí)代最損失的損失，也必將是生活在這個(gè)時(shí)代的人最遺憾的遺憾...附：

抵抗天賦的誘惑（貝索斯在普林斯頓大學(xué)2010年學(xué)士畢業(yè)典禮上的演講）

在我還是一個(gè)孩子的時(shí)候，我的夏天總是在德州祖父母的農(nóng)場(chǎng)中度過。我?guī)兔π蘩盹L(fēng)車，為牛接種疫苗，也做其它家務(wù)。每天下午，我們都會(huì)看肥皂劇，尤其是《我們的歲月》。我的祖父母參加了一個(gè)房車俱樂部，那是一群駕駛Airstream拖掛型房車的人們，他們結(jié)伴遍游美國和加拿大。每隔幾個(gè)夏天，我也會(huì)加入他們。我們把房車掛在祖父的小汽車后面，然后加入300余名Airstream探險(xiǎn)者們組成的浩蕩隊(duì)伍。

我愛我的祖父母，我崇敬他們，也真心期盼這些旅程。那是一次我大概十歲時(shí)的旅行，我照例坐在后座的長椅上，祖父開著車，祖母坐在他旁邊，吸著煙。我討厭煙味。

在那樣的年紀(jì)，我會(huì)找任何借口做些估測(cè)或者小算術(shù)。我會(huì)計(jì)算油耗還有雜貨花銷等雞毛蒜皮的小事。我聽過一個(gè)有關(guān)吸煙的廣告。我記不得細(xì)節(jié)了，但是廣告大意是說，每吸一口香煙會(huì)減少幾分鐘的壽命，大概是兩分鐘。無論如何，我決定為祖母做個(gè)算術(shù)。我估測(cè)了祖母每天要吸幾支香煙，每支香煙要吸幾口等等，然后心滿意足地得出了一個(gè)合理的數(shù)字。接著，我捅了捅坐在前面的祖母的頭，又拍了拍她的肩膀，然后驕傲地宣稱，“每天吸兩分鐘的煙，你就少活九年!”

我清晰地記得接下來發(fā)生了什么，而那是我意料之外的。我本期待著小聰明和算術(shù)技巧能贏得掌聲，但那并沒有發(fā)生。相反，我的祖母哭泣起來。我的祖父之前一直在默默開車，把車停在了路邊，走下車來，打開了我的車門，等著我跟他下車。我惹麻煩了嗎?我的祖父是一個(gè)智慧而安靜的人。他從來沒有對(duì)我說過嚴(yán)厲的話，難道這會(huì)是第一次?還是他會(huì)讓我回到車上跟祖母道歉?我以前從未遇到過這種狀況，因而也無從知曉會(huì)有什么后果發(fā)生。我們?cè)诜寇嚺酝Ｏ聛?。祖父注視著我，沉默片刻，然后輕輕地、平靜地說：“杰夫，有一天你會(huì)明白，善良比聰明更難?！?選擇比天賦更重要 今天我想對(duì)你們說的是，天賦和選擇不同。聰明是一種天賦，而善良是一種選擇。天賦得來很容易——畢竟它們與生俱來。而選擇則頗為不易。如果一不小心，你可能被天賦所誘惑，這可能會(huì)損害到你做出的選擇。

在座各位都擁有許多天賦。我確信你們的天賦之一就是擁有精明能干的頭腦。之所以如此確信，是因?yàn)槿雽W(xué)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)十分激烈，如果你們不能表現(xiàn)出聰明智慧，便沒有資格進(jìn)入這所學(xué)校。你們的聰明才智必定會(huì)派上用場(chǎng)，因?yàn)槟銈儗⒃谝黄錆M奇跡的土地上行進(jìn)。我們?nèi)祟悾M管跬步前行，卻終將令自己大吃一驚。我們能夠想方設(shè)法制造清潔能源，也能夠一個(gè)原子一個(gè)原子地組裝微型機(jī)械，使之穿過細(xì)胞壁，然后修復(fù)細(xì)胞。這個(gè)月，有一個(gè)異常而不可避免的事情發(fā)生了——人類終于合成了生命。在未來幾年，我們不僅會(huì)合成生命，還會(huì)按說明書驅(qū)動(dòng)它們。我相信你們甚至?xí)吹轿覀兝斫馊祟惖拇竽X，儒勒·凡爾納，馬克·吐溫，伽利略，牛頓——所有那些充滿好奇之心的人都希望能夠活到現(xiàn)在。作為文明人，我們會(huì)擁有如此之多的天賦，就像是坐在我面前的你們，每一個(gè)生命個(gè)體都擁有許多獨(dú)特的天賦。

你們要如何運(yùn)用這些天賦呢?你們會(huì)為自己的天賦感到驕傲，還是會(huì)為自己的選擇感到驕傲? 追隨自己內(nèi)心的熱情

16年前，我萌生了創(chuàng)辦亞馬遜的想法。彼時(shí)我面對(duì)的現(xiàn)實(shí)是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)使用量以每年2300%的速度增長，我從未看到或聽說過任何增長如此快速的東西。創(chuàng)建涵蓋幾百萬種書籍的網(wǎng)上書店的想法令我興奮異常，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)東西在物理世界里根本無法存在。那時(shí)我剛剛30歲，結(jié)婚才一年。

我告訴妻子MacKenzie想辭去工作，然后去做這件瘋狂的事情，很可能會(huì)失敗，因?yàn)榇蟛糠謩?chuàng)業(yè)公司都是如此，而且我不確定那之后會(huì)發(fā)生什么。MacKenzie告訴我，我應(yīng)該放手一搏。在我還是一個(gè)男孩兒的時(shí)候，我是車庫發(fā)明家。我曾用水泥填充的輪胎、雨傘和錫箔以及報(bào)警器制作了一個(gè)自動(dòng)關(guān)門器。我一直想做一個(gè)發(fā)明家，MacKenzie支持我追隨內(nèi)心的熱情。

我當(dāng)時(shí)在紐約一家金融公司工作，同事是一群非常聰明的人，我的老板也很有智慧，我很羨慕他。我告訴我的老板我想開辦一家在網(wǎng)上賣書的公司。他帶我在中央公園漫步良久，認(rèn)真地聽我講完，最后說：“聽起來真是一個(gè)很好的主意，但是對(duì)那些目前沒有謀到一份好工作的人來說，這個(gè)主意會(huì)更好?！?/p>

這一邏輯對(duì)我而言頗有道理，他說服我在最終作出決定之前再考慮48小時(shí)。那樣想來，這個(gè)決定確實(shí)很艱難，但是最終，我決定拼一次。我認(rèn)為自己不會(huì)為嘗試過后的失敗而遺憾，倒是有所決定但完全不付諸行動(dòng)會(huì)一直煎熬著我。在深思熟慮之后，我選擇了那條不安全的道路，去追隨我內(nèi)心的熱情。我為那個(gè)決定感到驕傲。明天，非常現(xiàn)實(shí)地說，你們從零塑造自己人生的時(shí)代即將開啟。你們會(huì)如何運(yùn)用自己的天賦?你們又會(huì)作出怎樣的抉擇? 你們是被慣性所引導(dǎo)，還是追隨自己內(nèi)心的熱情? 你們會(huì)墨守陳規(guī)，還是勇于創(chuàng)新? 你們會(huì)選擇安逸的生活，還是選擇一個(gè)奉獻(xiàn)與冒險(xiǎn)的人生? 你們會(huì)屈從于批評(píng)，還是會(huì)堅(jiān)守信念? 你們會(huì)掩飾錯(cuò)誤，還是會(huì)坦誠道歉? 你們會(huì)因害怕拒絕而掩飾內(nèi)心，還是會(huì)在面對(duì)愛情時(shí)勇往直前? 你們想要波瀾不驚，還是想要搏擊風(fēng)浪? 你們會(huì)在嚴(yán)峻的現(xiàn)實(shí)之下選擇放棄，還是會(huì)義無反顧地前行? 你們要做憤世嫉俗者，還是踏實(shí)的建設(shè)者? 你們要不計(jì)一切代價(jià)地展示聰明，還是選擇善良? 我要做一個(gè)預(yù)測(cè)：在你們80歲時(shí)某個(gè)追憶往昔的時(shí)刻，只有你一個(gè)人靜靜對(duì)內(nèi)心訴說著你的人生故事，其中最為充實(shí)、最有意義的那段講述，會(huì)被你們作出的一系列決定所填滿。最后，是選擇塑造了我們的人生。為你自己塑造一個(gè)偉大的人生故事。謝謝，祝你們好運(yùn)!

英文原稿：

“We are What We Choose” Remarks by Jeff Bezos, as delivered to the Class of 2010 Baccalaureate May 30, 2010

As a kid, I spent my summers with my grandparents on their ranch in Texas.I helped fix windmills, vaccinate cattle, and do other chores.We also watched soap operas every afternoon, especially “Days of our Lives.” My grandparents belonged to a Caravan Club, a group of Airstream trailer owners who travel together around the U.S.and Canada.And every few summers, we'd join the caravan.We'd hitch up the Airstream trailer to my grandfather's car, and off we'd go, in a line with 300 other Airstream adventurers.I loved and worshipped my grandparents and I really looked forward to these trips.On one particular trip, I was about 10 years old.I was rolling around in the big bench seat in the back of the car.My grandfather was driving.And my grandmother had the passenger seat.She smoked throughout these trips, and I hated the smell.At that age, I'd take any excuse to make estimates and do minor arithmetic.I'd calculate our gas mileage--figure out useless statistics on things like grocery spending.I'd been hearing an ad campaign about smoking.I can't remember the details, but basically the ad said, every puff of a cigarette takes some number of minutes off of your life: I think it might have been two minutes per puff.At any rate, I decided to do the math for my grandmother.I estimated the number of cigarettes per days, estimated the number of puffs per cigarette and so on.When I was satisfied that I'd come up with a reasonable number, I poked my head into the front of the car, tapped my grandmother on the shoulder, and proudly proclaimed, “At two minutes per puff, you've taken nine years off your life!” I have a vivid memory of what happened, and it was not what I expected.I expected to be applauded for my cleverness and arithmetic skills.“Jeff, you're so smart.You had to have made some tricky estimates, figure out the number of minutes in a year and do some division.” That's not what happened.Instead, my grandmother burst into tears.I sat in the backseat and did not know what to do.While my grandmother sat crying, my grandfather, who had been driving in silence, pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway.He got out of the car and came around and opened my door and waited for me to follow.Was I in trouble? My grandfather was a highly intelligent, quiet man.He had never said a harsh word to me, and maybe this was to be the first time? Or maybe he would ask that I get back in the car and apologize to my grandmother.I had no experience in this realm with my grandparents and no way to gauge what the consequences might be.We stopped beside the trailer.My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, “Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever.” What I want to talk to you about today is the difference between gifts and choices.Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice.Gifts are easy--they're given after all.Choices can be hard.You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you're not careful, and if you do, it'll probably be to the detriment of your choices.This is a group with many gifts.I'm sure one of your gifts is the gift of a smart and capable brain.I'm confident that's the case because admission is competitive and if there weren't some signs that you're clever, the dean of admission wouldn't have let you in.Your smarts will come in handy because you will travel in a land of marvels.We humans--plodding as we are--will astonish ourselves.We'll invent ways to generate clean energy and a lot of it.Atom by atom, we'll assemble tiny machines that will enter cell walls and make repairs.This month comes the extraordinary but also inevitable news that we've synthesized life.In the coming years, we'll not only synthesize it, but we'll engineer it to specifications.I believe you'll even see us understand the human brain.Jules Verne, Mark Twain, Galileo, Newton--all the curious from the ages would have wanted to be alive most of all right now.As a civilization, we will have so many gifts, just as you as individuals have so many individual gifts as you sit before me.How will you use these gifts? And will you take pride in your gifts or pride in your choices? I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago.I came across the fact that Web usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year.I'd never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles--something that simply couldn't exist in the physical world--was very exciting to me.I had just turned 30 years old, and I'd been married for a year.I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go do this crazy thing that probably wouldn't work since most startups don't, and I wasn't sure what would happen after that.MacKenzie(also a Princeton grad and sitting here in the second row)told me I should go for it.As a young boy, I'd been a garage inventor.I'd invented an automatic gate closer out of cement-filled tires, a solar cooker that didn't work very well out of an umbrella and tinfoil, baking-pan alarms to entrap my siblings.I'd always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired.I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet.He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn't already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision.Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately, I decided I had to give it a shot.I didn't think I'd regret trying and failing.And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I'm proud of that choice.Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life--the life you author from scratch on your own--begins.How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make? Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions? Will you follow dogma, or will you be original? Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure? Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions? Will you bluff it out when you're wrong, or will you apologize? Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love? Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling? When it's tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless? Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder? Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind? I will hazard a prediction.When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made.In the end, we are our choices.Build yourself a great story.Thank you and good luck!

第二篇：貝索斯在普林斯頓大學(xué)2010年學(xué)士畢業(yè)典禮上的演講)

在我還是一個(gè)孩子的時(shí)候，我的夏天總是在德州祖父母的農(nóng)場(chǎng)中度過。我?guī)兔π蘩盹L(fēng)車，為牛接種疫苗，也做其它家務(wù)。每天下午，我們都會(huì)看肥皂劇，尤其是《我們的歲月》。我的祖父母參加了一個(gè)房車俱樂部，那是一群駕駛Airstream拖掛型房車的人們，他們結(jié)伴遍游美國和加拿大。每隔幾個(gè)夏天，我也會(huì)加入他們。我們把房車掛在祖父的小汽車后面，然后加入300余名Airstream探險(xiǎn)者們組成的浩蕩隊(duì)伍。

我愛我的祖父母，我崇敬他們，也真心期盼這些旅程。那是一次我大概十歲時(shí)的旅行，我照例坐在后座的長椅上，祖父開著車，祖母坐在他旁邊，吸著煙。我討厭煙味。

在那樣的年紀(jì)，我會(huì)找任何借口做些估測(cè)或者小算術(shù)。我會(huì)計(jì)算油耗還有雜貨花銷等雞毛蒜皮的小事。我聽過一個(gè)有關(guān)吸煙的廣告。我記不得細(xì)節(jié)了，但是廣告大意是說，每吸一口香煙會(huì)減少幾分鐘的壽命，大概是兩分鐘。無論如何，我決定為祖母做個(gè)算術(shù)。我估測(cè)了祖母每天要吸幾支香煙，每支香煙要吸幾口等等，然后心滿意足地得出了一個(gè)合理的數(shù)字。接著，我捅了捅坐在前面的祖母的頭，又拍了拍她的肩膀，然后驕傲地宣稱，“每天吸兩分鐘的煙，你就少活九年!”

我清晰地記得接下來發(fā)生了什么，而那是我意料之外的。我本期待著小聰明和算術(shù)技巧能贏得掌聲，但那并沒有發(fā)生。相反，我的祖母哭泣起來。我的祖父之前一直在默默開車，把車停在了路邊，走下車來，打開了我的車門，等著我跟他下車。我惹麻煩了嗎?我的祖父是一個(gè)智慧而安靜的人。他從來沒有對(duì)我說過嚴(yán)厲的話，難道這會(huì)是第一次?還是他會(huì)讓我回到車上跟祖母道歉?我以前從未遇到過這種狀況，因而也無從知曉會(huì)有什么后果發(fā)生。我們?cè)诜寇嚺酝Ｏ聛怼Ｗ娓缸⒁曋?，沉默片刻，然后輕輕地、平靜地說：“杰夫，有一天你會(huì)明白，善良比聰明更難。”

選擇比天賦更重要

今天我想對(duì)你們說的是，天賦和選擇不同。聰明是一種天賦，而善良是一種選擇。天賦得來很容易——畢竟它們與生俱來。而選擇則頗為不易。如果一不小心，你可能被天賦所誘惑，這可能會(huì)損害到你做出的選擇。

在座各位都擁有許多天賦。我確信你們的天賦之一就是擁有精明能干的頭腦。之所以如此確信，是因?yàn)槿雽W(xué)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)十分激烈，如果你們不能表現(xiàn)出聰明智慧，便沒有資格進(jìn)入這所學(xué)校。

你們的聰明才智必定會(huì)派上用場(chǎng)，因?yàn)槟銈儗⒃谝黄錆M奇跡的土地上行進(jìn)。我們?nèi)祟?，盡管跬步前行，卻終將令自己大吃一驚。我們能夠想方設(shè)法制造清潔能源，也能夠一個(gè)原子一個(gè)原子地組裝微型機(jī)械，使之穿過細(xì)胞壁，然后修復(fù)細(xì)胞。這個(gè)月，有一個(gè)異常而不可避免的事情發(fā)生了——人類終于合成了生命。在未來幾年，我們不僅會(huì)合成生命，還會(huì)按說明書驅(qū)動(dòng)它們。我相信你們甚至?xí)吹轿覀兝斫馊祟惖拇竽X，儒勒·凡爾納，馬克·吐溫，伽利略，牛頓——所有那些充滿好奇之心的人都希望能夠活到現(xiàn)在。作為文明人，我們會(huì)擁有如此之多的天賦，就像是坐在我面前的你們，每一個(gè)生命個(gè)體都擁有許多獨(dú)特的天賦。

你們要如何運(yùn)用這些天賦呢?你們會(huì)為自己的天賦感到驕傲，還是會(huì)為自己的選擇感到驕傲?

追隨自己內(nèi)心的熱情

16年前，我萌生了創(chuàng)辦亞馬遜的想法。彼時(shí)我面對(duì)的現(xiàn)實(shí)是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)使用量以每年2300%的速度增長，我從未看到或聽說過任何增長如此快速的東西。創(chuàng)建涵蓋幾百萬種書籍的網(wǎng)上書店的想法令我興奮異常，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)東西在物理世界里根本無法存在。那時(shí)我剛剛30歲，結(jié)婚才一年。

我告訴妻子MacKenzie想辭去工作，然后去做這件瘋狂的事情，很可能會(huì)失敗，因?yàn)榇蟛糠謩?chuàng)業(yè)公司都是如此，而且我不確定那之后會(huì)發(fā)生什么。MacKenzie告訴我，我應(yīng)該放手一搏。在我還是一個(gè)男孩兒的時(shí)候，我是車庫發(fā)明家。我曾用水泥填充的輪胎、雨傘和錫箔以及報(bào)警器制作了一個(gè)自動(dòng)關(guān)門器。我一直想做一個(gè)發(fā)明家，MacKenzie支持我追隨內(nèi)心的熱情。

我當(dāng)時(shí)在紐約一家金融公司工作，同事是一群非常聰明的人，我的老板也很有智慧，我很羨慕他。我告訴我的老板我想開辦一家在網(wǎng)上賣書的公司。他帶我在中央公園漫步良久，認(rèn)真地聽我講完，最后說：“聽起來真是一個(gè)很好的主意，但是對(duì)那些目前沒有謀到一份好工作的人來說，這個(gè)主意會(huì)更好?！?/p>

這一邏輯對(duì)我而言頗有道理，他說服我在最終作出決定之前再考慮48小時(shí)。那樣想來，這個(gè)決定確實(shí)很艱難，但是最終，我決定拼一次。我認(rèn)為自己不會(huì)為嘗試過后的失敗而遺憾，倒是有所決定但完全不付諸行動(dòng)會(huì)一直煎熬著我。在深思熟慮之后，我選擇了那條不安全的道路，去追隨我內(nèi)心的熱情。我為那個(gè)決定感到驕傲。

明天，非?，F(xiàn)實(shí)地說，你們從零塑造自己人生的時(shí)代即將開啟。

你們會(huì)如何運(yùn)用自己的天賦?你們又會(huì)作出怎樣的抉擇?

你們是被慣性所引導(dǎo)，還是追隨自己內(nèi)心的熱情?

你們會(huì)墨守陳規(guī)，還是勇于創(chuàng)新?

你們會(huì)選擇安逸的生活，還是選擇一個(gè)奉獻(xiàn)與冒險(xiǎn)的人生?

你們會(huì)屈從于批評(píng)，還是會(huì)堅(jiān)守信念?

你們會(huì)掩飾錯(cuò)誤，還是會(huì)坦誠道歉?

你們會(huì)因害怕拒絕而掩飾內(nèi)心，還是會(huì)在面對(duì)愛情時(shí)勇往直前?

你們想要波瀾不驚，還是想要搏擊風(fēng)浪?

你們會(huì)在嚴(yán)峻的現(xiàn)實(shí)之下選擇放棄，還是會(huì)義無反顧地前行?

你們要做憤世嫉俗者，還是踏實(shí)的建設(shè)者?

你們要不計(jì)一切代價(jià)地展示聰明，還是選擇善良?

我要做一個(gè)預(yù)測(cè)：在你們80歲時(shí)某個(gè)追憶往昔的時(shí)刻，只有你一個(gè)人靜靜對(duì)內(nèi)心訴說著你的人生故事，其中最為充實(shí)、最有意義的那段講述，會(huì)被你們作出的一系列決定所填滿。最后，是選擇塑造了我們的人生。為你自己塑造一個(gè)偉大的人生故事。

謝謝，祝你們好運(yùn)!

(本文譯自貝索斯在普林斯頓大學(xué)2010年學(xué)士畢業(yè)典禮上的演講)

第三篇：杰夫·貝索斯普林斯頓大學(xué)演講(中英)

As a kid, I spent my summers with my grandparents on their ranch(牧場(chǎng))in Texas(德克薩斯).I helped fix windmills（風(fēng)車）, vaccinate cattle（給牛接種疫苗）, and do other chores（雜務(wù)）.We also watched soap operas（肥皂?。〆very afternoon, especially “Days of our Lives.” My grandparents belonged to a Caravan（乘拖車度假）Club, a group of Airstream trailer（車屋）owners who travel together around the U.S.and Canada.And every few summers, we’d join the caravan.We’d hitch（鉤?。﹗p the Airstream trailer to my grandfather’s car, and off we’d go, in a line with 300 other Airstream adventurers.I loved and worshipped（崇敬）my grandparents and I really looked forward to these trips.On one particular（特別的）trip, I was about 10 years old.I was rolling around in the big bench seat in the back of the car.My grandfather was driving.And my grandmother had the passenger seat.She smoked throughout these trips, and I hated the smell.童年時(shí)，夏天都是在姥爺?shù)牡驴怂_斯牧場(chǎng)里度過。我修過風(fēng)車、給牛接種疫苗，做過許多其它的事情。每天下午我們也看肥皂劇，經(jīng)?？础段覀兊娜兆印?。我的姥爺外婆參加了一個(gè)房車俱樂部。他們都有自己的房車，一起在美國和加拿大旅游。每隔幾個(gè)夏天，我也會(huì)參加他們的旅行。我們把房車掛在姥爺?shù)霓I車上，就這樣，我們跟其它300個(gè)房車愛好者出發(fā)了。我非常愛姥爺和外婆，總是非常期待和他們一塊兒出去旅行。在一次特殊的旅途當(dāng)中，我依舊坐在后排車座上。姥爺在開著車，外婆坐在旅客席上，一直抽著煙，但我很討厭煙味。

At that age, I’d take any excuse to make estimates（預(yù)算）and do minor arithmetic（算術(shù)）.I’d calculate（計(jì)算）our gas mileage（每英里汽油消耗量）— figure out useless statistics（統(tǒng)計(jì)）on things like grocery（食品雜貨店）spending.I’d been hearing an ad campaign（活動(dòng)）about smoking.I can’t remember the details, but basically the ad said, every puff of a cigarette（香煙）takes some number of minutes off of your life: I think it might have been two minutes per puff.At any rate, I decided to do the math for my grandmother.I estimated the number of cigarettes per days, estimated the number of puffs per cigarette and so on.When I was satisfied that I’d come up with a reasonable number, I poked（撥）my head into the front of the car, tapped（輕拍）my grandmother on the shoulder, and proudly proclaimed（公告）, “At two minutes per puff, you’ve taken nine years off your life!”

在那個(gè)年齡，我總是找一切機(jī)會(huì)去進(jìn)行計(jì)算和預(yù)測(cè)，我曾經(jīng)計(jì)算過車的油耗量和一些沒多大用處的事情，像食品雜貨店的開銷這樣的事情。我曾聽到過一個(gè)關(guān)于吸煙的廣告，具體的內(nèi)容記的不是太清，但我記的廣告基本內(nèi)容是，每吸一口煙將從我們生命中帶走幾分鐘的時(shí)間。我想應(yīng)該是每口兩分鐘，不管怎樣，我決定為外婆計(jì)算一下。我估算每天抽幾根煙，每根煙需要抽幾口等等。當(dāng)我確定已經(jīng)計(jì)算出一個(gè)合理的數(shù)據(jù)時(shí)，我把頭伸向汽車的前排，輕輕拍了一下外婆，大聲的說：“以每口兩分鐘計(jì)算的話，你已經(jīng)抽走了九年的時(shí)間了！”。

I have a vivid(生動(dòng)的)memory of what happened, and it was not what I expected.I expected to be applauded（夸獎(jiǎng)）for my cleverness and arithmetic（算術(shù)）skills.“Jeff, you’re so smart.You had to have made some tricky（狡猾的）estimates, figure out the number of minutes in a year and do some division（除法）.” That’s not what happened.Instead, my grandmother burst into tears（突然哭起來）.I sat in the backseat and did not know what to do.While my

grandmother sat crying, my grandfather, who had been driving in silence, pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway.He got out of the car and came around and opened my door and waited for me to follow.Was I in trouble? My grandfather was a highly intelligent, quiet man.He had never said a harsh（嚴(yán)厲的）word to me, and maybe this was to be the first time? Or maybe he would ask that I get back in the car and apologize to my grandmother.I had no experience in this realm（領(lǐng)域）with my grandparents and no way to gauge（估計(jì)）what the consequences（后果）might be.We stopped beside the trailer.My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, “Jeff, one day you’ll understand that it’s harder to be kind than clever.”

我對(duì)此有很深刻的印象，我期望外婆夸獎(jiǎng)我的聰明和算術(shù)能力，我想外婆會(huì)說：“杰夫，你是如此的聰明，你可以計(jì)算出一年有多少分鐘并且也能做除法?！钡Y(jié)果卻不是這樣的。外婆突然哭了出來，我坐在車?yán)锊恢涝撛趺崔k。姥爺依舊開著車，默不作聲，最后他把車聽到了路邊，下了車，打開我這邊的車門，站在那里等我下車。我心里有點(diǎn)忐忑。我的姥爺是一個(gè)睿智溫和的男人，從來沒有責(zé)備過我，但或許這有可能就成為了第一次，也有可能讓我去給外婆道歉。我從來沒有經(jīng)歷過，也不知道會(huì)有什么樣的后果。當(dāng)我們走到拖車的后面，姥爺停下了腳步，看著我，在一陣沉默之后，他平靜而又溫柔的對(duì)我說：“杰夫，總有一天你會(huì)明白善良比聰明更難?！?/p>

What I want to talk to you about today is the difference between gifts and choices.Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice.Gifts are easy — they’re given after all.Choices can be hard.You can seduce（誘惑）yourself with your gifts if you’re not careful, and if you do, it’ll probably be to the detriment of your choices.今天我想告訴你們的是天賦和選擇的區(qū)別。聰明是一種天賦，善良卻是一種選擇。天賦是最容易得到的，因?yàn)槟阋怀錾陀辛?，善良卻是難得的。你如果你一不小心，你就會(huì)讓天賦去驅(qū)使自己，它會(huì)蒙蔽的你雙眼。

This is a group with many gifts.I’m sure one of your gifts is the gift of a smart and capable brain.I’m confident that’s the case because admission（準(zhǔn)許進(jìn)入）is competitive and if there weren’t some signs that you’re clever, the dean of admission wouldn’t have let you in.這里說的天賦有很多種，我相信敏捷的思維和活躍的大腦就是你們的天賦之

一。我確信這一點(diǎn)，是因?yàn)閬磉@所大學(xué)的學(xué)生是經(jīng)過殘酷競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的，如果你們沒有這些特征的話，學(xué)校也不愿意招收你們的。

Your smarts will come in handy（便利的）because you will travel in a land of marvels（奇跡）.We humans — plodding（單調(diào)乏味的）as we are — will astonish（使驚訝）ourselves.We’ll invent ways to generate（產(chǎn)生）clean energy and a lot of it.Atom by atom, we’ll assemble（集合）tiny machines that will enter cell walls and make repairs.This month comes the extraordinary（非凡的）but also inevitable（必然的）news that we’ve synthesized（合成的）life.In the coming years, we’ll not only synthesize it, but we’ll engineer it to specifications（規(guī)格）.I believe you’ll even see us understand the human brain.Jules Verne, Mark Twain, Galileo, Newton — all the curious from the ages would have wanted to be alive most of all right now.As a civilization（文化）, we will have so many gifts, just as you as individuals（個(gè)人）

have so many individual gifts as you sit before me.你們的聰明才智終究會(huì)派上用途的，那時(shí)，你們正在進(jìn)行著一次絕妙的旅程，我們?nèi)祟?，單調(diào)乏味的人類，最終卻讓我們自己感到不可思議。我們找到很多方式去發(fā)明清潔能源。我們用原子做成很小的機(jī)器，用它進(jìn)入到細(xì)胞壁來進(jìn)行一些修復(fù)。這個(gè)月我們已經(jīng)合成了細(xì)胞，在來年我們不僅要合成，我們還要給細(xì)胞定一些規(guī)格。我認(rèn)為我們甚至可以了解人類的大腦，儒勒·凡爾納、馬克·吐溫、伽利略、牛頓——所有這些有思想的人都可以復(fù)活。作為一種共識(shí)，我們有這么多天賦，你們還有許多個(gè)人天賦。

How will you use these gifts? And will you take pride in your gifts or pride in your choices?

你怎么用這些天賦呢？你會(huì)為你的天賦或者選擇自豪么？

I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago.I came across the fact that Web usage（使用）was growing at 2,300 percent per year.I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles — something that simply couldn’t exist in the physical world — was very exciting to me.I had just turned 30 years old, and I’d been married for a year.I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most startups（創(chuàng)業(yè)）don’t, and I wasn’t sure what would happen after that.MacKenzie(also a Princeton grad and sitting here in the second row)told me I should go for it.As a young boy, I’d been a garage（車庫）inventor.I’d invented an automatic gate closer out of cement-filled tires, a solar（太陽能灶）cooker that didn’t work very well out of an umbrella and tinfoil（錫紙）, baking-pan alarms to entrap（欺騙）my siblings（兄弟姐妹）.I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion（激情）.16年前我有了開亞馬遜的想法。我無意中發(fā)現(xiàn)這樣一個(gè)事實(shí)：互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的使用人數(shù)以每年2300%的速度進(jìn)行增長。我從來沒有見過或聽說過哪種事物增長的這么迅速，然后我有了一個(gè)令我激動(dòng)的想法，那就是建一個(gè)可以有數(shù)百萬圖書的網(wǎng)上書店，然而這種書店在物理世界中是不可能存在的。那時(shí)我才剛剛?cè)畾q，剛結(jié)婚一年。我告訴我的妻子MacKenzie我想辭職去做一件瘋狂的事，甚至我自己也不知道做完這件事會(huì)有什么樣的結(jié)果，MacKenzie（也是一個(gè)普林斯頓大學(xué)的畢業(yè)生，就坐在第二排）告訴我，讓我放手去做。當(dāng)我還是個(gè)孩子的時(shí)候，我已經(jīng)成為了一個(gè)車庫發(fā)明家。我發(fā)明了一個(gè)能自動(dòng)填充水泥的輪胎，一個(gè)沒有了雨傘和錫紙就不能工作的太陽能炊具和欺騙兄弟用的平底鍋報(bào)警裝置。我一直想成為一個(gè)發(fā)明者，并且我的妻子讓我跟著心走。

I was working at a financial firm（金融企業(yè)）in New York City with a bunch（群）of very smart people, and I had a brilliant（杰出的）boss that I much admired.I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet.He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic（邏輯）made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision.Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately（最終）, I decided I had to give it a shot.I didn’t think I’d regret

trying and failing.And I suspected（懷疑）I would always be haunted（纏?。゜y a decision to not try at all.After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that choice.我當(dāng)時(shí)和一群非常聰明的人一起在一家紐約的金融公司工作，我很羨慕我們的老板。我走進(jìn)老板的辦公室，告訴他我想辦一家在網(wǎng)上賣書的公司。他帶著我去中央公園散步，很認(rèn)真的聽我說，聽完后跟我說：“聽起來這是一個(gè)很好的注意，但對(duì)于一個(gè)還沒有好工作的人來說，這會(huì)是一個(gè)更好的注意”。這個(gè)說法有點(diǎn)打動(dòng)我，老板讓我好好想兩天再做決定。從那個(gè)角度看，這確實(shí)是一個(gè)艱難的抉擇，但是最終我決定試一試。我想我不會(huì)因?yàn)閲L試和失敗而后悔，而會(huì)因?yàn)闆]有嘗試而懊惱。經(jīng)過思考，我決定為我的激情而鋌而走險(xiǎn)，我為我的選擇而自豪。

Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life — the life you author from scratch on your own — begins.明天，從某種意義上，你自己的人生才剛剛開始。

How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?

你會(huì)怎么運(yùn)用你的天賦？做出怎么樣的選擇？

Will inertia（惰性）be your guide, or will you follow your passions?

惰性會(huì)成為你的常態(tài)，還是跟著激情奔走？

Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?

你會(huì)屈服于命運(yùn)，還是與天搏斗？

Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?

你會(huì)選擇一種安逸的生活，還是選擇一個(gè)充滿冒險(xiǎn)而有意義的生活？ Will you wilt（屈服）under criticism, or will you follow your convictions（信仰）? 你會(huì)在指責(zé)中退縮，還是堅(jiān)持你的信仰？

Will you bluff（蒙混過關(guān)）it out when you’re wrong, or will you apologize? 當(dāng)你犯錯(cuò)時(shí)，你會(huì)選擇蒙混過關(guān)，還是去勇敢的面對(duì)？

Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?

面對(duì)愛情時(shí)，你會(huì)因?yàn)榫芙^而退縮，還是會(huì)一往無前？

Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?

你們想要波瀾不驚，還是想要搏擊風(fēng)浪？

When it’s tough（困難）, will you give up, or will you be relentless?

在困境中，你選擇放棄，還是百折不撓？

Will you be a cynic（憤世嫉俗者）, or will you be a builder?

你們要做憤世嫉俗者，還是踏實(shí)的建設(shè)者？

Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?

你們要不計(jì)一切代價(jià)地展示聰明，還是選擇善良？

I will hazard（冒險(xiǎn)）a prediction（語言）.When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating（敘述）for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact（簡(jiǎn)潔）and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made.In the end, we are our choices.Build yourself a great story.Thank you and good luck!

我可以負(fù)責(zé)任的說。當(dāng)你八十歲的時(shí)候，你自己靜靜的反思自己的一生，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)記得都是自己所做的一系列的決定。而這每一一些列的決定最后造就了我們自己。創(chuàng)建一個(gè)屬于你自己的精彩故事。謝謝并祝你們好運(yùn)。

第四篇：4月2日杰夫貝索斯普林斯頓2010畢業(yè)典禮演講

杰夫·貝索斯(Jeff Bezos)在普林斯頓2010畢業(yè)典禮的演講

——抵抗天賦的誘惑

2010 Baccalaureate remarks, Princeton University

“We are What We Choose”

Remarks by Jeff Bezos, as delivered to the Class of 2010 Baccalaureate May 30, 2010

在我還是一個(gè)孩子的時(shí)候，我的夏天總是在德州祖父母的農(nóng)場(chǎng)中度過。我?guī)兔π蘩盹L(fēng)車，為牛接種疫苗，也做其它家務(wù)。每天下午，我們都會(huì)看肥皂劇，尤其是《我們的歲月》。我的祖父母參加了一個(gè)房車俱樂部，那是一群駕駛Airstream拖掛型房車的人們，他們結(jié)伴遍游美國和加拿大。每隔幾個(gè)夏天，我也會(huì)加入他們。我們把房車掛在祖父的小汽車后面，然后加入300余名Airstream探險(xiǎn)者們組成的浩蕩隊(duì)伍。

As a kid, I spent my summers with my grandparents on their ranch in Texas.I helped fix windmills, vaccinate cattle, and do other chores.We also watched soap operas every afternoon, especially “Days of our Lives.” My grandparents belonged to a Caravan Club, a group of Airstream trailer owners who travel together around the U.S.and Canada.And every few summers, we'd join the caravan.We'd hitch up the Airstream trailer to my grandfather's car, and off we'd go, in a line with 300 other Airstream adventurers.我愛我的祖父母，我崇敬他們，也真心期盼這些旅程。那是一次我大概十歲時(shí)的旅行，我照例坐在后座的長椅上，祖父開著車，祖母坐在他旁邊，吸著煙。我討厭煙味。

I loved and worshipped my grandparents and I really looked forward to these trips.On one particular trip, I was about 10 years old.I was rolling around in the big bench seat in the back of the car.My grandfather was driving.And my grandmother had the passenger seat.She smoked throughout these trips, and I hated the smell.在那樣的年紀(jì)，我會(huì)找任何借口做些估測(cè)或者小算術(shù)。我會(huì)計(jì)算油耗還有雜貨花銷等雞毛蒜皮的小事。我聽過一個(gè)有關(guān)吸煙的廣告。我記不得細(xì)節(jié)了，但是廣告大意是說，每吸一口香煙會(huì)減少幾分鐘的壽命，大概是兩分鐘。無論如何，我決定為祖母做個(gè)算術(shù)。我估測(cè)了祖母每天要吸幾支香煙，每支香煙要吸幾口等等，然后心滿意足地得出了一個(gè)合理的數(shù)字。接著，我捅了捅坐在前面的祖母的頭，又拍了拍她的肩膀，然后驕傲地宣稱，“每天吸兩分鐘的煙，你就少活九年!”

At that age, I'd take any excuse to make estimates and do minor arithmetic.I'd calculate our gas mileage--figure out useless statistics on things like grocery spending.I'd been hearing an ad campaign about smoking.I can't remember the details, but basically the ad said, every puff of a cigarette takes some number of minutes off of your life: I think it might have been two minutes per puff.At any rate, I decided to do the math for my grandmother.I estimated the number of

cigarettes per days, estimated the number of puffs per cigarette and so on.When I was satisfied that I'd come up with a reasonable number, I poked my head into the front of the car, tapped my grandmother on the shoulder, and proudly proclaimed, “At two minutes per puff, you've taken nine years off your life!”

我清晰地記得接下來發(fā)生了什么，而那是我意料之外的。我本期待著小聰明和算術(shù)技巧能贏得掌聲，但那并沒有發(fā)生。相反，我的祖母哭泣起來。我的祖父之前一直在默默開車，把車停在了路邊，走下車來，打開了我的車門，等著我跟他下車。我惹麻煩了嗎?

I have a vivid memory of what happened, and it was not what I expected.I expected to be applauded for my cleverness and arithmetic skills.“Jeff, you're so smart.You had to have made some tricky estimates, figure out the number of minutes in a year and do some division.” That's not what happened.Instead, my grandmother burst into tears.I sat in the backseat and did not know what to do.While my grandmother sat crying, my grandfather, who had been driving in silence, pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway.He got out of the car and came around and opened my door and waited for me to follow.Was I in trouble?

我的祖父是一個(gè)智慧而安靜的人。他從來沒有對(duì)我說過嚴(yán)厲的話，難道這會(huì)是第一次?還是他會(huì)讓我回到車上跟祖母道歉?我以前從未遇到過這種狀況，因而也無從知曉會(huì)有什么后果發(fā)生。我們?cè)诜寇嚺酝Ｏ聛?。祖父注視著我，沉默片刻，然后輕輕地、平靜地說：“杰夫，有一天你會(huì)明白，善良比聰明更難?！?/p>

My grandfather was a highly intelligent, quiet man.He had never said a harsh word to me, and maybe this was to be the first time? Or maybe he would ask that I get back in the car and apologize to my grandmother.I had no experience in this realm with my grandparents and no way to gauge what the consequences might be.We stopped beside the trailer.My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, “Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever.”

今天我想對(duì)你們說的是，天賦和選擇不同。聰明是一種天賦，而善良是一種選擇。天賦得來很容易——畢竟它們與生俱來。而選擇則頗為不易。如果一不小心，你可能被天賦所誘惑，這可能會(huì)損害到你做出的選擇。

What I want to talk to you about today is the difference between gifts and choices.Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice.Gifts are easy--they're given after all.Choices can be hard.You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you're not careful, and if you do, it'll probably be to the detriment of your choices.在座各位都擁有許多天賦。我確信你們的天賦之一就是擁有精明能干的頭腦。之所以如此確信，是因?yàn)槿雽W(xué)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)十分激烈，如果你們不能表現(xiàn)出聰明智慧，便沒有資格進(jìn)入這所學(xué)校。

This is a group with many gifts.I'm sure one of your gifts is the gift of a smart and capable brain.I'm confident that's the case because admission is competitive and if there weren't some signs that you're clever, the dean of admission wouldn't have let you in.你們的聰明才智必定會(huì)派上用場(chǎng)，因?yàn)槟銈儗⒃谝黄錆M奇跡的土地上行進(jìn)。我們?nèi)祟悾M管跬步前行，卻終將令自己大吃一驚。我們能夠想方設(shè)法制造清潔能源，也能夠一個(gè)原子一個(gè)原子地組裝微型機(jī)械，使之穿過細(xì)胞壁，然后修復(fù)細(xì)胞。這個(gè)月，有一個(gè)異常而不可避免的事情發(fā)生了——人類終于合成了生命。在未來幾年，我們不僅會(huì)合成生命，還會(huì)按說明書驅(qū)動(dòng)它們。我相信你們甚至?xí)吹轿覀兝斫馊祟惖拇竽X，儒勒·凡爾納，馬克·吐溫，伽利略，牛頓——所有那些充滿好奇之心的人都希望能夠活到現(xiàn)在。作為文明人，我們會(huì)擁有如此之多的天賦，就像是坐在我面前的你們，每一個(gè)生命個(gè)體都擁有許多獨(dú)特的天賦。

Your smarts will come in handy because you will travel in a land of marvels.We humans--plodding as we are--will astonish ourselves.We'll invent ways to generate clean energy and a lot of it.Atom by atom, we'll assemble tiny machines that will enter cell walls and make repairs.This month comes the extraordinary but also inevitable news that we've synthesized life.In the coming years, we'll not only synthesize it, but we'll engineer it to specifications.I believe you'll even see us understand the human brain.Jules Verne, Mark Twain, Galileo, Newton--all the curious from the ages would have wanted to be alive most of all right now.As a civilization, we will have so many gifts, just as you as individuals have so many individual gifts as you sit before me.你們要如何運(yùn)用這些天賦呢?你們會(huì)為自己的天賦感到驕傲，還是會(huì)為自己的選擇感到驕傲?

How will you use these gifts? And will you take pride in your gifts or pride in your choices?

16年前，我萌生了創(chuàng)辦亞馬遜的想法。彼時(shí)我面對(duì)的現(xiàn)實(shí)是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)使用量以每年2300%的速度增長，我從未看到或聽說過任何增長如此快速的東西。創(chuàng)建涵蓋幾百萬種書籍的網(wǎng)上書店的想法令我興奮異常，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)東西在物理世界里根本無法存在。那時(shí)我剛剛30歲，結(jié)婚才一年。

I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago.I came across the fact that Web usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year.I'd never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles--something that simply couldn't exist in the physical world--was very exciting to me.I had just turned 30 years old, and I'd been married for a year.我告訴妻子MacKenzie想辭去工作，然后去做這件瘋狂的事情，很可能會(huì)失敗，因?yàn)榇蟛糠謩?chuàng)業(yè)公司都是如此，而且我不確定那之后會(huì)發(fā)生什么。MacKenzie告訴我，我應(yīng)該放手一搏。在我還是一個(gè)男孩兒的時(shí)候，我是車庫發(fā)明家。我曾用水泥填充的輪胎、雨傘和錫箔以及報(bào)警器制作了一個(gè)自動(dòng)關(guān)門器。我一直想做一個(gè)發(fā)明家，MacKenzie支持我追隨內(nèi)心的熱情。

I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go do this crazy thing that probably wouldn't work since most startups don't, and I wasn't sure what would happen after that.MacKenzie(also a Princeton grad and sitting here in the second row)told me I should go for it.As a young boy, I'd been a garage inventor.I'd invented an automatic gate closer out of cement-filled tires, a solar cooker that didn't work very well out of an umbrella and tinfoil, baking-pan alarms to entrap my siblings.I'd always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.我當(dāng)時(shí)在紐約一家金融公司工作，同事是一群非常聰明的人，我的老板也很有智慧，我很羨慕他。我告訴我的老板我想開辦一家在網(wǎng)上賣書的公司。他帶我在中央公園漫步良久，認(rèn)真地聽我講完，最后說：“聽起

來真是一個(gè)很好的主意，但是對(duì)那些目前沒有謀到一份好工作的人來說，這個(gè)主意會(huì)更好?！?/p>

I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired.I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet.He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn't already have a good job.”

這一邏輯對(duì)我而言頗有道理，他說服我在最終作出決定之前再考慮48小時(shí)。那樣想來，這個(gè)決定確實(shí)很艱難，但是最終，我決定拼一次。我認(rèn)為自己不會(huì)為嘗試過后的失敗而遺憾，倒是有所決定但完全不付諸行動(dòng)會(huì)一直煎熬著我。在深思熟慮之后，我選擇了那條不安全的道路，去追隨我內(nèi)心的熱情。我為那個(gè)決定感到驕傲。

That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision.Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately, I decided I had to give it a shot.I didn't think I'd regret trying and failing.And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I'm proud of that choice.明天，非?，F(xiàn)實(shí)地說，你們從零塑造自己人生的時(shí)代即將開啟。

Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life--the life you author from scratch on your own--begins.你們會(huì)如何運(yùn)用自己的天賦?你們又會(huì)作出怎樣的抉擇?

How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?

你們是被慣性所引導(dǎo)，還是追隨自己內(nèi)心的熱情?

Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?

你們會(huì)墨守陳規(guī)，還是勇于創(chuàng)新?

Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?

你們會(huì)選擇安逸的生活，還是選擇一個(gè)奉獻(xiàn)與冒險(xiǎn)的人生?

Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?

你們會(huì)屈從于批評(píng)，還是會(huì)堅(jiān)守信念?

Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?

你們會(huì)掩飾錯(cuò)誤，還是會(huì)坦誠道歉?

Will you bluff it out when you're wrong, or will you apologize?

你們會(huì)因害怕拒絕而掩飾內(nèi)心，還是會(huì)在面對(duì)愛情時(shí)勇往直前?

Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?

你們想要波瀾不驚，還是想要搏擊風(fēng)浪?

Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?

你們會(huì)在嚴(yán)峻的現(xiàn)實(shí)之下選擇放棄，還是會(huì)義無反顧地前行?

When it's tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?

你們要做憤世嫉俗者，還是踏實(shí)的建設(shè)者?

Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?

你們要不計(jì)一切代價(jià)地展示聰明，還是選擇善良?

Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?

我要做一個(gè)預(yù)測(cè)：在你們80歲時(shí)某個(gè)追憶往昔的時(shí)刻，只有你一個(gè)人靜靜對(duì)內(nèi)心訴說著你的人生故事，其中最為充實(shí)、最有意義的那段講述，會(huì)被你們作出的一系列決定所填滿。最后，是選擇塑造了我們的人生。為你自己塑造一個(gè)偉大的人生故事。

I will hazard a prediction.When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made.In the end, we are our choices.Build yourself a great story.謝謝，祝你們好運(yùn)!

Thank you and good luck!

第五篇：美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)主席伯南克周六在普林斯頓大學(xué)做畢業(yè)典禮演講

北京時(shí)間6月3日晚間，美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)主席伯南克周六在普林斯頓大學(xué)做畢業(yè)典禮演講，他沒有提及貨幣政策、沒有暗示是否尋求連任，而是向畢業(yè)生提出“十大建議”。

以下為伯南克演講主要內(nèi)容：

重返普林斯頓感覺不錯(cuò)，很難相信，我離開校園赴華盛頓已經(jīng)11年了。近期我向校方詢問了我的教職問題，回信稱：“很遺憾，普林斯頓收到很多更有才華的學(xué)者的求職信，而教職有限。”

我將在稍后獻(xiàn)上對(duì)畢業(yè)生的最美好祝愿，首先我要恭喜在座的家長們。作為父母，我知道這年頭供孩子讀完大學(xué)不容易，數(shù)年前，我的一個(gè)同事有3個(gè)孩 子畢業(yè)于普林斯頓，盡管他們夫妻都不畢業(yè)于此，但我的同事常說，從財(cái)政角度講，這如同每年買輛卡迪拉克，然后讓車墜崖。他總會(huì)補(bǔ)充說，他會(huì)毫不猶豫的選擇 重新來過。所以，感謝你們的工作，母親們，父親們，及家人們。

這確實(shí)是做畢業(yè)典禮演講的合適場(chǎng)合，我認(rèn)為，在這一講臺(tái)上，每個(gè)精神導(dǎo)師都受到過“十誡”的教誨，我沒有那樣的信心，而且無論無何，覬覦鄰居的 驢牛已不是目前的問題，所以今年前幾分鐘我將提出“十個(gè)建議”，或稱為對(duì)這個(gè)世界和你們畢業(yè)后的生活的十個(gè)觀察。請(qǐng)注意，這十點(diǎn)與利率毫無關(guān)系。我之所以 有資格提出這些建議和或觀察，除了普林斯頓的善意邀請(qǐng)外，理由和你們討厭的哥哥姐姐可以晚睡是一個(gè)道理：我比你們更老。以下內(nèi)容均經(jīng)受過生活的檢驗(yàn)，但以 往表現(xiàn)并不能確保未來的結(jié)果。

1、“當(dāng)代哲學(xué)家”阿甘曾講到人生和巧克力的相似性，你不知道下一塊巧克力的味道。人生確實(shí)難以預(yù)料，任何一個(gè)認(rèn)為知道10年后情況的畢業(yè)生，更不同說三十年了，我只能說他或她缺乏想象力。看看我吧，12年前我一心教經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)入門課程，想著編造什么理由不去參加教學(xué)會(huì)議，結(jié)果我接到了來自華盛頓的 電話。如果你有機(jī)會(huì)與畢業(yè)25年、30年或40年的校友交談，并能夠讓他們敞開心扉，他們將告訴你，他們對(duì)生活中哪些事滿意或不滿意，他們經(jīng)歷過的高潮和 低谷。但我敢打賭，他們的人生故事與預(yù)期相異。這是好事而不是壞事，誰想在故事的開篇就知道結(jié)局呢？

2、是否人生偶然性之大這一事實(shí)，意味著小的決定和行動(dòng)無足輕重，不需要規(guī)劃和奮斗呢？當(dāng)然不是。無論未來人生如何，都將是一個(gè)宏大及漫長的項(xiàng) 目，是你作為個(gè)人的發(fā)展過程。你的家人、朋友和你在普林斯頓的時(shí)光已經(jīng)為你打下了良好的基礎(chǔ)，未來你將如何？你會(huì)不斷學(xué)習(xí)、竭力思索、對(duì)至關(guān)重要的問題持 批判態(tài)度嗎？你會(huì)成為情感更強(qiáng)大、更大度、更有愛心、更道德的人嗎？你會(huì)更積極的、更建設(shè)性的參與世事嗎？你的人生會(huì)有很多故事，快樂的，及不太快樂的，如果你不為自己感到快樂，就連最偉大的成就業(yè)也不會(huì)讓你感到滿足。

3、成功的概念促使我考慮所謂的精英主義及其含義。精英是在健康和基因方面最幸運(yùn)的人，他們?cè)诩彝ブС?、鼓?lì)上，或在收入上也是最幸運(yùn)的，他們 在教育和職業(yè)機(jī)遇上最幸運(yùn)，他們?cè)诤芏喾矫娑甲钚疫\(yùn)，一般人難以復(fù)制。一個(gè)精英體制是否公平，要看這些精英是否有義務(wù)努力工作、致力于建設(shè)更好的世界，并 與他人分享幸運(yùn)。

4、誰值得尊重？是那些充分利用優(yōu)勢(shì)，或勇敢面對(duì)逆境的人。我想我們會(huì)認(rèn)同，那些雖然接受正式教育不多，但誠實(shí)勞動(dòng)、勤勉的為家人提供衣食和教育的人，相比更多表面上很成功的人，更值得尊重，和他們喝兩杯是更有趣的事情。

5、提到政治，憤世嫉俗是批判性思考和建設(shè)性行動(dòng)的可悲替代品。當(dāng)然，利益、金錢和意識(shí)形態(tài)都有影響力，如你在政治課上所學(xué)。但我的感受是大部 分政界人士都在尋求做正確的事情，大部分時(shí)候，這由他們的觀點(diǎn)和意識(shí)決定。在復(fù)雜及難于處理的問題上所犯的誠實(shí)錯(cuò)誤，更是糟糕結(jié)果的主要原因，而非不

良動(dòng) 機(jī)。因此，華盛頓最有影響的力量是觀念和想法，人們基于這些觀念去行動(dòng)。公共服務(wù)并不輕松，如果你選擇了這一道路，那是值得的，并頗具挑戰(zhàn)性。

6、經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)是頗具詭辯性的思維領(lǐng)域，她在解釋決策者以往所犯錯(cuò)誤方面顯得很崇高，但在預(yù)測(cè)未來時(shí)則不僅如此。然而，謹(jǐn)慎的經(jīng)濟(jì)分析確有重要益處，她能去除那些不合邏輯或與數(shù)據(jù)不符的想法，這對(duì)90%的經(jīng)濟(jì)政策建議有影響。

7、我不會(huì)告訴你們金錢無用，反正你們也不會(huì)聽的。事實(shí)上，對(duì)全球很多人來說，金錢能夠決定是生存還是死亡。但如果你屬于那些幸運(yùn)得有能力進(jìn)行抉擇的少數(shù)人，請(qǐng)記住，金錢只是途徑，而非最終目標(biāo)。職業(yè)選擇基于收入，而非熱愛或做出貢獻(xiàn)的熱情，是日后苦惱的根源。

8、沒有人希望失敗，但失敗是生活和學(xué)習(xí)的一部分。如果你衣衫整齊，你并沒有真正進(jìn)入比賽。

9、我希望你們能夠發(fā)展自身對(duì)成功的定義，在這一過程中，你們能夠選擇一位親密的伴侶。在做出選擇時(shí)，要記住外表美只是人類演變的一種方式，它 使我們確信對(duì)方?jīng)]有腸道寄生蟲。不要誤解我，我也為美麗、浪漫和性所吸引，不然美國影視業(yè)和廣告業(yè)怎么生存下去呢？但盡管重要，這些不是尋找人生伴侶時(shí)唯 一需要考慮的事情。你們將共同走過人生旅程，需要對(duì)方的支持和關(guān)愛。作為已婚35年的人士，我想象不到比選擇人生伴侶更重要的事情。

10、時(shí)不時(shí)的給父母去個(gè)電話。早晚有一天，你希望自己長大成人的、工作繁忙的、超級(jí)成功的孩子給你來個(gè)電話，再者，請(qǐng)不要忘記誰供養(yǎng)你上的大學(xué)。

最后，畢業(yè)生們，給他們點(diǎn)顏色看看。