51. Advice for Graduates
51. 給大學(xué)畢業(yè)生的幾點(diǎn)忠告
First, every time you celebrate an achievement, be thankful to those who made it possible. Thank your parents and friends who supported you, thank your professors who were in and especially thank the other professors whose less-than-brilliant lectures forced you to teach yourself. Going forward, the ability to teach yourself of a great liberal arts education and will be the key to your success. To your fellow students who have added immeasurably to your education during those late n night discussions, hug them. Also, of course, thank Harvard. Should you forget, there's an alumni association to remind you.
第一,每次慶祝你取得成就的時候,不要忘記所有助你一臂之力的人。要感謝你的父母和支持你的朋友,要感謝那些啟發(fā)過你的教授,尤其要感謝那些演講拙劣的教技,因為他們迫使你自學(xué)。從長遠(yuǎn)看,自學(xué)能力是優(yōu)秀的文科教育中必不可少的,將成為你成功的關(guān)鍵。你還要去擁抱你的同學(xué),感謝他們同你進(jìn)行過的許多次徹夜長談,這為你的教育帶來了無法衡量的價值。當(dāng)然,你還要感謝哈佛大學(xué)。不過即使你忘了這一點(diǎn),校友會也會未提醒你。
Second, in your future life, cultivate a generous spirit. In all negotiations, don't bargain for the last, little advantage Leave the change on the table. In your collaboration, always remember that "credit" is not a conserved quantity In a successful collaboration, everybody gets 90 percent of the credit.
第二,在你們未來的人生中,做一個慷慨大方的人。在任何談判中,都把最后一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)利益留給對方。不要把桌上的錢都拿走。在合作中,不要把榮譽(yù)留給自己。成功合作的任何一方,都應(yīng)獲得全部榮譽(yù)的90%。
My third piece of advice is as follows: As you begin this new stage of your lives, follow your passion. If you don't have a passion, don't be satisfied until you find one Life is too short to go through it without caring deeply about something. When I was your age, I was incredibly single-minded in my goal to be a physicist. After college, I spent eight years as a graduate student and postdoc at Berkeley, and then nine years at Bell Labs. During that time, my central focus and professional joy was physics.
我的第三個忠告是:當(dāng)你開始生活的新階段時,請追隨你的愛好。如采你沒有愛好,就去找,找不到絕不罷休。生命太短暫,所以不能空手走過,你必須對某樣?xùn)|西傾注你的深情。我在你們這個年齡,是超級的一根筋,我的目標(biāo)就是非成為物理學(xué)家不可。本科畢業(yè)后,我在加州大學(xué)伯克利分校又待了8年,讀完了研究生,獲得了博士后,然后去貝爾實(shí)驗室待了9年。在那些年中,我關(guān)注的中心和職業(yè)上的全部樂趣,都來自物理學(xué)。
Here is my final piece of advice. Pursuing a personal passion is important, but it should not be your only goal When you are old and gray, and look back on your life, you will want to be proud of what you have done. The source of that pride won't be the things you have acquired or the recognition you have received. It will be the lives you have touched and the difference you have made.
我還有最后一個忠告,興趣愛好固然重要,但是不應(yīng)是你的唯一目標(biāo)。當(dāng)你白發(fā)蒼蒼、垂垂老矣、回首人生時,你需要為自己做過的事感到自豪。你所獲得的物質(zhì)財富和得到的榮譽(yù)都不是自豪的源泉。只有那些受你影響、被你改變過的人和事,才會讓你感到自豪。
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