As you might imagine, there weren’t a lot of Asians in Iowa in the 60’s and 70’s but happily, one of the most popular shows at that time was Kung Fu, the story of a former Shaolin priest, half-Chinese, half-American, who comes to the United States to find his American father. So while we were outsiders in Iowa in a profound sense, at least the bully kids left us alone, because they thought all Asians knew Kung Fu. I played quarterback on the high school football team -- but don’t be too impressed, we had the longest losing streak in the nation by the time I was done with my senior year. Years and years went by without a single victory. It was said that grandfathers of my teammates had contributed to the multi-generational streak.
正如你們可以想象，在60年代和70年代愛荷華州的亞洲人并不多，但令人高興的是，當時最受歡迎的一個節(jié)目是《功夫》，故事講的是一個少林和尚，一半中國血統(tǒng)，一半美國血統(tǒng)，到美國來尋找他的美國父親。所以，雖然我們從深層意義上講在愛荷華州屬于外人，但至少愛欺負人的孩子不招惹我們，因為他們認為所有的亞洲人都會功夫。我在高中橄欖球隊打四分衛(wèi)，但別以為我們有多了不起，在我大四的時候我們是全國連敗最長的隊。一年又一年，我們一次都沒贏過，有人說，我同學的爺爺們早就為子孫后代的連敗打下了基礎。[/cn

After high school, I eventually ended up at Brown University, and I remember one particular day vividly. My father picked me up at the airport after I flew back to Muscatine from Providence, and when we were driving home, he asked me, “So what are you thinking of studying?”
[cn]高中畢業(yè)后，我最終考進了布朗大學，有一天我尤其記憶猶新。我從普羅維登斯飛回馬斯卡廷，我的父親到機場接我，在我們開車回家的路上，他問我，“那么你想學什么呢？”

I told him I was excited about philosophy and political science.
我說我對哲學和政治學很感興趣。

I thought I could make a difference in the world and I was thinking of going into politics.
我認為我可以改變這個世界，我在考慮從政。

My father put on the blinker, pulled off the road, and turned off the car.
我父親打開車子的閃光燈，把車開到路邊停下。

He turned to me in the back seat.
他轉過身來對坐在后座上的我說：

“Look,” he said, “once you finish your medical residency, you can do anything you want.”
“瞧，你只要完成了醫(yī)生實習期，就可以做任何你想做的事情。”

You see, my father knew all about uncertainty. He knew that it’s impossible to be sure about where you might end up in life. And he worried that his own success might have deprived his children of the opportunity to understand deeply the meaning of running away from the noodle police while, of course, finishing your noodles. He wanted me to have a skill and he wanted me to butt my head up against the joy but also the hard reality of finishing medical school, finishing residency and caring for patients in life-or-death situations.
你們看，我的父親十分懂得不確定性。他很清楚，一個人不可能知道自己最終會做什么，而且他很擔心自己的成功有可能會使自己的子女沒有機會深入理解從警察身邊跑開、當然同時還要吃完剩下的面條意味著什么。他希望我掌握一門本領，他希望我能夠有效地抵抗讀完醫(yī)學院、完成實習期和在生與死的情景中照顧患者的喜悅與殘酷的現(xiàn)實。

I’m so grateful to my father.
我很感謝我的父親。

So far I’ve told you that life is uncertain, but you already knew that. What I really want you to know is that you have abundant tools to face that uncertainty and to lead an extraordinary life, even beyond your wildest dreams.
到目前為止，我告訴你們說人生是不確定的，但你們已經了解了這一點。我真正想讓你們了解的是，你們擁有大量的工具來直面這種不確定性，成就不平凡的人生，甚至超出你最瘋狂的夢想。

Roy Baumeister is a psychologist who has devoted his career to studying the qualities in human beings that lead them to achieve what he calls “positive outcomes.” In this fascinating field, researchers have found that two traits are most consistently associated with success: intelligence and willpower. In Baumeister’s book entitled Willpower, we learn that efforts to permanently increase intelligence have failed, but people can in fact improve their willpower. Baumeister and his colleagues have shown that taking certain actions to improve willpower is the surest way to a more successful life. Moreover, they’ve shown that willpower is like a muscle that can be built with practice, but also that if you don’t actively exercise your willpower, your capacity to do so will atrophy just like your stomach muscles if you stop doing sit-ups. They’ve even learned that because willpower is associated with a certain part of your brain, maintaining glucose levels in your blood to feed that part of your brain is critical for sustaining your willpower!
羅伊·鮑邁斯特是一位心理學家，終生研究帶領人類成就他稱之為“積極的結果”的人類素質。在這個令人著迷的領域，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，有兩個特質始終與成功相伴：智力和意志力。從鮑邁斯特所著的《意志力》一書中，我們了解到，雖然永久地提高智力的努力歸于失敗，但人其實是可以提高自身的意志力的。鮑邁斯特和他的同事們已經證明，采取某些行動來提高意志力，是實現(xiàn)更成功的人生的最可靠的途徑。此外，他們也已證明，意志力就像肌肉，可以通過鍛煉來強化，而且如果你不積極鍛煉你的意志力，你的能力就會像你的腹部肌肉一樣，在停止做仰臥起坐之后會出現(xiàn)萎縮。他們甚至還了解到，由于意志力與大腦的某些部位有關，保持血液里的血糖水平來滋養(yǎng)大腦的這個部位對于維持意志力至關重要！

Looked at from another angle, a group of researchers has shown that, more than talent, practice is what determines mastery over any given skill or ability. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers, popularized an important body of work that showed that the path to mastery required 10,000 hours of practice. Books with titles like “talent is overrated” have been published to make the point.
從另一個角度看，一些研究人員已經證明，與天賦相比，實踐才是決定能否掌握任何技能或能力的主要因素。馬爾科姆·格拉德威爾在他的《局外人》一書中推廣的一項重要研究成果表明，達到精通之路需要10000個小時的練習， 《天賦被高估了》等書的出版就是為了說明這一點。

Now I want you to know that there’s really good news here, especially for Northeastern graduates. By graduating today, you’ve shown your families and the world that you have plenty of IQ points to accomplish anything you set out to achieve. Willpower, discipline and focus -- the essential qualities for success that everyone needs -- are in your hands to develop and build. As Baumeister shows in his book, you can indeed go to the willpower gym and come out mentally buff, ready to take on the world.
現(xiàn)在，我希望你們了解，這實際上是個好消息，尤其是對東北大學的畢業(yè)生來說。通過今天的畢業(yè)，你們已經向家人和世界證明，你們有足夠的智商完成你們決定去做的任何事情。意志力、紀律和專注——每個人都需要的成功的必備素質——就掌握在你們手中，靠你們去開發(fā)和建立。鮑邁斯特在他的書中揭示，你的確可以去意志力健身房，強健精神，準備好挑戰(zhàn)世界。

Now about the 10,000 hours it takes to achieve mastery. Well, because you’ve studied here at Northeastern, you’ve got a head start. My own estimate is that, through your cooperative education in which you’ve received both classroom knowledge and practical knowledge, you all deserve at least a couple of thousand hours of discount off the standard 10,000. Good for you and congratulations!
現(xiàn)在來談談達到精通所需要的10,000個小時。嗯，由于你們已完成在東北大學的學業(yè)，你們已經有了一個良好的開端。我個人的估計是，通過合作式教育，你們學到了課堂知識和實踐知識，你們可以至少從10,000個標準小時中扣除2000個小時。干得好，祝賀你們！

But in addition to thinking about uncertainty and willpower, there’s one more thing I want you to try to will yourself to remember today. I want you to think about how you can use time effectively and for good in this complex world.
但是，除了思考不確定性和意志力之外還有一件事，我希望你們能夠用自己的意志力記住今天，我希望你們想一想怎樣才能有效地利用時間，在這個復雜的世界里持之以恒。

Back in Iowa, my mother used to read to me the writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. In Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” he writes about understanding the urgency of the present. He writes about an experience with a white moderate -- an ally of the civil rights movement -- who wrote to him saying that he, Dr. King, was in too great a hurry and that “the lessons of Christ take time to come to earth.” African Americans, the moderate argued, would eventually -- eventually -- be granted their full civil rights.
早在愛荷華州時，我的母親曾經讀馬丁·路德·金的著作給我聽。金博士在 “寄自伯明翰監(jiān)獄的信”中寫了他對現(xiàn)實緊迫性的理解。他寫道與一位白人溫和派人士、民權運動盟友的交流，此人寫信給他，說他金博士過于性急，“基督的教義傳播人世，總要花費時日”。這位溫和派人士認為，非裔美國人最終——他是說最終——會獲得完全的民權。

Dr. King responded, and I quote: “Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time and a strangely irrational notion that there is something in the flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral. It can be used destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of goodwill. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.” End quote.
金博士回應說，我在此引用他的話：“這樣的態(tài)度乃源自對時間的可悲誤解，源自一種不合理的奇特觀念，認為在時間之流當中，會有什么東西必將療治所有的邪惡。實際上，時間是中立的東西；它可以用于建設，也可以用于破壞。我越發(fā)覺得，邪惡的人之利用時間，將會比善良的人更其有效。我們得在這一代進行懺悔，不僅因壞人們充滿仇恨的言辭與行為，也因好人們駭人聽聞的沉默。”引語完。