principles 001

HAVING YOUR OWN PRINCIPLES

拥有你自己的原则

We come by our principles in different ways. Sometimes we gain them through our own experiences and reflections. Sometimes we accept them from others, like our parents, or we adopt holistic packages of principles, such as those of religions and legal frameworks.

我们通过不同的方式来形成我们自己的原则。有时我们通过亲身经历和思考，有时我们从其他人身上习得，比如我们的父母，或者我们会从整个社会体系采纳原则，比如宗教和文化的体系。

Because we each have our own goals and our own natures, each of us must choose our own principles to match them. While it isn’t necessarily a bad thing to use others’ principles, adopting principles without giving them much thought can expose you to the risk of acting in ways inconsistent with your goals and your nature. 

我们每个人必须去选择自己的原则来适应他们，因为我们每个人都有自己的目标和自己的特质。虽然运用他人的原则并不是一件完全的坏事，在不考虑原则的情况下采纳原则，会让你冒着不符合你的目标和本性的风险。

At the same time, you, like me, probably don’t know everything you need to know and would be wise to embrace that fact. If you can think for yourself while being openminded in a clearheaded way to find out what is best for you to do,and if you can summon up the courage to do it, you will make the most of your life. If you can’t do that, you should reflect on why that is, because that’s most likely your greatest impediment to getting more of what you want out of life.

同样的，你，就像我，可能不知道你需要知道的任何事，并且可能明智的去拥抱事实。如果你能在头脑清醒的情况下为自己思考，找出最适合你做的事，如果你能鼓起勇气去做，你将充分利用你的生命。如果你不能做到那样，你应该反思为什么，因为这很可能是你获得更多你想要的生活的最大障碍。

That brings me to my first principle:

• Think for yourself to decide 1) what you want, 2) what is true,and 3) what you should do to achieve #1 in light of #2 . . . and do that with humility and open-mindedness so that you consider the best thinking available to you.  Being clear on your principles is important because they will affect all aspects of your life, many times a day.

这给我带来我的首要原则：

思考（1）你想要什么，（2）什么是事实，（3）你应该怎样达到，并且以谦卑和开放的心态去做，这样你会觉得最好的想法适合你。清醒对待自己的原则是很重要的，因为他们会影响你一天中的大多数时刻，甚至生命的所有部分。

For example, when you enter into relationships with others, your principles and their principles will determine how you interact. People who have shared values and principles get along. People who don’t will suffer through constant misunderstandings and conflicts. 

比如，当你和他人开始一段关系的时候，你的原则和他的会决定你们如何相互影响。一起分享价值观和原则的人会成为知己，一起忍受猜测怀疑和冲突的人会成为对立面。

Think about the people you are closest to: Are their values aligned with yours? Do you even know what their values or principles are? Too often in relationships, people’s principles aren’t clear. This is especially problematic in organizations where people need to have shared principles to be successful. Being crystal clear about my principles is why I labored so much over every sentence in this book.

思考什么样的人你会去亲近：他们的价值观和你相似吗？你了解过他们的价值观和原则吗？在一段关系中，人们的原则并不是明显的。在人们需要共享原则才能成功的组织中，这一点尤其重要。保持对自己原则的清晰认知，这就是为什么我在这本书的每一句话上都费尽心思。

The principles you choose can be anything you want them to be as long as they are authentic—i.e., as long as they reflect your true character and values. You will be faced with millions of choices in life, and the way you make them will reflect the principles you have—so it won’t be long before the people around you will be able to tell the principles you are really operating by.

只要他们是真实的原则，你就可以选择让他们成为任何模样。比如，只要他们反映你的真实特点和价值观。你会面临在生活中的无数的选择，并且你处理的方式会反映出你已经采纳的原则，所以很快你周围的人就会知道你真正遵循的原则。

The worst thing you can be is a phony, because if you’re a phony you will lose people’s trust and your own self-respect. So you must be clear about your principles and then you must “walk the talk.” If inconsistencies seem to exist, you should explain them. It’s best to do that in writing because by doing so, you will refine your written principles.

最糟糕的是是你会变成一个骗子，因为如果你是一个骗子你会失去人们对你的信任和你的自尊。因此你必须清醒对待自己的原则并且你必须“行胜于言”。如果矛盾出现，你应该解释他们。写作是最好的方式，因为通过写作，你会重塑你的写作原则。

While I will be sharing my own principles, I want to make clear to you that I don’t expect you to follow them blindly. On the contrary, I want you to question every word and pick and choose among these principles so you come away with a mix that suits you.

当我开始分享我自己的原则时，我想要让你清楚的认识到，我不能奢望让你们盲目的追随他。相反，我想让你质疑每一个词，在这些原则中挑挑拣拣，这样你就能得到一个适合你的组合。

PS：加粗的是自己不太会翻译的地方~加油，继续坚持！