42. One skill needed to be successful in the world today

People succeed not merely because they have one or more certain skills. However, if I have to choose one skill which is supposed to be useful to success, I think it should be the ability to convince or persuade others.

By convincing or persuading we get what we want from others. When we were children, we always managed to persuade our parents to buy us candies; when we were in the high school, we had to persuade our classmates to play with us; when we applied for a job after graduation, we had better be able to successfully convince the employer that we are qualified employees. Besides, some day, we will all have to convince a person whom we love that we are in deed outstanding husbands or excellent wives.

By convincing or persuading we become more and more sturdy and powerful. Nobody is capable of doing every thing perfect. By persuading others to cooperate with us, we can achieve much more than we could only by ourselves. Mr. Yu Minhong, CEO of Beijing New Oriental Education & Technology Group, had successfully convinced his alumni including Mr. Wang Qiang and Mr. Xu Xiaoping to strive after an ideal—to build a most influential private university in China, and today, they have been so close. Mr. Yu, while answering a journalist, said that he once persuaded Chinese students to go abroad, his current work is to convince those students to return to their homeland with their enhanced intelligences.

Ironically, it is ourselves who need us to persuade and convince most. We by nature are weak, yet have to be stronger to face up to tough surroundings. All too often we need encouraging. Amazingly enough, it is ourselves who can in deed encourage. When we are in trouble, we need convince ourselves not to give up; when we are in plain sailing, we need persuade ourselves no to be negligent. By convincing ourselves, we become more and more independent, and more and more robust, both of which are characteristics essential to success.

译文

42. 在当今世界获得成功所需的一种技巧

人们成功不仅仅是因为他们有一种或几种技能。但如果让我选一种对成功有用的技能，我想那就应该是使别人信服或说服别人的能力。

通过使别人信服或说服别人，我们可以从别人那里得到想要的东西。当我们还是孩子的时候，我们总会想办法劝说父母给我们买糖果；当我们上高中的时候，我们必须劝说同学与我们玩耍；当我们毕业后求职的时候，我们最好能成功地使雇主信服我们是合格的雇员。除此之外，有一天我们所有人还必须使一个我们爱慕的人认为我们是一个杰出的丈夫或优秀的妻子。

通过使别人信服或说服别人我们变得越来越坚强和有力。没人能把每一件事都做得很完美。通过劝说别人与我们合作，我们可以获得比仅仅依靠自己大得多的成就。俞敏洪，北京新东方教育科技集团总裁，成功地说服他的校友（其中包括王强和徐小平）来为一个目标奋斗——在中国建立一所最有影响力的私立大学，而现在，他们已经十分接近了。俞先生在答记者问时说他一度劝说中国学生出国，他现在的工作是劝说他们带着所学回到祖国。

具有讽刺意味的是，我们自己才是最需要说服的。我们天生脆弱，而必须变得坚强起来以面对困境。我们特别需要鼓励。令人惊异的是，能给与真正鼓励的却是我们自己。当我们陷于困境的时候，我们说服自己不要放弃；当我们一帆风顺的时候，我们需要提醒自己不要大意。通过说服自己，我们变得越来越独立、越来越坚定，这两点都是成功的基本特征。

Word List

• merely ［ˈmiəli］ adv. 仅仅，只，不过
• convince ［kənˈvins］ vt. 使确信，使信服
• outstanding ［autˈstændiŋ］ adj. 突出的，显著的
• cooperate ［kəuˈa:pəreit］ vi. 合作，协作
• journalist ［ˈdʒə:nəlist］ n. 新闻记者
• enhanced ［enˈhænst］ adj. 增强的，放大的
• ironically ［aiˈra:nikəli］ adv. 有讽刺意味地
• amazingly ［əˈmeiziŋli］adv.令人惊讶地
• essential ［iˈsenʃəl］ adj. 本质的，基本的