佚名/Anonymous
Is there a "success personality"—some winning combination of traits that leads almost inevitably to achievement? If so, exactly what is that secret success formula, and can anyone cultivate it?
At the Gallup Organization we recently focused in depth on success, probing the attitudes and traits of 1500 prominent people selected at random from Who's Who in America. The main criterion for inclusion in Who's Who is not wealth or social position, but current achievement in a given field. Our research pinpoints a number of traits that recur regularly among top achievers. Here are five of the most important:
Common sense—This is the most prevalent quality possessed by our respondents. Seventy-nine percent award themselves a top score in this category. And 61 percent say that common sense was very important in contributing to their success.
To most, common sense means the ability to render sound, practical judgments on everyday affairs. To do this, one has to sweep aside extraneous ideas and get right to the core of what matters. A Texas oil and gas magnate puts it this way: "The key ability for success is simplifying. In conducting meetings and dealing with industry regulators, reducing a complex problem to the simplest terms is highly important."
Is common sense a trait a person is born with, or can you do something to increase it? The oil man's answer is that common sense can definitely be developed. He attributes his to learning how to debate in school. Another way to increase your store of common sense is to observe it in others, learning from their and your own—mistakes.
Knowing one's field After common sense, specialized knowledge in one's field is the second most common trait possessed by the respondents, with three-fourths giving themselves an A in this category.
Geologist Philip Oxley, former president of Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production Co. and now chairman of Tenneco Europe, attributes his success to having worked in the oil fields, by "sitting on wells and bird-dogging seismic crews," he learned the tricks of the trade firsthand. "People, who are going to be good managers need to have a practical understanding of the crafts in their business." he says. Today his expertise earns him a six-figure salary.
On-the-job experience convinced people the importance of specialized knowledge. He says that "understanding why my equipment performs the way it does" is part of his success formula. A noteworthy point: he obtained his specialized knowledge through self-education and not through formal schooling.
Self-reliance Top achievers rely primarily on their own resources and abilities. Seventy-seven percent give themselves an A rating for this trait. Self-reliance is not how you feel or how good you are; rather, it's whether you have the gumption to take definitive action to get things moving in your life. It includes plain old willpower and the ability to get goals.
Two-thirds of the respondents say they've had clear goals for their lives and careers. And half of those we interviewed give themselves an A in willpower. Among other capabilities, willpower encompasses the ability to be a self-starter and to persevere after a project has begun.
General intelligence—This is essential for outstanding achievement because it involves your natural ability to comprehend difficult concepts quickly and to analyze them clearly and incisively. At least that's the way our respondents see it—43 percent said it was a very important ingredient of their success, and another 52 percent said it was fairly important.
Ability to get things done Nearly three-fourths of our high achievers rank themselves "very efficient" in accomplish tasks. And they agree that at least three important qualities have helped them to do so: organizational ability, good work habits and diligence.
A physics professor summarizes his success formula this way: "Sheer hard, tenacious work, with the ability to pace oneself." He admits working up to 100 hours a week.
Besides the five listed here, there are other factors that influence success: leadership, creativity, relationships with others, and, of course, luck. But common sense, knowing your field, self-reliance, intelligence and the ability to get things done stand out. If you cultivate these traits, chances are you'll succeed. And you might even find yourself listed in Who's Who someday.
世間可有“成功的個性”——也就是那些注定使人成功的優勢組合？如果的確有，那麽，其秘訣何在？每個人都能培養出“成功的個性”嗎？
近來我們在蓋洛普組織集中深入地對成功問題進行了研究，我們在美國《名人錄》中隨機選取了1500名傑出人物，研究他們的態度和性格特征。《名人錄》選取人物的重要標準是他們在其所屬領域作出的貢獻，而不是財富和社會地位。我們的研究顯示了高成就者身上頻繁出現的幾種特征。以下是最重要的五條：
良好的判斷力——這是被調查者所擁有的最普遍的品質。79％的人在這一項上都得了高分，61％的人說判斷力為他們的成功立下了汗馬功勞。
對多數人來說，判斷力是指合情合理地解決日常事務的能力。要做到這一點，就該掃除與主題無關的思想的羈絆，確定事情的核心。一位名得克薩斯的石油和天然氣業巨頭如是說：“簡單化是獲取成功的重要能力。在主持會議和處理工業規定時，將一個複雜問題變成最簡單的條款非常有必要。”
良好的判斷力是一個人與生俱來的特征，還是後天提高的呢？那位石油大亨回答說，良好的判斷力肯定是可以培養出來的。他把自己的這種能力歸功於在學校學習辯論技巧的經曆。增強判斷力的另一種方法是觀察別人，從別人和自己的錯誤中學習。
對你所在的領域了如指掌——在良好的判斷力後，擁有某一領域的專業知識是被調查者的第二個普遍特征，3/4的人在這一項上給自己打了滿分。
曾任田納科石油勘探公司總裁的地質學家菲利浦·奧克斯勒，現任田納科歐洲分公司的主席。他把曾在油田工作過作為自己成功的一大原因，通過“在油井邊坐著，觀察地震隊員”，他學到了第一手成功秘訣。他說：“要成為出色的管理者，需要對自己的行業事務有切實的了解。”如今，他的專業知識為他贏得了六位數的年薪。
專業知識的重要性在實際的工作經驗中得到了證明，他說“了解我的設備的工作方式”是他成功秘訣的一部分。值得注意的是：他並沒有通過正規的學校教育獲得專業知識，而是自學成才的。
自力更生——成就大事業的人基本是依賴自身的資源和能力。77％的被調查者給自己的這一特點打A。自力更生並非你感覺如何或認為你有多好就可以了；而要看你是否有魄力采取實際行動，在生活中推動事情發展。這包括人們通常所說的意誌力，以及實現目標的能力。
被調查者中有2/3的人說，他們曾有明確的生活和職業目標，其中半數人給自己的意誌力打A。與其他能力相比，意誌力是一種主動開展一個項目並持之以恒的能力。
一般智能——這是取得突出成就不可缺少的，因為它需要你具備迅速理解複雜概念，並能清晰、準確地對其進行分析的自然能力。至少在我們的被調查者眼中是這樣的——43％的人說這是他們取得成功的一個非常重要的因素，另有52％的人肯定了它的重要性。
完成任務的能力——高成就者中幾乎有3/4的人認為他們“非常有能力”完成任務。他們認為，至少有三種重要的品質有助於他們這麽做，即組織能力、良好的工作習慣和勤奮精神。
一位物理學教授在總結他的成功模式時這樣說：“全力以赴，緊張工作，使自己有規律地勻速前行。”他坦言，一周的工作時間總計有100小時。
除此五條，影響成功的還有其他諸多因素，比如領導能力、創造能力、協調能力，當然，運氣也不可缺少。但是，良好的判斷力、對你所在的領域了如指掌、自力更生、一般智能和完成任務的能力這五項最為突出。如果具有這些特點，你就有可能獲得成功，甚至在某天，你會突然發現《名人錄》中有自己的名字。
心靈小語
成功是可以如法炮製的嗎？不見得。每個人心中成功的定義都是不同的，但追求目標的過程是相似的。我們姑且把上文看做奮鬥者的經驗，在我們追求目標的過程中，給我們以有效的推動。
W 詞匯筆記
combination[?k?mbi?nei??n]n.結合；合並；化合；化合物
例 A sequence of numbers or letters used to open a combination lock.
用於開啟密碼鎖的一係列數字或字母。
recur[ri?k?:]v.複發；重現；再來
例 Old memories constantly recurred to him.
往事經常浮現在他的腦海裏。
simplify[?simplifai]v.單一化；簡單化
例 Try to simplify your explanation for the children.
設法把你的解釋說得簡單些，好讓孩子們聽懂。
encompass[in?k?mp?s]v.包圍；環繞；包含或包括某事物
例 The enemy encompassed the city.
敵人包圍了這座城市。
S 小試身手
對多數人來說，判斷力是指合情合理地解決日常事務的能力。
譯___________________________________________
增強判斷力的另一種方法是觀察別人，從別人和自己的錯誤中學習。
譯___________________________________________
與其他能力相比，意誌力是一種主動開展一個項目並持之以恒的能力。
譯___________________________________________
P 短語家族
At the Gallup Organization we recently focused in depth on success.
in depth：深入地；全麵地
造___________________________________________
He admits working up to 100 hours a week.
up to：多達；直到
造___________________________________________