塞隆·Q.迪蒙/Theron Q. Dumont
Courage is the backbone of man. The man with courage has persistence. He states what he believes and puts it into execution. The courageous man has confidence. He draws to himself all the moral qualities and mental forces which go to make up a strong man. Whereas, the man without courage draws to himself all the qualities of a weak man, vacillation, doubt, hesitancy, and unsteadiness of purpose. You can therefore see the value of concentration on courage. It is a most vital element of success.
The lack of courage creates financial, as well as mental and moral difficulties. When a new problem comes, instead of looking upon it as something to be achieved, the man or woman without courage looks for reasons why it cannot be done and failure is naturally the almost inevitable result. This is a subject well worthy of your study. Look upon everything within your power as a possibility instead of as merely a probability and you will accomplish a great deal more, because by considering a thing as impossible, you immediately draw to yourself all the elements that contribute to failure. Lack of courage destroys your confidence in yourself. It destroys that forceful, resolute attitude so important to success.
The man without courage unconsciously draws to himself all that is contemptible, weakening, demoralizing and destructive. He then blames his luck when he does not secure the things he weakly desires. We must first have the courage to strongly desire something. A desire to be fulfilled must be backed by the strength of all our mental forces. Such a desire has enough commanding force to change all unfavorable conditions. The man with courage commands, whether he is on the battlefield or in business life.
What is courage? It is the will to do. It takes no more energy to be courageous than to be cowardly. It is a matter of the right training in the right way. Courage concentrates the mental forces on the task at hand. It then directs them thoughtfully, steadily, deliberately, while attracting all the forces of success, toward the desired end.
As we are creatures of habits, we should avoid persons that lack courage. They are easy to discover because of their habits of fear in attacking new problems.
If any fear-thoughts come to you cast them off as you would the deadly viper. Form the habit of never thinking of anything unfavorable to yourself or anyone else. Remember, you as master of your mind control its every thought, and here is a good one to often affirm, "I have courage because I desire it: because I need it; because I use it and because I refuse to become such a weakling as cowardice produces."
勇氣是一個人的脊梁。胸懷勇氣的人能夠持之以恒，他敢於說出自己所相信的事物，並會把它付諸實踐。有勇氣的人往往信心十足，他會把道德和精神力量結合起來，讓自己變得強大。與之相反，缺乏勇氣的人會把自己變成懦夫，他們躊躇不決、疑慮重重，目標也遊移不定。由此，你可以看出關注勇氣的價值：它是成功最重要的因素。
缺乏勇氣的人會在經濟上出現危機，而且精神和道德上也會出現問題。當出現一個新問題時，他們首先想到的不是如何解決問題獲得成功，而在思考為什麽不能成功，失敗或許是必然結果。這一點在你學習的過程中是值得深思的：一定要用積極的態度來對待一切事物，將自身的潛能喚醒，懷著必勝的信念去做事，那樣你一定能取得成功。假如你的頭腦被積極的思想填滿，你就能夠擺脫消極的思想。缺乏勇氣會損毀人的自信，使我們失去力量和堅定的信心，而這些正是取得成功的必要因素。
缺乏勇氣的人會在不知不覺中把自己變得卑鄙、軟弱，遭到挫敗，甚至一事無成。然後，他會把他的失敗歸咎於運氣不好，卻沒有意識到意誌不堅定才是罪魁禍首。首先我們一定要有強烈期望某種事物的勇氣，這種期待一定要融入我們全部的精神力量，足以讓我們改變所有的困境。擁有勇氣的人，不管在戰場上還是在商場上都將成為強者。
勇氣是什麽？它是想去完成某事的意誌，它可以使人們將所有的精力集中到如何獲得成功上來，而不再膽怯。充滿勇氣的人會沿著正確的道路前進，可以把精力集中到手頭的工作上。它能夠讓我們在做事時更認真、更仔細，目的性也更強。一旦做到這一點，你就能擁有獲得成功的力量。
我們是習慣的產物，所以我們應該避免與那些缺乏勇氣的人進行交流。這類人隨處可見，他們常因怯懦而遭遇新的困境。
假如有恐懼感向你襲來，你就必須像逃避毒蛇一樣避開它，培養出不被任何人、任何事所困擾的好習慣。切記，作為思想的主人，唯有你才能控製自己的思想。這裏有一則良言值得反複誦讀：“我勇氣十足！因為我想實現它，因為我需要它，因為我會用到它，因為我不想成為膽小鬼！”
心靈小語
勇氣是相信自己的魄力，勇氣是達到目的的決心。也許有人說，成功靠智不靠勇，但勇氣不正是我們實現智慧的催化劑嗎？
W 詞匯筆記
backbone[?b?kb?un]n.脊椎；骨幹；意誌力；勇氣
例 The small farmers form the backbone of the country's economy.
小農是這個國家的經濟支柱。
inevitable[in?evit?bl]adj.不可避免的；慣常的；合情合理的；逼真的
例 Death is inevitable.
死是不可避免的。
command[k??mɑ?nd]v.命令；支配；博得
例 The troops' bravery commanded respect.
部隊的勇敢值得尊敬。
cowardly[?kau?dli]adj.怯懦的；膽小的
例 Passing the buck maybe easier but it is cowardly.
推卸責任或許比較容易，但這是懦弱的。
S 小試身手
由此，你可以看出關注勇氣的價值：它是成功最重要的因素。
譯___________________________________________
擁有勇氣的人，不管在戰場上還是在商場上都將成為強者。
譯___________________________________________
我勇氣十足！因為我想實現它，因為我需要它，因為我會用到它，因為我不想成為膽小鬼！
譯___________________________________________
P 短語家族
He draws to himself all the moral qualities and mental forces which go to make up a strong man.
make up：編造；講和；彌補；打扮；化裝
造___________________________________________
Courage concentrates the mental forces on the task at hand.
at hand：在手邊；在附近；即將來臨
造___________________________________________