专业知识的重要性在实际工作经验中得到了证实。
成就大事业的人基本是依靠自身的资源和能力。
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.
at least：至少；最低限度；起码；无论如何；起码
And you might even find yourself listed in Who' s Who someday.
list in：列在……中
打开成功之门的钥匙
Your Key to Certain Success
佚名 / Anonymous
One of the most important attributes an individual can have is confidence. Confidence is invaluable in every area of life, but in business or in achieving any degree of greatness, it is absolutely essential. Unfortunately, there are few places we can go to learn this essential skill. Yet, it is a skill and, as such, can be developed with the right tools.
The first tool for gaining confidence is knowledge. Knowledge of your own strengths and limitations, and knowledge of the arena in which you wish to excel. But knowledge alone isn' t enough. Knowledge leads to confidence only when it is validated by experience. We test the validity of what we think or believe by putting the theory into actual practice and gathering data or feedback from the experience. If the feedback is positive, we assume our theories are correct and act accordingly. If the feedback is negative, the bold among us will adjust our course, while the more timid often allow the negative feedback to stop them cold.
Confidence can be gained by knowing, understanding and correctly applying the following formulas and factors:
(1) Knowledge + Experience + Positive Feedback = Confidence.
(2) Positive feedback comes from successful outcomes.
(3) Successful outcomes are the result of consistent practice and repeated attempts.
(4) Repeated attempts are possible only when we believe we will eventually succeed.
The formula seems to say that we must believe in our ability to succeed before we have experienced any semblance of success, and that is true. That' s where the knowledge part of the confidence formula comes in, and why it is the first equation in the formula. Before we can believe we will succeed without ever having made an attempt, we must have some knowledge as to what success entails and what strengths and abilities we bring to the mix. We must also know the truth about "failure".
Failure is not the result of attempting to achieve a goal and falling short of the mark. Failure occurs when we allow falling short of the mark to cause us to quit trying. Actually, there are only two ways to fail. Give up before you reach a goal you really want or continue on a path that is wrong for you because you made a wrong choice initially and believe the erroneous choice is the one you must stay with.
Suppose, for example, you got into your car intending to meet a friend at an unfamiliar location. You get turned around on the way there and get lost.
In failure formula number one you discover you are lost and attempt to correct your course. However, you are too far off course for just one correction to get you back on track, so you make another correction and another one. After three or four corrections you decide you will never be able to find your way, so you give up, park your car, and never reach your destination.
In failure formula number two you decide that even though you made a wrong turn, you must stick with it because to make a new choice would mean you failed when you made the original decision that got you lost. So you continue down the wrong road, knowing it' s wrong, but refusing to make an alteration because you' ve already made a choice, however wrong it may be.
Both scenarios sound pretty absurd in that context, but the world is full of people who give up and quit before reaching their goal, and who stay with bad choices long after they have discovered they are bad.
To ensure success you must be willing to alter your course and keep altering it, and to try again and again, as many times as it takes, to reach your destination. Whether you reach it or not will depend on your belief in your ability to eventually arrive, and that brings us back to the confidence formula.
The faith to keep trying ultimately comes from knowing yourself and your abilities, and knowing how to use them most effectively. In the hustle-bustle of today' s world, we sometimes forget to take a thorough look at our most valuable asset-ourselves. Only with self-awareness and understanding can we come to believe in our ability to find the right solution and to arrive at our goals.
People who don' t know themselves are easily side-tracked. They have no well-defined personal boundaries and no center of power. A thorough and accurate self-assessment can provide the compass we need to get and stay on track. Without a center of power and personal boundaries to guide us, there is no way we can achieve our goals because there is no way to know for sure what our goals are, or should be.
Happy, centered, well-directed people are people, who know their own core being and honor it. These are the people who have the basic tools to attempt new things, to set new goals, to persist in pursuing them. These are the people who succeed. They succeed because every achieved goal increases their faith in their ability to succeed and enables them to try greater and greater things. The happy result is a high degree of self-confidence and, with sufficient self-confidence, success is certain.
一个人最重要的品质是：信心。在人生的每一个领域，信心都有着无法估量的价值。特别是在商业或任何伟大的成就中，它显得尤为重要。不幸的是，这个重要的技能几乎无处可学。但是，既然信心是一项技能，只要方法得当，就能培养起来。
知识是获取信心的第一种工具。认知自身的强项和弱项，认知你想有所成就的领域，但仅拥有知识还不够，只有通过实践的证明，知识才能带来自信。我们把所想的或者所信仰的理论，放到实践中去证实，从经验中收集数据或者反馈信息。如果反馈的信息是积极的，我们的理论就是正确的，从而采取相应的行动；如果反馈信息是消极的，我们之中勇敢的人会改变局势，而更多的怯懦者通常会被这些消极的反馈阻挠，停止前进的脚步。
了解、理解并正确运用下面这些原则和因素，就可获得信心：
1、知识+经验+积极反馈=自信
2、成功的结果带来积极的反馈
3、成功的结果源自不懈的努力和反复的尝试
4、唯有相信自己终会成功，才能不断尝试
这个原则似乎表明，我们必须相信自己有能力成功，才有可能得到某些成功。确实如此，信心原则中的知识部分就源于此，也是原则中第一个等式成立的原因。在没有任何尝试就相信我们会成功前，我们必须拥有一些知识，如成功需要什么，要有怎样的优势和能力的综合作用。另外，也必须了解“失败”的真相。
