As you might imagine, there weren’t a lot of Asians in Iowa in the 60’s and 70’s but happily, one of the most popular shows at that time was Kung Fu, the story of a former Shaolin priest, half-Chinese, half-American, who comes to the United States to find his American father. So while we were outsiders in Iowa in a profound sense, at least the bully kids left us alone, because they thought all Asians knew Kung Fu. I played quarterback on the high school football team -- but don’t be too impressed, we had the longest losing streak in the nation by the time I was done with my senior year. Years and years went by without a single victory. It was said that grandfathers of my teammates had contributed to the multi-generational streak.
正如你们可以想象，在60年代和70年代爱荷华州的亚洲人并不多，但令人高兴的是，当时最受欢迎的一个节目是《功夫》，故事讲的是一个少林和尚，一半中国血统，一半美国血统，到美国来寻找他的美国父亲。所以，虽然我们从深层意义上讲在爱荷华州属于外人，但至少爱欺负人的孩子不招惹我们，因为他们认为所有的亚洲人都会功夫。我在高中橄榄球队打四分卫，但别以为我们有多了不起，在我大四的时候我们是全国连败最长的队。一年又一年，我们一次都没赢过，有人说，我同学的爷爷们早就为子孙后代的连败打下了基础。[/cn

After high school, I eventually ended up at Brown University, and I remember one particular day vividly. My father picked me up at the airport after I flew back to Muscatine from Providence, and when we were driving home, he asked me, “So what are you thinking of studying?”
[cn]高中毕业后，我最终考进了布朗大学，有一天我尤其记忆犹新。我从普罗维登斯飞回马斯卡廷，我的父亲到机场接我，在我们开车回家的路上，他问我，“那么你想学什么呢？”

I told him I was excited about philosophy and political science.
我说我对哲学和政治学很感兴趣。

I thought I could make a difference in the world and I was thinking of going into politics.
我认为我可以改变这个世界，我在考虑从政。

My father put on the blinker, pulled off the road, and turned off the car.
我父亲打开车子的闪光灯，把车开到路边停下。

He turned to me in the back seat.
他转过身来对坐在后座上的我说：

“Look,” he said, “once you finish your medical residency, you can do anything you want.”
“瞧，你只要完成了医生实习期，就可以做任何你想做的事情。”

You see, my father knew all about uncertainty. He knew that it’s impossible to be sure about where you might end up in life. And he worried that his own success might have deprived his children of the opportunity to understand deeply the meaning of running away from the noodle police while, of course, finishing your noodles. He wanted me to have a skill and he wanted me to butt my head up against the joy but also the hard reality of finishing medical school, finishing residency and caring for patients in life-or-death situations.
你们看，我的父亲十分懂得不确定性。他很清楚，一个人不可能知道自己最终会做什么，而且他很担心自己的成功有可能会使自己的子女没有机会深入理解从警察身边跑开、当然同时还要吃完剩下的面条意味着什么。他希望我掌握一门本领，他希望我能够有效地抵抗读完医学院、完成实习期和在生与死的情景中照顾患者的喜悦与残酷的现实。

I’m so grateful to my father.
我很感谢我的父亲。

So far I’ve told you that life is uncertain, but you already knew that. What I really want you to know is that you have abundant tools to face that uncertainty and to lead an extraordinary life, even beyond your wildest dreams.
到目前为止，我告诉你们说人生是不确定的，但你们已经了解了这一点。我真正想让你们了解的是，你们拥有大量的工具来直面这种不确定性，成就不平凡的人生，甚至超出你最疯狂的梦想。

Roy Baumeister is a psychologist who has devoted his career to studying the qualities in human beings that lead them to achieve what he calls “positive outcomes.” In this fascinating field, researchers have found that two traits are most consistently associated with success: intelligence and willpower. In Baumeister’s book entitled Willpower, we learn that efforts to permanently increase intelligence have failed, but people can in fact improve their willpower. Baumeister and his colleagues have shown that taking certain actions to improve willpower is the surest way to a more successful life. Moreover, they’ve shown that willpower is like a muscle that can be built with practice, but also that if you don’t actively exercise your willpower, your capacity to do so will atrophy just like your stomach muscles if you stop doing sit-ups. They’ve even learned that because willpower is associated with a certain part of your brain, maintaining glucose levels in your blood to feed that part of your brain is critical for sustaining your willpower!
罗伊·鲍迈斯特是一位心理学家，终生研究带领人类成就他称之为“积极的结果”的人类素质。在这个令人着迷的领域，研究人员发现，有两个特质始终与成功相伴：智力和意志力。从鲍迈斯特所著的《意志力》一书中，我们了解到，虽然永久地提高智力的努力归于失败，但人其实是可以提高自身的意志力的。鲍迈斯特和他的同事们已经证明，采取某些行动来提高意志力，是实现更成功的人生的最可靠的途径。此外，他们也已证明，意志力就像肌肉，可以通过锻炼来强化，而且如果你不积极锻炼你的意志力，你的能力就会像你的腹部肌肉一样，在停止做仰卧起坐之后会出现萎缩。他们甚至还了解到，由于意志力与大脑的某些部位有关，保持血液里的血糖水平来滋养大脑的这个部位对于维持意志力至关重要！

Looked at from another angle, a group of researchers has shown that, more than talent, practice is what determines mastery over any given skill or ability. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers, popularized an important body of work that showed that the path to mastery required 10,000 hours of practice. Books with titles like “talent is overrated” have been published to make the point.
从另一个角度看，一些研究人员已经证明，与天赋相比，实践才是决定能否掌握任何技能或能力的主要因素。马尔科姆·格拉德威尔在他的《局外人》一书中推广的一项重要研究成果表明，达到精通之路需要10000个小时的练习， 《天赋被高估了》等书的出版就是为了说明这一点。

Now I want you to know that there’s really good news here, especially for Northeastern graduates. By graduating today, you’ve shown your families and the world that you have plenty of IQ points to accomplish anything you set out to achieve. Willpower, discipline and focus -- the essential qualities for success that everyone needs -- are in your hands to develop and build. As Baumeister shows in his book, you can indeed go to the willpower gym and come out mentally buff, ready to take on the world.
现在，我希望你们了解，这实际上是个好消息，尤其是对东北大学的毕业生来说。通过今天的毕业，你们已经向家人和世界证明，你们有足够的智商完成你们决定去做的任何事情。意志力、纪律和专注——每个人都需要的成功的必备素质——就掌握在你们手中，靠你们去开发和建立。鲍迈斯特在他的书中揭示，你的确可以去意志力健身房，强健精神，准备好挑战世界。

Now about the 10,000 hours it takes to achieve mastery. Well, because you’ve studied here at Northeastern, you’ve got a head start. My own estimate is that, through your cooperative education in which you’ve received both classroom knowledge and practical knowledge, you all deserve at least a couple of thousand hours of discount off the standard 10,000. Good for you and congratulations!
现在来谈谈达到精通所需要的10,000个小时。嗯，由于你们已完成在东北大学的学业，你们已经有了一个良好的开端。我个人的估计是，通过合作式教育，你们学到了课堂知识和实践知识，你们可以至少从10,000个标准小时中扣除2000个小时。干得好，祝贺你们！

But in addition to thinking about uncertainty and willpower, there’s one more thing I want you to try to will yourself to remember today. I want you to think about how you can use time effectively and for good in this complex world.
但是，除了思考不确定性和意志力之外还有一件事，我希望你们能够用自己的意志力记住今天，我希望你们想一想怎样才能有效地利用时间，在这个复杂的世界里持之以恒。

Back in Iowa, my mother used to read to me the writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. In Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” he writes about understanding the urgency of the present. He writes about an experience with a white moderate -- an ally of the civil rights movement -- who wrote to him saying that he, Dr. King, was in too great a hurry and that “the lessons of Christ take time to come to earth.” African Americans, the moderate argued, would eventually -- eventually -- be granted their full civil rights.
早在爱荷华州时，我的母亲曾经读马丁·路德·金的著作给我听。金博士在 “寄自伯明翰监狱的信”中写了他对现实紧迫性的理解。他写道与一位白人温和派人士、民权运动盟友的交流，此人写信给他，说他金博士过于性急，“基督的教义传播人世，总要花费时日”。这位温和派人士认为，非裔美国人最终——他是说最终——会获得完全的民权。

Dr. King responded, and I quote: “Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time and a strangely irrational notion that there is something in the flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral. It can be used destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of goodwill. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.” End quote.
金博士回应说，我在此引用他的话：“这样的态度乃源自对时间的可悲误解，源自一种不合理的奇特观念，认为在时间之流当中，会有什么东西必将疗治所有的邪恶。实际上，时间是中立的东西；它可以用于建设，也可以用于破坏。我越发觉得，邪恶的人之利用时间，将会比善良的人更其有效。我们得在这一代进行忏悔，不仅因坏人们充满仇恨的言辞与行为，也因好人们骇人听闻的沉默。”引语完。