51. Advice for Graduates

51. 给大学毕业生的几点忠告

First, every time you celebrate an achievement, be thankful to those who made it possible. Thank your parents and friends who supported you, thank your professors who were in and especially thank the other professors whose less-than-brilliant lectures forced you to teach yourself. Going forward, the ability to teach yourself of a great liberal arts education and will be the key to your success. To your fellow students who have added immeasurably to your education during those late n night discussions, hug them. Also, of course, thank Harvard. Should you forget, there's an alumni association to remind you.

第一，每次庆祝你取得成就的时候，不要忘记所有助你一臂之力的人。要感谢你的父母和支持你的朋友，要感谢那些启发过你的教授，尤其要感谢那些演讲拙劣的教技，因为他们迫使你自学。从长远看，自学能力是优秀的文科教育中必不可少的，将成为你成功的关键。你还要去拥抱你的同学，感谢他们同你进行过的许多次彻夜长谈，这为你的教育带来了无法衡量的价值。当然，你还要感谢哈佛大学。不过即使你忘了这一点，校友会也会未提醒你。

Second, in your future life, cultivate a generous spirit. In all negotiations, don't bargain for the last, little advantage Leave the change on the table. In your collaboration, always remember that "credit" is not a conserved quantity In a successful collaboration, everybody gets 90 percent of the credit.

第二，在你们未来的人生中，做一个慷慨大方的人。在任何谈判中，都把最后一点点利益留给对方。不要把桌上的钱都拿走。在合作中，不要把荣誉留给自己。成功合作的任何一方，都应获得全部荣誉的90%。

My third piece of advice is as follows: As you begin this new stage of your lives, follow your passion. If you don't have a passion, don't be satisfied until you find one Life is too short to go through it without caring deeply about something. When I was your age, I was incredibly single-minded in my goal to be a physicist. After college, I spent eight years as a graduate student and postdoc at Berkeley, and then nine years at Bell Labs. During that time, my central focus and professional joy was physics.

我的第三个忠告是：当你开始生活的新阶段时，请追随你的爱好。如采你没有爱好，就去找，找不到绝不罢休。生命太短暂，所以不能空手走过，你必须对某样东西倾注你的深情。我在你们这个年龄，是超级的一根筋，我的目标就是非成为物理学家不可。本科毕业后，我在加州大学伯克利分校又待了8年，读完了研究生，获得了博士后，然后去贝尔实验室待了9年。在那些年中，我关注的中心和职业上的全部乐趣，都来自物理学。

Here is my final piece of advice. Pursuing a personal passion is important, but it should not be your only goal When you are old and gray, and look back on your life, you will want to be proud of what you have done. The source of that pride won't be the things you have acquired or the recognition you have received. It will be the lives you have touched and the difference you have made.

我还有最后一个忠告，兴趣爱好固然重要，但是不应是你的唯一目标。当你白发苍苍、垂垂老矣、回首人生时，你需要为自己做过的事感到自豪。你所获得的物质财富和得到的荣誉都不是自豪的源泉。只有那些受你影响、被你改变过的人和事，才会让你感到自豪。
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