双语散文:哈佛未曾教我的三堂课

The most brilliant of them, though, didn't let their fears stop them from thriving. They did the opposite. They had plenty of fear in them, but rather than let it dominate them they used it to motivate them to prove those fears wrong. They worked harder to confirm for themselves that they really did belong. Often the most insecure of them were also the most brilliant.
但是，他们中最出色的那些人并不能让他们的恐惧阻挡了自己发展的脚步。相反，恐惧促进了自身的发展。他们会有很多恐惧，但是他们并没有让恐惧控制他们，而是把恐惧变成一种动力，想要证明这些恐惧其实都不是真实的。他们更加努力的工作，来更加证明自己。常常我会看到，他们中不安全感最强的人，常常会成长为最优秀的人。

Businessmen need to conquer their fears too. They need to know how to control their worries and see opportunity where others don’t. Too many businessmen have been letting fear rather than rational thinking determine their decision-making ever since Lehman Brothers collapsed, and too many investors have been making hasty, panicky decisions. Many equity investors sold all their holdings out of fear and missed the bull market of 2009. Many companies alienated and hurt their workforces by cutting too much. 
商业人士也需要战胜自己的恐惧感。他们需要知道怎样控制自己的忧虑，在别人忽略之处发现机会。自从雷曼兄弟破产以后，太多的商业人士开始让恐惧，而不是让理性的思考决定他们的决策制定的过程，而也有太多的投资者草率决定，甚至惊慌失措。很多资产投资者出于恐惧抛售了他们所有的持有，而错过了2009年的牛市。很多公司过度裁员，疏远伤害了他们的劳动力。还有人停止了投资，有时甚至是在增长最快的领域。

PepsiCo and Disney are two companies that didn’t let fear paralyze them. They looked coolly around and found opportunities while others were too terrified to make big moves. They announced multibillion-dollar investments in China and other emerging markets in the depths of the financial crisis. Now that we are in the beginnings of a worldwide recovery, those investments are putting them ahead.
有两个公司并没有让恐惧软化自己，这两个公司就是百事可乐公司和迪士尼公司。他们非常冷静的审时度势，在其他公司因为恐惧不敢有大动作的时候，发现了机会。在深度经济衰退的时候，他们宣布在中国和其他新兴市场投资数十亿美元。现在他们已经开始了全世界范围的复苏，这些投资让他们走在了前面。

The takeaway: Harness fear and use it for positive results, as my most brilliant students did and as the best businessmen do. You can make money in good and bad times if you keep your head on straight, as hedge fund investors like George Soros and John Paulson know.
得到的结论就是：控制自己的恐惧，利用这些恐惧产生积极的结果，就像我的一些优秀的学生和最优秀的商业人士所作的那样。如果你头脑清醒，不管时局好坏都是能赚到钱的，很多对冲基金投资者，比如说乔治?索罗斯和约翰?保尔森都知道这一点。

The second thing I learned was to do my own due diligence and not blindly trust so-called experts. Harvard professors are impressive people who are generally thought of as experts in their fields. I found it hard not to regard them with awe. But I remember a meeting with one professor who was famous for advising governments about the inner workings of the Chinese government. One day he told me about two senior Chinese leaders, one a vice premier and the other of a similarly high rank. The professor told me that the two hated each other so much they would do anything to hurt each other as they competed to become the next president.
我学到的第二堂课是，要将勤奋作为自己的本分，尽职调查，不盲目的相信所谓的专家。哈佛大学的教授都是在他们的领域被认为是专家式的人物。我发现人们很难不用一种敬畏之心看待他们。但是我记得和一个教授的会谈，这个知名教授提供中国政府内部工作方面的咨询工作。一天他跟我谈到了两位中国的高官，一个是副总理，另一位同样也是高官。这个教授告诉我说，这两个人互相憎恨，而且不顾一切想伤害对方，因为他们都想成为中国下一任领导人。