Quite often the first- order consequences are the temptations that cost us what we really want, and sometimes they are barriers that stand in our way of getting what we want. It’s almost as though the natural selection process sorts us by throwing us trick choices that have both types of consequences and penalizing the dummies who make their decisions just on the basis of the first-order consequences alone.

大多数时候，一级效应是我们实现目标要克服的诱惑、付出的代价，有时还是阻碍成功的拦路虎。这就像自然中物竞天择的过程，甩给我们具备两种结果的选项，那些傻乎乎只基于一级效应做选择的笨蛋就会受到惩罚。

By contrast, people who choose what they really want, and avoid the temptations and get over the pains that drive them away from what they really want, are much more likely to have successful lives.

与之相比，选择真心所渴望、抵挡住诱惑、克服实现目标所需承受的痛苦，这样才更可能拥有成功的人生。

How much do you respond to 1st order consequences at the expense of 2nd and 3rd order consequences?

做决策时，不考虑二、三级效应，仅就一级效应一级效应做出反应，这种情况发生在你身上的频率高么？

Fifth:

第五个选择：

People who blame bad outcomes on anyone or anything other than themselves are behaving in a way that is at variance with reality, and subversive to their progress.

有的人，结果不理想就怪罪别人而不从自己身上找原因，这与事实相矛盾，也会阻碍进步。

Blaming bad outcomes on anyone or anything other than one’s self is essentially wishing that reality is different than it is, which is silly. And it is subversive because it diverts one’s attention away from mustering up the personal strength and other qualities that are required to produce the best possible outcomes.

结果不理想就怪到别人头上，而不认为自己有问题，实际上是想自欺欺人，这种做法很可笑，还会阻碍进步。因为这样做无疑是分散精力，本来可以集中精力提升个人能力素质，实现最佳结果的。

Blaming others is NOT the same thing as holding others accountable, which we will discuss in my Management Principles.

责备他人和实行问责制度不是一回事，我在管理原则章节会进行探讨。

Successful people understand that bad things come at everyone and that it is their responsibility to make their lives what they want them to be by successfully dealing with whatever challenges they face.Successfulpeople know that nature is testing them, and that it is not sympathetic.

成功人士明白，不好的结果大家都会受其影响，人人都有责任应对各种挑战，这样才能实现梦想。成功人士明白这是大自然在对他们进行考验，这没什么可悲的。

Luck — both good and bad — is a reality. But it is not a reason for an excuse. In life, we have a large number of choices, and luck can play a dominant role in the outcomes of our choices. But if you have a large enough sample size—if you have large number of decisions (if you are playing a lot of poker hands, for example)—over time, luck will cancel out and skill will have a dominant role in determining outcomes. A superior decision-maker will produce superior outcomes. That does not mean there won’t be certain bad-(or good-) luck events that are life changing: a friend of mine dove into a swimming pool and became a quadriplegic. But he approached his situation well and became as happy as anybody else, because there are many paths to happiness. What happens to a lot of people is that they don’t take personal responsibility for their outcomes, and as a result fail to make the best possible decisions.

无论是好运气还是坏运气，都是事实。但运气不能作为做不好事的借口。生活中我们面对很多选择，运气对选择的结果起着主导作用，但假如样本数量足够大，就是说你的决定特别多，那久而久之，运气的作用就开始淡化了，能力开始对结果起主导作用了。优秀的决策者会做出优秀的决定。我也不是说运气（好的或坏的）不会对人生产生重大改变：我有个朋友在游泳池游泳不慎变成了四肢瘫痪者，但他面对这样的境遇依然能够处理地很好，同大家一样幸福，因为通往幸福的道路不止一条。很多人不为自己所造成的结果担当起个人责任，结果就是无法做出最佳决定。

As I mentioned earlier, I believe that nature is symbiotic—and that we must give to it for it to give back.

我之前提过，大自然是共生的，我们需要给它它想要的，才得到回报。

How much do you let yourself off the hook rather than hold yourself accountable for your success?

为实现成功，你是置身事外呢，还是富有担当与责任心呢？

In summary, I believe that you can probably get what you want out of life if you can suspend your ego and take a no-excuses approach to achieving your goals with open -mindedness, determination, and courage, especially if you rely on the help of people who are strong in areas that you are weak.

总结一下，我认为要实现梦想，你得清除自我设障，做事不找借口、思维开放、下定决心、富有勇气，尤其要依靠那些在你不擅长的领域表现优秀之人。

If I had to pick just one quality that those who make the right choices have, it is character. Character is the ability to get one’s self to do the difficult things that produce the desired results. In other words, I believe that for the most part, achieving success—whatever that is for you—is mostly a matter of personal choice and that, initially, making the right choices can be difficult. However, because of the law of nature that pushing your boundaries will make you stronger, which will lead to improved results that will motivate you, the more you operate in your “stretch zone,” the more you adapt and the less character it takes to operate at the higher level of performance. So, if you don’t let up on yourself, i.e., if you operate with the same level of “pain,” you will naturally evolve at an accelerating pace. Because I believe this, I believe that whether or not I achieve my goals is a test of what I am made of. It is a game that I play, but this game is for real. In the next part I explain how I go about playing it.

若要说做出明智的选择之人具备什么共同的素质，我想，是意志。意志坚强的人能够克服困难，获得想要的结果。换句话说，我认为要实现成功主要靠的是个人选择，刚开始做正确的选择会很困难，但根据大自然法则，要变得强大就要突破自己的极限，才能实现进步这一结果，激励自己继续前行，在“伸展区”历练越多，就越能适应环境，高级阶段也就不用那么费力了。所以，如果你不放松，保持“疼痛”的程度，就会自然而然加速成长。因为我相信，能否实现目标是对自身品质的检验，这是一场自己主导的游戏，但是这是荷枪实弹的游戏。下一章我会谈谈怎么开始玩这场游戏。

In summary,I don’t believe that limited abilities are an insurmountable barrier to achieving yourgoals, if you do the other things right.

总结一下，我不认为有限的能力是实现目标不可逾越的障碍，能把其他的事情做好，也能弥补自身的缺陷。

As always, it is up to you to ask yourself if what I am saying is true. As the next part delves into this concept more, you might want to reserve your judgment until after you have read it.

还是老规矩，你自己来判断我说的是不是真的，下一章会更深入探讨这个概念，在那之前，你可以保留自己的判断。