英语美文-自由意志的力量

In addition to self-awareness, imagination, and conscience, it is the fourth human endowment -- independent will -- that really makes effective self-management possible. It is the ability to make decisions and choices and to act in accordance with them. It is the ability to act rather than to be acted upon, to proactively carry out the program we have developed through the other three endowments.
在自我意识，良知和想象力之外，人类的第四大天赋就是独立意志。有了它，人类得以做出各种抉择，并依据这些抉择行事。独立意志是一种主动行事的能力，它会主动的实行另外三种天赋所给出的指令。


The human will is an amazing thing. Time after time, it has triumphed against unbelievable odds. The Helen Kellers of this world give dramatic evidence to the value, the power of the independent will.
独立意志具有不可思议的力量，屡屡创造奇迹。海伦.凯乐就是最佳的明证。


But as we examine this endowment in the context of effective self-management, we realize it's usually not the dramatic, the visible, the once-in-a-lifetime, up-by-the-bootstraps effort that brings enduring success. Empowerment comes from the learning how to use this great endowment in the decisions we make every day.
但当我们将这种天赋放到有效自我管理的范畴时，我们会发现那种突然的，显而易见的，千载难逢的或是完全靠个人的努力往往无法带来持久的成功。这种对于全局的掌控，来自于在日常中做决定时发挥独立意志的作用。


Effective management is putting first things first. While leadership decides what "first things" are, it is management that puts them first, day-by-day, moment-by-moment. Management is discipline, carrying it out. 
有效的管理就是要要事先行。但是领导力决定究竟哪些才是要事，正是通过管理，将这些事情按照每一天，每一刻实施出来。管理就是纪律，贯彻执行。


Discipline derives from disciple -- disciple to a philosophy, disciple to a set of principles, disciple to a set of values, disciple to an overriding purpose, to a superordinate goal or a person who represents that goal. 
纪律来源于追随-追随一种哲学，一系列原则，价值观，目标以及可以代表那个目标的人。
In other words, if you are an effective manager of yourself, your discipline comes from within; it is a function of your independent will. You are a disciple, a follower, of your own deep values and their source. 
换句话说，如果你是一个卓有成效的管理者，你的纪律来自于自身，它是你独立意志的一个基本功能。你是自身内心价值观和智谋的追随者。