People who worry about looking good typically hide what they don’t know and hide their weaknesses, so they never learn how to properly deal with them and these weaknesses remain impediments in the future.Thesepeople typically try to prove that they have the answers, even whenthey really don’t. Why do they behave in this unproductive way? They typically believe the senseless but common view that great people are those who have the answers in their heads and don’t have weaknesses. Not only does this view not square with reality, but it also stands in the way of progress.

擔心表面上看起來是否體面的人派昧，一般是在掩蓋自己不清楚的地方或缺點墅拭，這種人從來不去學(xué)怎么處理自己的無知與缺點样刷，任憑其成為未來的攔路虎桶略。這類人就算不知道答案是什么，也試圖努力證明自己知道正確答案岁歉。為什么他們做如此低效的事情？因為他們持有一個雖可笑但普遍的觀點熔掺，認為成功人士腦袋里裝的只有正確答案帆啃、沒有缺點努潘。這種觀點本身就與事實不符疯坤，也會阻礙前進的步伐深浮。

For example, if you are dumb or ugly, you are unlikely to acknowledge it, even though doing so would help you better deal with that reality. Recognizing such “harsh realities” is both very painful and very productive.

例如，假如你是愚蠢或丑陋的飞苇，你可能不會承認布卡，盡管這么做會助你更好地面對現(xiàn)實。認識到這種“殘酷的現(xiàn)實”雖痛苦栖忠，但很有成效。

I have never met a great person who did not earn and learn their greatness. They have weaknesses like everyone else—they have just learned how to deal with them so that they aren’t impediments to getting what they want. In addition, the amounts of knowledge and the capabilities that anyone does not have, and that could be used to make the best possible decisions, are vastly greater than that which anyone (no matter how great) could have within them.

我所遇到的成功人士沒有一個不是歷經(jīng)犯錯學(xué)習(xí)才獲得成功的狸相。他們和大家一樣都有缺點捐川，不過他們懂得如何應(yīng)對自己的缺點，不會使其阻礙夢想的實現(xiàn)将谊。除此之外渐白，這些成功人士學(xué)識淵博，能力超凡栋齿，這些都能助我找到最佳的決策方案襟诸，這種資源比任何單個成功的人（無論他多成功）所擁有的優(yōu)勢都大得多歌亲。

I am not saying that we all have the same potential, just that to get the most of your potential—whatever that is—you must learn and earn.

我不是說大家的潛力是一樣的，無論這種潛力是什么陷揪，要想完全開發(fā)就得學(xué)習(xí)然后獲得悍缠。

As I mentioned in the first chapter, you don’t have to know everything to get what you want. You just have to be honest with yourself about what you don’t know and know who to ask for help.

我在第一章提過，要想實現(xiàn)夢想不必什么都知道滤港，坦誠面對自己對某些東西不知道的事實，懂得找他人尋求幫助溅漾。

This explains whypeople who are interested in making the best possible decisions rarely areconfident that they have the best possible answers. So they seek to learn more (often by exploringthe thinking of other believable people, especially those who disagree with them) and they are eager to identify their weaknesses so that they don’t let these weaknesses stand in the way of them achieving their goals.

這解釋了為什么樂于做出最佳決策的人極少會對自己的方案表示十足的信心樟凄。所以他們希望學(xué)到更多（通過探索其他值得信賴之人缝龄，尤其是持異見之人的想法），并渴望發(fā)現(xiàn)自身缺點叔壤，避免這些缺點阻礙自己實現(xiàn)目標。

So, what are your biggest weaknesses? Think honestly about them because if you can identify them, you are on the first step toward accelerating your movement forward. So think about them, write them down, and look at them frequently.

所以你最大的缺點是什么呢嗅战？若你能發(fā)現(xiàn)這些缺點俺亮，請?zhí)拐\思考一下，這是加速自己成功的第一步东且。想想這些缺點本讥，寫下來，時成椋看看秧了。

One of my biggest weaknesses is my poor rote memory: I have trouble remembering things that don’t have reasons for being what they are, such as names, phone numbers, spelling, and addresses. Also, I am terrible at doing tasks that require little or no logic, especially if I have to do them repeatedly. On the other hand, I have a great contextual memory and good logic, and I can devote myself to things that interest me for untold hours. I don’t know how much of what I am bad at is just the other side of what I am good at—i.e., how much of what I am good at is due to my brain working in a certain way that, when applied to certain tasks, does well and when applied to others does poorly—and how much of what I am good at was developed in order to help compensate for what I am bad at. But I do know that I have created compensating approaches so that what I am bad at doesn’t hurt me much; e.g., I surround myself with people who have good rote memories who do the things that I am bad at, and I carry around tools like my BlackBerry.

我最大的缺點是識記能力差验毡，特別是沒有上下文推理的東西我就很難記住愉镰，比如姓名钧汹、電話號碼、單詞拼寫碗降、地址等等塘秦。沒什么邏輯的任務(wù)我也干不好，如果是機械重復(fù)的工作我更是不在行爪幻。但從另一方面來看，我情景記憶力和邏輯思維都很強仇轻，感興趣的事情我愿投身其中，不眠不休篷店。不知道我不擅長某些事的原因會不會正好就是我擅長另一些事的原因疲陕，也就是說，我擅長某些事是因為大腦的某種思維方式應(yīng)用到某些具體任務(wù)上發(fā)揮了很好的效果蹄殃，但應(yīng)用到別的一些任務(wù)時效果就很差窃爷。也不知道我擅長的思維方式是不是得到了開發(fā)姓蜂，足以彌補我的缺點。但可以肯定的是我自己想出了補償方法逮京，不會因為這些缺點而吃什么大虧束莫。比方說览绿，我身邊結(jié)交很多識記能力很強的人，他們可以做我不擅長的事情饿敲，我隨身帶著黑莓手機這種電子設(shè)備就足夠了怀各。

How much do you worry about looking good relative to actually being good?

你有多擔心看起來好不好呢？你又有多擔心實際上好不好呢寿酌？

Fourth:

第四個選擇：

People who overweigh the first-order consequences of their decisions and ignore the effects that the second- and subsequent-order consequences will have on their goals rarely reach their goals. Thisis because first-order consequences often have opposite desirabilities from second-orderconsequences, resulting in big mistakes in decision-making. For example, the first-order consequences of exercise (pain and time-sink) are commonly considered undesirable, while the second-order consequences (better health and more attractive appearance) are desirable. Similarly, food that tastes good is often bad for you and vice versa, etc. If your goal is to get physically fit and you don’t ignore the first- order consequences of exercise and good-tasting but unhealthy food and connect your decisions with their second- and third-order consequences, you will not reach your goal.

過于看重一級效應(yīng)一級效應(yīng)醇疼，忽略二、三級效應(yīng)的人鲤孵，一般很難實現(xiàn)目標普监。因為一級效應(yīng)和二級效應(yīng)的意愿經(jīng)常是對立的琉兜，容易使人做決策時犯大錯。例如廊散，健身的一級效應(yīng)一級效應(yīng)為承受痛苦梧疲，花費時間，這一般不是人們渴望的缭受。而其二級效應(yīng)该互，即更健康宇智，外貌變得更具吸引力，則是人們渴望的随橘。類似的道理机蔗，可口的食物一般對健康無益，反之亦然讳嘱。比如酿愧，你的目標是身體健康邀泉，但是如果你不忽視運動與美味但不健康的飲食之間的一級效應(yīng)钝鸽，不將決策建立在二拔恰、三級效應(yīng)之上颜懊，那么你就無法實現(xiàn)目標河爹。

Sometimes it can be difficult to anticipate the 2nd or 3rd order consequences of a decision, such as one that involves using complex technology like X-Rays or DDT, where either things are not what they seem to be or there are too many unknown variables to make a sound decision. For more on the probabilities of personal decision-making, please refer to the “To Make Decisions Effectively” section at the end of Part 3.

某項決定的二咸这、三級效應(yīng)有時是很難預(yù)料的媳维，比如某人使用像X光或數(shù)字資料發(fā)送機這種復(fù)雜的科技設(shè)備時就是如此遏暴，因為這兩樣?xùn)|西表面上很難預(yù)測后果侄刽，存在太多未知變數(shù)，沒法做出很好的決定朋凉。關(guān)于個人抉擇的可能性唠梨，請參閱第三章末的《有效決策》部分。