The professor stood before his class of 30 senior molecular¹ biology students, about to pass out the final exam. "I have been privileged to be your instructor² this semester, and I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test. I also know most of you are off to medical school or grad school next fall," he said to them.

教授站在30名分子生物班的大四学生面前，准备发期末考试试卷。"很荣幸这学期担任你们的讲师，我知道你们已经为这次考试作了充分准备。我也知道你们大部分人下个学期就要进人医学院或者研究生学院。"他对学生说。

"I am well aware of how much pressure you are under to keep your GPAs up, and because I know you are all capable of understanding this material, I am prepared to offer an automatic B to anyone who would prefer not to take the final."

"同时我也清楚你们对这篇材料的理解程度，我相信你们都能通过这次考试，所以我准备给不愿意参加考试的学生B分。"

The relief was audible as a number of students jumped up to thank the professor and departed from class. The professor looked at the handful of students who remained, and offered again, "Any other takers? This is your last opportunity." One more student decided³ to go.

显然这令人十分欣慰，因为有很多学生已经站起来谢过教授后离开了教室。教授又对留下的一少部分学生说还有其他人吗?这可是你们最后的一次机会。"接着又有几个学生走出教室。

Seven students remained. The professor closed the door and took attendance. Then he handed out the final exam. There were two sentences typed on the paper:

最后，留在教室里考试的只有几个学生。教授把门关上，数了一下参加考试的学生人数，然后开始分发试卷。卷子上印着两句话:

"Congratulations, you have just received an A in this class. Keep believing in yourself."

恭喜你这次考试已经得了A分，请保持自信。

I never had a professor who gave a test like that. It may seem like the easy way out of grading a bunch of exams, but it's a test that any teacher in any discipline could and should give. Students who don 't have confidence in what they' ve learned are B students at best.

我从来没有遇见过像他这样考试的教授。这似乎使批改试卷的工作变得轻松起来，但只有治学严谨的教师才会这样去要求学生。因为对自己所学的知识没有把握的学生最多只能得到B分。

The same is true for students of real life. The A students are those who believe in what they're doing because they've learned from both successes and failures. They've absorbed life' s lessons, whether from formal education or the school of hard knocks, and become better people.

学生的现实生活中也是同样的道理。能得到A分的学生是那些做什么事都非常自信的学生，因为从成功和失败中他们都能学到东西。无论是正规的学校教育还是逆境的磨炼，他们都能从中吸取经验和教训，完善自己。

Those are the people who you look for when you're hiring or promoting, and the ones you keep if you're downsizing. Your organisation⁴ needs their brand of thinking.

那些学生就是你正在寻找的要雇用或者提拔的人，也是你公司裁员时要保留的人，因为你的公司需要他们的这种自信。

Psychologists say that by the age of two, 50 percent of what we ever believe about ourselves has been formed; by age six, 60 percent, and at eight years, 80 percent. Wouldn't you love to have the energy and optimism of a little kid? There is nothing you couldn't do or learn or be.

心理学家曾说过，一个人在两岁的时候，会有50%的自信;6岁时，有60%的自信;8岁时，有80%的自信。你难道不想再次拥有童年时的那种自信和乐观吗?没有什么是你不能做到、不能学会或不能实现的。

Believing in yourself comes from knowing what you are really capable of doing. When it's your turn to step up to the plate, realise that you won' t hit a homerun every time. Baseball superstar Mickey Mantle⁵ struck out more than 1,700 times, but it didn 't stop him from excelling at baseball. He believed in himself, and he knew his fans believed in him.

自信源于你能正确地认知自己的能力。要知道，当轮到你走向本垒板时，并不是每次你都能打出本垒打的。棒球超级明星米奇·曼特在成名前曾失败过1700多次，但这丝毫没有妨碍他对成功的追求。他相信自己，同时他也知道他的球迷也相信他。

Surround yourself with positive people-they know the importance of confidence and will help you keep focused on what you can do instead of what you can't. Who you surround yourself with is who you become.

和乐观的人相处——因为他们懂得自信的重要，并且能帮助你集中精力做你力所能及的事。近朱者赤，近墨者黑。

Never stop learning! I would work this advice into every column if I could; it's that important. Don't limit yourself only to work-related classes, either. Learn everything about every subject that you can. When you know what you're talking about, it shows.

永远不要停止学习!只要我能，我都会不停地学习，因为这对培养信心尤其重要。要尽可能多地吸取各种知识。从你的谈吐中就能体现出你的学识。

Be very careful not to confuse confidence with a big ego⁶. If you want people to believe in you, you also have to believe in them. Understand well that those around you also have much to contribute, and they deserve your support. Without faith in yourself and others, success is impossible.

一定要注意不要混淆自负和自信。如果你想让别人相信你，你也要相信别人。理解别人也是必不可少的，并且他们也需要你的支持。如果你既不相信自己也不相信别人，那么你永远也不可能成功。

At the end of a particularly frustrating⁷ practice one-day, a football coach dismissed his players by yelling, "Now all you idiots, go take a shower!" All but one player headed toward the locker⁸ room. The coach glared at him and asked why he was still there.

在一次令人十分沮丧的足球比赛结束后，教练宣布解散时，对球员大喊你们这些笨蛋，去洗澡吧!"所有人都朝衣帽间走去，只有一个人站在原地没动。教练怒视着问他，为什么还站着不动。

"You told all the idiots to go, Sir," the player replied, "and there sure seems to be a lot of them. But I am not an idiot."

"你是让所有的笨蛋去，教练。"这个球员回答说去那儿的人才是笨蛋，但我不是。

Confident? You bet. And smart enough to coach that team some day.

"这个球员很自信吗?当然。因为他一直表现很出色，后来竟成为这支球队的教练。

Moral: Believe in yourself, even when no one else does.

这个故事告诉我们:相信你自己，即使在别人不相信你时。