One stop on the road to attaining¹ a billion-dollar fortune is to seek advice at the feet of those who have already attained² it. And while it might be difficult to get face time with some of Africa’s richest people, you can learn a lot from their words of wisdom.

在通往亿万财富的道路上有很多小站，其中之一就是从“过来人”那里寻求建议。要跟非洲最富有的人面对面交流，这样的机会固然难得，但从他们的名言金句中，你也可以获益良多。

In the spirit of self-motivation, here are 20 inspirational quotes from a few members of Forbes’ list of 50 Richest Africans.

本着自我激励的目的，在此将福布斯2013非洲50富豪榜成员的20句励志名言摘录如下：

1. If you don’t have ambition, you shouldn’t be alive. – Aliko Dangote

1. 没有抱负的人生不值得过下去。——阿里科·丹格特

2. People in Tanzania look at my wealth and think I must be sunbathing³ and playing golf all day. But I work really hard. I put in a hundred hours a week. It’s a never stopped game. You can never say I’ve worked hard enough now. – Mohammed Dewji

2. 坦桑尼亚人看到我的财富就会想，我肯定整天都在晒日光浴、打高尔夫。但我工作起来非常卖力，每周都要投入100小时在工作上。这是一场永无休止的游戏。你永远都没有机会说，现在我付出的努力已经足够了。——穆罕默德·德沃基

3. As you start out in life, it is important that you know at least something about everything, but as you get older it is important that you know everything about something. – Johann Rupert

3. 初涉人世的时候，你有必要凡事都懂一点，但随着年纪的增长，你得就需要至少对一件事了如指掌。——约翰·鲁伯特

4. The harder you work, the luckier you get. – Mike Adenuga

4. 你越努力，运气就越好。——迈克·阿登努加

5. In Life, you don’t get anywhere or do anything you hope to without some sort of sacrifice. – Stephen Saad

5. 在生活中，如果不作出牺牲，你就无法达到任何成就、实现任何期望。——斯蒂芬·萨阿德

6. I think there are a lot of people with family connections but who are actually nowhere. If you are hardworking and determined⁴, you will make it and that’s the bottom line. I don’t believe in an easy way through. – Isabel Dos Santos

6. 我觉得，很多因家庭背景而人脉广泛的人都一事无成。如果你付出不懈努力并拥有坚定决心，你就能成功，这是最关键的。我不相信其中存在任何捷径。——伊莎贝尔·多斯桑托斯

7. One has to set high standards… I can never be happy with mediocre⁵ performance. – Patrice Motsepe

7. 目标一定要高。我永远都不会满足于平庸的表现。——帕特里斯·莫特赛比

8. Money is not my objective. – Desmond Sacco

8. 钱不是我的目标。——德斯蒙德·萨科

9. I own quite a lot and I have worked very hard for it. – Sudhir Ruparelia

9. 我拥有一大笔财富，而这些都是我辛勤努力的结果。——苏迪尔·鲁帕拉里亚

10. In today’s world, paradoxically, it is the boldest action that is often the safest. Remaining where you are in a world that is changing so rapidly is in fact the most dangerous of all places to be in. – Hakeem Belo- Osagie

10. 说来矛盾，在当今世界上，最大胆的举措往往都是最安全的。在这个瞬息万变的世界中，留在原地其实就是留在了最危险的地方。——哈基姆·贝罗-奥萨吉

11. Failure is a good thing – Hakeem Belo-Osagie

11. 失败是件好事。——哈基姆·贝罗-奥萨吉

12. It’s essential to draw up a “things to do” list on a daily basis and set priorities in executing them, making sure that any unfinished task get posted to the next day’s list. – Folorunsho Alakija

12. 关键是要坚持每天都列出一个“待办事项”清单，并且排出轻重缓急，确保任何未完成的任务都顺延到第二天的清单。——佛罗伦索·阿拉基嘉

13. I grew up in poverty, but I always saw it as a challenge. The good thing is that you can surmount⁶ a challenge if you are willing to pay the price. The price is hard work. – Reginald Mengi

13. 我在贫苦中长大，但我一直都将其视为一种挑战。好在，只要愿意付出代价，你就能战胜困难。而这个代价就是努力工作。——雷吉纳尔德·孟吉

14. Every morning when I wake up, I make up my mind to solve as many problems, before retiring home. – Aliko Dangote

14. 每天早上起来，我都下定决心，要在晚上回家前解决尽可能多的问题。——阿里科·丹格特

15. A vision on its own is not enough. Hard work & dedication⁷ is required to make that vision a reality – Strive Masiyiwa

15. 光有远见是不够的。你还需要努力地工作和全身心地投入来将这种远见变成现实。——斯特拉夫·马希依瓦

16. Today is the beginning of the Rest of your Life! You are the Pilot of your life! Lock in your destination; take off to it, from where you are! – Vimal Shah

16. 今天是你余下人生的起点！你是自己人生的舵手！锁定目标，向前进发，就从你现在所处的地方开始！——维玛尔·沙阿

17. In business you have to know when to retire, before someone knocks you out.” – Lauritz (Laurie) Dippenaar

17. 在生意中，你必须知道何时退休——不要等到别人把你踢出去。——劳里茨(劳里)·迪彭纳

18. In whatever you do, strive to be the best at it – Aliko Dangote

18. 无论你做什么，都要尽力做到最好。——阿里科·丹格特

19. Whether you’re a farmer, builder or engineer, the opportunities are equal: Just add a little innovation – Strive Masiyiwa

19. 不管你是农民、建筑工人还是工程师，机会都是均等的：只要加入一点点创新就行。——斯特拉夫·马希依瓦

20. Entrepreneurship without skills limits your growth potential – Strive Masiyiwa

20. 没有创业技巧而空有创业精神，这会阻碍你的增长潜力。——斯特拉夫·马希依瓦