Sticking your neck out and taking charge of your career is no trivial matter. Whether that’s switching careers, going back to school, or walking away from a j-o-b to start your own business, it takes a lot of guts.

　　冒险接管自己的事业是非同小可的。不管是改变职业方向、回归校园，还是放弃常规工作开始自己创业，都需要很大的勇气。

　　But guts will only get you so far. Once you build up the nerve and make the leap, you’re no more than 5% of the way there. You still have to succeed in your new endeavor, and trying to succeed is when your worst fears (the ones that made you hesitate in the first place) will come true.

　　但勇气只能让你走这么远。一旦你下定了决心并开始行动，你就又前进了5%。在新的努力下，你还是要取得成功。当你最严重的担忧(让你最初犹豫的事情)出现时，尝试克服它。

　　I’m going to assume you’re like me and don’t have a brilliant mentor, a rich uncle, or some other person who is going to show you the ropes and explain each step you need to take to take charge of your career.

　　假设你和我一样，没有杰出的导师，没有富裕的叔叔，也没有其他能给你引路并为你解释管理事业所需的每一步的人。

　　You see, it’s been almost 20 years since I last had a boss. I went from working in a surf shop to striking out on my own, eventually starting TalentSmart (with a partner) before I’d finished grad school.

　　你看，自从我上一次有老板已经过去20年了。我从一个冲浪器材店出来开始单干，最终在研究生毕业之前创立了TalentSmart公司(和一个同伴一起)。

　　When I set out on my own, I had all the gumption and appetite for risk that I needed to take charge of my career. At the time I thought that was all I needed to succeed.

　　当我开始管理自己的事业时，我有对自己事业负责的进取心和风险容量。那时候我以为这就是成功所需要的全部。

　　It wasn’t. I also needed guidance. Without it, I learned some difficult (and often painful) lessons along the way.

　　其实并不是，我还需要指导。没有了指导，我一路上吸取了许多困难(也很痛苦)的教训。

　　I’d like to share some of my biggest lessons learned with you so that they can help you as you take charge of your career (in whatever form that takes). As I look back on these lessons, I realize that they’re really great reminders for us all.

　　我想分享一些最实用的经验给你们，以便于日后你们在管理自己的事业时能得到帮助(不管是任何形式)。当我回首这些经验时，我意识到它们对我们来说是非常好的提醒。

　　1. Confidence Must Come First

　　1. 首先要自信

　　Successful people often exude confidence—it’s obvious that they believe in themselves and what they’re doing. It isn’t their success that makes them confident, however. The confidence was there first.

　　成功的人往往散发出自信——很明显他们相信自己，也相信自己在做的事情。不是他们的成功让他们自信，相反，他们先有自信。

　　Think about it:

　　想想看：

　　1. Doubt breeds doubt.Why would anyone believe in you, your ideas, or your abilities if you didn’t believe in them yourself?

　　1. 怀疑导致怀疑。如果连你自己都不相信的话，为什么别人要相信你、你的想法，或是你的能力?

　　2. It takes confidence to reach for new challenges. People who are fearful or insecure tend to stay within their comfort zones. But comfort zones rarely expand on their own. That’s why people who lack confidence get stuck in dead-end jobs and let valuable opportunities pass them by.

　　2. 迎接新的挑战需要信心。恐惧或不安的人倾向于待在他们的舒适区。但舒适区往往不会自己扩大。这就是为什么缺乏自信的人会被困在没有前途的工作中，让有价值的机会与他们擦肩而过。

　　3. Unconfident people often feel at the mercy of external circumstances.Successful people aren’t deterred by obstacles, which is how they rise up in the first place.

　　3. 不自信的人经常感觉被外部环境所摆布。成功的人不会被困难阻碍，这也是他们如何在最初开始的。

　　Confidence is a crucial building block in a successful career, and embracing it fully will take you places you never thought possible. No one is stopping you from what you want to accomplish but yourself. It’s time to remove any barriers created by self-doubt.

　　信心是成功事业中一个非常重要的模块，完全接纳它会让你到达从未想过的地方。除了你自己，没有人会阻止你去实现自己想要的事情。是时候移除自我怀疑所制造的障碍了。

　　2. You’re Living The Life That You’ve Created

　　2. 你在过自己创造的生活

　　You are not a victim of circumstance. No one can force you to make decisions and take actions that run contrary to your values and aspirations. The circumstances you’re living in today are your own—you created them. Likewise, your future is entirely up to you. If you’re feeling stuck, it’s probably because you’re afraid to take the risks necessary to achieve your goals and live your dreams.

　　你不是环境的受害者。没有人能强迫你对违反自己价值观和愿望的事情做决定或采取行动。你今天所生活的环境是你自己的——你创造了他们。同样地，你的未来也完全由你决定。如果你感觉陷入了困境，很可能是因为你害怕为了实现目标和梦想所必须要冒的险。

　　When it’s time to take action, remember that it’s always better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than at the top of one you don’t.

　　该采取行动的时候，记住一件事：待在想要攀登的梯子底部要好过待在不想攀登的梯子顶部。

　　3. Being Busy Does Not Equal Being Productive

　　3. 忙碌并不等于高效

　　Look at everyone around you. They all seem so busy—running from meeting to meeting and firing off emails. Yet how many of them are really producing, really succeeding at a high level?

　　看看你身边的每一个人。他们都看起来很忙碌——不停地开会、发邮件。但是他们之中有多少人真正高效地工作并取得成功呢?

　　Success doesn’t come from movement and activity. It comes from focus—from ensuring that your time is used efficiently and productively. You get the same number of hours in the day as everyone else. Use yours wisely. After all, you’re the product of your output, not your effort. Make certain your efforts are dedicated to tasks that get results.

　　成功不是来源于移动和行动，它来源于专注——确保你的时间被有效利用。每个人每天都拥有相同的时间，明智点使用吧。毕竟，是最后的结果造就了你，而不是努力。确保你的努力是专注于工作的，并且取得了成果。

　　4. You’re Only As Good As Those You Associate With

　　4. 你只是和那些你交往的人一样好

　　You should strive to surround yourself with people who inspire you, people who make you want to be better. And you probably do. But what about the people who drag you down? Why do you allow them to be a part of your life? Anyone who makes you feel worthless, anxious, or uninspired is wasting your time and, quite possibly, making you more like them. Life is too short to associate with people like this. Cut them loose.

　　你应该努力与能激励你、能让你变得更好的人在一起。你可能确实是这样做的。但是那些拖累你的人呢?为什么要让他们成为你生活的一部分?任何让你感觉自己没有价值、焦虑或者不受鼓舞的人都是在浪费你的时间，并且很可能让你变得更像他们。生命短暂，不要和这些人在一起，离开他们吧。

　　5. Don’t Say Yes Unless You Really Want To

　　5. 别轻易答应，除非你真的想这么做

　　Research conducted at the University of California in San Francisco shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression, all of which make it difficult to take charge of your career. Saying no is indeed a major challenge for many people. “No” is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it’s time to say no, avoid phrases like “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them.

　　旧金山加州大学发布的研究显示，越难说“不”，越有可能经历压力、倦怠、甚至是沮丧，这些都让你很难照顾到自己的事业。说“不”对于很多人来说的确是一个挑战。“不”是一个很强大的词，不要害怕去使用它。该说“不”时，避免“我不认为我可以”或者“我不确定”这样的语句。对新的承诺说“不”可以兑现已有的承诺，也给了你成功完成它们的机会。

（编辑：何莹莹）