Of all human abilities, one stands out, the ability to see the Big Picture, the things that are important in life, and not to be distracted by small, trivial, and irrelevant things; the intelligence to separate the message from the background noise.

　　在人类所有的能力中有一种能力非常突出，即预见生活中重要的事件、并且不被无关紧要的小事分心的能力;也即从纷乱嘈杂的背景中分理出信息的智慧。

　　‘The Big Picture’ is about the grand goals; the big dreams and aspirations people treasure in every stage and aspect of life. But how can you grasp and hold on to the Big Picture? What does it take?

　　“重要事件”有关人们宏大的目标，是人生各个阶段和各个方面的大梦想、大抱负。但是你要怎么才能掌握这个“大局”呢?又需要些什么呢?

　　Six rules that have been successfully tested in business and everyday life:

　　下文就为你介绍6条已经在商业和日常生活中屡试不爽的黄金法则：

　　1. Get your Priorities Right

　　1、设定正确的优先事项。

　　Setting priorities right is about making intelligent choices, deciding what goals to pursue in which order, which takes vision and foresight. Intelligent people rise over the hills and valleys of the present to gaze over the hills and the valleys of the future and see the invisible and the challenges it holds.

　　设定正确的优先事项就是要做出明智的选择，决定以什么样的顺序来追求什么样的目标，这就需要人们的远见卓识。聪明的人不会把目光局限在当下的沉浮，而会看到未来的兴衰成败，能够看到无形之中存在的挑战。

　　2. Use Resources Wisely

　　2、明智地利用资源。

　　Using resources wisely is also about making intelligent choices. It is about deriving the most value out of limited resources; shopping around for the right merchandise by asking three simple questions: Do I need this piece of merchandise? Is the price right? Is this merchandise the best use of my money?

　　明智地使用资源就是要做出明智的选择。要在有限的资源中选择出最具价值的东西，通过三个问题来寻找出最合适的商品：我需要这件商品吗?它的价格合理吗?购买这件商品将金钱最合理使用了吗?

　　3. Stay Focused

　　3、坚定不移、不要分心。

　　Staying focused means sticking with your priorities and goals; focusing on the message, not on the background noise; and executing. Take the right steps to reach your goals. That’s all that matters in the end.

　　保持专注即是说要坚持你定下的优先事项和目标，你应该专注于最重要的信息，而不是纷繁嘈杂的背景，并且坚定的执行自己的任务。采取正确的步骤实现你的目标，这才是最重要的。

　　It takes patience, persistence, and discipline to stay focused. Patience to overcome the hurdles that stand between you and your goal; persistence to overcome the failures, setbacks, and temptations that may take you off course; and discipline to play the game right, to comply with all the rules: know what you are doing, be punctual, and work out all the details.

　　要想保持专注，就必须需要耐心、坚持和纪律。耐心能够克服你和你的目标之间的障碍;坚持则可以克服可能会让你偏离目标的失败、挫折和诱惑;而纪律则能让你正确地继续下去，遵守所有的规则：你应该知道自己正在做的事儿，严于律己，解决所有细节。

　　4. Develop the Right Relations

　　4、培养正确的关系。

　　Reaching a certain goal requires moral and psychological stamina. It takes skills and resources no single individual possesses. This means that in pursuing personal success, people need friends and partners to overcome the many obstacles that stand between them and their personal goals. At school, friends can provide the moral and psychological support to endure and overcome the pressure that comes with class lectures, homework, exams, and term paper deadlines. Partners provide the information and expertise to go over complex concepts and to complete coursework projects, sharing of class notes, participating in discussion groups.

　　要想达到某一目标，需要道德和心理上的毅力。它需要的技能和资源远非一个人所能掌握。这就意味着，在追求个人成功的过程中，人们需要朋友和伙伴，从而克服他们实现个人目标的诸多障碍。在学校里，朋友可以提供道德和心理上的支持，从而承受并克服来自课堂授课、家庭作业、测试考验、以及学期论文截稿期的压力。而伙伴则能够提供信息和专业知识，从而重温起复杂的概念、完成课程项目，他们还会和你共享课堂笔记、参与小组讨论。

　　5. Don’t be Greedy

　　5、知足常乐。

　　Greed is the idolization and relentless pursuit of something that lets people distinguish and set themselves apart from others—money, power, status, and so on; the feeling that they never have enough of it, and nothing can stop them from amassing and accumulating it. People who want everything in life fail to negotiate with others and compromise, and end up losing everything. People, who want everything from personal friendships and partnerships and become selfish and arrogant, end up destroying them.

　　贪婪是一种盲目的崇拜、以及对使人们和其他人脱离开来的东西的不懈追求——诸如金钱、权力、地位等等。贪婪的人们永远都得不到满足，没有什么能够阻止他们积累这些东西。生活中想要把一切都据为己有的人们往往无法与他人谈判妥协，结果最终失去了一切。那些想要个人友谊和伙伴关系等一起的人们，最终会变得自私傲慢、毁掉自己。

　　6. Don’t be Complacent

　　6、切勿自满。

　　Complacency is the opposite of greed. It’s the idolization of things people have accomplished, the feeling that they have reached the telos (ultimate destination).

　　自满是贪婪的方面。它是对人们已有事物的盲目崇拜，感觉自己已经达到了终极目标。

　　This may sound contradictory to what was argued earlier about staying focused, but success isn’t an entitlement. It cannot be taken for granted. Successful people cannot afford to be complacent because good times do not last forever, especially in a rapidly changing world. That’s why complacency is dangerous.

　　这听起来可能和前面所说是“保持专注”相矛盾，但是成功并不是一种权利，并不是理所当然的事情。成功的人也不能自满，因为好时光并不会拥有持续下去，特别是在这个瞬息万变的世界里。这就是为什么自满是一件很危险的事的原因。