年轻人应该从头学起，但当最基层的职务，这是件好事。匹兹堡有许多大企业家在创业之初都肩负过重任。他们与扫帚结伴，以清扫办公室度过了企业生涯的最初时光。我注意到现在的办公室都配备了保洁员，这使我们的年轻人不幸丢掉了这个有益的企业教育的一个内容。不过，如果哪一天早晨保洁员碰巧没来，某位具有未来合伙人气质的青年就会毫不犹豫试着拿起扫帚。有一天，一位溺爱孩子的、时髦的密歇根母亲问一位男青年，是否见过像她的女儿普里茜拉那样的年轻女子如此潇洒地在房间里进行打扫。男青年说从未见过；那位母亲高兴得乐不可支。但男青年顿了顿又说：“我想看到的是她能在室外进行打扫。”如果有必要，新来者在办公室外进行打扫并没有什么损失。我本人就曾经是打扫人之一。我对你们的忠告是“要胸怀大志”。对那些尚未把自己看成是某重要公司的合伙人或领导人的年轻人，我会不屑一顾。你们在思想上一刻也不要满足于充当任何企业的首席职员、领班或总经理，不管这家企业的规模有多大。你们要对自己说；“我的位置在最高处。”你们要梦寐以求登峰造极。
成功的首要条件和最大秘诀就是：把你的精力，思想和资本全都集中在你正从事的事业上。一旦开始从事某种职业，就要下定决心在那一领域闯出一片天地来，做这一行的领军人物，锐意进取，不断更新设备，精通专业知识。
一些公司的失败就在于他们分散了资金，因为这就意味着分散了他们的精力。他们在这里投资，在那里投资，到处都投资。“不要把所有的鸡蛋放在一个篮子里”的说法大错特错。我要对你说：“把所有的鸡蛋都放在一个篮子里，然后小心地看好那个篮子。”看看你周围，你会注意到：这么做的人其实很少失败。看管和携带一个篮子并不太难。人们总是试图提很多篮子，所以才打破这个国家的大部分鸡蛋。提三个篮子的人，必须把一个顶在头上，而这个篮子很可能倒下来，把他自己绊倒。美国商人的一个缺点就是不够专注。
把我的话归纳一下：要胸怀大志；不要出入酒吧；要滴酒不沾，或要喝也只在用餐时喝少许；不要做投机买卖；不要提前透支；要把公司的利益当作自己的利益；取消订货的目的永远是为了挽救货主；要专注；要把所有的鸡蛋放在一个篮子里，然后小心地看好它；要量入为出；最后，要有耐心，正如爱默生所言，“谁都无法阻止你最终成功，除非你自己承认自己失败。”
Don‘t Live Your Life In The Past！
What is your recovery rate？ How long does it take you to recover from actions and behaviors that upset you？ Minutes？ Hours？ Days？ Weeks？ The longer it takes you to recover the more influence that incident has on your actions and the less able you are to perform to your personal best. In a nutshell the longer it takes you to recover the weaker you are and the poorer your performance.
You are well aware that you need to exercise to keep the body fit and， no doubt， accept that a reasonable matter of health is the speed in which your heart and respiratory system recovers after exercise. Likewise the faster you let go of an issue that upsets you， the faster you will return to an equilibrium the healthier you will be. The best example of this behavior is found with professional sportspeople. They know that the faster they can forget an incident or missed opportunity and get on with the game， the better their performance.
Imagine yourself to be an actor in a play on the stage. Your aim is to play your part to the best of your ability. You have been given a script and at the end of each sentence is a full stop. Each time you get to the end of a sentence you start a new one and although the next sentence is related to the last it is not affected by it. Your job is to deliver each sentence to the best of your ability.
Don’t live your life in the past！ Learn to live in the present， to overcome the past. Stop the past from influencing your daily life. Don‘t allow thoughts of the past to reduce your personal best. Stop the past from interfering with your life. Learn to recover quickly.
Remember： Rome wasn’t built in a day. Reflect on your recovery rate each day. Every day before you go to bed， look at your progress. Don‘t lie in bed saying to you， “I did that wrong. I should have done better there.” No. Look at your day and note when you made an effort to place a full stop after an incident. This is a success. You are taking control of your life. Remember， this is a step by step process. This is not a make-over. You are undertaking real change here. Your aim： reduce the time spent in recovery.
The way forward？
Live in the present. Not in the precedent