选择造就了我们——杰夫·贝索斯在普林斯顿大学2010届毕业典礼上的演讲

As a kid， I spent my summers with my grandparents on their ranch1） in Texas. I helped fix windmills2）， vaccinate3） cattle， and do other chores. My grandparents belonged to a Caravan4） Club， a group of Airstream5） trailer6） owners who travel together around the U.S. and Canada. And every few summers we’d join the caravan. We’d hitch up7） the Airstream trailer to my grandfather’s car， and off we’d go. I loved and worshipped my grandparents and I really looked forward to these trips. On one particular trip I was about 10 years old. I was rolling around in the big bench seat8） in the back of the car. My grandfather was driving， and my grandmother had the passenger seat. She smoked throughout these trips， and I hated the smell.

At that age， I’d take any excuse to make estimates and do minor arithmetic9）. I’d been hearing an ad campaign about smoking. I can’t remember the details， but basically the ad said every puff10） of a cigarette takes some number of minutes off of your life： I think it might have been two minutes per puff. At any rate， I decided to do the math for my grandmother. When I was satisfied that I’d come up with a reasonable number， I poked my head into the front of the car， tapped my grandmother on the shoulder and proudly proclaimed， “At two minutes per puff， you’ve taken nine years off your life！”

I have a vivid memory of what happened. I expected to be applauded for my cleverness and arithmetic skills. That’s not what happened. Instead， my grandmother burst into tears. I sat in the backseat and did not know what to do. While my grandmother sat crying， my grandfather pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway. He got out of the car and came around and opened my door and waited for me to follow. My grandfather was a highly intelligent， quiet man. He had never said a harsh word to me， and maybe this was to be the first time？ We stopped beside the trailer. My grandfather looked at me， and after a bit of silence， he gently and calmly said， “Jeff， one day you’ll understand that it’s harder to be kind than clever.”

What I want to talk to you about today is the difference between gifts and choices. Cleverness is a gift； kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy—they’re given after all. Choices can be hard. You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you’re not careful， and if you do， it’ll probably be to the detriment of11） your choices.

This is a group with many gifts. I’m sure one of your gifts is the gift of a smart and capable brain. I’m confident that’s the case because admission is competitive and if there weren’t some signs that you’re clever， the dean of admission wouldn’t have let you in.

Your smarts will come in handy because you will travel in a land of marvels. We humans—plodding as we are—will astonish ourselves. We’ll invent ways to generate clean energy and a lot of it. Atom by atom， we’ll assemble tiny machines that will enter cell walls and make repairs. As a civilization， we will have so many gifts， just as you as individuals have so many individual gifts as you sit before me.

How will you use these gifts？ And will you take pride in your gifts or pride in your choices？

I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that Web usage was growing at 2，300 percent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast， and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles—something that simply couldn’t exist in the physical world—was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old， and I’d been married for a year. I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t， and I wasn’t sure what would happen after that. MacKenzie told me I should go for it.

I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people， and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park， listened carefully to me， and finally said， “That sounds like a really good idea， but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me， and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light， it really was a difficult choice； but ultimately， I decided I had to give it a shot12）. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all. After much consideration， I took the less safe path to follow my passion， and I’m proud of that choice.

Tomorrow， in a very real sense， your life—the life you author from scratch13） on your own—begins.

How will you use your gifts？ What choices will you make？ Will inertia14） be your guide， or will you follow your passions？ Will you follow dogma， or will you be original？ Will you choose a life of ease， or a life of service and adventure？ Will you wilt15） under criticism， or will you follow your convictions？ Will you bluff it out16） when you’re wrong， or will you apologize？ Will you guard your heart against rejection， or will you act when you fall in love？ Will you play it safe17）， or will you be a little bit swashbuckling18）？ When it’s tough， will you give up， or will you be relentless？ Will you be a cynic， or will you be a builder？ Will you be clever at the expense of others， or will you be kind？

I will hazard a prediction. When you are 80 years old， and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story， the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end， we are our choices. Build yourself a great story. Thank you and good luck！

小时候，暑假我总会和祖父母一起在他们得州的农场度过。我会帮忙修理风车，给牛接种疫苗，还干些其他杂七杂八的活儿。我的祖父母参加了一个由一群清风房车车主组成的旅行俱乐部，与他们结伴在美国和加拿大到处旅行。每隔几年的夏天，我们就会加入俱乐部的车队去旅行。我们把清风房车挂到祖父的小汽车上，之后便出发了。我爱我的祖父母，也很尊敬他们，而且非常期待和他们一起去旅行。其中有一次旅行是在我大概十岁那年。当时我在后座上晃来晃去，祖父开着车，祖母坐在副驾驶座上。祖母一路上都在抽烟，我很讨厌那个味道。

在那个年纪，我会找各种借口做一些估测和简单的算术。我之前总是听到一个有关吸烟的广告。细节我记不清了，但广告的大意是说每抽一口烟就会让生命缩短几分钟：我感觉好像是每口烟会让生命缩短两分钟。无论如何，我决定为祖母算一算。我得出了一个合理的数字，自己觉得很满意，于是把头伸到车的前面，拍了拍祖母的肩膀，自豪地宣称：“按照每吸一口烟会减少两分钟寿命的算法，吸烟已经夺走您九年的生命！”

之后发生的事至今仍历历在目。我本以为他们会为我的聪明和算术技巧而鼓掌，但我预料的情形没有发生。相反，我的祖母突然大哭起来。我坐在后座上，不知所措。祖母坐在那儿哭的当儿，祖父将车停在路肩上。他下了车，走过来将我的车门打开，等我跟他下车。祖父是一个非常睿智又性情温和的人，他从没对我说过一句严厉的话，或许这将会是第一次？我们在房车旁边停了下来，祖父看着我，稍许沉默之后，他温和而平静地对我说：“杰夫，有一天你会明白，做一个善良的人要比做一个聪明的人难。”

今天我想和你们聊的是关于天资和选择之间的差异。聪明是天资，善良却是选择。天资来得很容易——它毕竟与生俱来。而选择却很难，如果不小心，天资会诱使你们误入歧途，如果那样的话，它就可能会危害到你们的选择。

你们都是天资出众的人。我敢肯定，你们的天资之一就是拥有聪明能干的头脑。我坚信这一点，因为入学竞争很激烈，如果没有什么证据表明你们很聪明，招生主任也不会让你们进入这个学校。

你们的聪明将来会派上用场，因为你们将在一片充满神奇的土地上行进。尽管我们人类一直在艰难前行，但我们会让自己都感到吃惊。我们会发明很多产生清洁能源的方法。我们会一个原子一个原子地组装微型机器，使之进入细胞壁做修补工作。作为文明社会，我们将会拥有很多天资，就像此刻坐到我前面的你们作为个体拥有如此多的独特天资一样。

你们将如何利用这些天资呢？你们会因自己的天资而骄傲，还是因自己的选择而骄傲呢？

16年前，我萌生了创办亚马逊的想法。当时我无意中发现，网络应用以每年2300%的速度在增长。我还从来没有见过或听说过有什么东西的增长速度如此之快。于是，我想创办一家可以售卖几百万种图书的网上书店，这在实体世界是不可能的——这个想法让我兴奋不已。那时我刚30岁，结婚才一年。我对妻子麦肯齐说，我想辞职去做这件疯狂的事。这事不一定能成功，因为大多数初创公司都没成功，而且我不确定在那之后会怎样。麦肯齐告诉我说我应该放手一搏。

我当时在纽约的一家金融公司上班，与一群非常聪明的人共事，老板是个我很钦佩的优秀人士。我找到老板，告诉他我要在网上开一家卖书的公司。他带我在中央公园长时间地散步，认真地听我讲述，最后说：“这听起来确实是个不错的想法，但对于一个还未拥有一份好工作的人来说，这个主意会更好。”他那番逻辑在我听来有些道理。他劝我先考虑48个小时，之后再作最后决定。从那个角度看来，当时真是很难抉择。但最终我还是决定试一试。我想自己不会因为尝试和失败而后悔。我倒是觉得我可能会一直为自己作了一个根本不去尝试的决定而苦恼。再三考虑之后，我追随自己的激情，选择了一条不那么安全的道路。现在我为这个选择感到骄傲。

明天，我说的是真正意义上的明天，你们的生活——由你们自己从头书写的生活——即将开始。

你们将如何利用自己的天资？你们将作出怎样的抉择？你们会被惯性引导，还是会追随自己的激情？你们会墨守成规，还是会创意不断？你们会选择安逸的生活方式，还是会选择服务他人、充满冒险的人生？你们会因批评而畏缩不前，还是会坚守自己的信念？做错事时，你们会抵赖，还是会道歉？你们会因害怕被拒绝而封闭自己的内心，还是一旦陷入爱河便付诸行动？你们想要谨慎安稳，还是想来点冒险？当遇到困难时，你们会放弃，还是会不屈不挠？你们会成为愤世嫉俗者，还是会成为建设者？你们会以牺牲他人为代价展示自己的聪明，还是会做一个善良的人？

我大胆预言一下。等你们80岁时，在某个静静沉思的时刻，你们仅对自己诉说着最个人化版本的人生故事，其中最充实、最有意义的告白将是你所作出的一系列选择。最终，是选择造就了我们。为你们自己书写一个精彩的人生故事吧。谢谢，祝你们好运！

1. ranch [rɑ?nt?] n. 大农场

2. windmill [?w?n（d）?m?l] n. 风车

3. vaccinate [?v?ks?ne?t] vt. 给……接种牛痘（或疫苗）

4. caravan [?k?r?v?n] n. 旅行队

5. Airstream：清风房车，美国著名的拖挂式房车品牌，以其经典优美的外部造型和舒适豪华的内部装备而备受美国人的喜爱。

6. trailer [?tre?l?（r）] n. 〈美〉（用汽车拖行的）活动房屋（或工作室）

7. hitch up：把……套上车

8. bench seat：（横置汽车车厢的）统座，长椅座位

9. arithmetic [??r?θm?t?k] n. 算术，演算技巧

10. puff [p?f] n. （抽）一口烟

11. to the detriment of：有损于……；对……不利

12. give it a shot：尝试做某事

13. from scratch：〈口〉从零开始

14. inertia [??n??（r）??] n. 惯性

15. wilt [w?lt] vi. 畏缩

16. bluff it out：蒙混过关

17. play it safe：〈口〉稳扎稳打，谨慎行事，不冒险

18. swashbuckling [?sw???b?k（?）l??] adj. 充满刺激与冒险的