24. Diligence

论勤奋

Diligence is the key to success. It means persistent work and does not mean that we are to exhaust ourselves all day and night without any rest. The true meaning of diligence is the careful use of time for the purpose of self-improvement.

勤奋是成功的关键。勤奋意味着坚持不懈地工作，但它并不意味着日夜竭尽全力而无休息地工作。勤奋的真谛在于为了自身的提高而合理的使用时间。

Many people strongly believe in luck, which is a serious mistake. If luck does exist, it will never fall upon lazy bones. There are also some people who think that they are far superior to others in intelligence and therefore, do not need to study hard. They are sure about their success, but too often they will be disappointed, as few of them can be successful only with their so-called cleverness.

许多人非常迷信运气，这是十分错误的观点。如果运气真的存在，它也不会青睐懒人。还有人认为自己远比他人聪明，因此无须努力工作，他们对于自己的成功太有把握。但是，他们通常都会失望，因为很少有人仅凭所谓的聪明就能获得成功。

In fact, time is always fleeting and can never be re-gained. The really clever people are those who understand the importance of diligence and make it their habit. These people are on the way to success by their own efforts.

实际上，时间总是匆匆流逝，一去不复返。真正聪明的人是那些懂得勤奋的重要性并且习于勤奋的人，他们依靠自己的努力走在通往成功的道路上。