Ichikuma's blog

生活實況紀錄

By

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

2005年賈伯斯在史丹福大學畢業禮演講,演講的最後他以他的座右銘 Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish 這句話給勉在場的學子們。

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish ,後來中譯為『求知若飢,虛心若愚』,但是這句話真正來源並非賈伯斯,而是來自凱文·凱利(Kevin Kelly),他是雜誌 The Whole Earth Catalog 的編輯和出版人,Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish 這句名言就是出自這本雜誌的。

至於凱文·凱利的的原意是是什麼? 李開復在2011級大學新生學習規劃講座上的演講當中提到

我去年問他(凱文·凱利):『喬布斯從你那裡學到了人生的座右銘,stay hungry ,stay foolish ,這句話你是如何理解的?你可不可以用最簡單、最容易懂的語言,闡述、詮釋這四個英文字?』他是這麼說的:『我們必須了解自己的渺小,如果我們不學習,科技的發展速度會讓我們所有的一切在五年後被清空。所以,我們必須用初學者謙虛的自覺,飢餓者渴望的求知態度來擁抱未來的知識。』希望大家都能記得這句話。

謙虛、渴望、腳踏實地、一步步地學習,這樣就可以避免成為浮躁、貪婪的你。

The meaning of Jobs’ motto, “Stay hungry, stay foolish”: “We must understand our own insignificance. If we do not learn, the speed of technological development will pass us in five years, so we must be humble like students, have a hunger and desire for knowledge, to embrace the knowledge of tomorrow.”

不管後人怎麼解釋,其實都是要勉勵每個人不要懈怠。不管是求學問,或者是工作上,都要有上進心。
學如逆水行舟不進則退,與大家共勉之。

Source:

  • http://blog.dg-space.com/2011/10/stay-hungry-stay-foolish.html
  • http://blog.udn.com/singi28831/5752335
  • http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_475b3d560102dt81.html

By

梁繼璋給孩子的備忘錄

梁繼璋先生是香港一位名電臺節目主持人, 也是一位兒童心理學導師;這是梁先生寫給兒子的一封信, 報社總編輯看後覺得不只是給兒子, 其實可以適合給所有的人都看看!

我兒:

寫這備忘錄給你,基於三個原則:

(一)人生福禍無常,誰也不知可以活多久, 有些事情還是早一點說好。

(二)我是你的父親,我不跟你說,沒有人會跟你說。

(三)這備忘錄裏記載的,都是我經過慘痛失敗得來的體驗, 可以為你的成長省下不少冤枉路。

以下,便是你在人生中要好好記住的事:

(一)對你不好的人,你不要太介意,在你一生中, 沒有人有義務要對你好,除了我和你媽媽。至於那些對你好的人, 你除了要珍惜、感恩外,也請多防備一點,因為每個人做每件事, 總有個原因;他對你好,未必真的是因為喜歡你,請你必須搞清楚, 而不必太快將對方看作是真朋友。

(二)沒有人是不可代替,沒有東西是必須擁有。看透了這一點, 將來你身邊的人不再要你,或許失去了世間上最愛的一切時, 也應該明白,這並不是甚麼大不了的事。

(三)生命是短暫的,今日你還在浪費著生命, 明日會發覺生命已遠離你了。因此,愈早珍惜生命, 你享受生命的日子也就愈多,與其盼望長壽,倒不如早點享受當下。

(四)世界上並沒有”最愛”這回事,愛情只是一種剎那間的感覺, 而這感覺絕對會隨時日、心境而改變。如果你的所謂”最愛”離開你 ,請耐心地等候一下,讓時日慢慢沖洗,讓心靈慢慢沉澱, 你的苦就會慢慢淡化。不要過分憧憬愛情的美, 不要過分誇大失戀的悲。

(五)雖然,很多有成就的人士都有受過很多教育, 但並不等同不用功讀書,就一定可以成功。你學到的知識, 就是你擁有的武器。人∼可以白手興家,但不可以手無寸鐵,緊記!

(六)我不會要求你供養我下半輩子, 同樣地我也不會供養你的下半輩子,當你長大到可以獨立的時候, 我的責任已經完結。以後,你要坐巴士還是Benz, 吃魚翅還是粉絲,都要自己負責。

(七)你可以要求自己守信,但不能要求別人守信; 你可以要求自己對人好,但不能期待人家對你好。你怎樣對人, 並不代表人家就會怎樣對你,如果看不透這一點, 你只會徒添不必要的煩惱。

(八)我買了十幾二十年的六合彩,還是一窮二白, 連三獎也沒有中過,這證明人要發達,還是要靠努力工作才可以, 世界上並沒有白吃的午餐。

(九)親人只有一次的緣份,無論這輩子我和你會相處多久, 也請好好珍惜共聚的時光;下輩子,無論愛與不愛, 都不知道會不會再見。

你的爸爸

梁繼璋

Source: http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!ORCL3yeYBRNUhLWBOFMuHA–/article?mid=13322

By

求知若飢,虛心若愚。(Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.)

分享給軒軒和娃娃,求學或處事要“求知若飢,虛心若愚”。(Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.)

[youtube]UF8uR6Z6KLc[/youtube]

“你得找出你愛的” — Steve Jobs

以下是蘋果電腦公司與Pixar動畫製作室執行長Steve Jobs在2005年6月12日對全體史丹佛大學畢業生的演講內容。

今天,有榮幸來到各位從世界上最好的學校之一畢業的畢業典禮上。我從來沒從大學畢業 。說實話,這是我離大學畢業最近的一刻。今天,我只說三個故事,不談大道理,三個故事就好。

第一個故事,是關於人生中的點點滴滴怎麼串連在一起。

我在里德學院(Reed college)待了六個月就辦休學了。到我退學前,一共休學了十八個月。那麼,我為什麼休學? 這得從我出生前講起。

我的親生母親當時是個研究生,年輕未婚媽媽,她決定讓別人收養我。她強烈覺得應該讓有大學畢業的人收養我,所以我出生時,她就準備讓我被一對律師 夫婦收養。但是這對夫妻到了最後一刻反悔了,他們想收養女孩。所以在等待收養名單上的一對夫妻,我的養父母,在一天半夜裡接到一通電話,問他們「有一名意外出生的男孩,你們要認養他嗎?」而他們的回答是「當然要」。後來,我的生母發現,我現在的媽媽從來沒有大學畢業,我現在的爸爸則連高中畢業也沒有。她拒絕在認養文件上做最後簽字 。直到幾個月後,我的養父母同意將來一定會讓我上大學,她才軟化態度。

十七年後,我上大學了。但是當時我無知選了一所學費幾乎跟史丹佛一樣貴的大學,我那工人階級的父母所有積蓄都花在我的學費上。六個月後,我看不出唸這個書的價值何在。那時候,我不知道這輩子要幹什麼,也不知道唸大學能對我有什麼幫助,而且我為了唸這個書,花光了我父母這輩子的所有積蓄,所以我決定休學,相信船到橋頭自然直。

當時這個決定看來相當可怕,可是現在看來,那是我這輩子做過最好的決定之一。當我休學之後,我再也不用上我沒興趣的必修課,把時間拿去聽那些我有興趣的課。

這一點也不浪漫。我沒有宿舍,所以我睡在友人家裡的地板上,靠著回收可樂空罐的五先令退費買吃的,每個星期天晚上得走七哩的路繞過大半個鎮去印度教的Hare Krishna神廟吃頓好料。我喜歡Hare Krishna神廟的好料。追尋我的好奇與直覺,我所駐足的大部分事物,後來看來都成了無價之寶。

舉例來說:當時里德學院有著大概是全國最好的書法指導。在整個校園內的每一張海報上,每個抽屜的標籤上,都是美麗的手寫字。因為我休學了,可以不照正常選課程序來,所以我跑去學書法。我學了serif與san serif字體,學到在不同字母組合間變更字間距,學到活版印刷偉大的地方。書法的美好、歷史感與藝術感是科學所無法捕捉的,我覺得那很迷人。

我沒預期過學的這些東西能在我生活中起些什麼實際作用,不過十年後,當我在設計第一台麥金塔時,我想起了當時所學的東西,所以把這些東西都設計進了麥金塔裡,這是第一台能印刷出漂亮東西的電腦。如果我沒沉溺於那樣一門課裡,麥金塔可能就不會有多重字體跟變間距字體了。又因為Windows抄襲了麥金塔的使用方式,如果當年我沒這樣做,大概世界上所有的個人電腦都不會有這些東西,印不出現在我們看到的漂亮的字來了。當然,當我還在大學裡時,不可能把這些點點滴滴預先串在一起,但是這在十年後回顧,就顯得非常清楚。

我再說一次,你不能預先把點點滴滴串在一起;唯有未來回顧時,你才會明白那些點點滴滴是如何串在一起的。所以你得相信,你現在所體會的東西,將來多少會連接在一塊。你得信任某個東西,直覺也好,命運也好,生命也好,或者業力。這種作法從來沒讓我失望,也讓我的人生整個不同起來。

我的第二個故事,有關愛與失去。

我好運-年輕時就發現自己愛做什麼事。我二十歲時,跟Steve Wozniak在我爸媽的車庫裡開始了蘋果電腦的事業。我們拼命工作,蘋果電腦在十年間從一間車庫裡的兩個小夥子擴展成了一家員工超過四千人、市價二十億美金的公司,在那之前一年推出了我們最棒的作品-麥金塔,而我才剛邁入人生的第三十個年頭,然後被炒魷魚。要怎麼讓自己創辦的公司炒自己魷魚?好吧,當蘋果電腦成長後,我請了一個我以為他在經營公司上很有才幹的傢伙來,他在頭幾年也確實幹得不錯。可是我們對未來的願景不同,最後只好分道揚鑣,董事會站在他那邊,炒了我魷魚,公開把我請了出去。曾經是我整個成年生活重心的東西不見了,令我不知所措。

有幾個月,我實在不知道要幹什麼好。我覺得我令企業界的前輩們失望-我把他們交給我的接力棒弄丟了。我見了創辦HP的David Packard跟創辦Intel的Bob Noyce,跟他們說我很抱歉把事情搞砸得很厲害了。我成了公眾的非常負面示範,我甚至想要離開矽谷。但是漸漸的,我發現,我還是喜愛著我做過的事情,在蘋果的日子經歷的事件沒有絲毫改變我愛做的事。我被否定了,可是我還是愛做那些事情,所以我決定從頭來過。當時我沒發現,但是現在看來,被蘋果電腦開除,是我所經歷過最好的事情。成功的沉重被從頭來過的輕鬆所取代,每件事情都不那麼確定,讓我自由進入這輩子最有創意的年代。

接下來五年,我開了一家叫做 NeXT的公司,又開一家叫做Pixar的公司,也跟後來的老婆談起了戀愛。Pixar接著製作了世界上第一部全電腦動畫電影,玩具總動員,現在是世界上最成功的動畫製作公司。然後,蘋果電腦買下了NeXT,我回到了蘋果,我們在NeXT發展的技術成了蘋果電腦後來復興的核心。我也有了個美妙的家庭。

我很確定,如果當年蘋果電腦沒開除我,就不會發生這些事情。這帖藥很苦口,可是我想蘋果電腦這個病人需要這帖藥。有時候,人生會用磚頭打你的頭。不要喪失信心。我確信,我愛我所做的事情,這就是這些年來讓我繼續走下去的唯一理由。你得找出你愛的,工作上是如此,對情人也是如此。你的工作將填滿你的一大塊人生,唯一獲得真正滿足的方法就是做你相信是偉大的工作,而唯一做偉大工作的方法是愛你所做的事。如果你還沒找到這些事,繼續找,別停頓。盡你全心全力,你知道你一定會找到。而且,如同任何偉大的關係,事情只會隨著時間愈來愈好。所以,在你找到之前,繼續找,別停頓。

我的第三個故事,關於死亡。

當我十七歲時,我讀到一則格言,好像是「把每一天都當成生命中的最後一天,你就會輕鬆自在。」這對我影響深遠,在過去33年裡,我每天早上都會照鏡子,自問:「如果今天是此生最後一日,我今天要幹些什麼?」每當我連續太多天都得到一個「沒事做」的答案時,我就知道我必須有所變革了。 提醒自己快死了,是我在人生中下重大決定時,所用過最重要的工具。因為幾乎每件事-所有外界期望、所有名譽、所有對困窘或失敗的恐懼-在面對死亡時,都消失了,只有最重要的東西才會留下。提醒自己快死了,是我所知避免掉入自己有東西要失去了的陷阱裡最好的方法。人生不帶來,死不帶去,沒什麼道理不順心而為。

一年前,我被診斷出癌症。我在早上七點半作斷層掃描,在胰臟清楚出現一個腫瘤,我連胰臟是什麼都不知道。醫生告訴我,那幾乎可以確定是一種不治之症,我大概活不到三到六個月了。醫生建議我回家,好好跟親人們聚一聚,這是醫生對臨終病人的標準建議。那代表你得試著在幾個月內把你將來十年想跟小孩講的話講完。那代表你得把每件事情搞定,家人才會盡量輕鬆。那代表你得跟人說再見了。 我整天想著那個診斷結果,那天晚上做了一次切片,從喉嚨伸入一個內視鏡,從胃進腸子,插了根針進胰臟,取了一些腫瘤細胞出來。我打了鎮靜劑,不醒人事,但是我老婆在場。她後來跟我說,當醫生們用顯微鏡看過那些細胞後,他們都哭了,因為那是非常少見的一種胰臟癌,可以用手術治好。所以我接受了手術,康復了。

這是我最接近死亡的時候,我希望那會繼續是未來幾十年內最接近的一次。經歷此事後,我可以比之前死亡只是抽象概念時要更肯定告訴你們下面這些: 沒有人想死。即使那些想上天堂的人,也想活著上天堂。但是死亡是我們共有的目的地,沒有人逃得過。這是註定的,因為死亡簡直就是生命中最棒的發明,是生命變化的媒介,送走老人們,給新生代留下空間。現在你們是新生代,但是不久的將來,你們也會逐漸變老,被送出人生的舞台。抱歉講得這麼戲劇化,但是這是真的。 你們的時間有限,所以不要浪費時間活在別人的生活裡。不要被信條所惑-盲從信條就是活在別人思考結果裡。不要讓別人的意見淹沒了你內在的心聲。最重要的,擁有跟隨內心與直覺的勇氣,你的內心與直覺多少已經知道你真正想要成為什麼樣的人。任何其他事物都是次要的。

在我年輕時,有本神奇的雜誌叫做 Whole Earth Catalog,當年我們很迷這本雜誌。那是一位住在離這不遠的Menlo Park的Stewart Brand發行的,他把雜誌辦得很有詩意。那是1960年代末期,個人電腦跟桌上出版還沒發明,所有內容都是打字機、剪刀跟拍立得相機做出來的。雜誌內容有點像印在紙上的Google,在Google出現之前35年就有了:理想化,充滿新奇工具與神奇的註記。 Stewart跟他的出版團隊出了好幾期Whole Earth Catalog,然後出了停刊號。當時是1970年代中期,我正是你們現在這個年齡的時候。在停刊號的封底,有張早晨鄉間小路的照片,那種你去爬山時會經過的鄉間小路。在照片下有行小字:求知若飢,虛心若愚。

那是他們親筆寫下的告別訊息,我總是以此自許。當你們畢業,展開新生活,我也以此期許你們。

求知若飢,虛心若愚。

非常謝謝大家。

Stanford Report, June 14, 2005

‘You’ve got to find what you love,’ Jobs says

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960’s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505

本文引用網址:http://blog.sina.com.tw/teashop/article.php?pbgid=22494&entryid=579192

By

你無法把香蕉皮罵進垃圾桶的

大學階梯教室裡,一場演講會即將開始。

主講人是蜚聲海內外的知名教授,海報兩天前就貼出去了,反應異常熱烈,同學們紛紛趕到現場,要一睹教授的風采。

離開講還有十分鐘,學生們紛紛進入到會場中,在他們跨進會場的一瞬,不約而同地發現腳下有一塊香蕉皮,在抬腿避開時,都不忘埋怨兩句:是誰這麼缺德?一點公共意識都沒有!

組織者是怎麼搞的?現在的人,什麼素質?

大家嘰哩咕嚕抱怨著跨過那塊香蕉皮,坐到自己的位置上,靜等著教授的光臨。

幾分鐘後,教授準時到達。

他也發現地上的香蕉皮,扶扶眼鏡上前仔細端詳。

教室裡頓時靜了下來,大家都伸長脖子,看教授的一舉一動。

教授看清楚腳下是一塊香蕉皮,勃然大怒,指著它大聲說道:「你怎麼可以呆在這個地方呢?你應該是在垃圾桶裡睡覺!怎麼這麼沒有公德心、沒有環保意識,要是有人踩到你摔傷怎麼辦?你太不象話了!」

憤怒讓他的眼鏡在鼻樑上跳動著,讓人一下子想起被小事激怒的唐老鴨,聽眾席上頓時傳來一陣陣笑聲。

教授沒理會,繼續憤怒,對著香蕉皮繼續發火。

聽眾席上,有學生不耐煩了,大聲說:算了吧!教授,別費力氣了,你不可能把香蕉皮罵進垃圾桶的!

教授聽了,突然,轉過頭來,滿臉紅光地笑了,並伸手把香蕉皮撿起來,放進講臺旁的垃圾桶裡,用紙巾擦擦手說:「剛才那位同學說什麼?能再說說嗎?」

教室頓時靜了下來,沒人說話。

教授說:「我聽見了,你不能把香蕉皮罵進垃圾桶的!這就是我今天晚上演講的題目!」

這時,牆上的大螢幕上開始播放同學們剛才入場時的鏡頭,同學們千姿百態地跨越香蕉皮和版本各異的埋怨聲清晰地傳了出來。

大家最初哄笑著,慢慢變得雅雀無聲。

教授說:「這是我特意安排的一個環節,我想給大家講的道理,其實你們已明白並喊了出來。」

但對你們來說,明白道理是一回事,而用道理指導自己的行為,卻又是另外一回事!

我相信,在坐的幾百名同學,沒有一個人不懂得香蕉皮是罵不進垃圾桶的,但大家缺乏動一動手,以舉手之勞去改變現狀的行為。

這就如同許多人感覺社會冷漠,而又吝於付出一個笑臉;埋怨環境污染,卻又不願意撿一片垃圾;咒罵腐敗和貪污,遇事卻本能地想去托關係走後門;感歎道德水準下降,卻又不願意身體力行地去做任何一件善事……幾乎所有的人都在埋怨和咒罵。

幾乎所有人都不願意身體力行去做事。

責任永遠在別人身上,而自己永遠都是受害者!

這些做法與心態,無限放大了消極面,而使人看見的都是絕望。

事實上,並非如我們所想的那樣,社會的每一分進步,都是需要人們用行動去構建,如果我不亂扔垃圾,這個世界就少了一個污染源;如果我再將身邊的垃圾清理掉,世界就乾淨了一分;如果我的行為感化並帶動了一個人,那麼世界上又多了一份乾淨的原因。

地球上只有五十多億人,這不是一個望不到邊的數字,因而,我們應該為自己的五十億分之一,抱有信心。

記住,垃圾不會被罵進垃圾桶,你得行動!從現在開始!

教授的演講結束了,會場裡響起聲音宏大但情緒極其複雜的掌聲。

Source: http://ibook.idv.tw/enews/enews421-450/enews430.html

By

旭榮集團執行董事 黃冠華:主管筆記本

許多看似微不足道的小細節,若能有系統、有條理地記錄下來,就可以提高個人效率。將筆記本的功能發揮到極致,是為了讓自己的工作與生活,每分每秒都能增加價值。;

source : 旭榮集團執行董事 黃冠華:主管筆記本

By

目標要早一點去實行

在Disney Pixar Up(天外奇蹟)戲裡,有說到Carl和Ellie的結婚人生。

還沒結婚前Ellie就有一個夢想,就是要到南美洲天堂瀑布探險。於是,Carl和Ellie就以此為他們最大目標。結婚後,他們在生活遇到種種問題。到後來也把最大目標忘了。

當Carl在次想到年輕的最大目標時,兩人已經老了。雖然,Carl買機票要帶Ellie去南美洲天堂瀑布。但是,已經太遲了。Ellie生一場病往生了。Carl後悔沒有達成Elle的心願而感到遺憾。

夢想,一天不去實行就仍然是夢想,可以做的,還是趁早做。

By

奥巴马就职演讲:凝聚力量 重塑美国

奥巴马总统就职演说全文

亲爱的公民同胞们:今天我站在这里,面对眼前的任务,深感责任重大。感谢你们给予我的信任,我也清楚前辈们为这个国家所作的牺牲。我要感谢布什总统对国家的服务,感谢他在两届政府过渡期间给予的慷慨协作。

时至今日,已有44位美国总统宣誓就职。总统的宣誓有时面对的是国家的和平繁荣,有时面临的是狂风骤雨的紧张形势。在这种时刻,支持美国前进的不仅仅是领导人的能力和远见,更是美国人民对先驱者理想的坚定信仰,以及对美国建国宣言的忠诚。

过去是这样,我们这一代美国人也要如此。

我们都很清楚,我们正处于危机之中。我们的国家正在对触角广泛的暴力和仇恨网络宣战。国家的经济也受到了严重的削弱,这是一些人贪婪和不负责任的后果,但在做出艰难选择和准备迎接新时代方面,我们出现了集体性的失误。家园失去了;工作丢掉了;商业萧条了。我们的医疗卫生耗资巨大;我们的学校让许多人失望;每天都能找到更多的证据表明我们利用能源的方式使得对手更加强大,并且威胁到了我们整个星球。

这些,是从数据和统计中可以看到的危机信号。而更难以衡量但同样意义深远的是美国人自信心的丧失──现在一种认为美国衰落不可避免,我们的下一代必须降低期待的恐惧正在吞噬着我们的自信。

今天我要向你们说的是,我们面临的挑战是真实存在的。这些挑战很多,也很严重,它们不会轻易地或者在短时间内就得以克服。但记住这一点:美国终将渡过难关。

今天,我们聚集在这里,是因为我们选择了希望而不是恐惧,团结而不是冲突与争执。

今天,我们在这里宣布要为无谓的抱怨、不实的承诺和指责画上句号,我们要打破牵制美国政治发展的陈旧教条。

我们仍是一个年轻的国家,但借用《圣经》的话说,摒弃幼稚的时代已经来临。是时候重树我们坚韧的精神;选择我们更好的历史;弘扬那些珍贵的天赋和高尚的理念,并代代传承下去,即上帝赋予的信念:天下众生皆平等,众生皆自由,且均应有追求最大幸福的机会。

在重申我们国家伟大之处的同时,我们深知伟大从来不是上天赐予的,而是要靠我们努力争取。我们从不抄捷径,也不会退而求其次。我们的历程不属于那些胆怯懦弱、享受安逸或追逐名利之人。这条历程属于勇于承担风险者,属于实干家和创造者,他们中的一些人名留青史,但更多的人却在默默无闻地工作着。正是这些人带领我们走过了漫长崎岖的旅途,带领我们走向富强和自由。

为了我们,他们背起简单的行囊漂洋过海寻找新的生活;为了我们,先辈们忍辱负重,用血汗浇铸工厂;为了我们,他们在诸如(独立战争时的)康科德、(南北战争时的)葛底斯堡、(二战时的)诺曼底和(越南战争时的)溪山等地作战并献出生命。

一次又一次,我们的先辈们战斗着、牺牲着、操劳着,只为了给我们带来更美好的生活。在他们眼中,美国的强盛与伟大超越了个人雄心,也超越了个人的出身、贫富和派别差异。

我们仍在继续着这一历程。美国仍是世界上最繁荣、最强大的国家。危机的发生并未削弱我们工人的生产力,我们仍拥有善于创造发明的头脑,我们的商品和服务仍像上一周、一个月乃至一年前那样受到青睐。我们的能力并未被削弱。但是墨守成规、着眼小利、不肯做艰难决定的时代已经过去了。从今天开始,我们必须振奋起来,扫去心头阴霾,再次投入到重整国家的工作中来。

放眼望去,到处都有工作要做。国家的经济状况需要我们采取大胆迅速的行动,不光是为了创造新的就业,也是为增长奠定新的基础。我们将修建路桥、电网、数据线路,不仅仅是为了促进商业也是为了将我们紧密相连。我们将恢复科学应有的地位、并用科技的魔力提高医疗卫生水平、降低就医成本。我们将利用太阳、风以及大地所提供的能源来驱动汽车、开动工厂。我们将改造各级学校,让它们能适应新时代的要求。所有这一切我们都能做到。所有这一切我们都将做到。

现在,有人质疑我们的目标是不是太大了,他们说我们的系统无法承受过多的宏大计划。他们太健忘了。因为他们忘了这个国家曾经取得过怎样的成绩,他们已经忘了当想象力与共同目标以及必要的勇气结合到一起时,自由的人民所能发挥的能量。

这些怀疑论者不能理解美国正在发生的改变,曾长期耗费我们精力的陈腐政治争议已不被接受。如今我们提出的问题不是美国政府规模是太大还是太小,而是它是否发挥应用的作用、是否能帮助美国家庭找到收入理想的工作、可以担负得起的医疗服务和足够安度晚年的退休储蓄。如果答案是肯定的,那么我们要继续执行这些政策,如果答案是否定的,那么我们就结束这些政策。我们当中所有管理公共资金的人要负起责任,要精打细算、革除陋习,并确保我们的工作受到公众监督,唯有这样,人民与政府之间至关重要的信任才能得以恢复。

现在摆在我们面前的问题也并非市场究竟是股好的还是坏的力量。市场创造财富、提高自由度的力量无与伦比,然而当前危机提醒了我们,没有监管,市场可能成为脱缰之马,而且一个只追求繁荣的国家注定不能永葆荣华。一直以来,美国经济的成功并不仅仅依赖于国内生产总值的规模,还有我们经济繁荣所惠及的范围以及我们赋予每一个心怀渴望的人以机会的能力──这一点并非发自谁的慈悲之心,这是我们实现共同利益的最可靠途径。

至于共同防卫领域,我们拒绝在自身的安全与理想之间做出取舍的错误选择。我们的国父在面临着我们难以想像的困难之时还起草了宪法以保障法制与人权,世世代代的美国人用鲜血捍卫并丰富了这份宪法。它里面蕴含的信念至今仍光照世界,我们不能出于一时之便将它放弃。我想对今天正在观看这个仪式的百姓和官员说–不论他们身处最繁华的都市还是像我父亲出生地那样的小村落–他们应该知道,无论男女老幼,只要他们致力于寻求和平和有尊严的未来,美国就是他们的朋友,而且我们已准备好再次在这条道路上担当领导。

我们在此回忆先辈,他们战胜了法西斯主义和共产主义,靠的不只是导弹和坦克,更是靠坚定的盟友和不移的信念。他们明白仅凭武力不足以保护我们,也不能让我们为所欲为。相反,他们知道我们国家实力的增长源于我们对自己力量的谨慎使用,我们的安全源于所开展事业的正义、我们的榜样力量以及谦卑与克己品质的融合。

我们将信守这一传统。在这些原则的指导下,我们能够应对这些需要投入更多努力、更多国与国的合作及理解的崭新挑战。我们将开始负责任地从伊拉克撤军,并在阿富汗打造来之不易的和平。我们将与老友与宿敌一道竭力化解核武威胁,并遏制地球变暖趋势。我们不会为自己的生活方式道歉,我们会坚定不移地捍卫它,对于那些想靠恐怖主义和滥杀无辜来达到目的的人,我们会对他们说:现在我们的精神力量更加强大,坚不可摧,你们不可能战胜我们,我们注定会打败你们。

这是因为我们知道,大杂烩的传统是美国的力量所在,而非我们的弱点。我们国家是由基督徒、穆斯林、犹太人、印度教徒和无神论者组成。地球各个角落的语言和文化汇聚成了美国,正是因为我们曾品尝过南北战争和种族隔离的苦酒,并且在经历了这些黑色的篇章之后变得更加强大更加团结,因此我们毫不犹豫地相信旧日的仇恨终有一天会成为过去,种族的界线不久就会消失,而且随着世界变得越来越小,人类的共有品性将会自动显现。在引领一个和平新时代的到来方面,美国必须发挥自己的作用。

对穆斯林世界,我们正在共同利益和彼此尊重的基础上寻求一条新的前行道路。对全球那些想要播种冲突、将自己国家的问题怪罪于西方社会的领导人,你们应该知道你们的人民将根据你们建设什么而不是摧毁了什么来评价你们。对于那些通过腐败、欺骗、压制异见来统治的人,你们应该知道你们站在了历史的对立面。但是如果你们愿意放开紧攥的拳头,美国会向你们伸出手。

对贫困国家的人民,我们保证将和你们合作,让你们的农场丰收,让水源清洁,滋补饿坏的身体,滋养饥饿的心灵。对那些与我们一样相对富裕的国家,我们说,不能再对外界的苦难漠不关心,更不能毫无顾忌地消耗世界的资源。世界已经改变,我们也必须随之改变。

当我们审视前方的道路时,我们以谦卑感激的心想起那些勇敢的美国同胞,他们正在遥远的沙漠和偏僻的山岭上巡逻。今天,我们应该聆听他们的声音,这也是长眠于阿灵顿国家公墓的先烈们每时每刻都在提醒我们的。我们尊敬他们,不仅是因为他们捍卫了我们的自由,更因为他们代表着奉献精神;他们致力于寻找超越自身的生命真谛。而此时,在这个将界定一个时代的时刻,我们更需让这种精神长住我们心间。

因为即使政府尽最大努力,尽最大义务,这个国家最终仍得依靠每个美国人的信念和决心。这种力量是洪灾泛滥时,陌生人间的温情善举;是人们宁可裁减工时也要保全朋友工作共同度过经济最困难时期的无私忘我;这是消防员们毅然冲入浓烟火海的无畏勇气,也是父母培养孩子的无私之心,孩子最终决定我们的命运。

或许,我们今日面临着全新的挑战,我们迎接挑战的工具完全陌生。但是,我们赖以走向成功的价值观──勤劳、诚实、勇敢、公正、宽容、好奇、忠诚和爱国──从未改变。这些价值观是真实的。它们是推动我们历史进步的沉默的力量。我们所需的就是回归这些真实的价值。如今我们需要的是一个勇于负责的新时代。人人都需要认识到,我们对自己,对国家乃至整个世界,都负有责任。我们不会抱怨,而会欣然接受这份责任,坚信没有什么能比承担艰巨的任务更让人的精神充实,更能塑造我们的性格。

这是公民应尽的义务,应做的承诺。

这是我们信心的源泉──认识到上帝召唤我们对难以琢磨的命运进行塑造。

这是我们所崇尚的自由与信念的真谛──这就是为什么今天,不同肤色,不同信仰的男女老幼在这个大草坪上汇聚一堂;这就是为什么六十年前,一位黑人父亲走入餐厅甚至无人理睬,而今天他的儿子可以站在这里,在你们面前许下最庄严的誓言。

所以让我们铭记这一天,铭记我们的身份和我们走过的道路。在我们的国家诞生那一年,先辈们在最寒冷的日子里,围聚在结冰的河边靠微弱的篝火取暖。首都失守,敌军不断挺近,鲜血染红了白雪。就在革命的成果倍受质疑之时,我们的国父下令向人民宣读这样几句话:

“让这段话流传后世……当一切陷入寒冬,万物俱灭,只有希望和勇气可以长存……这座城市和这个国家,在共同的危机下团结起来,共同面对前方的艰难。”

这就是美国。面对我们共同的危机,在这艰难的寒冬,让我们牢记那些不朽的字句。怀着希望和勇气,让我们再一次冲破结冰的逆流,迎接任何可能来临的狂风骤雨。让我们的子孙传唱,当我们面对考验时,我们拒绝结束我们的旅程,我们没有回头,没有踟蹰不前。我们在上帝的关爱下眺望远方,我们带着自由这个伟大的礼物,将它安全地传递给未来的世世代代

Barack Obama

By

President Barack Obama’s inaugural address

Text of President Barack Obama‘s inaugural address on Tuesday, as delivered.

OBAMA: My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers … our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world … that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it).”

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

By

President-Elect Barack Obama Victory Speech (Full Video)

By

Barack Obama: Yes We Can