THE RULES THAT EVERY ACHIEVER KNOWSIn October 1982, a 25-year-old woman finished the New York City Marathon. No big deal-- until you learn that Linda Down has cerebral palsy and was the first woman ever to complete the 26.2-mile race on crutches. Down fell half a dozen times, but kept going until she crossed the finish line, 11 hours after she started. Her handicap limited her speed but not her determination.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote:"Great is the art of beginning, but greater the art is of ending."How nice it would be if we all had a genie who could help us finish what we begin. Unfortunately, we don't. But what we do have is a dynamic called discipline---which extracts a high price. Following one of Paderewski's performances, a fan said to him, "I'd give my life to play like that." The brilliant pianist replied, "I did."Accomplishment is often deceptive because we don't see the pain and perseverance that produced it. So we may credit the achiever with brains, brawn or lucky break, and let ourselves off the hook because we fall short in all three. Not that we could all be concert pianists just by exercising enough discipline. Rather, each of us has the making of success in some endeavor, but we will achieve this only if we apply our wills and work at it. How can we acquire stick-to-itiveness? There is no simple, fast formula. But I have developed a way of thinking that has rescued my own vacillating will more than once. Here are the basic elements:"Won't" power. This is as important as will power. The ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius said, "Men must be decided on what they will not do, and then they are able to act with vigor in what they ought to do."Discipline means choices. Every time you say yes to a goal or objective, you say no to many more. Every prize has its price. The prize is the yes; the price is the no. Igor Gorin, the noted Ukrainian-American baritone, told of his early days studying voice. He loved to smoke a pipe, but one day his professor said," Igor, you will have to make up your mind whether you are going to be a great singer, or a great pipesmoker. You cannot be both. " So the pipe went.Delayed gratification. M. Scott Peck, M.D., author of the best-seller the Road less Traveled, describes this tool of discipline as "a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with."This may involve routine daily decisions---something as simple as skipping a favorite late-night TV show and getting to bed early, to be wide awake for a meeting the next morning. Or it might involve longer-term resolves. A young widow with threechildren decided to invest her insurance settlement in a college education for herself. She considered the realities of a tight budget and little free time, but these seemed small sacrifices in return for the doors that a degree would open. Today she is a highly paid financial consultant.The secret of such commitment is getting past the drudgery and seeing the delight. "The fact is that many worthwhile endeavors aren't fun," says one syndicated radio and TV commentator. "True, all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy. But trying to turn everything we do into play makes for terrible frustration, because life --- even the most rewarding one --- includes circumstances that aren't fun at all. I like my job as a journalist. It's personally satisfying, but it isn't always fun."/programs/view/wHsyiMW-cf8/ 音频成功宝典1982年10月，一名25岁的女子完成了纽约市马拉松赛全程。

也许你认为这只不过是件稀松平常的事，但是你要知道，这名名叫林达道恩的女子是大脑性麻痹症的患者，同时她也是首位靠着拐杖完成26.2公里赛程的女选手。

虽然道恩在比赛过程中摔了6跤，但是她还是坚持向前，终于在开跑后11小时穿过了终点线。

不错，她的病情是限制了她的速度，但是那抵挡不了她的决心。

亨利·W·朗菲罗曾写道：“良好的开端固然不易，而完满的结局则更为难得。

”如果我们每个人都有一个小精灵来帮助我们完成由我们起头的事，那该有多好哇！不幸的是，这个小精灵根本不存在。

但是，我们有“自律”这个动力，这个宝贵的动力。

在帕德瑞夫斯基的一场音乐会结束后，一位乐迷对他说“如果能像您那样演奏，我愿意拿我的生命来换。

”而这位星光熠熠的演奏家回答说“我已然那么做了。

”成功往往不像表面上那么光鲜，因为我们看不到隐藏在成功背后的艰辛与坚持。

这样，我们常常简单地把成功归根于聪明的脑子，健壮的体魄，或许还有那么一丝丝运气。

不够聪明，不够健壮，不够好运——我们这样自我开脱。

这倒不是说每个人经过训练都能成为钢琴家，确切地说，任何人都有成功的条件，但是只有付诸行动才能真正获得成功。

可是怎样才能持之以恒呢？这可没有现成的公式。

但我自己琢磨出了一套思考方法，这可救了我那优柔寡断的性子不止一回了。

以下是几个基本的方法：首先是“无为”，这跟“有为”是一样重要的。

早在2000年前，中国的哲学家孟子就说了：“人有不为也，而后可以有为”。

自律就意味着选择。

当你对某个目标或目的说一次“是”，同时，你就否定了其他选项。

每次的成功都有他的代价。

如果这个成功是“是”，那么它的代价就是“不是”。

著名的乌克兰美裔男高音歌唱家伊格尔·格林在他学习声乐时有这么一则轶事：伊格尔·格林很喜欢抽烟，有一天，他的老师对他说：“伊格尔，你必须得在伟大的歌唱家和了不起的烟棍中选一个，你不可能同时成为这两个。