IMPROVE SELF-CONFIDENCE 多一点自信

When Henry Ward Beecher was a young boy in school, he learned a lesson in self-confidence which he never forgot.

He was called upon to recite in front of the class. He had hardly begun when the teacher interrupted with an emphatic , “No!” He started over and again the teacher thundered, “No!” Humiliated, Henry sat down.

The next boy rose to recite and had just begun when the teacher shouted, “No!” This student, however, kept on with the recitation until he completed it. As he sat down, the teacher replied, “Very good!”

Henry was irritated, “I recited just as he did,” he complained to the teacher.

But the instructor replied, “It is not enough to know your lesson; you must be sure. When you allowed me to stop you, it meant that you were uncertain. If the world says ‘No!' it is your business to say ‘Yes!' and prove it.”

The world will say, “No!” in a thousand ways.

“No! You can't do that.”

“No! You are wrong.”

“No! You are too old.”

“No! You are too young.”

“No! You are too weak.”

“No! It will never work!”

“No! You don't have the education.”

“No! You don't have the background.”

“No! You don't have the money.”

“No! It can't be done.”

And each “No!” you hear has the potential to erode your confidence bit by bit until you quit all together.

Though the world says “No!” to you today, you should be determined to say “Yes!” and prove it!

亨利·沃德·比彻早年上学的时候学过一堂教人树立自信的课，这堂课令他终身难忘。

老师点名叫他起来背诵。还没背出几句，老师就语气强烈地喊了一声：“不行！”，随即打断了他。 他重新开始背，老师再次怒喝一声：“不行！”亨利觉得丢尽了颜面，就坐了下来。

下一个男孩站起来背诵，刚背了几句，老师就喊道：“不行！”可是这个学生接着背了下去，直到背诵完毕。他坐下的时候，老师表扬了一句：“非常好！”

亨利不服气，向老师发起了牢骚：“我就是像他那样背诵的呀！”

老师却说：“单单了解知识是不够的，你必须非常确定。刚才你被我打断就说明你不够确定。如果全世界都跟你说‘不行！’你自己得说‘我行！’然后证明给他们看。”

世界会用一千种方法跟你说“不行！”

“不行！那件事你不能做。”

“不行！你搞错了。”

“不行！你太老了。”

“不行！你年纪太轻了。”

“不行！你弱爆了。”

“不行！根本没用！”

“不行！你没文化。”

“不行！你没背景。”

“不行！你没钱。”

“不行！这事儿做不成。”

而且你听到的每一声“不行！”都可能一点点吞噬你的自信，让你干脆放弃。

尽管世界今天对你说“不行！”，你还是应该坚决地说“我可以！”，然后证明给它看。

-emphatic [ɪmˈfætɪk] adj. 着重的

-erode [ɪˈrəʊd] v. 腐蚀

亨利·沃德·比彻(Henry Ward Beecher，1813—1887)是美国基督教公理会自由派牧师、废奴运动领袖，是19世纪最雄辩的演说家之一。他主张妇女参政，赞成进化论。其姐姐哈里叶特·比彻·斯托(Harriet Beecher Stowe)就是著名小说《汤姆叔叔的小屋》(Uncle Tom's Cabin )的作者。