我希望我从未相信过的十件事情10 Things I Wish I Had Never Believed
原文地址：10 Things I Wish I Had Never Believed
翻译：wuxuanalsk
我为大家写下这个列表，因为我希望多年前有人能送给我这样一个列表。
1．金钱是万恶之源
金钱本身没有好坏，它只是一个类似锤子或锯子的工具。你能用金钱创造一切，你也能用金钱毁掉一切。人们可以用金钱建设基础设施，配置研究设备，寻找清洁能源以及创作不朽的艺术和文学作品。如果你用金钱为自己和他人创造价值，你的财富将不断增长，你永远能够获得你所需要的钱。反之，如果你只为自己积敛钱财或者挥霍无度，你将永远觉得钱不够花。难道你不觉得如果拥有大量财富，你就能为社会，为他人做出更大的贡献？那么，追求财富又有什么错呢？你是否相信自己有能力为别人的生活创造价值？只有那些善于思考并付诸行动的人才能创造财富。所以，如果你想变成有钱人，那就不要指望政府资助或者幻想哪天中了彩票。把这种想法扔到瓜哇岛去吧，从今天开始你就尝试为别人的生活创造价值。
2.拥有一个好工作是最好的赚钱方式
问一个创业者他是否愿意放弃创业而选择找一份工作,然后再问一下那些已经拥有工作的人他们是否愿意放弃工作而选择自己当老板。大多数有钱人都会告诉你为别人工作是最糟糕的赚钱方式。
3.感情用事的人是脆弱，敏感而且容易被操控的
事实正好相反。强烈的感情（激情）是力量的源泉。你的情感越强烈，你就越能专注于这种情感，你就能拥有更旺盛的创造力和战斗力。否认你的情感反而显示你的脆弱和敏感。
4.承认错误是一种软弱的表现
如果不犯错你就学不到任何东西。惧怕犯错才是一种真正的软弱。否认犯错，重蹈覆辙却指望有不同结果。这种想法和行为本身就是荒唐和愚蠢的。
5.没有一个大学文凭你就不能成功
多年以来，这种想法一直扎根在我脑中。我曾对它坚信不疑，但拥有这个信念的结果是毁灭性的。直到我放弃这种想法，我才开始过上一种体面的生活。76%的美国人都不具备大学学历。我非常明确这一点——我知道我的处境不妙——可以这样说——接受过大学教育的你们无疑是有价值的一群人，你们拥有足够的能力为这个世界创造价值；如果你不具备大学学历，下面所说的并不是对你们取得的成绩的批评，但我还是必须讲—即使不具备大学学历，你也具有同样的价值，你并不因此低人一等。即使你连一个学位都没有得到，你也有同样的潜力为这个世界创造价值。拥有学位和没拥有学位的人每天都在创造着惊人的成绩。如果你讨厌在大超市收银、整理货物，千万不要因为我们的文化告诉你这是你命中注定的事就维持现状。如果你脑中有个声音一直告诉你哪些事情是你办不到的，不要相信它。让它闭嘴，然后开始规划你想要的生活，你将逐渐实现你的设想。
6．医生是你获取医疗信息的最好来源
医学信息传播得如此迅速以致越来越多的医生开始用google为病人做诊断。相关研究显示，有30%的病人被误诊以及用错误的方式治疗。显然，如果你有生理或心理上的疾病，你应该去看医生，但你应该质疑医生的诊断，而不是盲目接受。你要学会批判性地思考，并问些刁钻的问题。很多人都不敢质问他们的医生，不要怕，我相信质疑我的医生曾帮我捡回一条命（我会发一个帖子讲讲我这方面的经验）。通过在互联网上对你的病情做一个调查研究，你有可能发现你比医生了解得还要多。如果遇到这种情况，你就要考虑换一个医生了。记住，医生并没有什么特别之处，也没有你想象的那样神通广大，他们只是和我们一样的普通人。他们大多数很忙碌，而且也犯错误-不少错误。所以，你要有自己的主张和看法，征求医生意见的同时也不妨在图书馆或互联网上做一些调查研究。此外，当你需要做一个很重要的医疗决定时，尽量征求更多人的意见。你的健康就掌握在你手中，让自己做最后的决定。
7.学校是孩子学习的最佳场所
学校有可能是孩子们学习的最糟糕的地方。我在上一篇博文曾经提到Bob Proctor说过的一句话：他说教育的弊端在于它教我们去思考什么，却不教我们怎样思考。Bob错了，因为还有比这更糟糕的。我们的学校经常灌输给我们一些极具破坏性的想法，这些想法给我们的生活和所处的世界带来了一些负面影响。我知道这种说法听起来很疯狂，而且与传统智慧相抵触。但我所说的并不是对教师和知识分子的攻击，他们和学生一样都是单一政府体系的受害者。很多老师凭直觉感受到这个体系有多不正常，但他们知道自己无力去改变。所以，我就不继续阐述我的立场了，纽约州年度老师John Taylor Gatto在他的论文The Seven Lesson School Teacher
8.个人发展或者自助是属于左翼或嬉皮士的东西
你可能对”自助”有一个先入为主的概念。但进一步思考，你会发现这是一个错误的刻板印象。当人们提到”嬉皮士”，跃入他们脑海的是一群肮脏的穿着扎染衬衣的胡子拉渣的孩子在欢迎死亡的表演中吸食毒品；当人们提到”左翼”，他们马上联想到社会主义,共产主义和无神论。实际上，所有我见过的个人发展领袖，他们都是衣着整洁，积极思考并有着深刻的精神境界，此外，他们还是财力雄厚的企业家。总之，我很难将他们同衣着邋遢，滥用毒品的”嬉皮士”以及无神论者，社会主义者联系起来（译者注：老外似乎对社会主义者和共产主义者有一定偏见）。无论你有怎样的政治或宗教信仰，我都强烈地推荐你参加一个个人发展项目，我的个人发展项目已经创造出很多令人惊奇的积极效果。
- 我应该用严谨的逻辑和推理来做决定而不是依靠感觉
我曾经这样欺骗自己。实际上，你还是依靠感觉买房买车，建立人际关系以及选择你想要投身的事业。这个世界上没有所谓的既感性又理性的决定—所有优秀的营销和销售人员都明白这个道理。接受你的感觉在决策中所扮演的角色，如果你的生活过得不尽人意，原因很可能出自于你所做的决定。你可以通过改变你的感觉方式来改变你做决定的方式，严谨的逻辑和推理并不能改变任何东西。试图用严谨的逻辑和推理计划你的生活，最终的结果只能让你变得迟钝。
10.我应该把政治观点放在这个列表上
这是我犯的一个大错误。见第四点。我曾经在第十点放上一个政治观点而这玷污了这个列表（译者注：作者曾经在第四点和第十点的内容中表达了他的政治观点，在修改版中作者将这些观点删除了）。这不是一个政治性的博客。我的目标应该是不考虑任何政治观点地去帮助所有人。在这里，我向所有因此被我疏远的读者道歉，我会把这当成一次学习的机会。
Original post: 10 Things I Wish I Had Never Believed
Translation: wuxuanalsk
I am writing this list down for everyone, because I wish someone had given me a list like this many years ago.
1. Money Is the Root of All Evil
Money itself is neither good nor bad; it is simply a tool, like a hammer or a saw. You can use money to create anything, and you can use money to destroy anything. With money, people can build infrastructure, equip research facilities, search for clean energy, and create immortal works of art and literature. If you use money to create value for yourself and for others, your wealth will keep on growing, and you will always be able to get the money you need. If, on the contrary, you hoard money only for yourself or squander it without restraint, you will forever feel you never have enough. Don’t you think that if you held great wealth, you could make a far greater contribution to society and to other people? So what, then, is wrong with pursuing wealth? Do you believe you have the ability to create value in other people’s lives? Only those who think well and put their thinking into action can create wealth. So if you want to become rich, do not count on government handouts or fantasize about winning the lottery someday. Toss that kind of thinking all the way to Java; starting today, try to create value in other people’s lives.
Why do people believe money is the root of all evil?
2. Getting a Good Job Is the Best Way to Earn Money
Ask an entrepreneur whether he would be willing to give up his business and take a job instead; then ask people who already have jobs whether they would be willing to give up their jobs and become their own boss. Most rich people will tell you that working for someone else is the worst way to earn money.
Why isn’t getting a good job the best way to earn money?
3. Emotional People Are Weak, Sensitive, and Easily Manipulated
The truth is exactly the opposite. Strong emotion (passion) is a wellspring of power. The stronger your emotions, and the more fully you can focus on them, the more vigorous your creativity and your fighting spirit will be. It is denying your emotions that actually reveals your weakness and sensitivity.
The secret great leaders know about emotion.
4. Admitting Mistakes Is a Sign of Weakness
If you never make mistakes, you learn nothing at all. It is the fear of making mistakes that is true weakness. Denying your mistakes, repeating them while expecting a different result. That kind of thinking and behavior is absurd and foolish in itself.
5. You Can’t Succeed Without a College Degree
For many years this idea was rooted deep in my mind. I once believed it without question, and the results of holding that belief were devastating. Only after I abandoned it did I begin to live a decent life. 76% of Americans do not have a college degree. Let me be very clear about this (I know I am on shaky ground here), so let me put it this way: those of you who have had a college education are without doubt a valuable group of people, fully capable of creating value for this world; if you do not have a college degree, what follows is not a criticism of what you have accomplished, but I must still say it, even without a college degree you are worth just as much, and you are not beneath anyone because of it. Even if you never earned a single degree, you have the same potential to create value for this world. People with degrees and people without them are achieving astonishing things every day. If you hate working the register or stocking shelves at some big supermarket, do not stay put just because our culture tells you this is your destiny. If there is a voice in your head that keeps telling you what you cannot do, do not believe it. Shut it up, then start planning the life you want, and step by step you will make that vision real.
10 tips for landing a management position without a college degree.
6. Doctors Are Your Best Source of Medical Information
Medical information now spreads so fast that more and more doctors are using Google to diagnose their patients. Studies have shown that 30% of patients are misdiagnosed and treated the wrong way. Obviously, if you have a physical or mental illness you should see a doctor, but you should question the doctor’s diagnosis rather than accept it blindly. Learn to think critically and ask the hard questions. Many people do not dare to question their doctors. Don’t be afraid; I believe that questioning my doctor once helped save my life (I will write a post about my experience with this). By researching your condition on the internet, you may well discover that you know more than your doctor does. If that happens, it is time to consider changing doctors. Remember, there is nothing special about doctors, and they are not as all-powerful as you imagine; they are ordinary people just like us. Most of them are very busy, and they make mistakes too, plenty of them. So have your own views and opinions; while you seek your doctor’s advice, do some research of your own at the library or on the internet. And when you need to make a truly important medical decision, seek out as many opinions as you can. Your health is in your own hands; let the final decision be yours.
Three stories that show why you should always question your doctor.
7. School Is the Best Place for Children to Learn
School may well be the worst place for children to learn. In my last post I mentioned something Bob Proctor once said: the flaw of education, he said, is that it teaches us what to think, but not how to think. Bob was wrong, because there is something worse still. Our schools routinely instill in us some deeply destructive ideas, ideas that have had a negative effect on our lives and on the world we live in. I know this sounds crazy, and it runs against conventional wisdom. But what I am saying is not an attack on teachers or intellectuals; they, like the students, are victims of a monolithic government system. Many teachers sense by instinct just how dysfunctional this system is, but they know they are powerless to change it. So I will not go on laying out my position; New York State Teacher of the Year John Taylor Gatto has already made the case for me in his essay The Seven Lesson School Teacher
Read my follow-up post: how does the public school system warp people’s souls?
8. Personal Development, or Self-Help, Is Something for Leftists and Hippies
You may have a preconceived notion of what “self-help” means. But think it over a little further and you will find it is a mistaken stereotype. When people hear “hippies,” what leaps to mind is a crowd of dirty, scruffy-bearded kids in tie-dye shirts doing drugs at a Grateful Dead show; when people hear “leftist,” they immediately think of socialism, communism, and atheism. In fact, every personal development leader I have ever met is neatly dressed, thinks positively, and has real spiritual depth; on top of that, they are financially formidable entrepreneurs. In short, I find it hard to connect them with sloppily dressed, drug-abusing “hippies,” or with atheists and socialists (Translator’s note: Westerners seem to hold a certain prejudice against socialists and communists). Whatever your political or religious beliefs, I strongly recommend you take part in a personal development program; my own has already produced many astonishingly positive effects.
- I Should Make Decisions with Rigorous Logic and Reasoning Instead of Relying on Feelings
I used to deceive myself this way. In reality, you still rely on feelings to buy a house or a car, to build relationships, and to choose the career you want to give yourself to. There is no such thing in this world as a decision that is at once emotional and rational; every good marketer and salesperson understands this. Accept the role your feelings play in your decisions. If your life is not going the way you would like, the cause very likely lies in the decisions you have made. You can change the way you make decisions by changing the way you feel; rigorous logic and reasoning will not change a thing. Try to plan your life with rigorous logic and reasoning, and in the end all it will do is make you numb.
Give me three minutes and I’ll make you a better decision-maker.
10. I Should Put a Political Opinion on This List
This was a big mistake I made. See point four. I once put a political opinion in point ten, and it tainted this list (Translator’s note: the author had expressed his political views in points four and ten, and deleted them in the revised version). This is not a political blog. My goal should be to help everyone, without regard to any political viewpoint. Here, I apologize to all the readers I alienated because of it; I will treat this as a learning opportunity.
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