成功的秘密(The secret of success)

?成功的秘密(The secret of success)：
　　On the campus of the university, between buildings, there are large stretches of lawn, green as ever and as if forever. Encircled by the green, I often have the inspiration to think. It is a green thought in a green shade. My green thought is about how I will face the future.

　　The important thing in life is to have a great goal and the determination to attain it. Living without a goal is like sailing without a compass. Lack of purpose is the cause of most of our failures. When a great aim has been decided on, determination and persistence are most important. A story about Mao Zedong’s willpower not to smoke is a good example of this kind of willpower applied for the short term, an example the young person might apply to his or her determination to work for the long term. Mao was addicted to cigarettes. At the Chongqing Negotiations, he was observed to have an unusual expression on his face. When the talks were over, Jiang Jieshi said, “He likes cigarettes as much as he does his life, but when he learned that I don’t smoke, in the course of our talks, he never smoked even a single cigarette.” We can never despise Mao Zedong’s determination and will! You can see that nothing is impossible for a willing heart.

　　Persistence is also the key factor, like determination. As Benjamin Franklin said, “He who is patient can have whatever he wants.” This persistence is necessary; successful people expect periodic defeats, learn what went wrong and why, and make necessary adjustments, and try again. If you are persistent, you will almost inevitably succeed. When Ludwig van Beethoven – “the Michelangelo of Music”, reached his peak, he was totally deaf. If you study his biography, and get acquainted with his trials, his hardships, battles, and triumphed over fate. Success seldom comes easily on the first try. What separates the successful from the unsuccessful is persistence. Many organizational analysts and career consultants consider persistence to be ultimate key to success at both the organizational and personal level. Successful people also fail occasionally, but they do not let their failures defeat their spirit. Learning from defeats, they revise strategy as needed and try again, and again, and again, until they succeed. In everyone’s heart, there is that kind of pure green and the pure desire for success. Green signifies vitality, hope and success. It urges you on

　　joozone.com

　　Note: This article is for background purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

　　作者注：本文仅供参考，并不旨在提供法律意见

　　译者注：翻译本文并未得到原作者同意，故译文仅供学习和研究使用

　　Why do people hate to get letters from lawyers? They carry bad news. They mean serious business. They’re hard to understand. They use strange words. They carry the inherent threat of suit.

　　人们为什么讨厌收到律师的来信呢?因为它们不是带来坏消息，就意味着生意上出现了严重的问题。而且，这些信让人理解起来有些难度,因为其中有一些生僻的专业术语，还有,在收到律师的来信之后，往往随之而来的是诉讼的威胁。

　　Why do lawyers send such letters? They mean serious business, and they intend to sue.

　　那为什么律师们还要发出这些信件呢?因为交易出现了问题，也因为他们想提起诉讼。

　　But must they use those ancient, strange words and be so hard to understand, or can lawyers express serious business and imminent suit using words everyone knows?

　　是不是在律师函中一定要用一些生僻古怪的术语而让人费解呢?换句话说，律师能不能用大家都熟悉的词语来表述生意上的问题或即将来临的诉讼呢?

　　Whether writing a demand letter to a contract breacher, an advice letter to a client, or a cover letter to a court clerk, the letter fails if the person receiving it cannot understand what it says.

　　其实，不管是给违约者的正式请求书、给客户的意见书，还是给法院书记员的说明书，只要收信人不能理解其说了些什么，那这样的律师函是不合格的。

　　All of these letters have one thing in common: They are not great literature. They will not be read in a hundred years and analyzed for their wit, charm or flowery words. With any luck they will be read just once by a few people, followed quickly by their intended result, whether that be compliance, understanding or agreement.

　　的律师函都有一个共同的特点：它们不需要有太强的文学色彩，它们在若干年以后也不可能再被阅读，而且人们也不会对它们所包含的智慧、对它们的吸引力、对其中的华丽词语而给予关注。实际上，不论这些律师函上载明的是默许、意向，还是协议，再幸运的话也只会被少数人为了特定的目的而阅读一次。

　　Lawyers are Letter Factories

　　律师是”信函工厂”

　　Lawyers write many, many letters. An average for me might be five letters a day. This includes advice letters, cover letters, demand letters, all sorts of letters. Some days have more, some have less, but five is a fairly conservative average, I would think. Five letters a day for five days a week for fifty weeks a year is 1,250 letters a year. This is my 25th year in practice, so it is quite conceivable that I have written 31,250 letters so far.

　　律师会撰写很多很多的信函。拿我来说，平均每天要写5封信函(包括意见书，说明书，正式请求书以及其他各式各样的信函)，有时候一天书写得多些，有时候一天书写得少些，不过，我认为每天5封还是一个保守的数字。每天5封，每周5天，每年50周，累计起来，每年就有1250封，不可想象，在我25年的执业生涯中，我撰写的信函达31250封之多。

　　Why do lawyers write so many letters? A primary reason lies within the ethics of our profession. Florida Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 4-1.4 says:joozone.com

　　”A lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information.”

　　”A lawyer shall explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation.”

　　律师们为什么要写这么多的信函呢?答案在我们的职业规范和职业道德中。美国佛罗里达州的律师条例之职业行为规则中第4-1.4款说道：

　　”一个律师应向客户报告事件的现状并负有根据客户的合理要求而给予通知的义务。”

　　”一个律师应在适当的范围之内向客户解释事由，以便客户对代理事项做出决定。”

　　While clients can be kept informed and given explanations orally, lawyers certainly know the value of the printed word over the spoken word: it is not as easily forgotten or misunderstood. Letters also create a record of advice given, which is useful to both the lawyer and the client. That is why letters are the preferred method of keeping clients informed and giving clients explanations.

　　既然客户们都知道要保存那些口头上的报告和解释，那律师们就更明白书面文字比口头话语更可靠：它们不容易被忘记或被误解.信函能够保存法律意见的记录，这对律师和其客户都是有利的。所以，我们说信函是保存对客户的报告和向客户解释事由的最好工具。

　　Some Things To Do Before Writing

　　撰写信函之前需要做的事情

　　Before you start writing the letter it makes sense to do some preliminary background work.

　　在动笔起草信函之前要注意做好一些基础性的准备工作。

　　Find a letter form. Find a similar letter you have sent in the past, or see the Appendix to this article for sample engagement, cover, demand, contract negotiation, contract advice, and fax letters.

　　查找信函范本。您可以在以前起草的信函中寻找类似的范本，也可以参考一下此文附录中所列的范本(包括预约书，说明书，正式请求书，合同谈判备忘录，合同意见书及传真函等)。

　　Review prior letters to this recipient. In a busy world, it is easy to forget. Review prior letters to remind yourself where you are in the work process, what has already been said, and what remains to be said. This will give your letter direction and purpose.

　　参考一下那些以前发给该收信人的信函。在这个繁忙的世界上，好多事情容易忘记。回顾以前的信函可以提醒您在工作流程中走到了哪一步，写了些什么，还需要说些什么，所以说，这样做可以让您把握信函的方向和要旨。

　　Do not send a letter to another lawyer’s client without that lawyer’s consent. Before sending the letter, find out if the nonlawyer is represented by someone else. Start by asking your client. Florida Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 4-4.2 says:

　　”In representing a client, a lawyer shall not communicate about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter, unless the lawyer has the consent of the other lawyer.”

　　未经允许，不要发函给另一个律师的客户。在发送之前，要确认收信人是否已经有代理律师了。所以，在这之前，最好问一问您的客户。佛罗里达州的律师条例之职业行为规则的第4-4.2款有这样的规定：

　　”在为客户进行代理活动中，如果一位律师知道当事人已经有另一位律师在为其代理，除非得到该代理律师的同意，他就不得再同该当事人交流有关代理之事项。”joozone.com

　　Outline your thoughts in a checklist. Before turning on your computer or dictating machine, pull out a yellow pad and jot down the main points for your letter. List what you want the letter to say. Write the points in any order; write them as they come into your mind. You can rearrange them when you write the letter. Right now you’re just making a checklist for writing the letter.

　　列出您的构思提纲。在打开电脑或录音机前，拿出一个黄色的小便笺簿略记下信函的大纲并列出您将在信函中要写此什么，记录这些要点时不要考虑什么顺序，想到什么就写什么，因为你可以在真正撰写信函时重新安排顺序，而现在，您要做的仅仅是为信函准备提纲。

　　Keep the legal pad close at hand. When you run out of ideas for the checklist, put the pad at the side of your desk. New ideas always spring forth when writing. Jot these down on the pad as you write the letter; they are easily forgotten.

　　随时将上述小便笺簿放在手边。当您不需要所构思提纲清单时，也要将小便笺簿放在桌上。因为在写作过程中随时可能涌现出新思路，要及时记下这些新的思路，稍不注意，它们就会被忘了。

　　Simple Stuff That Will Make You Look Dumb If It’s Wrong

　　一些错误的小细节常常会欺骗您的眼睛

　　Letters begin with boring things like the date and recipient’s name and address, but if any of these are missing or wrong the letter writer will look pretty careless, to say the least. So be careful when starting the letter, and you can even include some extra things that will make the letter even better than the regular letters the recipient receives.

　　信函的页首常常要注明时间、收信人姓名、住址等繁琐事项。如果这些事项有错误或是被疏漏，说得严重一点，会让人觉得书写者有些粗心大意。所以，从一开始起草信函时就要小心谨慎，注意那些特别事项，让收信人觉得律师函比一般信函确实要好。

　　Date your letter. Date your letter the day you write it, and send it the same day. Undated letters are difficult to reply to. I usually reply to them by saying, “This is in reply to your undated letter that I received in the mail on 24 June 1999.”

　　注明日期. 在信函上注明撰写的日期，并在当日发出信函。未注明日期的信函回复起来有些困难，遇到这样的难题，我常常是这样写的，”兹对1999年6月24日收到之未注明日期函做出答复。”

　　Consider using the international dating convention of day-month-year rather than the U.S. convention of month-day-year. As reported in the 1 June 1999 Wall Street Journal:

　　”The quirky U.S. style of date-writing is giving way to the day-first standard used by most of the world.

　　… Both the MLA style guide and the Chicago Manual of Style support the day-first format. ‘You get rid of the comma that way,’ says Joseph Gibaldi, director of book acquisition for the MLA in New York.”

　　在注明日期时，最好用国际通用的格式：日-月-年(day-month-year)，而不是美国通用的格式：月-日-年(month-day-year).正如华尔街日报在1999年6月1日中所报道的那样：

　　”有点古怪的美国时间格式正在让位于世界通用的日期在先的时间格式……现代语言学会(MLA)文体和芝加哥手册文体都支持这种日期在先的时间格式，美国纽约州现代语言学会(MLA)的图书采购部主任Joseph.Gibaldi也说’你们必须抛弃那些使用了逗号的时间格式’。”joozone.com

　　If you are sending a fax or email, then type the time next to the date. While letters “cross in the mail” in days, faxes and emails “cross in the wires” in hours and minutes.

　　如果您是以传真或电子邮件的形式发送信函，应在信函上印上日期和具体时间。因为传统邮件传递可能要几天，但传真和电子杂志的传递则只需要几个小时或几分钟。

　　Remind your client to preserve attorney-client confidentiality. Sometimes clients show your letters to others without realizing they can lose the attorney-client privilege of that communication. Add this phrase at the top of the letter to remind them not to do this:

　　CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION

　　DO NOT COPY OR DISCLOSE TO ANYONE ELSE

　　If the letter is written during or in anticipation of litigation, the following phrase can be used:

　　CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION

　　AND WORK PRODUCT

　　DO NOT COPY OR DISCLOSE TO ANYONE ELSE

　　提醒客户对其与律师之间的交流沟通负有保密义务。有时候，客户们将收到的律师函拿给第三方阅读，因为他们不知道他们不能将其与律师之间沟通的内容披露给他方，所以，应该在信函的首部写上一些话来提醒客户：

　　”律师与客户之间的沟通交流为秘密信息，未经允许，不得复制或披露给第三方”

　　如果信函是发生在诉讼之中或是诉讼的准备阶段，那最好用下面这段话：

　　”律师与客户之间的沟通交流和律师的工作成果为秘密信息，未经允许，不得复制或披露给第三方”

　　joozone.com