­　　这是一封细致入微的家书，非常感人，贵为总统的奥巴马给女儿的信亲切、自然、朴实、没有大话、套话，说的全是家常，17条建议都非常具体、每一条都可以做得到，每一条都有益，行文的语气没有作为父亲或者总统的“谆谆教导”，从“不在外面吃饭”这类小事，到“这个世界是一个完全由大家分享的世界，你所做的每件事都会影响到别人”这类普世价值观，奥巴马都说得贴切，自然，优美。这次特别推出中英文对照版，希望在学习与做人方面，对您有所裨益。

­　　Life is short. It may feel like it takesforever sometimes, but the reality is that you live, and a short time later,you die. It happens so quickly, many people don’t even realize they had a lifeuntil it’s already over.

­　　生命如此短暂。我们有时候觉得生命怎么也走不完，实际上，你现在活着，过不了多久，就会死去。人生真是转眼一瞬间的事情，很多人到临死前才意识到这一生已经结束。

­　　Stop Doubting Yourself

­　　停止怀疑自己

­　　If you don’t believe in yourself, nobodywill. Success starts in your mind, and if all you’re doing is putting yourselfdown and predicting failure, it’ll become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Insteadof doubting yourself, think positively. Not only will you be happier and moresuccessful, you’ll spread it to everyone around you.

­　　如果你自己都不相信自己，那没人会相信你。成功源于你的头脑，如果你所做的是不断地看扁自己，预言着未来的失败，这就真的会成为现实。与其怀疑自己，不如积极的考虑问题。不仅会让自己更加开心和成功，你还能够感染到周围的人。

­　　Stop Being Negative

­　　停止消极

­　　Now that you’re done doubting yourself,stop doubting others. You don’t like when people are critical of you, so stopbeing critical of others. Think about how you make other people feel – even ifyou have good intentions, people don’t like hearing negativity.

­　　现在你不要再怀疑自己了，也别再怀疑身边的人。你不希望被人对你挑剔，那么也不要再去挑剔身边的人。想想你给别人带来的什么样的感受吧——即使出发点是好的，别人也不想听到那么多消极的事情呀。

­　　Stop Procrastinating

­　　停止拖延

­　　I don’t feel like procrastinating right now– I’ll do it tomorrow. When you procrastinate, you remain stagnant. Whateveryou’re putting off doesn’t go away; resolve the problem, and move on. You’ll bemuch happier in the long run.

­　　我现在不想做，还是留到明天吧。一旦开始拖延，其实你已经停滞不前了。你拖延的事情不会自行解决。解决问题，继续前行吧。从长远角度来说你会更加快乐。

­　　Stop Being Mean

­　　不要那么刻薄

­　　It’s completely possible to step onsomeone’s toes without meaning to – it happens all the time. There’s no need topile on by purposefully doing mean things, so make a conscious effort to stopbeing mean. If someone wrongs you, let it go. There’s no need to seek vengeanceunless that’s the type of person you want to be.

­　　无意踩到别人的情况真的有可能会发生——常常会发生。但没必要去处心积虑地做一些不好的事情，所以要有意识地让自己不要那么刻薄。如果有人对你无理地对待，随他们去好了。没必要去报复，除非你也想成为那一类的人。