Turning the lemons into lemonade

　　"Every individual is unique and endowed with talents and experience that willdetermine his or her destiny. We should not follow blindly in another's footsteps, but lessonslearned from the experience of others can be invaluable."——Li Ka-shing

　　每一个人各有不同的独特天赋、经验，并按自己的选择踏上命途，虽然没有人应附人骥尾，盲目模仿他人，但从他人经验悟出心得，也是不错的成长教材。

　　——李嘉诚

　　背景资料

　　李嘉诚，（1928年7月29日——）长江实业集团有限公司董事局主席兼总经理，和记黄埔董事局主席。1928年出生于广东潮州，1940年全家逃难到香港。1958年开始投资地产市场。1979年，“长江”购入老牌英资商行“和记黄埔”，李嘉诚因而成为首位收购英资商行的华人。作为著名企业家、慈善家，李嘉诚是这个社会的成功榜样。1981年获选为“香港风云人物”、1981年委任为太平绅士、1989年获英女王颁发的CBE勋衔、被评选为1993年度香港“风云人物”。曾是1999年亚洲首富、2013全球福布斯排行榜第8位。2014年，李嘉诚以2000亿元的财富排名大中华区富豪首位，全球第12位。其旗下公司和记黄埔有限公司（“和黄”英文全称：Hutchison Whampoa）是业务遍布全球的大型跨国企业，一向锐意创新，并勇于采用新科技，经营多元化业务，包括全球多个市场最大的货柜码头经营商、零售连锁集团、地产发展与基建业务，以至技术最先进的电讯服务。和黄截至2010年度经审核营业额约为港币3260亿元（420亿美元）。和黄在全球52个国家经营五项核心业务，雇员超过24万人，核心业务有港口及相关服务、地产及酒店、零售、能源、基建、投资、电讯等业务。2012年财富世界500强排行榜排名第362位。2013年排名363位。

　　Turning the lemons into lemonade

　　——Li Ka-shing

　　Just when you think you have lived long enough to see everything under the sun, somethingcomes along that you cannot begin to understand, yet explain. This is how I feel with the recentand fervent media discussion about whether young men and women should want to be "me". Theseriousness with which is flabbergasting and rather amusing as the premise of the question seemsshallow. Every individual is unique and endowed with talents and experience that will determinehis or her destiny. We should not follow blindly in another's footsteps, but lessons learned fromthe experience of others can be invaluable.

　　Frankly speaking, I am happy I am myself! That said, it does not mean that at times I havenot yearned to be a medical doctor, a scientist, or a professor golfer. To me, the joy in life is notthe destination but the difficult journey.

　　Su Dongpo the poet spoke of "Meals without meat, sickness without medication , housewithout a roof..." in describing an impoverished life devoid of daily necessities. My childhood wasspent in abject poverty circumstance much worse than what Su described. In this difficult stage, Ican also in character, ability, emotion and personality interests have to look for exploration of thetaste of happiness.

　　This recent debate has promoted me to reflect on my journey and to ponder what might bedifferent if I had to start all over again. Life is filled with so many "what ifs"! They areunpredictable and beyond our control. What if war hadn't destroyed my childhood? What if myfather had not passed away when I was still a child? What if I had the opportunity to stay inschool? Given my passion for medical knowledge, would I have become a doctor? Would mypassion for reasoning and discoveries have driven me to become a scientist?

　　Of course, I shall never know because fate has destined me for something else. In the process,however, I learned something of great value——even amid adversity and challenges we can fireup our capabilities and become more than what we thought we could be.

　　When I was growing up, life in Hong Kong was truly harsh and often cruel . Society's safetynet then was near non-existent. The fear of starving and sickness was very real. Education was aprivilege enjoyed by only a select few. And impoverishment could be a life sentence . Today'snewly found abundance has moved us beyond these conditions, basically providing an adequatecushion for most. Poverty now goes far beyond the absence of money to include an acute sense ofdisillusionment towards hope and even opportunity. Many fear or perceive that the gateway togenerational progress seems to be narrowing, making it more difficult to escape the confines ofdisadvantages. I understand these fears as I have lived them. No one wants to be doomed topoverty, but where is the exist?

　　I quickly discovered that trying to find a formula for success in life would be a futileendeavor . I should focus instead on differentiating between things which are within my control.

　　If success is my goal, it is important to control things within my power that can turn the tidearound. I must recognize the shackles of poverty- I must escape the dangerous tentacles ofdisease, ignorance, dishonesty and apathy .

　　I could control apathy and dependency by being disciplined in my conversation,commitments, it can build up trust; and your character will exude discipline, order and humility.

　　You are elements aligned that has a multiplier effects: as it better prepares you to addresscircumstances that are out of your control and when the time comes you will have the courage andthe know-how to follow the road which will lead how your life will flow. In the process, you willdiscover the truth Winston Churehill offered so many years ago: "Difficulties mastered areopportunities won. Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."You are capable of turning the lemons thrown at you into lemonade. When you develop amap for your soul, you will discover the part of you that loves life, the part of you that isanalytical, capable and responsible, and the part of you that is principled, idealistic, and able to allof you. Today you are proud to be a part of Shantou University. Tomorrow Shantou Universitywill be proud of you.

　　Thank you very much. Good luck. I wish you all the best.

　　参考译文

　　柠檬汁人生观

　　——李嘉诚

　　你们知道吗，我以为活到这年纪，早看尽太阳底下的事，想不到令人莫名其妙的事还是不少的。近期媒体在热炒年轻人应否成为李嘉诚，观点之多，煞有介事的炒作令人费解发笑。对我而言这议题本身挺空洞，每一个人各有不同的独特天赋、经验，并按自己的选择踏上命途，虽然没有人应附人骥尾，盲目模仿他人，但从他人经验悟出心得，也是不错的成长教材。

　　坦白地对大家说，我爱当我自己！但这句话不意味着我未曾梦想当一名内科医生，一名科学家或者高尔夫球教练。人生的价值不仅需要重视结果，奋斗过程，也同样重要。

　　苏东坡先生曾说“食无肉，病无药，居无室……”生活所需全部欠缺，我小时候比苏东坡这句话的生活条件更艰苦，在这艰难阶段中，我还能在品格、个性、能力、情感与志趣的探索里找到快乐的滋味。

　　这篇闹哄哄要不要当李嘉诚的炒作，反而促使我对自己的旅程反思。如果一切有机会从头再来，我的命运会如何不同？人生充满着很多“如果！”，转折点比比皆是，往往也不由我们控制。如果战争没有摧毁我的童年，如果父亲没有在我童年时去世，如果我有机会继续升学，我的一生将如何改写？我对医学知识如此热诚，我会不会成为一个医生？我对推理与新发现充满兴趣，我会不会成为一个科学家？

　　这一切永远没有答案，因为命运没有给我另类的选择，我成为今日的我。人生的过程中尽管不无遗憾，但我学到最价值连城的一课——逆境和挑战只要能激发起生命的力度，我们的成就是可以超乎自己所想象的。

　　我成长的年代，香港生活艰苦，社会是残酷而悲凉的。那时候没有什么社会安全体系，对饥饿与疾病的恐惧强烈。求学的机会不是每一个人的权利，贫穷常常像一种无期徒刑。今天社会前行，新的富足为大部分人带来相对的缓冲保障，贫穷不一定是缺乏金钱，而是对希望及机遇憧憬破灭的挫败感。很多人害怕可上升的空间越来越窄，一辈子也无法冲破匮乏与弱势的局限。我理解这些恐惧，因我曾经一一身受。没有人愿意贫穷，但出路在哪里？

　　我迅速发现没有什么必然的成功方程式，首要专注的是，把能掌控的因素区分出来。

　　如果成功是我的目标，驾驭一些我能力内可控制的事情是扭转逆境十分重要的关键。我要认清楚什么是贫穷的枷锁——我一定要有摆脱疾病、愚昧、依赖和惰性的方法。

　　所有这些元素连接在一起功效非凡：它能渐渐凝聚与塑造一个成功基础，帮助你应付控制范畴以外的环境。当机遇一现，你已整装待发，有本领和勇气踏上前路。纵使没有人能告诉你前路是一道什么风景，生命长河将流往何方。然而，在这过程中，你会领悟到丘吉尔多年的名言：“只要克服困难就是赢得机会。一点点的态度，但却能造成大大地改变。”

　　生命抛来一颗柠檬，你是可以把它转榨为柠檬汁的人。当你描绘独特的心灵地图之时，你会发现热爱生命的你，善于分析、富有才华、勇于承担的你，建立自我的你，原则性强、理想远大、无私无畏为社会服务的你。各位同学，再次恭喜你们，我深深相信，今天你以汕大为荣，明天汕大以你为荣。

　　谢谢大家。祝大家好运连连，万事如意。