Part 1: The Importance of Principles
第一章 原則的重要性
I believe that having principles that work is essential for getting what we want out of life. I also believe that to understand each other we have to understand each other’s principles.That is why I believe we need to talk about them.
我認為，掌握原則對于實現人生理想至關重要，我相信要想知己知彼，也必須了解彼此的處事原則。在我看來，這就是為什么原則問題值得一談的原因。
We will begin by examining the following questions:
先來看看下面幾個問題吧：
What are principles?
原則是什么 ？
Why are principles important?
原則為何重要？
Where do principles come from?
原則來自何處？
Do you have principles that you live your life by? What are they?
你生活中有恪守的原則么，都有哪些？
How well do you think they will work, and why?
這些原則你認為行之有效么，為什么？
Answer all questions with complete honesty, without worrying what I or others might think. That honesty will allow you to be comfortable living with your own principles, and to judge yourself by how consistently you operate by them. If you don’t have many well-thought-out principles, don’t worry. We will get there together, if we remain open-minded.
回答上述問題時，無需擔憂我或別人會怎么想。坦誠回答就好，坦誠面對自己的處事原則才能與之和諧相處，才能判斷自己的行為是否不違背原則。即使你沒有太多深思熟慮的原則也沒關系.請隨我一起解放思想，建立屬于你自己的原則。
I wish everyone wrote down their principles. I wish I could read and compare the principles of all the people I’m interested in— Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, people running for political office, people I share my life with, etc. I'd love to know what they value most and what principles they use to get what they want. Imagine how great that would be—e.g. imagine how much valuable fundamental thinking could be harnessed. I hope that my doing this will encourage others to do the same.
我希望大家都能寫下自己的原則。我希望能夠知道所有我感興趣的人寫下的原則是什么，像是史蒂夫·喬布斯，阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦，競選從政之人，與我共度一生之人等，希望可以拿我的原則和他們的原則進行比較。我很想知道他們最珍視什么，實現夢想時都遵循什么原則。想一想都覺得棒極了，這匯總起來對我自己的思維該多有價值啊。我希望我寫的原則能夠鼓勵其他人也將自己的原則寫下來。
What are principles?
原則是什么？
Your values are what you consider important, literally what you “value.” Principles are what allow you to live a life consistent with those values. Principles connect your values to your actions; they are beacons that guide your actions, and help you successfully deal with the laws of reality. It is to your principles that you turn when you face hard choices.
價值觀是你認為重要的、“有價值”的東西，而在生活中若想順從自己的價值觀，我們需要的就是原則。原則連接價值觀與行動，它如指引行動的燈塔，幫你成功應對現實生活中的條條框框。當面臨兩難抉擇之時，遵循原則就能迎刃而解。
2）Why are principles important?
2）原則為何重要？
All successful people operate by principles that help them be successful. Without principles, you would be forced to react to circumstances that come at you without considering what you value most and how to make choices to get what you want. This would prevent you from making the most of your life. While operating without principles is bad for individuals, it is even worse for groups of individuals (such as companies) because it leads to people randomly bumping into each other without understanding their own values and how to behave in order to be consistent with those values.
成功人士恪守幫助他們成功的一套原則。如果沒有原則，那么當你面臨抉擇之時，你將變得非常被動，因為你不知道自己最珍視什么，面對選擇也無從下手。如此一來，就更別談實現人生價值了。個人處事沒有原則已經很糟糕了，而集體（如公司）處事沒有原則就更糟糕了，因為在這樣的集體中，大家在根本不了解各自的價值觀的情況下就湊到一起，行為處事也無法同各自的價值觀相匹配。
3）Where do principles come from?
3）原則源自何處？
Sometimes we forge our own principles and sometimes we accept others’ principles, or holistic packages of principles, such as religion and legal systems. While it isn’t necessarily a bad thing to use others’ principles—it’s difficult to come up with your own, and often much wisdom has gone into those already created—adopting pre-packaged principles without much thoughtexposes you to the risk of inconsistency with your true values. Holding incompatibleprinciples can lead to conflict between values and actions—like the hypocrite who has claims to be of a religion yet behaves counter to its teachings. Your principles need to reflect values you really believe in.
我們時而鍛造自己的處事原則，時而汲取學習他人的處事原則，或接受一整套的原則，譬如宗教信條或法律制度。用別人的原則也不見得就是壞事，畢竟要想出一套原則太費腦子了，而已創的原則歷經千錘百煉也可能更靠譜。但不假思索就接受各種預先“打包”好的整套原則體系，結果很有可能這些原則會與自己最真實的價值觀沖突，進而導致價值觀與行為的矛盾碰撞。就像是一個偽君子一樣，表面上聲稱信奉某宗教，行為上卻與教義背道而馳。你的原則必須反應出你真正信奉的價值觀。
- Do you have principles that you live your life by? What are they?
4）你生活中有恪守的原則么，都有哪些原則？
Your principles will determine your standards of behavior. When you enter into relationships with other people, your and their principles will determine how you interact. People who have shared values and principles get along. People who don’t will suffer through constant misunderstandings and conflict with one another. Too often in relationships, people’s principles are unclear. Think about the people with whom you are closest. Are their values aligned with yours?
你的處事原則會決定你的行為標準，當你同他人初識時，你們各自恪守的原則將會決定你們的互動模式，若你們的價值觀與原則能夠達到共享，大家就相處愉快，否則在相處中就會面臨持續不斷的誤解和沖突。人與人的關系中，人們所秉持的原則大都模糊不清。現在想想與你最為親密的人，他們的價值觀和你的一致么？
What do you value most deeply?
你內心最珍視是什么？
- How well do you think they will work, and why?
5）這些原則你認為行之有效么，為什么？
Those principles that are most valuable come from our own experiences and our reflections on those experiences. Every time we face hard choices, we refine our principles by asking ourselves difficult questions. For example, when our representatives in Washington are investigating whether various segments of society are behaving ethically, they are simultaneously grappling with questions such as, “Should the government punish people for bad ethics, or should it just write and enforce the laws?” Questions of this kind—in this case, about the nature of government—prompt thoughtful assessments of alternative approaches. These assessments in turn lead to principles that can be applied to similar occasions in the future. As another example, “I won’t steal” can be a principle to which you refer when the choice of whether or not to steal arises. But to be most effective, each principle must be consistent with your values, and this consistency demands that you ask: Why? Is the reason you won’t steal because you feel empathy for your potential victim? Is it because you fear getting caught? By asking such questions, we refine our understanding, and the development of our principles becomes better aligned with our core values. To be successful, you must make correct, tough choices. You must be able to “cut off a leg to save a life,” both on an individual level and, if you lead people, on a group level. And to be a great leader, it is important to remember that you will have to make these choices by understanding and caring for your people, not by following them.
來自自身經歷與反思的原則最有價值。每當面臨兩難抉擇之際，我們會捫心自問，反復琢磨，在這樣的過程中完善我們的原則。例如，當我們的華盛頓代表在調查社會各領域的行為道德情況時，其實他們也同時在糾結一些問題，譬如“面對道德敗壞的行為，政府是該施以懲戒，還是僅僅立法施法呢？”這種問題涉及針對政府本質的討論，會引起對于各種備選方案的評估。相應的，評估本身就形成了可適用于未來類似情況的原則。還有一個例子，如果你有這樣一個原則，“我絕不會偷東西”，那當你面對偷或不偷的選擇時，就會適用這一原則。然而如果想要使選擇的過程更加高效，那么每一項原則就必須與個人的價值觀一致。為了滿足這種一致性，就不得不再問問自己：為什么不偷？不偷的理由是因為同情潛在的受害者嗎？還是因為害怕被抓？只有問過了這些問題，我們才能更深入地了解自己。原則在不斷發展中，會和我們的核心價值觀越來越一致。想要成功，就必須做出正確的、艱難的選擇。你必須要有壯士斷腕的勇氣，個人處事如此，在領導一個團隊時，也是如此。如果想要成為一個成功的領導者，就必須謹記，選擇需是本著對團隊成員的理解和關心做出的，而不僅僅是為了順應他們。
You have to answer these questions for yourself. What I hope for most is that you will carefully consider the principles we will be exploring in this document and try operating by them, as part of the process of discovering what works best for you. In time, the answers to these questions will evolve from “Ray’s principles” to “my principles,” and “Ray” will fade from the picture in much the same way as memories of your ski instructor or basketball coach fade after you have mastered the sport.
你必須親自回答上述問題。我最希望看到的是，你能仔細思考本書中探索的各種原則，并嘗試試用它們，從而發現什么最適合你。有一天，這些問題的答案都能通過“我的原則”而不再是“雷的原則”解答時，“雷的原則”悄然逝去，而屬于你自己的“我的原則“躍然紙上。就像你學滑雪和打籃球一樣，一旦你學會了，教練的影子也就逐漸退去了。
So, as I believe that adopting pre-packaged principles without much thought is risky, I am asking you to join me in thoughtfully discussing the principles that guide how we act. When considering each principle, please ask yourself, “Is it true?” While this particular document will always express just what I believe, other people will certainly have their own principles, and possibly even their own principles documents, and future managers of Bridgewater will work in their own ways to determine what principles Bridgewater will operate by. At most, this will remain as one reference of principles for people to consider when they are deciding what’s important and how to behave.
我認為不假思索地接受各種預先“打包”好的整套原則體系是有風險的。我邀請你同我一道仔細思考和探討這些指導我們行為的原則。考慮每條原則時，請問自己“這是對的么？”這本書列的都是我自己信奉的原則，別人肯定也有他們自己的原則，甚至可能也會出一本他們自己的原則文件。橋水聯合基金之后的每屆老總也有他自己的處事方式，用來決定公司運營該遵循什么原則。我這本書里的原則，最多也就是當人們就重大事項或行為做決策時，可以作為一個參考的標準。
