Even when you’re surrounded by apathy and incompetence, avoid letting it absorb you. Remain true to who you are and the good you can do. 即使你被冷漠和无能所包围，也要避免被其吞没。忠于你自己，忠于你能做的好事。

When nearly everyone else seems to be making flimsy excuses and getting away with carelessness, it’s tempting to go along. It can make you question why you should bother to distinguish yourself when no one else is doing so. 当几乎每个人都在为自己的粗心大意寻找站不住脚的借口并逍遥法外时，你很容易随波逐流。这会让你产生疑问，既然别人都这样做了，你为什么还要费心去区分自己呢？

Yet life is about more than merely what you can get away with. You gain great richness with what you accomplish, the positive impact you have, the value that’s generated by your actions. 然而，人生的意义并不仅仅在于你能做什么。你所取得的成就、你所产生的积极影响、你的行为所产生的价值，都会让你的人生变得丰富多彩。

Every approaching moment offers a choice. You can either coast through with minimal effort, or you can wisely invest your full attention, energy, and action. 每一个即将到来的时刻都是一个选择。你可以不费吹灰之力，也可以明智地投入全部注意力、精力和行动。

Whatever anyone else may or may not be doing, you have the opportunity to live robustly. In any circumstance, in every stretch of time, you can add meaning and fulfillment to life. 无论别人在做什么，你都有机会活得精彩。在任何情况下，在任何时间段，你都可以为生活增添意义和成就感。

Seize the opportunity, now and always, to act as if life has great potential. Continue proving to yourself and others that it does indeed. 抓住机遇，从现在到永远，都要表现得好像生命具有巨大的潜力。继续向自己和他人证明，生活的确如此。

— Ralph Marston - 拉尔夫-马斯顿