Self-control is essential to happiness and usefulness. It is the master of all the virtues, and has its root in self-respect. Let a man yield to his impulses and passions, and from that moment he gives up his moral freedom.

It is the self-discipline of a man that enables him to pursue success with superior diligence and sobriety. Many of the great characters in history illustrate this trait. In ordinary life the application is the same. He who would lead must first command himself. The time of test is when everybody is excited or angry, then the well-balanced mind comes to the front.

There is a very special demand for the cultivation of his trait at present. The young men who rush into business with no good education or drill will do poor and feverish work. Endurance is a much better test of character than act of heroism.

A fair amount of self-examination is good. Self-knowledge is a preface to self-control. Too much self-inspection leads to morbidness; too little conducts to careless and hasty action. There are two things which will surely strengthen our self-control. One is attention to conscience; the other is a spirit of good will. The man who would succeed in any great undertaking must hold all his faculties under perfect control; they must be disciplined and drilled until they quickly and cheerfully obey the will.  

自制力是獲取幸福和成就事業(yè)不可或缺的能力。它根植于自尊，掌控著所有美德。一個(gè)人如果屈從于自己的情感沖動(dòng)，便會(huì)從此失去精神自由。

歷史上的許多偉人都具有一種品質(zhì)，即自律。自律能使人更勤奮、更理性地追求成功。日常生活中，人們同樣需要具有這種特質(zhì)。想要成為領(lǐng)袖的人，首要條件就是要克制自己，每當(dāng)激動(dòng)萬(wàn)分或氣憤不已時(shí)，便是檢驗(yàn)自律能力之時(shí)。此刻，人們首先要做的就是平和心氣。

當(dāng)今社會(huì)特別需要人培養(yǎng)這種特性。一些沒(méi)有受過(guò)良好教育或培訓(xùn)的年輕人倉(cāng)促進(jìn)入商界后，做事急躁而毫無(wú)成效。和逞英雄相比，耐性更能檢驗(yàn)人的品性。

我們應(yīng)該適當(dāng)?shù)刈晕曳词?。只有做到自知，才能做到自律。然而，反省過(guò)多會(huì)導(dǎo)致精神病態(tài)，過(guò)少則會(huì)讓我們粗心大意、草率行事。確定能加強(qiáng)自制力的方案有兩種，一是注重良知，二是心懷善意。一個(gè)人要想在事業(yè)上取得成功，就必須很好地把握和控制自己的所有才能；他們必須受到良好的教育和訓(xùn)練，這樣才能愉悅地迅速學(xué)會(huì)服從自身的意愿。