1 . Success Requires “Ample Doses of Pain”

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, has a simple message for young people who want to achieve greatness: No pain, no gain. That was essentially his message for students at his alma mater, Stanford University, where he made a speech at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

“Greatness is not intelligence.     1     And character isn’t formed out of smart people; it’s formed out of people who suffered,” Huang said in response to a question about how students can maximize their shot at being successful.

    2     In 1993, he co-founded computer chip company Nvidia, where he’s served as CEO for more than three decades. The company’s success turned Huang into a billionaire. Now, with Nvidia’s chips in high demand for building AI software, it’s become one of the world’s most valuable companies with a valuation worth of $2 trillion.

“One of my great advantages is that I have very low expectations,” Huang said, noting that most Stanford graduates have very high expectations as a result of having an elite education. Often people with very high expectations have very low resilience because they are not accustomed to, or prepared for, failure. “     3     I don’t know how to teach it to you except for I hope suffering happens to you,” he said. Psychologists also tend to agree that resilient people are more likely to have the strength and confidence to handle challenges and bounce back from failure. Huang certainly had to struggle in his company’s early days.

“To this day I use the phrase ‘pain and suffering’ inside our company with great joy,” Huang told the Stanford students. “    4     You want greatness out of it.”

2 . It is certainly difficult to make money. But should money be difficult to give away? In The Gilded Age, industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller worried about waste and misuse; Carnegie wrote in 1889 that $950 of every $1,000 that went to charity was “unwisely spent”.     1     Donors ran lengthy application processes, provided funds and fulfilled painstaking reporting requirements. In 2006 The Economist called it “philanthrocapitalism (慈善资本主义)”.

    2     The 400 richest Americans have given away just 6% of their combined fortunes, according to Forbes. At the last count in 2022, almost $1.2 trn was sitting in American private foundations and $230bn in donor-advised funds, a sort of savings account for donors. Plenty of money is being marked for charity. But it is not getting to worthy causes fast enough.

Fortunately, a new generation of donors is once again shaking up the world of big philanthropy (慈善事业). Leading the mission is MacKenzie Scott, who simplified the process of giving and is donating billions of dollars a year with few conditions. This “no-strings giving” is changing mega-donors’ long-held assumptions.     3    

One is the recognition that philanthropists do not have to do everything themselves.     4     An upside of a decades-long trend for businesslike philanthropy is that armies of consultants have emerged to help donors draw up a strategy and conduct due diligence on potential recipients. Donors can team up and share the work, too.

Another lesson from the no-strings crowd is that philanthropists can trust recipients to put money to good use once the proper due diligence is in place. That means analyzing a nonprofit organization’s annual reports and interviewing its leaders and other funders.

3 . Monarch Butterflies Listed as Endangered

The monarch butterfly, known for its legendary migration from Mexico to Canada, is now at great risk of extinction. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the population of this orange-and-black insect has shrunk between 23% and 72% over the past 10 years. IUCN has labeled it as being endangered after having added it to its Red List of Threatened Species.

    1    . In order to make space for agriculture and urban development, people have been illegally cutting down trees. As a result, the massive forested areas that had previously sheltered the butterflies during winter have now been destroyed.

Another factor at play is the use of herbicides (除草剂) in agricultural fields.     2    . Just before leaving their overwintering grounds, females lay eggs on milkweed plants. But now milkweed is disappearing, and monarch caterpillars are losing their host plants.

Climate change has also taken a heavy toll on the species.     3    . What’s worse, severe weather conditions such as hurricanes and storms are proving to be disastrous for the already vulnerable butterflies.

Monarch experts are calling for the public’s help in the fight to save the species. “Few species inspire the awe and wonder that the migratory monarch butterfly commands,” said Dr. Sean T. O’Brien, President and CEO of Nature Serve. “While efforts to protect this species are encouraging, much is still needed to ensure its long-term survival.”

What can be done to case the problem? A middle-of-the-road solution is gaining ground. Scientists recommend promoting the growth of native milkweed and nectar flowers. Monarch butterflies are a common backyard insect in America, so everyone can contribute their share.   —     4    . They can also plant flowers for monarchs. — Those flowers will provide nectar for monarchs when they bloom.

4 . The Maya loved cacao so much that they used the beans as currency. They also believed it is good for you — which many people still say today about cacao’s most famous byproduct, chocolate.     1    . While some have suggested that less than an ounce of dark chocolate might improve heart health, much of the research doesn’t involve eating actual chocolate but rather its components-flavanol, especially.

    2    . In a clinical trial of 21,000 adults, they found that the half of the group that took500mg of. cocoa flavanol supplements daily had a significantly lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease than those who had taken a placebo (安慰剂).

Flavanols may also boost insulin sensitivity, according to some studies, which might be helpful in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes (糖尿病).     3    . Those at risk of diabetes might be wise to choose a cacao-inspired supplement instead of eating chocolate — and the sugar it contains. Other research suggests that the flavanols found in cacao (also present in fruits, vegetables, and tea) could slow cognitive decline during aging, or even boost brain performance by improving blood flow to the cerebral cortex.

What these findings mean for chocolate is limited, however. Participants would have had to eat multiple fat and sugar filled chocolate bars a day to source 500mg of flavanols.     4    . So understanding why certain types of chocolate are healthier than the rest is the focus of further research.

5 . Successful people have a few common characteristics that make them great. Now look at the following common traits exhibited by successful people that I have observed across various fields including sports, business and arts.

I put this at the top of the list simply because without self-discipline nothing is possible. Self-discipline is a quality that can be developed by having a clear idea on what we want and then ensuring the desire to succeed is greater than the consequences of not doing it. If we want to exercise 5 times a week, then we can imagine the enormous benefits of exercise and visualise that while trying to keep the end goal in mind.     1     It is resolving to do what we have set out to accomplish in both our personal and official lives.

Angela Lee Duckworth says that grit is the single quality that guarantees success, based on her groundbreaking studies. There are going to be setbacks, like we may not get the promotion we wanted, but having patience and perseverance never goes out of fashion. Talent will not take the place of persistence and resilience.     2    

    3     We can look no further than Tiger Woods to understand the value of passion. Tiger Woods who had already reached the apex (顶点) of sporting achievement actually changed his style of swing because he wanted to get the extra edge. This was after winning the Masters tournament by a record of 12 strokes in 1997. Passion can ignite reservoirs of resilience that may lay latent (隐藏的). Tiger Woods didn't play golf for the money though that helped, he played it for the love. Passion can happen when we do something we love,but as a beginning, we should start loving what we do and giving our very best every single day.

One of the best kept secrets of the highly successful is the ability to keep learning something new every day in their field or related fields. The hallmark of learning is curiosity. Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, is an excellent example of someone who kept learning till the end of his life.     4     When we learn something everyday, it keeps our mind sharp and it also gives a sense of accomplishment as we are using our time wisely. There is no end to this journey of continuous learning.

8 . Many of our most worrying problems, from overeating to not saving enough for retirement to not working out enough have something in common: lack of self-control. Self-control is what gives us the capacity to say no to choices that are immediately satisfying but costly in the long term — that a piece of chocolate cake (instead of an apple), that afternoon in front of the couch (instead of a visit to the gym).     1    

The problem of self-control has puzzled psychologists and behavioral scientists for decades. A great deal of research has identified situations in which self-control failures are likely to happen and tools to help people exercise better control.     2     These motivating incentives can increase our self-control, at least up to a point.

Entrepreneurs have also become interested in self-control, as is evident from the many diet and exercise apps and gadgets on the market. To take one notable example, on the commitment contract website stickK.com, users put down some money (say, $200) and state a goal they want to achieve (such as to lose ten pounds in a month).     3     If they meet their goal, they earn their money back. If they don’t, they lose the money.

Tools like stickK.com can be effective, but they are often difficult to implement. My colleagues and I conducted a new research to point to a different solution that may be easier to carry out: using rituals.

    4     Players in all sorts of sports have rituals that involve actions such as eating the same foods in exactly the same order before a game. From the way some prepare their coffee to the way people celebrate important life events, like weddings or graduations, rituals are a part of our daily life. And though they may seem useless, or even silly, research has found that rituals are powerful.

9 . How to Survive High School

It may feel impossible to survive even a day of high school, let alone three years. However, there are a lot of things you can do to make your high school experience one of the best times of your life.

    1     During high school, you may feel under pressure to fit in. You need to try your best to fight the negative feelings and learn to have a change. High school actually gives you an opportunity to discover a real YOU and grow as a person, but it's important that any change should come from within.

Make friends with a variety of people. Try to break out of your comfort zone by starting a conversation with people, especially strangers.     2     Over time, you'll develop a friend group filled with unique individuals that like you for who you are and add a lot of value to your life. But do remember — Stay away from the ones who hold negative attitudes towards everything.

Spare regular time for exercise.     3     However, even if you're not involved in a sport, try to exercise every day. Though you may feel like your study schedule is jam-packed, remember that staying fit will help improve your school performance.

Don't avoid interacting with your teachers. You don't have to be a teacher's pet, though.     4     If possible, spend a few minutes before or after class talking with your teachers about things related to their subject.

With these tips to survive high school, you will surely be proud of graduating as an all-round approaching adult.