Put the Effort in Every Day
As a young boy， I grew up with eight siblings in a tin—roofed shack in Summerfield， Louisiana。 I didn’t see my circumstance as an obstacle， even though we didn’t even have a real toilet in the house。 I saw my life more as a card that had been dealt to me and I tried to make the most of it。
I was the youngest of five boys and also had four sisters who had to pull together and take care of each other。 Dad wasn’t around， so I never knew him well。 He committed suicide when I was three years old， leaving Mom with the job of raising and providing for nine kids。 She worked at a sawmill running a forklift for fifty dollars a week and had another job at a poultry plant。 She was a very hard worker， and in order to make ends meet， she hardly ever rested。
My mom believed in doing all she could do to take care of her responsibilities， so no matter what， she never asked for a handout。 You can imagine： we kids didn’t get what we wanted， but we always got the things we needed。 With my mom as my example， I learned that hard work is the best way to get what you want。
While growing up， I was surrounded with temptations to do negative things like drugs， alcohol and all that。 I chose not to go there。 Even as a little boy， I knew I was going to be successful。 Some people take that to be cocky or conceited， but I wasn’t going to let anybody tell me that I couldn’t do whatever I set out to do。
Of course， I dreamed about what I wanted to be when I grew up。 At first， I wanted to be a state trooper， then I wanted to be in the Special Forces。 After a while， I decided that I wanted to drive eighteen—wheelers。 There was even a period of time that I wanted to be in construction。 I wanted to play football in high school; in fact， I still do。 But regardless of what I chose， I wanted to make my brothers， sisters and mom proud of me—not only by being successful in what I chose to do， but also as a person who could be looked up to for the right reasons。
Surprising as it might seem， basketball wasn’t in my plans。 One day， my mom cut a rim off an old water barrel and then held it up for me to throw an old rubber ball through。 By junior high， I started playing basketball on a team。 I loved to compete。 There was a positive high I got by going out and playing against other people and working hard to win。
For me， it paid off。 I just let my success in basketball take its course but I always put the effort in every day。 No matter what I’ve done， some people wait for my downfall， saying， “Karl Malone can’t do it。” Instead of letting people like that get to me， they are actually my motivation and I continue to prove them wrong every single day。 I try to do the best job I can in a positive way on and off the court。 I realize that no matter what I’m dealing with， there’s somebody else out there who has it a little bit worse off。 I’ve been there。 And I know that without continued hard work， I could be there again。
I am grateful for the life I’ve enjoyed as a basketball star。 But when I see these shirts that say “Basketball is life，” I think Yeah， right！ It is not life。 It can be exciting。 But the important thing about basketball is that it gives me a way to do good things for others as I move through this journey called life。
Success is really about choosing right from wrong， making a positive contribution to the world around you and valuing the things that are really important—like family and friend。
While everyone else was looking to popular athletes， actors and musicians as positive role models， my mom was my inspiration， and she continues to be all these years later。 She taught me that hard work never killed anybody。 My mom is my hero。 She， my family and friends bring me more joy than anything else in life does。
At the end of my life， I don’t want to be remembered as the kind of person who just sat on his rear end and said， “I’ve made it。” I don’t ever want to have to say that I didn’t give it everything that I’ve got。 Sure there are days that I don’t feel like working hard…but I do it anyway， because that’s who I am。
每一天都要努力
NBA巨星卡爾。馬龍
在路易斯安那州薩墨爾菲爾德的一間簡陋鐵皮屋頂房子裡，我和八個兄弟姐妹一起度過了我的童年。那裡甚至連一個像樣的廁所都沒有。但是，我並沒有把這樣的家庭環境看成是什麼不幸，而是把它看作一張發到自己手裡的牌，我要努力讓這張牌發揮出它最大的用處。
我是家裡五兄弟中最小的，另外還有四個姐妹，大家相依為命。父親已經不在了，他在我三歲時就自殺了，我對他幾乎沒有什麼印象。父親死後，撫養九個孩子的重擔就落在了母親的肩上。母親是鋸木廠開叉車的工人，每星期有50美元的收入。此外，她在家禽場兼了份工。我母親是個非常吃苦耐勞的女人，為了養家餬口，她拼命工作，幾乎沒有停息過。
她堅信只要自己努力就一定能夠養活全家，所以她從不接受別人的任何施捨。你可以想象我們這幫孩子的生活狀況：我們買不起自己想要的東西，但是日常生活的必需品還是能滿足的。從母親身上，我懂得了勤奮是獲得一切的最佳途徑。
隨著年齡的增長，我逐漸暴露在各種不良行為的誘惑之下，比如吸毒、酗酒，凡此種種。可我並沒有走上歧途，因為我從小就相信自己長大以後一定能大有作為。有些人將我的這種想法視為驕傲或自負，但我不這麼認為。只要我確定了自己想做的事情，就不允許別人說我做不到。
當然，我也夢想過長大以後想做什麼。起初，我想當國民警衛隊員，還想過進特種兵部隊。後來，我想當一名集裝箱大卡車司機。還有一段時間，我甚至想當一名建築工人。上高中的時候，我喜愛美式足球，直到現在我還依然喜歡。但不管我選擇做什麼，我的最終目的是要讓母親和兄弟姐妹們為我驕傲，不僅要為我在事業獲得成功而驕傲，更要為我受人尊重而驕傲。
說來也怪，籃球當時並沒有被列入我的人生計劃中。還記得有一天，母親把一隻舊水桶沿邊剪下一個圈來，為我舉著，讓我投橡皮球玩。到了國中，我開始在籃球隊裡打。我喜愛打比賽，與人比拼，努力取勝，它給我一種快感。對我來說，這叫做“天道酬勤”。我並不刻意卻爭搶成功和榮譽，但是我的的確確每天都在為此付出努力。不管我怎麼做，總有些人對我懷在敵意。他們說：“卡爾·馬龍不行。”我一點兒也不計較那些不中聽的話，相反，它們倒成了我拼搏的動力。不論賽場內外，我總是努力做到最好，每一天以自己的'實際行為證明他們的話是錯誤的。我也發現，不管從事的是什麼，身邊總有一些人是在退步。我也曾走下坡路，所以我明白不進則退的道理。
作為一個籃球明星，我很感謝生活賜予我的這一。當我看見這些T恤衫上寫著“籃球就是生命”時，我就想這說得簡直太對了。但其實籃球並不等於生命，儘管它很刺激。籃球能夠讓我在這段所謂“生命”的旅程中為別人做一些好事，我認為這才是最重要的。
成功其實意味著棄惡揚善，為你身邊的人們做點好事以及珍惜一切珍貴的東西，比如家人和朋友。
當人們都把某個著名的運動員、演員或者歌星視作自己崇拜的偶像時，我卻視母親為我的偶像。她是我的靈感之源，而且至今依然如此。她教導我說，勤奮工作從來不會累死人。她是我心目中的英雄。
母親、我的家人以及朋友所給予我的快樂是生活中其他任何事物所不能及的。
到我的生命走到盡頭的時候，我不願意給人們留下的印象是一屁股坐在那裡，對人說：“我已功成名就了。”我也不想告訴別人的是我的一切來得很容易，沒有付出最大的努力。當然，這中也有過放鬆的日子……但不管怎樣我還是要付出努力，因為那才是真實的我。
