Shortly before I started at the State Department, a former Secretary of State called me with this advice: Don't try to do too much.
我到国务院上任前不久，一位前国务卿打电话对我忠言以告：做事不要贪多。There was nobody to tell him, to hint him, to give him at least a word of advice.
没有人告诉他，或暗示他，或起码给他一句忠言。Fortunately, his wife found out the truth not too late. She kept urging her husband to stop. However, She failed all the time.
妻子也算是发觉得早，她不断苦劝沉迷于赌博的丈夫，而张志业把妻子的忠言当作耳边风。Write down the advice of him that loves you.
爱你的忠言且记下，即使你目前不爱它。She would also do well to get a trusted friend to give her a dummy interview and tell her some home truths about how she comes across.
她也可以找一个可信赖的朋友来一场模拟面试，对她的表现提一些逆耳忠言。Unfortunately my advice didn't seem to help much but we were more careful when we hired new staff after that incident.
但是我的忠言并没有太大帮助，从那以后，我们聘用新职员的时候就更加谨慎了。Many Chinese are prone to put in their two cents to friends as well-meaning advice.
許多老中為了好意喜歡對朋友提出忠言。Write down the advice of him that loves you, though you like it not at present.
爱你的忠言而且记下，即使你现在不爱它。Unless his conduct improves, he'll have to be told a few home truths.
除非他的行为有所改进，否则他就得听到逆耳忠言。