基本上可以肯定的是大多数成功不是一蹴而就或与生俱来的，虽然在当今社会成功靠运气的成分越来越明显，但是无论如何，每个人都不应该拿自己的命运当赌注而停滞不前或守株待兔。自己的人生自己做主，只有自己才能创造真正属于自己的人生。难怪在英语中表示”成功的“单词 successful 的拼写很长，而且对应的比较级和最高级更长，它们是 more successful 和 most successful，看来成功的确是需要付出很大的努力。Successful 常用于搭配 successful in sth/in doing sth 或 successful at sth/at doing sth，例如：I wasn't very successful at keeping the news secret.我没能把这条消息严格保密。They were successful in winning the contract.他们终于争取到了那份合同。表达成功可以用一个比较简单的短语 make it big 来表示，它还可以表示成名或在经济上很成功，相当于 become famous 或 become successful。这个短语的结构是 make 很常用的一个结构，也就是 make sth + adj，其中 make 意为“使变得，使成为”，例如：1. make it big:My dream is to make it big on Broadway.我的梦想是在百老汇大放异彩。You're never going to make it big if you don't put in the hard work.如果你不努力工作，就永远不会成功。By the time he was nineteen, he had made it big in the music business.到他十九岁时，他已经在音乐界大显身手了。Regardless of being very skilled it took him numerous years before he made it big in the New York city.尽管他技艺超群，但他花了很多年才在纽约大展拳脚。2. make sth + adj:The news made him very happy.这则消息使他非常高兴。Can you make yourself understood in Russian?你能用俄语表达你的意思吗？
缩减版的 make it 同样也可以用来表示获得成功，通常表示在职业或是工作上的成功，例如：He never really made it as an actor.他从来就不是一个成功的演员。She’s a very good dancer but I’m not sure she’ll make it as a professional.她跳舞跳得很好，但我不确定她是否能成为一名职业舞者。可能大家已经在美剧中发现 make it 及其其他形态的身影，比如 I made it，意为”我成功了，我做到了“等，其实 make it 还有几个常见的意思。1. make it 意为“准时到达”，尤指在困难情况下，例如：The train leaves in ten minutes. Hurry up or we won’t make it.火车十分钟后开。快点，否则我们赶不上了。We just made it in time for the wedding.我们刚好及时地赶上婚礼。2. make it 意为“能够出席或到场”，尤指在困难情况下，例如：I'm sorry I won't be able to make it on Saturday.很抱歉，星期六我不能出席。I don’t think we’ll make it before dark.我想我们天黑前到不了。3. make it 意为“幸免于难，渡过难关”，例如：Do you think she’s going to make it, doctor?医生，你认为她能挺过来吗？It’s really too soon to say.现在说还为时过早。
