智慧人生:經典哲理散文十字路口的抉擇
Would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.
“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.
“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
- Quote from the Alice in Wonderland Movie
十字路口的抉擇
“你能告訴我從這兒我該走哪條路嗎？”愛麗絲問。
“那在很大程度上取決於你想去哪兒。”貓回道。
“哪兒都可以，我不在乎。”
“那麼你走哪條路也就無關緊要了。”
——引自《愛麗絲夢遊仙境》
My brother called me the other day and asked me for some advice? He was trying to decide between two job offers:
Job 1 – The first job was your typical 40 hour a week “office” job.
Job 2 – The second job was more of a career in the insurance industry, where he would start at the bottom, and after many years and many long hours eventually rise to the top (if he was good). The second job did not pay as well as the first job (initially), but the potential pay-off of the second job was much greater than the first job.
So which job should my brother take? Well the answer is…it depends.
Just like the Cat was trying to tell Alice, which road you take depends a great deal on where you want to end up.
一天，弟弟打電話想徵求些我的意見，他要在兩份工作中做出選擇：
工作1——典型的一週40個小時的“辦公室”工作
工作2——在保險行業的工作，需要從基層做起，可以經過多年和長時間努力後最終升職到高層（如果他足夠優秀的話）
顯然，第二份工作的薪水不如第一份豐厚（在剛開始時），但是第二份工作潛在的薪水支付遠遠多於第一份工作。
那麼，弟弟應該選哪份工作呢？答案當然還是……取決於他自己想得到什麼。
就如貓告訴愛麗絲的，你選擇哪條路在很大程度上取決於你想停到哪，想到哪去。
Begin with the End in Mind
I asked my brother what was his life’s purpose. He said his purpose is to “teach,” but he wants to make a lot of money first.
I told my brother to forget about the money, and I advised him to focus on his purpose.
I then asked him which job best supports his end result of “teaching.” He said the first job best supports his goal because he would only have to work 40 hours a week, which would give him spare time to teach.
He continued on to say, but if I take job number two, I can work hard and make more money, then I can retire early and “teach” later in life. I again advised him to “focus” on his purpose, not money.
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I cautioned him to think this process through carefully because things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!
思而後行
我問弟弟他的人生目標是什麼，他說目標就是“教書”，但想先掙些錢。
我告訴他要忘記金錢，要專注於自己的目標理想。
我又問他哪個工作對他的目標“教學”最有幫助，他說是第一份，因爲他只需一週工作40個小時，這樣的話就會有閒餘時間來教書。
他接着說，“如果我選擇第二份工作，我可以努力掙很多錢，然後提早退休，用剩餘的時間教書。聽他這樣說，我提醒他要專注與自己的理想而不是錢。
我告誡他須謹慎考慮，因爲很多事不是錯誤的結束，而是一開始就是錯誤的。
You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well
It would be very difficult to have a successful teaching career while you’re working 70-80 hours a week in the insurance business; no one can ride two horses well. As they say, you can do anything, but not everything.
I recommended to my brother that he dedicate his time to achieving his life’s purpose, and I advised him to get started today by choosing the job that best supports that decision.
一人難馭兩馬
既要有成功的教學事業，又需在保險行業中一週工作70-80個小時，這會是很難實現的；沒有人可以同時駕馭好兩匹馬，就如人們所說，你可以做任何事情但無法完成一切事情。
我提議他用時間去實現生命中的目標。選擇對其有益的工作，從現在就開始。
Tomorrow Never Comes
My brother was thinking that he could always start teaching later in life, but the reality is, tomorrow never comes.
Unless you decide right now to pursue your passions, they will probably never be fulfilled. They will always be postponed until some nebulous time in the future. You will eventually “miss out” in the one area where you could have had the greatest impact on the world.
You only live once, don’t go to your grave with one regret; don’t postpone your purpose.
明日不再來
弟弟總是想着可以在以後的日子裏教書，但事實是，明日不再來。除非你立馬就下決心追尋自己那也許永遠都不會實現的目標，所以它們總是被推遲延後到將來某些不確定的時間。最終，你會錯過自己本應對這個世界有些許影響的區域。
人只活一次，不要讓自己帶着遺憾離開，不要延後自己的目標。
The Money Will Come
My brother seemed to be overly concerned with making money. I told him not to be anxious about making money. The fear of not making money is the quickest way not to make it.
You will always have greater money making potential when you’re doing what you love.
In conclusion, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the overall mission and goal of your life. If you do, then you will be well on your way.
What advice would you have given my brother? What are some other cross-roads where this advice would be applicable?
錢總會有的
弟弟似乎對掙錢過於關心，我對他說不要着急掙錢，因爲不能掙錢的“速效方法”就是擔心掙不到錢。
當一個人做他喜歡做的事時，他總會有很多潛在的錢。
總之，無論你何時處在十字路口，要確定做出對生命中大體的任務和目標最有益的抉擇，如果你這樣做了，就會在人生之路上一帆風順。
對於我弟弟的情況，你還有什麼建議？這些建議還可以在哪些別的人生十字路口起到作用？
