爱华网Did you ever notice, while driving to work or just out andabout, those fancy RVs (recreational vehicles) go by, with bikeshanging off the back and stuff all over the roof, and wonder whatit would be like to be the guy or gal driving that thing?
当你开车去上班或者只是随意走走时，可曾注意到那些来来往往的车，车后挂辆自行车，车顶堆满了东西？是否很好奇开着这么一辆车子的会是怎样的一个人？
Did you ever wonder where they might be going, or where youwould go if that really was you?
是否曾想过他们会去哪儿？或者如果是你，你会去什么地方呢？
Do you imagine that the folks inside are on a long-awaitedvacation? Kids laughing and singing while they drive to the beach,the mountains, or a resort somewhere?
有没有想过这也许是他们期待已久的度假旅游呢？孩子们的欢声笑语充满着整条通向沙滩、山间或者某个度假胜地的小路。
Do you wonder how you could ever afford such a junket? How youcan ever get ahead when it seems that you are running in place,with earthquake set-backs every so often for good measure?
你是不是想知道怎么样你才能也来次这样的旅游呢？当你似乎一直停滞不前，并时不时有逆境阻扰，你怎样才能前进呢？
Are you getting tired of this life ofyours?
你是不是对现在的生活感到疲倦了呢？
I’d like to give you a sneak peek inside a world you may knowlittle about. Or perhaps you’ve heard someone mention it andwondered what it was?
我想带你到一个你知之甚少的世界。或许你已经听别人提起过，想知道它到底是什么？
First, I want you to form a picture in yourmind. The central character is you. Around you are thosepeople that you most love being around. And the activity that youare engaging in is that which you love the most.
首先，我要你先在脑海里构思一副图景。你是中心人物，围绕在你身旁的都是你最喜爱的人，参加的也都是你最喜欢的活动。
Love your work? Great! Hate your job? Great! Love spending timewith your family? Great! Crave sitting in a hot tub with gorgeousgals or guys all over you? Great!
很热爱你的工作？很好！讨厌你的工作？没关系！喜欢和家人齐聚？不错！想泡在热乎乎的浴缸了，左拥右抱美女帅哥？没问题！
Why am I doing this? Am I trying to depress youby reminding you of everything that you don’t have in yourlife?
我这是在做什么呢？ 我在提醒你、打击你 – 这一切你都没有？
No I am not. Instead, I am daring you to dreamagain. Honestly. I am encouraging you to seriouslyconsider, perhaps for the first time in your life, thepossibilities that your life could hold for you if only you knewhow to achieve them.
不。相反，我在鼓励你再次发挥想象。说真的。我在鼓励你认真地思考下自己掌握生活的可能性只要你懂得如何实现梦想，或许你是第一次思考这个问题。
And then I am going to tell you exactly how youcan achieve them.
那么接下来，我讲告诉你如何实现这些梦想。
No, I am not selling anything! There is no catch. And yet whatyou will do to achieve your dreams will not be free or awalk-in-the-park.
不，我并不是推销什么！这并不值得我这么做。不过你为梦想所做的努力是有代价的，也不是随便做做就行的。
But it is achievable. And it is much easier than youimagine.
但是梦想可以实现，并且远比你想象的容易。
The reasons that most people fail to pursue their dreams aretypically one or more of the following:
1) They get overwhelmed with the everyday
2) They imagine that their dreams are not realisticallyachievable
3) They follow the crowd, and the crowd is not living itsdreams
4) They think that their dream life will require tons ofmoney
5) Peer pressure keeps them on their current life path
6) They think that guys like me are living in a fantasy of our own– that none of this can possibly be true – at least not for regularpeople – unless they win the lottery or something.
阻止我们大部分人追寻梦想的不外乎以下几条：
1）已被日常生活打磨的毫无激情了2）以为梦想是不切实际的3）随波逐流-而大众刚好不为梦想而活4）以为梦想需要大量金钱做铺垫5）同伴的压力迫使他们按部就班6）以为像我这样的家伙只是活在自己的幻想中-什么都是不真实的 – 至少对于普通人来说 – 除非他们中大奖了或者天上掉馅饼什么的
Do any of the above reasons sound familiar to you?
这些是不是很眼熟？
If you would prefer a change in your life, but you arenot currently pursuing that change, ask yourself“Why?”
如果你很希望生活能有所改变，但你却并没有付诸行动，问下自己“为什么？”
Why don’t you do something? Are you afraid of failing? Ofsucceeding? Of disapproval of your true desires by those closest toyou? Are you embarrassed by your dreams? Do you think maybe youdon’t deserve such a life? Do you hardly have time to read thisarticle, much less do anything else right now?
为什么不做点什么呢？害怕失败？害怕改变成功？害怕周围的人否定你内心最真实的意愿？为自己的梦想感到尴尬？或者你以为自己不配拥有这样的生活？现在你是不是连看这篇文章的时间都没有，更不用说有所行动了？
I am going to challenge you to convince me that you simplycannot pursue your genuine dreams right now.
我要你马上坚定地告诉我：你就是无法追求自己真实的梦想。
I want you to write down, on a piece of paper or whatever, allof the reasons why you simply cannot live the life that you trulydeserve, starting today.
我要你从今天开始，把所有阻碍你追求你本该拥有的生活的理由都写下来，写在纸上或者其他东西上。
I’ll just wait here while you do that………
Hmmm hmm hmm…….
Done yet?
Good. Let’s take a look at that.
好，那么我们来看下。
Oh, I see..Reads a lot like that list I just read to you above,doesn’t it? And I see that you weren’t joking. Some of you haveserious responsibilities right now. Stuff that you just cannot blowoff, no matter how much you might like to.
噢，明白了。看起来跟上面我提到的那些很像，不是吗？而且我也知道你不是开玩笑的。有些人现在的责任很重，有些东西，不管你喜不喜欢，都不是你想放就能放手的。
One of you is caring for a sick loved one. Yeah, that’s atoughie. What else do we have here? Hmmm. And I see that anotherone of you is working hard for a promotion. You’ve spent yearsgetting to this point, so you just can’t drop out now. You’d bethrowing out all of that effort that got you to this point. You arejust about to cash in on your efforts.
And one of you owns a business? Or perhaps it owns you?
Ok, A lot of pretty good excuses (I mean reasons) as to why youjust cannot pursue your dreams right now. A few really aredifficult to deal with. But most of them are well within yourcontrol. If you choose to take control, that is.
Fine, why don’t those of you with the best reasons just stopreading now. You won’t need to hear any more. You have my sinceresympathies. I wish you the best.
有个人正在照顾生病的爱人。嗯，这是个难题。那么还有什么其他的理由呢？恩..我看到另外有个人在为升职苦苦奋斗。花了好几年才取得今天的成绩，要你现在放手谈何容易。你会说你为了今天的成绩做出了多少的努力，而你觉得努力的结果应该用金钱体现。还有一个说他拥有生意？还是生意拥有你？好了，现在请停止那些好像很不错的理由了，你该多听听，我希望你可以是最好的。
If you are still with me, I appreciate what you just did. Yousee, you just did something that most of us rarely do.You put yourself first.
如果你现在还跟随我看这篇文章，那么我很感谢。你看，你所做的都是我们大部分人很少做的。你把自己放在第一位。
Our culture teaches us that to put yourself first isselfish. And selfishness is a bad thing. Sharing is good.And serving others.
我们的文化教育我们，把自己放在第一位是自私的。自私是一件很糟糕的事情。与他人分享、为别人服务才是好事。
We are told that you should derive your highestsatisfaction from waiting on those around you.
我们被告知：你应该从服务身边人那得到最高的满足感。
But you don’t really believe that, do you? Have you everbelieved that? Have you ever really derived any true pleasure fromserving people? I’m not talking about volunteering at the localsoup kitchen – anyone would derive satisfaction from helping outpeople who really need our help.
I’m talking about waiting on those people around you – family,friends, lazy bosses and co-workers, and various hangers-on.
不过你对此并不是深信不疑的不是吗？你信吗？你真得从服务他人那得到过纯粹的快乐？我并不是指在当地施食处的施善行为 –任何人都会从帮助真正需要帮助的人那得到满足感。
我指的是服务你身边的人 – 家人、朋友、懒惰的老婆、同事和各种各样前呼后拥的人。
Any of us who work hard are likely carrying an armloadof others with us.
我们每个人辛辛苦苦地工作，多半是为了负担起我们身边的那些人
Is that fun for you? But you have no choice, right? You have aduty to these people, right? Well, at least to some of them? Andthe rest you tolerate because your spouse or other high influenceindividual won’t let you kick them out?
这样很有趣？不过你并无选择对吗？你对他们有这个义务对吗？至少对其中某些人？至于你还要忍受其他人是因为你的伴侣或者其他对你影响非常大的人不允许你就这么把他们统统踹开了？
How much of your efforts, do you estimate, are really tocover the extra expense and burdens of these hangerson?
有多少努力是真正用来承担起身边人额外的费用和负担你有算过吗？
OK, and how about taxes. If you work hard you probably pay a lotof these too. But they are necessary, right? I mean, we heareveryday about the huge bonuses that the top executives at defensecontractors are getting, right? And all of those hard workingpeople down at the DMV need to be paid, too. And then there is themonumental waste. But taxes are the same everywhere, aren’tthey?
And who knows who else is relying on you to keep on driving towork, and forget about those crazy ideas.
It was all just a momentary daydream, anyway, wasn’t it?
好吧，还有税收呢。如果你辛勤工作，可能也要交一大堆的税收。不过这是必须的不是吗？我的意思是说，每天我们都听说防卫工程承包商的高层管理人员拿到丰厚的奖金，是吧？那些在机动车部门勤勤恳恳工作的人也需要得到报酬。这样就造成巨大的浪费。但是税收到处都一样不是吗？
天知道还有谁依赖着你，让你一刻不停地拼命工作，忘记这些疯狂的主意。
终究，这只是一晃而过的白日梦不是吗？
But let’s stick with this and see where it might go.Just for fun.
How much effort would you need to expend merely tosupport you and those you care about most, at minimum?
Do you know this number?
不过让我们继续来看看，看它到底会怎样。只是娱乐下。
仅仅是为了供养自己和你最关爱的人，你最少需要付出多少努力呢？
知道这个数字吗？
Minus all of the hangers-on and involuntary expenses that I justmentioned? Now factor out all of the stuff you buy to keep up withthe latest things, or just to entertain yourself at the mall. Didyou really need that 3-way automatic wizbang device in your homeshop, guys? Ladies, did you really need that thirtieth pair ofshoes?
And then there is health care. If you’ve been sick lately, youknow how unbelievably expensive medical care is today in the US.You need to work just to pay for health insurance.
What else is there? House payment, car payments, fuel, parkingfees and tolls. Food for the hungry munchkins in your home, and ofcourse, you.
扣掉我刚提到的为无关紧要的人和施善的花费？现在把所有那些也为了保持潮流或者只是在商场享受购物而买的东西剔除掉。男士们，你们店里真的需要那种3路阀自动威治邦设备？女士们，你们真的需要那30双鞋？
然后是关于医疗保健。如果你最近生过病，你就会知道现在美国医疗护理费用有多么昂贵，简直是难以置信。为了买得起健康保险，你也需努力工作。
还有什么呢？ 房贷、车贷、汽油费、停车费和通行费，还有给家里嗷嗷待哺的人和你自己的食物。
What you are doing now is a quick lifestyleaudit.
You are thinking about why you need to work. And work takes upmost of the time of those of us who are employed.
你在想我到底为什么需要工作呢。工作占用了我们打工者大部分的时间。
Time is the one resource that you cannotduplicate. Your only have so much of it. And the time youspend doing whatever you do every day defines your life.
时间是无法复制的资源。你只有这么多时间。而你每天花时间来做的事情就定义了你所过的生活。
You are also considering your life’spriorities. By breaking down the cost of things by theimportance that they have in your life, you are discovering whatyou may be able to abandon some day, and what really matters toyou.
你也在思索生活中应予优先考虑的事。根据重要性来分解成本，你就会发现什么是将来某一天就没用可弃的东西，而什么才是对你最重要的东西。
How much do you really need to work to support justthose things that you voluntarily choose to support?
And what about the not-so-obvious expenses that you may notreally need to carry?
为了承担你自愿承担的东西，到底你需要付出多少努力呢？
还有那些不是那么明显而你实际并不需要承担的花费呢？
For example, where does the vast majority of your moneygo?
比如说，你大部分的钱跑到哪里去了？
Do you really need that huge house? All of those cars? How muchof your auto expense is related to commuting to work? Or runningthe kids around to incessant activities? Do they really need to beinvolved in all of that stuff? Do they really want to? Could youachieve the same thing by just letting them have some sleep-overswith their friends? What will that cost you? A couple of peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches and a bowl of cereal in themorning?
你真的需要那么大的房子？那些车子？花在车子上的钱有多少是跟上班有关？或者让孩子不断地参加各种活动？他们真的需要参加这种东西吗？他们真的想参加吗？或许让孩子们跟他们的朋友在外面过过夜也能达到同样的效果？这样能花你几个钱呢？早餐的一些花生酱、果冻三明治和一碗麦片粥？
Now you can determine your true cost ofliving.
OK, Great. Now hold that number.
Add to that the costs associated with a moderate involvementwith those newly prioritized activities that you truly love. Thisis about you putting what you love first. And what about yourfamily? They have loves too! And with all of this newly freed upcapital, they can afford to live it up, too.
现在你可以算下自己生活的真实成本了。
好，不错。现在留着这个数字。
然后加上适量参加重新排选过你所热爱的活动的费用。这是把你热爱的先排第一。还有你的家人呢？他们也有他们喜爱的！用这些新多出来的钱，他们也能过自己想要的生活。
Now, how much do you really need to have each month tolive a life with your loved ones truly crafted by you? Alife built directly around what matters to you most?
Not really that bad, is it? And you haven’t really sacrificedanything important to you. Just a lot of fluff and stuff you didn’twant or need anyway.
现在算算，为了和你所爱之人过上你精心设计的生活 – 生活中只有对你最重要的人和事，每个月到底需要多少钱呢？
情况并没有那么糟糕，不是吗？而你也没有牺牲掉真正对你重要的东西。只不过是些你并不需要的有的没的的东西。
So, how do you get from where you are to this “dreamlife?”
One careful step at a time, my friend.
Some of these steps will be easy. Others can be quitecomplicated. But every single one of them can be achieved byyou.
How much energy do you think that you should put into an effortlike this? Well, how important to you is your quality of life? Howbadly do you want to be happy?
You get the idea.
那么，如何改变现状过上这么“理想的生活”呢？
每一次每一步都要谨慎，我的朋友。有些阶段很容易就可以完成。有些可能很复杂。但是每一步你都可以完成。
你觉得这样要多少精力呢？恩，生活质量对你来说有多重要？你有多么渴望快乐？你知道的。
I call this processofre-craftingyourlife to fit your dreams “Creative Family LifestyleDesign,” and these days I spend most of my time writingabout it.
When I discovered this concept, after much difficulty and trailand error, I realized for the first time how huge it was. And howmuch people like you and me need to know about it.
That’s why I’m writing this article.
I hope that by reading this piece I have stirred up in you arealization of what your life could be like if you woke up one dayand decided to really live it.
Might today be that day? I hope so!
All the best,
我把这个为了梦想改变生活的过程叫做“创新家庭生活方式设计”，这几天我大部分时间都在写这个。经历很多艰辛尝试和错误，当我终于发现这个概念时，我第一次意识到它有多广泛，有多少像你我这样的人需要了解它。这也是我写这篇文章的初衷。我希望大家阅读这篇文章后能意识到真正的生活应该是怎么样的，如果某天你觉醒了并真正想去实现它。今天有可能就是那天吗？希望如此！
