人生不設(shè)限·你真的準(zhǔn)備好了嗎

在評估時，還得考慮時機。有時——特別是在你年輕時——一些誘人的機會出現(xiàn)的時機可能不太對。例如，你不會想在自己還不夠格或還沒準(zhǔn)備好的情況下，接受某一份工作，就好像你不應(yīng)該急著去進行自己負(fù)擔(dān)不起的奢華之旅，因為要付出的代價太高了，事后你可能得花很長的時間才能恢復(fù)。

Timing is another consideration when making these assessments. Sometimes, especially when you are young, tempting offers present themselves, but the timing may be off. You don't want to accept a job that you aren't qualified for or prepared to master, just as you shouldn't rush off on a luxury vacation you can't afford. The cost is too high. It will take you too long to recover.

我演說生涯初期犯下的重大錯誤之一，就是我在其實還沒準(zhǔn)備好要面對一大群聽眾之前，就接了下一個大型演講的邀約。當(dāng)然，不是說我沒啥好講的，只是我還沒把自己要講的東西組織好，表達技巧也還鍛煉得不夠完善。所以，我缺乏完成那次演講的自信。

One of the biggest mistakes I made early in my public speaking career was accepting an invitation to address a large audience before I'd really prepared for such a thing. It wasn't that I had nothing to say, I just hadn't organized my material or honed my presentation. As a result, I lacked the self-confidence to pull it off.

我結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地講完，大家都對我很好，但我真的搞砸了。不過等情緒平復(fù)之后，我也從那次的經(jīng)驗中學(xué)到，我應(yīng)該抓住的是那些我完全準(zhǔn)備好、處理得來的機會。這不是說你不應(yīng)該抓住某個機會或選擇，好強迫自己借此擴展境界和成長，因為我們的狀況有時比自己知道的要好，因此上帝會推我們一下，讓我們應(yīng)時而起，朝著自己的夢想邁一大步。

I stuttered and stammered through that speech. People were kind to me, but I had blown it. But I learned from the experience, recovered, and realized that I should seize only those moments that I am fully prepared to handle. That's not to say that you shouldn't jump on an offer or an option that forces you to stretch and grow. Sometimes we're more prepared than we realize, so God gives us a nudge that allows us to rise to the occasion and take a giant step toward our dreams.

當(dāng)紅的選秀節(jié)目《美國偶像》就是根據(jù)這樣的概念制作的。有許多年輕的參賽者在壓力之下崩潰，或是了解到他們根本還沒準(zhǔn)備好要進入演藝圈。然而偶爾總有些平凡人會冒出來，并且在強烈的壓力下大放異彩。

American Idol, the hit television show, is built on that concept. In each episode, many of the young contestants crack under the pressure, or realize that they simply aren't ready for stardom. But now and then a raw talent emerges and blossoms under the intense pressure. A select few, notably Carrie Under-wood, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daugherty, and Kelly Clarkson, have launched wonderful careers because they stretched, grew, and kept rising.

你必須衡量各種選擇，并細心評估，看看哪些是能夠帶你到目的地的踏腳石，哪些又會讓你失足跌倒。就像我遇上的第一個電影提案一樣，你也會碰到那種可以帶給你短期好處，卻不符合你的長期目標(biāo)的機會。別忘了，今天你作了什么樣的決定，就會帶給你什么樣的明天——年輕人不太了解這一點，所以常常在還沒想清楚這個人是否適合長久在一起時，就快速跳入一段親密關(guān)系里。

You need to weigh your options and carefully consider which stepping-stones will lead you to your goals, and which might cause you to slip and fall. Like me and the first movie role I was offered, you will come across opportunities that would serve a short-term goal but don't match up to your long-term objectives. Your decisions today will follow you into tomorrow. Often young people jump into relationships without considering whether the person is good for them over the long term.

在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上，我們要非常注意安全問題，不論是財務(wù)狀況、名聲或我們必須保護的私生活都要小心。我們要假設(shè)，你在網(wǎng)絡(luò)世界所做的每一件事——有你出現(xiàn)在里頭的照片和影片、你發(fā)的每封E-mail、在網(wǎng)志上發(fā)表的每篇文章、你網(wǎng)頁上的每則評論——都會在某時某地出現(xiàn)在搜尋引擎上，而且它們在地球上存活的時間可能比你長。一旦你不假思索就把一些東西放到網(wǎng)絡(luò)上，日后它們會如何對你糾纏不休?請仔細想想這樣做的后果，然后要記住，在評估機會時也是如此。機會帶來的結(jié)果可能會幫助你或傷害你，而無論是幫助或傷害，都會是長期的。短期的好處或許看來很棒，但長遠的后果會是什么呢?

We're often reminded how security conscious we need to be when it comes to the Internet, whether it is our financial selves, our public reputation, or our private life that we need to protect. We're reminded that you've got to assume that everything you do—every photograph and video you appear in, every e-mail you send, every blog you write, every comment on your Web page—will show up in a search engine somewhere at some point and will exist on earth probably longer than you do. Just as you have to think carefully about how the things you post online without thinking can come back to haunt you, remember that the same is true in our lives when we evaluate opportunities that come our way. They have long-term consequences—which can help you or hurt you. The short-term benefits may look great, but what will the long-term repercussions be?

往后退一點，宏觀地來看。請記住，你經(jīng)常接受考驗，但人生可不是一場考試，它是玩真的。你每天所作的決定會影響你的一生，所以請仔細評估，然后聽聽你的直覺和你的心怎么說。如果直覺告訴你，這不是個好主意，那就聽直覺的吧。但如果你的心告訴你要把握機會，而這個機會又符合你的價值觀及長期目標(biāo)，那就去做吧!有時候，某些提議會讓我興奮到全身起雞皮疙瘩，迫不及待想要趕緊投入，但我必須沉住氣，祈求上帝賜給我智慧，作出正確的決定。

Step back and look at the big picture. Remember, you are often tested, but life itself is not a test. It's the real deal. The decisions you make every day impact the quality of your entire life. Assess carefully, then check your gut and your heart. If your gut tells you something's a bad idea, go with your gut. But if your heart tells you to leap at an opportunity—and it is aligned with your values and long-term goals—make the leap! There are still times when an offer arises that gives me goose bumps and I'm so excited that I want to just dive right in. But then I need to take a breath and pray for the wisdom to make the right decision.