◎ Stephen
The air we breathe is so freely available that we take it for granted. Yet without it we could not survive more than a few minutes. For the most part, the same air is available to everyone, and everyone needs it. Some people use the air to sustain them while they sit around and feel sorry for themselves. Others breathe in the air and use the energy it provides to make a magnificent life for them.
空氣到處都有,我們是如此容易得到它,以至于我們常將此視為理所當(dāng)然。然而,一旦失去它,我們就只能活上幾分鐘。基本上,誰(shuí)都能呼吸到空氣,誰(shuí)也都需要空氣。有的人呼吸空氣只為了碌碌無(wú)為地活著,或是在懊悔中度過(guò)余生。有的人呼吸空氣并利用它提供的能量,讓自己的生活豐富多彩。
Opportunity is the same way. It is everywhere. Opportunity is so freely available that we take it for granted. Yet opportunity alone is not enough to create success. Opportunity must be seized and acted upon in order to have value. So many people are so anxious to “get in” on a “ground floor opportunity”, as if the opportunity will do all the work. That’s impossible.
機(jī)會(huì)也是如此。機(jī)會(huì)無(wú)處不在。機(jī)會(huì)如此易得,以至于我們將此視為理所應(yīng)當(dāng)。然而機(jī)會(huì)本身并不能創(chuàng)造成功。必須抓住機(jī)會(huì),見(jiàn)機(jī)行事,創(chuàng)造價(jià)值。許多人都渴望能奪得先機(jī),似乎只要奪得先機(jī)就能萬(wàn)事大吉。這是不可能的。
Just as you need air to breathe, you need opportunity to succeed. It takes more than just breathing in the fresh air of opportunity, however. You must make use of that opportunity. That’s not up to the opportunity. That’s up to you. It doesn’t matter what “floor” the opportunity is on. What matters is what you do with it.
正如你需要呼吸空氣一樣,你需要機(jī)會(huì)才能成功。然而成功靠的并不僅僅是唾手可得的機(jī)會(huì)。你必須利用機(jī)會(huì)。成功并不取決于機(jī)會(huì),而是取決于你自己。重要的并不是你在哪一個(gè)階段遇到機(jī)會(huì),而是面對(duì)機(jī)會(huì)時(shí)你做了什么。