心靈雞湯:30歲來臨時悟出的人生30個道理(上)

Since today is my 30th birthday I thought it fitting to share 30 things I understand now that were complete mysteries to me just a few short years ago. These are simple lessons about life in general that I picked up while traveling, living in different cities, working for different companies (and myself), and meeting remarkable and unusual people everywhere in between.

今天是我30歲生日，正好可以告訴大家我近幾年剛剛明白的30個道理。這些簡單的人生經驗之談，都是我從旅行中，從不同城市、不同公司（包括自己公司）的生活和工作經歷中，從與世界各地優秀人物的交往中拾取的。

1. There comes a point in life when you get tired of chasing everyone and trying to fix everything, but it's not giving up. It's realizing you don't need certain people and things and the drama they bring. 當你在生活中厭倦了追趕衆人、凡事追求完美的時候，不要放棄理想，而是認識到有些人、有些事以及相應的場面是你不需要的。

2. If a person wants to be a part of your life he will make an obvious effort to do so. Don't bother reserving a space in your heart for people who do not make an effort to stay. 假如某人想成爲你生命中的一部分，他應當爲此付出努力。犯不着在心靈裏爲那些無意停留的人預備一個空間。

3. If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down—which is not always as obvious and easy as it sounds. 想要飛翔，就得擺脫那些令你下墜的東西——這些東西有時不是那麼顯而易見的。

4. Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. 哪怕失敗的行動也十倍勝過什麼都不做。

5. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You don't fail by falling down. You fail by never getting back up. Sometimes you just have to forget how you feel, remember what you deserve, and keep pushing forward. 每一個成功的背後都有失敗的蹤跡，而每一次失敗都通向成功。摔倒不是失敗，再也不爬起來纔是失敗。有時候你只要忘記自己的感受而牢記自己的目標，並一直向前推進。

6. When you get to know people with different ethnic backgrounds, from different cities and countries, who live at various socioeconomic levels, you begin to realize that everyone basically wants the same things. They want validation, love, happiness, fulfillment and hopes for a better future. The way they pursue these desires is where things branch off, but the fundamentals are the same. You can relate to almost everyone everywhere if you look past the superficial facades that divide us. 結識來自不同種族背景、不同城市和國家，處於社會不同階層的人後，你會了解到每個人都有同樣的基本需求，那就是得到認可、獲得愛情和幸福、得以自我實現和對美好明天的希冀。他們追逐夢想的途徑各不相同，但本質上是一致的。透過看似不同的膚淺表象你可以理解世界上每一個人。

7. The more things you own, the more your things own you. Less truly gives you more freedom. Read "The Joy of Less". 你擁有的越多，受到的束縛就越大。“簡單”真的能給你更多的自由。請讀一下《The Joy of Less》這本書。

8. While you're busy looking for the perfect person, you'll probably miss the imperfect person who could make you perfectly happy. This is as true for friendships as it is for intimate relationships. Finding a companion or a friend isn't about trying to transform yourself into the perfect image of what you think they want. It's about being exactly who you are and then finding someone who appreciates that. 在你忙於尋找完美佳人時，很可能會錯過那個能給你最完美幸福的不完美的人。無論是情人關係還是朋友關係，這都是真理。尋找伴侶或朋友，不是讓自己去迎合什麼人對完美的想象，而是展現真實的自我並找到那個能欣賞它的人。

9. Relationships must be chosen wisely. It's better to be alone than to be in bad company. There's no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen—in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. 要明智地選擇自己的人際關係。與其交個壞朋友倒不如獨處。不必倉促行事，該發生的總會發生——因了最巧的機緣，在合適的時間出現了合適的人。

10. Making a thousand friends is not a miracle. A miracle is making one friend who will stand by your side when thousands are against you. 交一千個朋友不算奇蹟，奇蹟是當千萬人跟你作對時，有一個人站在你一邊。

11. Someone will always be better looking. Someone will always be smarter. Someone will always be more charismatic. But they will never be you – with your exact ideas, knowledge and skills. 總會有人比你更漂亮、更聰明、更有魅力，但他們都不可能成爲你——擁有你獨特的思想、知識和技能。

12. Making progress involves risk. Period. You can't make it to second base with your foot on first. 取得進步總要冒些風險。沒說的，你不可能站在一壘接住二壘的球。

13. Every morning you are faced with two choices: You can aimlessly stumble through the day not knowing what's going to happen and simply react to events at a moment's notice, or you can go through the day directing your own life and making your own decisions and destiny. Read "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". 每天早晨你都面臨兩種選擇：漫無目的無所事事平平庸庸蹉跎一日？還是獨立自主把握人生與命運度過一天？讀一下《高效能人士的七個習慣》。

14. Everyone makes mistakes. If you can't forgive others, don't expect others to forgive you. To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you. 每個人都會犯錯誤，如果你不原諒別人，就別指望別人會原諒你。寬恕是釋放囚徒，這個囚徒原來正是你自己。

15. It's okay to fall apart for a little while. You don't always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn't be concerned with what other people are thinking either —cry if you need to—it's healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again. 偶爾崩潰一下也沒關係。不必總是冒充強大，不必總是冒充諸事順遂。你用不着介意人人都想做的事——想哭就哭吧，淚水流出來有利於健康。早一點流淚，就能早一點再次微笑。