书城成功励志遇见心想事成的自己
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第3章 把握生命的每一时刻 (3)

我会把今天当做生命中的最后一天,今天才是我的所有,现在的这些时光是我的永恒。我欣喜若狂地迎接新一天的到来,犹如被暂缓执行死刑的囚犯。我举起双手,想起那些迎接昨天的日出,今天却已不在人世的人。我确实无比幸运,今天的时光都是上帝赐予我的额外奖励。为什么我会得到这额外的一天,而那些比我更优秀的人却早已逝去呢?是不是因为他们已经达到了目的,而我尚未达到呢?是不是还有机会让我成就梦想呢?

我仅有一次生命,而生命只不过是时间的量度。如果我浪费了今日的时光,那我人生的最后一页就被毁灭。所以,我将会珍惜今天的分分秒秒,因为它们永不重来。今天不能留存供明天使用,谁能捕风捉影呢?我要用双手抓紧今天的每一分钟,爱抚这无价之宝。一个垂死的人,即使愿意拿出所有的金子,能买到一丝气息吗?我又怎能用金钱去衡量时间的价值呢?我要让它们成为无价之宝。

今天的职责,我要在今天完成。今天,我会更加爱护我稚嫩的孩子,明天他们将会离去,而我也会;今天,我要热烈地亲吻和拥抱我的妻子,明天她可能会离去,我也会;今天,我会向需要帮助的朋友伸出援助之手,明天他将不再寻求帮助,我也将听不到他的呼唤;今天,我要全身心地投身于工作,明天我将无法给予,也无人接受我的馈赠。

昨天已成历史,明天不可预知,我们唯一能掌控的就是今天。把握今天,就是珍惜生命,就是尊重自己。

reprieve [ri'pri:v] v. 暂缓处刑;暂时得救

He decided to reprieve the condemned prisoner.

他决定缓期执行这个被判罪囚犯的刑罚。

bonus ['buns] n. 红利;奖金

Our manager has been fudging the issue of bonus payments for

months.

我们的经理数月来一直回避发放奖金一事。

morrow ['mru] n. 翌日;次日

Let's hope that the morrow will bring better news.

让我们寄希望于明天会带来更好的消息。

sacrifice ['s鎘rifais] n. 牺牲;供奉;祭品

Success in your job is not worth the sacrifice of your health.

以牺牲健康来求得工作上的成功是不值得的。

我不会浪费一秒去追悼昨天的不幸、失败和心痛。为什么要为过去的不幸抛弃现有的美好呢?

我欣喜若狂地迎接新一天的到来,犹如被暂缓执行死刑的囚犯。

我仅有一次生命,而生命只不过是时间的量度。

I will seal up its container of life so that not one drop spills itself upon the sand.

so that:为的是;以便

Can I call back yesterday's wounds and make them whole?

call back:叫……回来;给……回电话;收回

困难和机遇并存

Problems and Opportunities

佚名 / Anonymous

We live in an unusual time with corporate downsizing, restructuring, and the increase in global competition. Some view these times as problematic; others see the incredible opportunities created by such change.

In the last decade there has been a huge growth in home-based and service-industry businesses. These businesses have been started by individuals with the courage to pursue their dreams, Yet, for every idea that is implemented, thousands of ideas never get beyond the conceptual stage—from the imagination to a plan of action.

What holds people back from pursuing their dreams and acting on their great ideas? I believe it's fear of failure. Someone once said, "there are a lot of ways to become a failure, but never taking a chance is the most successful way." I've also heard it said that "people don't plan to fail... they fail to plan."

Companies these days must be willing and able to change constantly. Sometimes companies change course to survive, and sometimes they do so because an opportunity is too good to resist. I know of a small company that provided a messenger service several years ago. A sudden major increase in corporate use of fax machines nearly put this small company out of business. Fortunately, the owner of the company was astute enough to realize other global corporate trends happening at the same time. The owner shifted gears from offering a messenger service to providing an off site records storage service, and soon business was booming once again.

It all comes down to perspective. When there was a downturn in the economy, some people could say, "This is terrible! With the downturn in the economy, nobody will have a budget for my service." Or others thought, "This is great! With the tightening of budgets and the loss of support staff, there's an even greater need for professionals to be effective, which is precisely what I'm here to help them do!"

我们生活在一个公司规模缩减、机构重组和全球化竞争加剧的特殊时代。有些人认为,这会带来众多问题;也有些人认为,这种变化会带来难以置信的巨大机遇。

家政服务行业在近十年迅速发展起来。这些业绩是那些勇于追寻梦想的人创造的。然而,任何一个得以执行的计划,都历经了反反复复的构思阶段——从设想到付诸行动。

是什么阻碍了人们追求并实现他们的梦想?我想,这是恐惧心理在作祟。曾有人说:“失败的原因有很多,没把握住机会是一个最主要原因。”也有人说:“人们不是败于计划,而是败于没有计划。”

如今,无论是为了生存,还是为了抓住千载难逢的绝好机遇,公司必须愿意且有能力进行机构重整。据我所知,几年前,有一家提供信使服务的小公司做得很不错,但传真机的迅速普及使该公司面临倒闭。幸而公司老板非常精明,他意识到了当时的全球化趋向。于是,他马上将公司服务转型,由提供信使服务转为远端记录存储服务,很快,公司再度蓬勃发展起来。

因而,一切都取决于你看待问题的视点。经济不景气时,有人会说:“太糟糕了!经济低迷,产品销不出去。”有些人则会这样想:“太棒了!预算紧张,雇员减少,这就需要大量的高效率专业人员,这恰好适合我!”

任何事情都有两面性,我们往往在难得的机遇来临之时也面临着巨大的困难,是抓住机会迎难而上,还是放弃机会不敢奋斗,考验着我们的智慧和勇气。

conceptual [kn'septul] adj. 概念上的

The conceptual design is wonderful.

这个概念设计很奇特。

astute [s'tju:t] adj. 机敏的;狡猾的

He is an astute businessman.

他是一个精明的商人。

tighten ['taitn] v. 勒紧;坚固

He tightened his grip on her arm.

他紧抓她的手臂。

precisely [pri'saisli] adv. 精确地

Tell me precisely what do you want?

请明确地告诉我你想要什么?

我们生活在一个公司规模缩减、机构重组和全球化竞争加剧的特殊时代。

是什么阻碍了人们追求并实现他们的梦想?我想,这是恐惧心理在作祟。

一切都取决于你看待问题的视点。

What holds people back from pursuing their dreams and acting on their great ideas?

hold back:退缩;抑制

A sudden major increase in corporate use of fax machines nearly put this small company out of business.

out of:在……外;离开,缺乏

生命的最佳时期

The Prime Time in Life

佚名 / Anonymous

The ups and downs of life may seem to have no predictable plan. But scientists now know there are very definite patterns that almost all people share. Even if you've passed some of your "prime", you still have other prime years to experience in the future. Certain important primes seem to peak later in life.

When are you smartest? From 18 to 25, according to I.Q. scores; but you're wiser and more experienced with increasing age.

You're sharpest in your 20's; around 30, memory begins to decline, particularly your ability to perform mathematical computations. But your I.O. for other tasks climbs. Your vocabulary at age 45, for example, is three times as great as when you graduated from college. At 60, your brain possesses almost four times as much information as it did at age 21.

This trade-off between sharpness and wisdom has led psychologists to suggest that "maturity quotients (M.Q.)" be adopted for adults.

When are you happiest? You have the best physical sense of yourself from 15 to 24; the best professional sense from 40 to 49.