写在前面的话

在网上有一段很红的flash叫“理想服务员”，很多毕业生看了都特别感触。（没看过的同学，小编强烈推荐你花点时间先看一遍）的确就像片子里说到的那样，经常都听到毕业生说“其实不太喜欢现在的工作”、“我向现实妥协了”或者“先干着再说吧”……更糟糕的是很多人甚至不知道自己到底想要什么？于是就这么浑浑噩噩地开始工作，梦想在日复一日的枯燥工作中消失殆尽，等到醒悟、一切都晚了。年轻人到底应该重视什么？到底梦想是不是能照进现实？下面的文章也许能给你一点启发和思路。

Imagine a scenario where you actually loved getting up in the morning. I'm not just talking about those occasional weekends or days off where you actually have no plans (or only plans made and loved by you). I'm talking about every single day. Before you scoff at the ridiculousness of such a concept and flick on further down your reader just stop. Indulge me for a moment.

想象这样一个场景：你真正地爱上了在早晨起床。我并不是在说那些你的确没有计划的偶然的周末或假日（或是你有制定的喜欢的计划的日子）。我说的是每一天。读者们，在你嘲笑这个荒谬的想法，对此不屑一顾前，请停下来，暂且容忍我一下。

If I were a genie and could grant you anything you wanted, don't tell me you wouldn't be interested in finding a pastime (career, hobby, part-time adventure) that not only paid the bills but actually made you feel - what's that word? - good. And I'm talking gooooooood. Like so darn happy you smile at strangers on the street, walk with a little bounce in your step, constantly update Facebook with perky little notes, and basically just spend every day feeling like a kid does on Christmas.

如果我是一个精灵，能够给你任何你想要的东西，你肯定会想要一段消遣娱乐的时光（事业、兴趣、过去的奇遇）。在那时光中，你不仅能得到充分享受，并且能使你感觉——那个词是什么来着？——非常好。我说的是如入天堂般的感觉。就像在街上对着陌生人微笑，走路时轻盈跳跃的步伐，在Facebook上不断更新着活泼简短的状态，基本就像一个孩子过圣诞节般过着每一天。

Sounds annoying, doesn't it? Unless it's you of course.

是不是听起来特烦？当然，如果你自己就过着那样的生活，那就另当别论了。

So let's assume for starters that you still need regular income. To start with we're going to need this muse of yours (thank-you, Mr. Tim Ferriss ) to occupy only a set amount of time. Perhaps half an hour each day, with weekends off. That's doable, isn't it? Of course I'm talking about a solid 30 minutes committed to changing the way you live your life. All in one block.

假设你是一个需要固定收入的人。怎么开始呢？这就要用到你的理论了，Mr. Tim Ferriss（Tim Ferriss 是美国畅销书作者，著有The 4-Hour Workweek，大概是讲改变生活方式、时间管理一类），每天只需花一点时间，也许是每天30分钟，除去周末。这个是可行的对吗？当然我说的是每天必须坚守的30分钟，用来改变你的生活方式。这样一切都可以搞定。

The idea of introducing part-time passion like this is that it eases you in to the next step. Which is to gradually move you to a point where you are making a living from doing what you love. Where your part-time passion has replaced your full-time job. Sounds good, doesn't it? I managed to do this about 5 years ago. I was in a mid-level management position which I was kinda sick of. Ok, hated. And I was doing some part-time Personal Training before and after work. It took me a full year of being over that job to toss it in and have enough courage to try running a full-time Personal Training business. But at least I got there.

像这样引入“部分时间的激情”的概念是为了让你更容易进入下一步。在下一步，会让你逐渐转移到做自己喜爱的工作来谋生，并且让这部分的激情取代你的全职工作。是不是听起来很美好？我5年前就想这么做了。当时我是一个中等阶层的管理者，而且我讨厌这个职位。好吧，其实是憎恨。我在上班前后会去上一些业余的个人培训班。我用了整整一年时间去摆脱那份工作，并且有足够的勇气去经营一个全职的个人培训公司。但至少我走到了这一步。

Where would you like to be a year from now? What would you love to be doing?

一年之后你何去何从？你想做什么呢？

If you're not at all sure what your passion might be, then I'd recommend taking some time to identify your strengths. Here are 3 easy ways to get started on that: Ask your friends what they'd consider your strengths/natural skills to be.

如果你不确定你的激情源自何方，那么我建议你花些时间来寻找自己的优势。这里有3条简单的方法： 问你的朋友他们觉得你的优点和技巧是什么。

Take an online personality or strength/weakness test. This one from Dr. Martin Seligman is world-renowned. You have to register, but that's free.

做一份网上的性格或者优点/缺点测试。有份马丁•塞利格曼博士的测试卷闻名于世。你需要注册一下，但它是免费的。

Invest a little time in some daily journaling. Just let the pen roll as you envisage what your perfect day, then week, then year would look like. I don't mean the down-time (although there's plenty of people who've turned a passion for travel into a solid income).

每天花点时间写日记。动起笔来想象一下你完美的一天、然后是周、然后是年是怎样的。我并不是指非工作状态时间（虽然多数人会把对旅游的激情转变到有稳固收入的激情上）

By this point you should be starting to get a little excited. Even the act of thinking about how cool it would be to actually love what you do should get the motivational juices flowing. But if you're still really not sure what you'd like to do - or perhaps you feel like there's so many things to choose from - then try this.

此刻你应该会有点兴奋吧。就算是想到能做自己真正热爱的事情如此之棒，并且能够自由发挥你的激情，也会激动不已。但是如果你仍不知道你想做什么——或者是有那么多事情，不知如何选择——那么尝试下下面的方法。