You Will Be Master Of Yourself

上帝給了鳥(niǎo)兒食物，但他沒(méi)有將食物扔到它們的巢里。不管你想要去哪里，不管你想要做什么，真正做決定的還是你自己。

如果我回到18歲我會(huì)對(duì)自己說(shuō)……

What I'd Tell Myself If I Were 18 Again…

I like to joke that I am who I am today because I did everything wrong in my 20's. I've always been fearless， and it often got me in trou-ble.I wasn't afraid to start a business， borrow a bunch of money， or quit a well-paying job to travel the world.

At the same time， the fact that I took chances (and often failed) g ave me the wisdom that I have today. Lessons learned through failure tend to be much more meaningful than lessons learned otherwise.

Now that I'm in my 30's， life is pretty good. While I haven't learned it all， I feel my head is screwed on straight enough that life is much less stressful.I've come into my own and built the foundation for a secure and prosperous future.

Even though things are going well， I often imagine what it would be like to go back into the past and teach myself what I know now. I know e-nough to be certain that I lost most of my twenties to a struggle with debt and poor decisions.If I had done things differently， maybe I could have been where I am now at age 22.

Could you imagine？Self employed and almost financially indepen-dent at age 22？No… not almost. My expenses were much less back then… I would have been financially free！

I know it doesn't do any good to ask what if. If I had known it all at age 22， I probably would have been a little cocky.Doing things the hard way seasoned my character.I like who I am and I wouldn't change a thing.

But what if…

What I'd Tell Myself at 18？

Sometimes I imagine that I'm in a fishing boat， thousands of milesaway from the life I know， slowly drifting across a lake. As I recline at an uncomfortable angle created by the wood bench and aluminum hull， I glance over at the 18 year-old version of myself and upload my wis-dom to him.

我常開(kāi)玩笑說(shuō)，我之所以是現(xiàn)在的我，完全是因?yàn)槲叶畮讱q時(shí)把一切事情都做錯(cuò)了。那個(gè)時(shí)候，我什么都不怕，所以經(jīng)常惹麻煩。我不怕為了創(chuàng)業(yè)而借一屁股的債，又或者是辭去高薪的工作只是為了周游世界。

也正因?yàn)槟菚r(shí)候的我抓住了很多機(jī)會(huì)（雖然經(jīng)常以失敗告終），才讓今天的我學(xué)到了許多智慧。相較之下，從失敗中吸取的教訓(xùn)比從其他地方學(xué)到的東西更加深刻。

現(xiàn)在，我過(guò)著幸福的三十歲生活。盡管我還沒(méi)有掌握到生活的全部，但是我覺(jué)得已經(jīng)足夠讓自己的生活沒(méi)有太大的壓力。我有自己的生活方式，并且給未來(lái)打下了安全、繁榮的基礎(chǔ)。

盡管一切都在順利地進(jìn)行，我還是經(jīng)常想象，如果我回到過(guò)去并且把我現(xiàn)在學(xué)到的東西教給那個(gè)時(shí)候的我，事情會(huì)變成什么樣子。我非常清楚，二十幾歲的我大部分時(shí)間都在和債務(wù)以及自己的糟糕決定糾纏。如果我能用另外一種方式去做事，也許在我22歲的時(shí)候就能有今天的成就。

你能夠想象在22歲的時(shí)候就自己當(dāng)老板并且財(cái)政獨(dú)立嗎？不，簡(jiǎn)直不可想象??！我那時(shí)的花費(fèi)非常的低，說(shuō)不定那時(shí)我就可以得到財(cái)政自由了！

我也知道說(shuō)“如果……”是沒(méi)有什么意義的。如果我在22歲的時(shí)候就能知道這些了，我可能會(huì)變得有些驕傲自大。困難讓我成長(zhǎng)。我喜歡現(xiàn)在的我，我不打算去改變什么。

但是如果……

如果我回到18歲我會(huì)告訴我自己什么呢？

有時(shí)候我會(huì)想象我在一只漁船上，離真實(shí)的生活千里之遙，慢慢地在湖中漂蕩。我不太舒服地躺在木凳上，瞥一眼18歲的自己，然后把自己現(xiàn)在的智慧傳給他。

Here's what I say：

Don't be so Serious

Relax… You've got your whole life ahead of you. I know it can seem like the most important thing in the world is fighting the good fight， but don't let your life pass you by in the process.There'll be plenty of time for starting businesses， writing books， creating art， and solving the world's problems in your head.

It's impressive that you do those things at such a young age， but life is really about experiences. Above all， it's about sharing experiences with other people.Sometimes when you're all wrapped up in your own head， doing the things that you are determined to do， you miss a chance to con-nect with other people.

So take it easy. Have some fun.Do something crazy.Let loose.Call up some friends and share some great moments together.

Don't Be in Such a Hurry to Grow Up

A funny thing happens as you age：The older you get， the less of a hurry you're in. You'd think it would be the other way around：the less time you have， the more of a hurry you're in；but it's actually quite the opposite.

At 18， it seems like you have to rush everything before you get too old. You think you have to graduate college， get a good job， and get mar-ried before you turn 22， because (for some reason) y ou think 22 is old.

Don't take being young for granted！Being a kid without responsibil-ity is a thing of beauty. I know you don't appreciate it now， but you will when you're my age.

22 is just getting started！In fact， life gets more enjoyable as you age. As you learn more about yourself and the world， it gets easier to enjoy what the world has to offer.

Your 20's are the perfect time to explore the world and experience new things. If you grow up before you turn 22， you'll have missed a perfect opportunity.Experiences at 18 are just not the same as when you're 25.

我會(huì)告訴他：

不要太認(rèn)真

放松點(diǎn)……人生還長(zhǎng)著呢。我也知道，似乎世界上最最要緊的事情就是打一個(gè)漂亮仗，但是請(qǐng)不要與你的生活擦肩而過(guò)。對(duì)于你而言，還有大把的時(shí)間去創(chuàng)業(yè)、寫書、創(chuàng)作，去解決那些你考慮的世界問(wèn)題。

能夠在年輕的時(shí)候就做出那些成就的確讓人印象深刻，可生活的真諦在于經(jīng)歷。最首要的，就是和他人分享那些經(jīng)歷。有時(shí)候，當(dāng)你自己規(guī)劃好一切，做那些你決心要做的事情，卻錯(cuò)失了和他人交流的機(jī)會(huì)。

所以，要放松點(diǎn)。去享受樂(lè)趣，去做一些瘋狂的事情，不要把自己繃得太緊。和朋友們一起分享一些美好時(shí)光。

不要急著長(zhǎng)大

你那個(gè)年齡是很奇妙的：你年歲越大，你越少著急。但你也許卻有另外一種思路：你有的時(shí)間越少，你越著急?？墒鞘聦?shí)其實(shí)是完全相反的。

18歲的時(shí)候，看上去你必須要在自己變得太老之前急匆匆地做完一些事情。你認(rèn)為自己必須要從大學(xué)畢業(yè)，找個(gè)好工作然后在22歲之前結(jié)婚，因?yàn)椋ú恢朗裁丛颍┠阏J(rèn)為22歲已經(jīng)老了。

不要把年輕看得那么理所當(dāng)然！做一個(gè)不需要負(fù)太多責(zé)任的小孩是一件很美妙的事情。也許現(xiàn)在的你不太贊同，可當(dāng)你到了我這個(gè)年紀(jì)的時(shí)候就會(huì)明白了。

22歲只是生命的開(kāi)始。事實(shí)上，生活隨著時(shí)間的流逝變得更有趣。當(dāng)你對(duì)自己和世界了解得越多，就更容易去享受世界所提供的東西。

二十幾歲是探索世界、體驗(yàn)新東西的最佳時(shí)段。如果你在22歲之前就長(zhǎng)大了，你會(huì)失去這個(gè)最佳機(jī)會(huì)。18歲的感受絕對(duì)不會(huì)和25歲的感受一樣。

Travel， art， culture， sport， and adventure take on a whole new mean-ing when you have had some experience to build on. As you add layer up-on layer， each experience is more rich than the last.

Choose Experience over Material Possessions

If you are ever faced with the choice of upgrading your lifestyle (an a-partment by yourself， a new car， new clothes， etc.) o r working less so you can experience more；chose the latter.

When I was your age， I thought I needed to have nice stuff so girls would like me. I ended up working so hard to pay for the stuff that I didn爺t have time to meet girls.

Working hard is for grown-ups. Be a kid for as long as you can， even if it means living with a roommate in a crappy apartment and riding your bike around town.

Besides， girls aren't going to like you for awhile anyway.What they really want is a man with a little confidence and life experience under his belt.Working too hard will just delay that process.