Would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.
“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.
“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
- Quote from the Alice in Wonderland Movie

十字路口的抉择
“你能告诉我从这儿我该走哪条路吗？”爱丽丝问。
“那在很大程度上取决于你想去哪儿。”猫回道。
“哪儿都可以，我不在乎。”
“那么你走哪条路也就无关紧要了。”

——引自《爱丽丝梦游仙境》

My brother called me the other day and asked me for some advice? He was trying to decide between two job offers:

Job 1 – The first job was your typical 40 hour a week “office” job.

Job 2 – The second job was more of a career in the insurance industry, where he would start at the bottom, and after many years and many long hours eventually rise to the top (if he was good). The second job did not pay as well as the first job (initially), but the potential pay-off of the second job was much greater than the first job.

So which job should my brother take? Well the answer is…it depends.

Just like the Cat was trying to tell Alice, which road you take depends a great deal on where you want to end up.

一天，弟弟打电话想征求些我的意见，他要在两份工作中做出选择：

工作1——典型的一周40个小时的“办公室”工作

工作2——在保险行业的工作，需要从基层做起，可以经过多年和长时间努力后最终升职到高层（如果他足够优秀的话）

显然，第二份工作的薪水不如第一份丰厚（在刚开始时），但是第二份工作潜在的薪水支付远远多于第一份工作。

那么，弟弟应该选哪份工作呢？答案当然还是……取决于他自己想得到什么。

就如猫告诉爱丽丝的，你选择哪条路在很大程度上取决于你想停到哪，想到哪去。

Begin with the End in Mind

I asked my brother what was his life’s purpose. He said his purpose is to “teach,” but he wants to make a lot of money first.

I told my brother to forget about the money, and I advised him to focus on his purpose.

I then asked him which job best supports his end result of “teaching.” He said the first job best supports his goal because he would only have to work 40 hours a week, which would give him spare time to teach.

He continued on to say, but if I take job number two, I can work hard and make more money, then I can retire early and “teach” later in life. I again advised him to “focus” on his purpose, not money.

Health Top Tips Nutrition Love Lifestyle Happiness Weight Loss

I cautioned him to think this process through carefully because things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!

思而后行

我问弟弟他的人生目标是什么，他说目标就是“教书”，但想先挣些钱。

我告诉他要忘记金钱，要专注于自己的目标理想。

我又问他哪个工作对他的目标“教学”最有帮助，他说是第一份，因为他只需一周工作40个小时，这样的话就会有闲余时间来教书。

他接着说，“如果我选择第二份工作，我可以努力挣很多钱，然后提早退休，用剩余的时间教书。听他这样说，我提醒他要专注与自己的理想而不是钱。

我告诫他须谨慎考虑，因为很多事不是错误的结束，而是一开始就是错误的。

You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well

It would be very difficult to have a successful teaching career while you’re working 70-80 hours a week in the insurance business; no one can ride two horses well. As they say, you can do anything, but not everything.

I recommended to my brother that he dedicate his time to achieving his life’s purpose, and I advised him to get started today by choosing the job that best supports that decision.

一人难驭两马

既要有成功的教学事业，又需在保险行业中一周工作70-80个小时，这会是很难实现的；没有人可以同时驾驭好两匹马，就如人们所说，你可以做任何事情但无法完成一切事情。

我提议他用时间去实现生命中的目标。选择对其有益的工作，从现在就开始。

Tomorrow Never Comes

My brother was thinking that he could always start teaching later in life, but the reality is, tomorrow never comes.

Unless you decide right now to pursue your passions, they will probably never be fulfilled. They will always be postponed until some nebulous time in the future. You will eventually “miss out” in the one area where you could have had the greatest impact on the world.

You only live once, don’t go to your grave with one regret; don’t postpone your purpose.

明日不再来

弟弟总是想着可以在以后的日子里教书，但事实是，明日不再来。除非你立马就下决心追寻自己那也许永远都不会实现的目标，所以它们总是被推迟延后到将来某些不确定的时间。最终，你会错过自己本应对这个世界有些许影响的区域。
人只活一次，不要让自己带着遗憾离开，不要延后自己的目标。

The Money Will Come

My brother seemed to be overly concerned with making money. I told him not to be anxious about making money. The fear of not making money is the quickest way not to make it.

You will always have greater money making potential when you’re doing what you love.

In conclusion, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the overall mission and goal of your life. If you do, then you will be well on your way.

What advice would you have given my brother? What are some other cross-roads where this advice would be applicable?

钱总会有的

弟弟似乎对挣钱过于关心，我对他说不要着急挣钱，因为不能挣钱的“速效方法”就是担心挣不到钱。

当一个人做他喜欢做的事时，他总会有很多潜在的钱。

总之，无论你何时处在十字路口，要确定做出对生命中大体的任务和目标最有益的抉择，如果你这样做了，就会在人生之路上一帆风顺。

对于我弟弟的情况，你还有什么建议？这些建议还可以在哪些别的人生十字路口起到作用？