佚名/Anonymous

　　How many times have you heard the expression that most people spend more time planning their vacation than they do planning their lives. I would expand that expression by adding that most people spend more time “thinking”about their vacation than they do thinking about what's important in their life.

　　While rest and relaxation are a must in living a balanced life, it's not what we were created to do. After all, the Master Creator took his R&R(Rest and Recreation) on the seventh day, only after six days of “definitely directed thought”.

　　Wallace D. Wattles, wrote “There is no labor from which most people shrink as they do from that of sustained and consecutive thought; it is the hardest work in the world.”And yet it is the first and primary labor of achievement.

　　My friend Mike Litman wrote an outstanding article, it's called The Millionaire Composite and it analyzes one of the big differences between super-successful people and everyone else. He writes “I recently visited with a Real Estate Multi Millionaire Mogul. What did I see next to his desk? His vision statement, along with a list of what he values in life—hand written.

　　“A few months back, I interviewed an individual who has sold over a billion dollars worth of products on television. He told me that he reads his life and business vision and goals daily, and that he takes time to visualize exactly what he wants to create—each night before falling asleep.”

　　What is your life's purpose or your personal mission statement? Is it written down? Do you review it and think about it often? Is your life organized around your purpose and a set of goals that support that purpose?

　　Without purpose and goals—definitely directed thought—you are like the proverbial “ship without a rudder”. There is power in your purpose and in your goals. It is the power that takes you over obstacles, the fuel that propels you toward the life you envision. One of my favorite passages of James Allen is one he wrote in The Mastery of Destiny: “All successful people are people of purpose. They hold fast to an idea, a project, a plan, and will not let it go; they cherish it, brood upon it, tend and develop it; and when assailed by difficulties, they refuse to be beguiled into surrender; indeed, the intensity of the purpose increases with the growing magnitude of the obstacles encountered.”And that's worth thinking about.

　　人们常听说，大多数人为他们的假期做计划要比为生活做的花费的时间多。我把这一表述加以扩展：许多人思考他们的假期比思考生活中其他事情所花费的时间多。

　　虽然休息和娱乐是和谐生活不可或缺的，但我们生活的目的并不在此。毕竟，伟大的造物主在为我们“明确地指明了思考的方向”后的第七天才去休息和娱乐。

　　华莱士·D. 沃尔特曾写道：“没有一种体力劳动能使大多数人畏惧退缩，但连续不断的脑力劳动却能。世界上最难的工作莫过于思考。”然而，思考却是获得成功的必要前提。

　　我的朋友迈克·里曼写了一篇名为《百万富翁的成功史》的杰作。书中对成功人士与普通人之间的差异进行了分析。他写道：“最近我拜访了一位地产界的杰出人士。你猜我在他的桌上看见了什么？是他对未来的憧憬，以及在他生活中有重要价值的事物的列表——都是手写的。

　　“数月前，我采访了一位商界名人，他通过广播电视宣传已售出了价值上亿美元的产品。他对我说，他每天都会对他的生活和事业进行构想，并将其在头脑中定型——他每天晚上睡觉前都这么做。”

　　你人生的目的和任务何在？你是否曾把它们写下来呢？你经常回顾思考它们吗？你的生活不正是由你的人生目的和支持这一目的的一系列目标所组成吗？

　　没有理想和目标的生活——即没有明确的指向性思维，便会如谚语所说的，乃“无舵之舟”。有一种力量蕴藏于人生的理想和目标中。这种力量使你克服重重困难，推动你驶向美好生活。我非常喜欢詹姆士·艾伦的《命运的主人》一文的一段文字：“一切成功人士都有明确的理想和目标。他们紧盯一个构思、一项工程，或是一个计划，绝不会让机会溜走；然后再对其进行播种，助其发芽，悉心呵护使之成长。即使身处困境，也坚决不退缩。实际上，纷至沓来的困难和阻碍，更会激励他们勇往直前。”这一道理颇值得深思。

　　词汇笔记

　　relaxation [?ri:l?k?sei??n] n. 放松；缓和；消遣

　　例 I really need a relaxation on my holiday.

　　我假期时真的需要好好放松一下。

　　primary [?praim?ri] adj. 主要的；初期的；根本的

　　例 This is a primary source of instability in software development.

　　在软件开发中这是不稳定性的主要源头。

　　outstanding [?aut?st?ndi?] adj. 杰出的；显著的

　　例 He is an outstanding student.

　　他是个优秀的学生。

　　analyze [??n?laiz] v. 分析；分解

　　例 We have to analyze and solve problems.

　　我们必须分析问题，解决问题。

　　小试身手

　　世界上最难的工作莫过于思考。

　　译_______________

　　没有理想和目标的生活——即没有明确的指向性思维。

　　译_______________

　　一切成功人士都有明确的理想和目标。

　　译_______________

　　短语家族

　　His vision statement, along with a list of what he values in life—hand written.

　　along with：和……一起；同……一道；与……同时

　　造_______________

　　After all, the Master Creator took his R&R(Rest and Recreation) on the seventh day.

　　after all：毕竟；终究

　　造_______________