公众人物毕业演讲 第305期:亚马逊创始人贝佐斯普林斯顿大学毕业演讲(4)

 I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet.

我告诉我的老板我想开办一家在网上卖书的公司。

He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said,

他带我在中央公园漫步良久，认真地听我讲完，最后说：

"That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn't already have a good job."

“听起来真是一个很好的主意，但是对那些目前没有谋到一份好工作的人来说，这个主意会更好。”

That logic¹ made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision.

这一逻辑对我而言颇有道理，他说服我在最终作出决定之前再考虑48小时。

Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately, I decided² I had to give it a shot.

那样想来，这个决定确实很艰难，但是最终，我决定拼一次。

I didn't think I'd regret trying and failing.

我认为自己不会为尝试过后的失败而遗憾。

And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.

倒是有所决定但完全不付诸行动会一直煎熬着我。

After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I'm proud of that choice.

在深思熟虑之后，我选择了那条不安全的道路，去追随我内心的热情，我为那个决定感到骄傲。

Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life - the life you author from scratch on your own -begins.

明天，非常现实地说，你们从零塑造自己人生的时代即将开启。

How will you use your gifts?

你们会如何运用自己的天赋？

What choices will you make?

你们又会作出怎样的抉择？

Will inertia³ be your guide, or will you follow your passions?

你们是被惯性所引导，还是追随自己内心的热情？

Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?

你们会墨守陈规，还是勇于创新？

Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?

你们会选择安逸的生活，还是选择一个奉献与冒险的人生？

1 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 inertia   

adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝

参考例句：

• We had a feeling of inertia in the afternoon.下午我们感觉很懒。
• Inertia carried the plane onto the ground.飞机靠惯性着陆。