能创业的是老板 真正的企业家是这样

 　　I'll explain in a second, I'm a long-time admirer of Mark Bittman, the food journalist who recently left The New York Times. So when Bittman announced he was leaving journalism¹ to work for a meal kit² startup, I was sad. I would miss him. But the other day when I read the "first installment³" of his entrepreneurial journey in Fast Company, my sadness turned to anger.

　　开始前，请容许笔者解释一下，笔者是Mark Bittman的骨灰级粉丝，但Bittman最近已经离职了纽约时报的美食记者职位了。所以当笔者听到他将从记者生涯转而投入餐具自创公司的消息时，着实让我沮丧了一阵子，我很怀念他写的美食专栏。但后来当我读到他在Fast Company开启企业家之旅的“首次上任”文章时，我的情绪从惋惜转而愤怒。

　　It's true that Bittman admitted that starting a company is "harder than I thought." (No kidding.) But, even though his new venture has a wonderful mission ("encouraging part-time veganism, supporting sustainable agriculture and, in general, helping⁴ build the good food movement"), Bittman is ambivalent⁵ about entrepreneurship.

　　Bittman所认为的“开创新公司比想象中困难”这个说法是对的。（并不是玩笑话。）但是即使他的新企业肩负着多么意义非凡的使命（鼓励部分时间素食主义，支持可持续性农业以及广泛的帮助建立健康食品运动），Bittman的创业精神还是有点自相矛盾的。

　　能创业的是老板 真正的企业家是这样

　　As a long-time entrepreneur, I get very cranky when someone suggests that creating and building a business is anything less than a noble endeavor. Even if you're making widgets, you're still adding economic and social value. And if you've got higher aspirations⁶ (my firm helps our clients reach, engage and motivate employees), all the better.

　　作为一名资深企业家，当我听到有人发表类似“创立企业只不过是一件高尚的尝试”这种言论时，我都会非常抓狂。即使你所生产的产品再小，你仍然在为其增添着经济和社会利用价值。并且如果你有更高的追求（笔者的公司致力于扩大客户群体，关注且激励员工等），那么各个方面都能随之提升一个高度。

　　Here are the 7 reasons entrepreneurs are awesome⁷. We:

　　企业家之所以能够傲视群雄，是因为我们：

　　1.Dream big.

　　1. 有伟大的理想。

　　We aspire⁸ to solve problems, make people's lives better, make a difference.

　　我们努力解决问题，为人民生活谋利益，创造不平凡。

　　2.Fail hard.

　　2. 经常失败。

　　Failing is so painful while you're going through it and so valuable later. And it may sound cheesy, but it's the circle of life--somebody loses and someone else goes on to change the world.

　　当你正经历着失败，这种感觉确实不好受，但事后你会发现这是多么的珍贵。也许失败根本不值一提，但这正是生活的规律——有人倒下，就有人站起来改变世界。

　　3.Claw back from adversity.

　　3. 及时从逆境中战胜困难。

　　We fight our way out of economic downturns, natural disasters, acts of violence--and, by doing so, demonstrate courage and perseverance⁹.

　　我们从经济倒退、自然灾害，暴力事件等事件中突破重重困难，通过这些磨练，我们增加了勇气和毅力。

　　4.Build something meaningful.

　　4. 干点有意义的事。

　　For most of us, we're not just creating a company. We're contributing to society. Making an economic difference. Helping the community.

　　大多数企业家，创建公司并不只是为了创建公司。我们在为社会做贡献。在经济上创造价值。帮助社会大众。

　　5.Create good jobs.

　　5. 创建有意义的职位。

　　Even if this were the only good thing entrepreneurs do, it would be a big one.

　　即使这是企业家只会做的一件事，但造成的影响却不小。

　　6.Nurture¹⁰ people.

　　6. 培养人才。

　　A majority of us are committed to growing our employees along with our companies. I hate it when an employee leaves my firm, but I understand that people have to leave the nest.

　　大多数的企业家都在公司发展的同时培养员工的素质技能。我很讨厌看到有员工离开我的公司的场景，但我能理解他确实要离巢了。

　　7.Live free.

　　7. 自在地生活。

　　Every entrepreneur knows that we're not in complete control of our lives. In fact, we acutely feel the pressure of employees, clients, suppliers and everyone else we're dependent on. But we know that the buck¹¹ stops with us and we can shape our own destiny. (How cool is that?)

　　每位企业家都深刻理解到我们不能完全控制自己的生活。十几次，我们对员工，客户，供应商以及任何我们所依赖的人的压力都有非常敏感。但我们很清楚金钱会为我们而停下脚步，我们也能塑造自己的人生。（多么酷炫的事呀！）

　　By the way, in addition to all of the above, entrepreneurs also make money. And we're proud of that, too.

　　另外，除了上述提到的这几点之外，企业家确实会赚钱，并且，我们非常引以为荣。

1 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

2 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

3 installment   

n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期

参考例句：

• I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
• He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 ambivalent   

adj.含糊不定的；(态度等)矛盾的

参考例句：

• She remained ambivalent about her marriage.她对于自己的婚事仍然拿不定主意。
• Although she professed fear of the Russians,she seemed to have ambivalent feelings toward Philby himself.虽然她承认害怕俄国人，然而她似乎对菲尔比本人有一种矛盾的感情。

6 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

7 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

8 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

9 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

10 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

11 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。