人生不設(shè)限·第十章 如果機(jī)會(huì)沒來，就自己創(chuàng)造機(jī)會(huì)

約書亞和芮貝卡·維格夫婦住在洛杉磯，是得獎(jiǎng)的電影工作者，致力于制作出兼具激勵(lì)性和娛樂性的電影。我沒見過維格夫婦，不過，他們看過我的一部影片后有了靈感，想要以我為主角，撰寫一個(gè)電影劇本。在寫劇本時(shí)，維格夫婦嘗試通過不同的渠道聯(lián)絡(luò)我，不過當(dāng)時(shí)我正在四處演講，所以他們找不到我。某個(gè)星期天，他們突然在教會(huì)遇到老友凱爾。

Joshua and Rebekah Weigel are award-winning filmmakers in Los Angeles dedicated to making movies that inspire as well as entertain. I'd never met them, but after they saw one of my videos, they were inspired to write a fictional screenplay with me in mind as the main character. As they were writing this script, the Weigels were trying to contact me through various channels, but since I was gadding about on a speaking tour, they couldn't reach me. Then one Sunday while they were attending church in Westlake Village, they ran into an old friend of theirs named Kyle.

“你現(xiàn)在在干什么?”他們問凱爾。

"What are you doing now?" they asked Kyle.

“我在當(dāng)看護(hù)，照顧一個(gè)叫力克·胡哲的人。”他說。

"I'm working as a caregiver for this guy named Nick Vujicic." he said.

毫不意外地，約書亞和芮貝卡大吃了一驚。

Not surprisingly, Joshua and Rebekah were stunned.

真的很神奇吧?兩位有理想的制片人為他們從沒見過的某人寫了個(gè)劇本，到處找他，想要跟他一起拍部片子——這種事多久才會(huì)發(fā)生一次?真是太奇妙了，對(duì)吧?美夢(mèng)成真啊!

How amazing is that? How often does it happen that two dedicated filmmakers write a script for someone they've never met, then seek him out and offer to make a movie with him? It's fantastic, right? A dream come true!

你是否曾經(jīng)錯(cuò)過一個(gè)很棒的機(jī)會(huì)，只因?yàn)槟愕男袆?dòng)沒有跟上?你是否曾經(jīng)絕望地看著某人通過一個(gè)大門，而你卻沒看到那個(gè)大門打開?從這些經(jīng)驗(yàn)中學(xué)點(diǎn)教訓(xùn)，振作起來吧!克萊斯勒汽車的創(chuàng)辦人沃爾特·克萊斯勒(Walter Chrysler)說過，那么多人的人生未能如愿，是因?yàn)楫?dāng)機(jī)會(huì)來敲門時(shí)，他們不在，他們?nèi)ズ笤赫宜娜~幸運(yùn)草了?，F(xiàn)在我看到許多人在買樂透彩，卻沒有投資自己的未來——投資未來包括努力工作、致力于自己的目標(biāo)，然后仔細(xì)觀察，在最好的時(shí)機(jī)一躍而上。

Have you ever missed out on a wonderful chance because you didn't have your act together? Have you watched in despair as someone else ran through a door that you failed to see was open? Learn from those experiences, and buck up, mate! Walter Chrysler, founder of the Chrysler automotive company, once said that the reason so many people never get anywhere in life is that when opportunity knocks, they are out in the backyard looking for four-leaf clovers. Today I see people buying lottery tickets instead of investing in their futures. Invest in your future by preparing with hard work, dedicate yourself to your goals, and then watch for the right time to make the leap.

如果你覺得自己從未有機(jī)會(huì)開槍，很可能是因?yàn)槟銢]有鎖定目標(biāo)、裝上子彈，然后準(zhǔn)備射擊。你要為自己的成功負(fù)責(zé)，負(fù)責(zé)的方式就是做好最萬全的準(zhǔn)備;一旦萬事俱備，東風(fēng)就會(huì)吹來。如果你老是盛氣凌人或自怨自艾，那就別期待會(huì)有人來邀你跳舞。相信自己(我是不是已經(jīng)提過了?)，相信生命有種種機(jī)會(huì)，相信你在地球上有你自己的價(jià)值，如果你覺得自己不配擁有翅膀，那么你永遠(yuǎn)無法離開地面，在天際翱翔。

If you feel you never get a shot, maybe it's because you aren't locked, loaded, and ready to fire. You are responsible for your own success. Take on that responsibility by preparing yourself to do your best. When you get to the right place, the breaks will come. If you have a chip on your shoulder, or you're hosting a pity party, don't expect an invitation to the dance. Believe in yourself (have I mentioned this already?). Believe in the possibilities for your life. Believe in your value on this planet. If you don't feel worthy of wings, you'll never get off the ground.

去流一身汗、弄臟雙手、努力用功吧。愛迪生說大多數(shù)人之所以常常錯(cuò)失機(jī)會(huì)，是因?yàn)闄C(jī)會(huì)穿著工作服，看起來像需要花費(fèi)很大力氣的工作。你是否準(zhǔn)備好使出全力地拼了?

Break a sweat. Get your hands dirty. Hit the books. Thomas Edison said opportunities are often missed because they are dressed in overalls and look like work. Are you ready to do whatever it takes?

我必須承認(rèn)，維格夫婦一開始聯(lián)絡(luò)上我時(shí)，我并沒有特別在意這件事。凱爾很替我開心，他試著告訴我他這兩位制片人朋友的事，還有他們?yōu)槲易龅挠?jì)劃。不過，可憐的凱爾只講到“我有個(gè)朋友想為你拍部電影……”，就被我打斷了。

I have to confess that when the Weigels first contacted me, I wasn't paying attention. Poor Kyle was so excited for me. He tried to tell me about his friends the filmmakers and the project they had for me. "I have some friends who have a movie idea for you—" was all he had a chance to say before I cut him off.

“凱爾，我現(xiàn)在忙到?jīng)]時(shí)間跟你的朋友談了。”我狂妄地說。

"Kyle, I'm too busy to talk to your friends right now," I said crankily.

我已經(jīng)四處旅行演講很久了，很累也很煩。而且說也奇怪，我最近才剛被另一個(gè)電影提案搞得很抓狂。那時(shí)聽過電影大綱之后(一部劇情長(zhǎng)片哦)，我興奮了好幾個(gè)月，接著我就收到他們寄來的劇本。結(jié)果我發(fā)現(xiàn)，制片人要我扮演的角色是個(gè)滿口粗話、老是在嚼煙草的家伙。而根據(jù)劇本設(shè)定，我大部分時(shí)間都被裝在一個(gè)大麻袋里，讓某人背在背上到處跑。

I'd been traveling a great deal and was edgy and tired. Oddly enough, I'd recently been burned by another movie proposition. After hearing just a basic outline of it (a feature-length film!), I'd been excited about it for months. Then they sent me the script. It turned out, the producers wanted me to portray a foul-mouthed, tobacco-chewing character who spends most of the movie getting lugged around in a potato sack slung over someone's back.

我可不想以這種角色展開——或結(jié)束——我的電影事業(yè)，所以拒絕了。不是每個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)都值得一試，你要忠于自己的價(jià)值觀，并將它們?nèi)谌肽愕拈L(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)目標(biāo)。你想要留下什么樣的痕跡?你希望人們記得你什么?我可不希望我的孫子某天找到一部電影的DVD，發(fā)現(xiàn)力克爺爺有演出，而且在里面講些不三不四的話，臉頰還淌著煙草汁，活像個(gè)敗類。所以我就對(duì)那第一個(gè)電影提案說“謝謝，再聯(lián)絡(luò)”了。

That was not the sort of role I wanted to begin my movie career, or end it. So I said no. Not every chance is worth taking. You have to be true to your values, incorporating them into your long-term goals. What mark do you wish to make? How do you want to be remembered? I didn't want my grandchildren to one day discover a DVD of a movie in which Grandpa Nick curses, drools tobacco juice down his chin, and lives like a degenerate. So I said thanks but no thanks to that first movie offer.

我喜歡拍電影這個(gè)點(diǎn)子，但不會(huì)為了拍電影就拋棄自己的價(jià)值觀?；蛟S你也得做類似的抉擇，所以要堅(jiān)強(qiáng)，堅(jiān)守自己的原則，但不要犯跟我同樣的錯(cuò)——我的意思是，當(dāng)我關(guān)上第一扇門之后，也關(guān)上了我的心。

I loved the idea of making a movie, but I wasn't willing to abandon my values to do it. You may have to make a similar decision. Stay strong. Stick with your principles, but don't make the mistake I made: when I closed that first door, I also closed my mind.

那就是為什么當(dāng)老好人凱爾興高采烈地跟我提到維格夫婦的拍片計(jì)劃時(shí)，我想都沒想就打了他一槍。我看不見未來，因?yàn)槲铱吹氖?ldquo;后”視鏡，當(dāng)然無法看到前方的未來。我真是大錯(cuò)特錯(cuò)。

That's why I shot down good old Kyle without a second thought when he cheerfully brought the Weigels' film project to me. I didn't see the future because I was looking in the rearview mirror. Big mistake.

幸好，維格夫婦沒那么容易泄氣。他們請(qǐng)另一個(gè)朋友聯(lián)絡(luò)我的媒體經(jīng)理，他讀了他們的劇本，覺得很喜歡，就帶來給我看。一讀到劇本，我馬上就發(fā)現(xiàn)我欠凱爾一個(gè)道歉。維格夫婦寫的故事跟希望與自重有關(guān)，主題深得我心。

Fortunately, the Weigels were not easily discouraged. They asked another friend to contact my media director. He read their screenplay, loved it, and brought it to me. Upon reading it, I realized Kyle deserved an apology. The Weigels' screenplay was about hope and redemption, subjects close to my heart.

此外，誰比我更適合演這部電影呢?片中的主角“沒有四肢的威爾”是他們特地為我量身打造的。影片一開始，威爾是個(gè)脾氣壞又沮喪的“小怪物”，在一個(gè)破爛的馬戲團(tuán)表演余興節(jié)目。后來，有好心人介紹他到一個(gè)待人比較厚道的馬戲團(tuán)，威爾在那里成了高空跳水明星。

And who better to star in a film short than me? Especially since the character they'd created for me was "Will the Limbless Man." As the movie begins, he is a snarly and depressed "freak" in a ragtag circus sideshow. Then, thanks to the kindness of others, Will is invited to join a far more benevolent circus troupe, where he becomes the star of a thrilling high-dive act.

我了解到，我應(yīng)該甩開我那些“但是”，趕緊行動(dòng)吧。我向凱爾道謝，并請(qǐng)他安排我跟維格夫婦碰面。許多大事件陸續(xù)展開：我們見面，談妥合作，然后我就簽字了。當(dāng)我知道好幾位有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的演員已經(jīng)同意加入時(shí)，我更加興奮了!

I realized I'd better get off my "buts" and kick into action. I thanked Kyle and asked him to set up a meeting with the Weigels. Great events quickly unfolded. We met. We bonded. And I signed on the dotted line. My enthusiasm grew when I learned that a number of much more experienced actors already had agreed to take roles in the film.

這是一個(gè)低預(yù)算、快速進(jìn)行的計(jì)劃，我只須騰出一個(gè)星期的時(shí)間拍攝我的鏡頭即可。你可以去看看影評(píng)，再?zèng)Q定我在娛樂圈有沒有前途，不過，我們這部《蝴蝶馬戲團(tuán)》(The Butterfly Circus)得到“門柱影片計(jì)劃”最大獎(jiǎng)，獎(jiǎng)金十萬美元。而因?yàn)榈玫竭@個(gè)獎(jiǎng)，讓這部短片備受矚目，維格夫婦正在考慮要不要把它發(fā)展成一部劇情長(zhǎng)片。

This was a low-budget, fast-moving project, so I only had to clear a week's time on my schedule to complete my scenes. You will have to check the reviews to decide whether I have a future in show business, but The Butterfly Circus won the $100,000 grand prize at the Doorpost Film Project, which supports filmmakers who make hopeful films. Our little movie (which you can find at https://www. thedoorpost.com) was chosen over one hundred other short films featuring similar themes. The Doorpost grand prize brought it a lot of attention, and the Weigels are considering turning it into a full-length feature.

那我可能會(huì)再度跳進(jìn)這個(gè)計(jì)劃哦。畢竟，能演這個(gè)角色的演員不多，因?yàn)樗仨殯]有四肢，然后又會(huì)跳水、游泳，還可以操一口流利的澳大利亞腔。

I just may dive into that project too. After all, not many actors can play the role of a limbless man who dives, swims, and pulls off the perfect Australian accent!