17歲的我,
When your Laker dream comes true tomorrow, you need to figure out a way to invest in the future of your family and friends. This sounds simple, and you may think it's a no-brainer, but take some time to think on it further.
當你的湖人夢明日就將成真,你需要找到投資你家庭和朋友未來的方法。這聽起來很簡單。你可能會覺得,這很簡單,簡直不用動腦。但你真的需要花點時間去好好思考。
I said INVEST.
我說的是投資。
I did not say GIVE.
我說的不是給予。
Let me explain.
讓我解釋給你聽。
Purely giving material things to your siblings and friends may appear to be the right decision. You love them, and they were always there for you growing up, so it's only right that they should share in your success and all that comes with it. So you buy them a car, a big house, pay all of their bills. You want them to live a beautiful, comfortable life, right?
純粹地給予兄弟姐妹和朋友物質上的東西,似乎是正確的決定。你愛他們,而他們在你成長的路上也一直相伴。因此,他們應該分享你的成功和隨之而來的一切。這是毫無疑問的。所以,你給他們買車,買大房子,付他們所有的賬單。你希望他們生活舒適、多姿多彩多彩,對吧?
But the day will come when you realize that as much as you believed you were doing the right thing, you were actually holding them back.
但終有一天,你會意識到,你越相信你做的是對的,你這樣做實際上限制了他們的潛力。
You will come to understand that you were taking care of them because it made YOU feelgood, it made YOU happy to see them smiling and without a care in the world — and that was extremely selfish of you. While you were feeling satisfied with yourself, you were slowly eating away at their own dreams and ambitions. You were adding material things to their lives, but subtracting the most precious gifts of all: independence and growth.
你會逐漸知道,你照顧他們只是為了讓你自己感覺很好。你很開心看到他們笑著,過著無憂無慮的生活——這說明你極度自私。但當你對自己感到滿意的同時,你漸漸地蠶食了他們自己的夢想和野心。你給他們的生活提供了更多物質上的享受,但消磨了一生中最珍貴的天賦:獨立和成長。
Understand that you are about to be the leader of the family, and this involves making tough choices, even if your siblings and friends do not understand them at the time.
能理解,你正在成為家庭的頂梁柱。這涉及到做出艱難的決定,甚至連你的親朋好友都可能會不理解。
Invest in their future, don't just give.
但要投資他們的未來,別只是給予。
Use your success, wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose. Put them through school, set them up with job interviews and help them become leaders in their own right. Hold them to the same level of hard work and dedication that it took for you to get to where you are now, and where you will eventually go.
用你的成功、財富和影響,讓他們在最好的條件下實現(xiàn)夢想,以及找到他們生命中真正的目標。讓他們?nèi)ド蠈W,讓他們?nèi)ッ嬖嚬ぷ?,幫助他們掌控他們的人生。讓他們保持同樣的努力和奉獻精神,那是你成功的原因,也幫助你創(chuàng)造日后的輝煌。
I'm writing you now so that you can begin this process immediately, and so that you don't haveto deal with the hurt and struggle of weaning them off of the addiction that you facilitated. That addiction only leads to anger, resentment and jealousy from everybody involved, including yourself.
我在寫的是你,所以你可以馬上開始做這件事。讓他們擺脫對你的依賴。這樣一來,你就不需要去應對他們的受傷和掙扎。依賴只會導致每一個被牽涉其中的人憤怒、怨恨和嫉妒,也包括你自己。
As time goes on, you will see them grow independently and have their own ambitions and theirown lives, and your relationship with all of them will be much better as a result.
隨著時間流逝,你會發(fā)現(xiàn)他們變得更獨立,有雄心壯志和自己的生活。你和他們的關系最終會更好。
There's plenty more I could write to you, but at 17, I know you don't have the attention spanto sit through 2,000 words.
我還有千言萬語想對你說。但17歲,我知道你難以聚精會神的讀2000字。
The next time I write to you, I may touch on the challenges of mixing blood with business. Themost important advice I can give to you is to make sure your parents remain PARENTS and notmanagers.
下次我寫給你的時候,我也許正面臨親情與生意交織的挑戰(zhàn)。我能給你最重要的忠告,就是確保你的父母仍然只是父母,不是你人生的經(jīng)營者。
Before you sign that first contract, figure out the right budget for your parents — one thatwill allow them to live beautifully while also growing your business and setting people up forlong-term success. That way, your children's kids and their kids will be able to invest in theirown futures when the time comes.
在你簽下第一份合同前,想好留多少預算給你父母——能夠讓他們過得好,又能發(fā)展你的事業(yè),并致辭人們獲得長期的成功。這樣一來,你的孩子的孩子和他們的孩子,就能在機遇到來時投資自己的未來。
Your life is about to change, and things are about to come at you very fast. But just let thissink in a bit when you lay down at night after another nine-hour training day.
你的生活將迎來改變,事情如潮水般洶涌而來。但在一天9小時的訓練后,晚上要好好放松自己。別去想了。
Trust me, setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and heartache, some of which remains to this day.
相信我,從一開始就做正確的事情,可以免去很多眼淚和心痛。有些到今天仍舊影響著我。
Much love,
愛你的,
Kobe
科比