地理大发现时代：你是否渴求成功？
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老桑说
欧洲正处在地理大发现时期。
彼时，
西班牙的航迹已遍及全球，
他们极力寻找财富，
缔造帝国。
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「朋友，你好！我是老桑。」
老桑与父母一起过母亲节
16世纪的中国明王朝江河日下之时，欧洲正处在地理大发现时期。那时，中国厉行海禁，西班牙的航迹则遍及全球，极力寻找财富，缔造帝国。
西班牙帝国的国旗
现如今，西班牙以不到5000万人口成为了欧洲第五大经济体。但在15、16世纪，西班牙是世界的霸主，控制了辽阔的疆土，包括如今的美国、墨西哥、中南美洲以及菲律宾。
赫南多·迪索托
早在第一队英国殖民者到达北美洲的100年前，西班牙探险家赫南多·迪索托就已于1539年登上了现在佛罗里达州的土地。那时，西班牙已经征服了墨西哥的阿兹特克人和秘鲁的玛雅人，利用他们的黄金和白银来支持自己的帝国的运转。作为征服者其中的一员，迪索托帮助西班牙拓展了秘鲁的殖民地。
嘉靖皇帝
与开拓不毛之地白手起家拓展殖民地不同，西班牙的殖民模式是为了寻找存在的未知文明，征服他们，将当地人变为奴隶，同时为了个人和皇室的利益榨取当地人的财富。在16世纪30年代帮助西班牙征服秘鲁之后，赫南多·迪索托又出发来到了佛罗里达，因为他认为那里有类似的财富等待他去发现。
美国佛罗里达州萨拉索塔市附近有一座迪索托纪念馆，它坐落于被认为可能是当初他在1539年登陆于此的地方。迪索托投入了自己在秘鲁远征过程中所获得的财富来资助这次探险，一共有九条船、600名士兵参与其中。西班牙国王给他的任务是“征服、殖民、平定”这片当地人已经生存了千百年的土地。
迪索托国家纪念馆正门
那时，西班牙人并没有满足于仅仅控制美洲。1586年，西班牙人在菲律宾建立了基地以便为进攻中国做准备。但是在评估明朝的实力后他们最终放弃了这一设想。
四年时间里，迪索托的探险队为寻找黄金在美国东南部艰难跋涉近6500公里。他们一路上遭遇了糟糕的天气和当地人的武装抵抗。尽管付出巨大的努力，他们却没有找到帝国和财富，甚至迪索托自己也于1542年死在征途上，后来探险队的幸存者们撤退回到墨西哥。
在我最近去佛罗里达州陪父母过母亲节的旅行中，我也拜访了迪索托纪念馆，从而能深入了解他的征途以及在那些充满野心与危险开拓里蕴藏的初衷。
纪念馆管理员丹·斯蒂芬斯告诉我，这次远征有两个深远的影响。首先，迪索托从欧洲带去的猪几乎使当地人口decimate（消失殆尽），因为他们身上没有抵抗异域病菌的抗体。其次，迪索托远征队在这次失败探险中所获得的地理学知识造福了后来的探险家，帮助他们更好的探索这片土地。
当我走在迪索托曾登陆的地方时，我不禁思考他在这段艰险旅途上的初衷。那时的他从秘鲁的殖民活动中积累了可以供他在西班牙享受一切的财富。佛罗里达对当时人们来说仍是未知的地方，那么为何他愿意放弃一切投入未知的旅途中呢？
尽管可以坐享舒适的生活，迪索托想要的远不止这些。作为家中的次子，他在西班牙无法拥有自己的土地。而在新大陆上，他可以统治管理自己的领地，拥有西班牙帝国中自己的力量。身为探险家，他的血液中流淌着征服的欲望，永远不满足于自己已有的荣誉。
迪索托到达佛罗里达
当然，风险是很高的。那些获得国王的恩准开拓的人们需要能够回来才能成为胜利者，而失败的惩罚则是流放、监禁甚至是处决。迪索托心里一定很清楚这一点，因为他自己也曾在秘鲁惩罚那些失败的探险者。但不管怎样，他知道失败不应是自己的选项。
Stay hungry, stay foolish. –Steve Jobs
“饥渴求知，虚怀若愚。”-乔布斯
史蒂夫·乔布斯
这些绝境使迪索托的决心更加坚定。一旦放弃，他将失去他所有的财富，让他的士兵陷入危险，遭受牢狱之灾甚至是更加严重的后果。在夜以继日艰难野外跋涉的路途中，他一定对这些都心知肚明，不断探索着难以测知的黄金帝国，渴求成功。
你是否也对自己一生想要追求的事物充满渴望？
成功人士都渴求于自己想要达到的目标。他们愿意为此做出牺牲，忍受困苦，饿其体肤，尝试一切可以完成目标的方式，并一直在为之努力的道路上前进。
在我自己的跋涉过程里，我常常碰到一些朋友告诉我说他们想要更进一步。有的想要获得一份更好的工作，但却不愿上学；有的人想要减肥，但却不想锻炼和减少卡路里的摄入；有的想要摆脱贫困，但只是以生活环境为借口却不愿采取实质措施。
跋涉远行
在面对这样一些人时，我认为他们仅仅是对自己的梦想没有足够的渴望。他们想象成功，但却更愿宅在家里看电视，wallow（沉溺）对荧幕中富商名流生活的嫉妒之中。有的人渴望出人头地，但却每天花很多时间查看自己的手机。而另一些人虽有雄心但却沉湎于电子游戏。
我认为他们是有取得成功的期待的，只是从未严肃地对待。他们抱怨自己“没钱”，却似乎没有采取实际行动的动力，将自己的挫败归咎于社会或是父母的养育。他们让vague（空虚的）生活化为失望，把追逐的目标变成了接连的借口。自然，怠惰和焦虑接踵而生，形成恶性循环。
我经常倾听他们的故事，安慰他们，但这只是我可以做的，因为我很清楚他们还没有做好足够的准备。
如果你想要成功，你必须抱有激情。
抱有激情
赫南多·迪索托对成功抱着一种insatiable（永不满足的）渴望。尽管坐拥无尽财富，但他不希望停滞在西班牙的第二阶层，而渴求曾为帝国的最前沿，让自己青史留名。这就是探险家精神。
所以，我们也可以emulate（效仿）这种精神。与征服其他人或是文明不同的是，我们是在战胜阻碍。这种饥渴的状态会激发我们的决心，从而能够推动持续性的实际行动。
对迪索托的评价褒贬不一。尽管他勇敢的开拓发掘了未知土地上新的知识，但也因屠杀和对原住民居住区巨大破坏而被视为侵略者。如今，当你为了自己的目标竭尽所能之时，也会面临保持道德边界的艰难抉择。
红树林小径
如果你停滞不前的生活，那就应检视你的内心动力。倘若你不愿做出努力，也许只是你没有对自己的目标有足够的渴求。假设你拥有了舒适的生活，你也许就不能面临绝境，刺激自己采取更加迫切的措施。如果你选择不去努力，那就不要抱怨结果差强人意。
朋友，你必须对自己的目标保持饥渴的态度。迪索托对成功的渴望激励着他拼命以求。尽管他史诗般的远征以失败而告终，他的成果依然改变了美国和世界的历史。于我们而言，找到你的渴求之事，那将成为你前进的力量，坚定你的决心。那么你渴望探索、成就的是什么呢？
谢谢收看《老桑说》。
给你启发，激励你上进，陪伴你坚持。
敬请期待下一集。
英文版
English
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The Age of Discovery:
are you hungry for success?
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「 Hello, my friend！
I'm John Smagula. 」
In the 16th century, as the Ming Dynasty was nearing its end, Europe was amid the Age of Discovery. During this period, China adopted isolationist sea bans, but the Spanish were sailing abroad to discover riches and establish empires.
Today, we know Spain to be the fifth largest economy in Europe with fewer than 50 million people. But in the 15th and 16th centuries, Spain was the first global power in the world, controlling vast areas of what have become the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Philippines.
Hernando de Soto
Nearly 100 years before the first wave of British arrived in North America, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto arrived in Florida in 1539. By then, Spain had already conquered the Aztecs in Mexico and Mayans in Peru, taking their gold and silver to finance the Empire. De Soto, a conquistador himself, helped Spain to achieve its conquest of Peru.
Rather than arrive in a desolate location and start from scratch, the Spanish model was to find existing civilizations, conquer them, enslave the local inhabitants, and extract their riches for personal and imperial enrichment. After helping conquer Peru in the 1530s, Hernando de Soto set out for Florida, where he thought similar riches could be found.
The de Soto National Memorial near Sarasota, Florida, marks the location where he may have landed on this 1539 voyage. De Soto financed the expedition with his riches from Peru, bringing nine ships and 600 soldiers. He was tasked by the Spanish king to “conquer, populate and pacify” the land, where the indigenous people had already lived for millennia.
De Soto's Arrival in Florida
During this era, the Spanish were not content just to capture the Americas. In 1586, Spanish forces based in the Philippines considered an attack on Beijing, with the intent to conquer China. After assessing the strength of Ming forces, they abandoned the plan.
Over four years, de Soto’s expedition trudged nearly 4,000 miles throughout the Southeastern United States in search of gold. They met harsh weather conditions and armed resistance from the native tribes. Despite this considerable effort, they never found kingdoms and fortune. De Soto died along the way in 1542, and his remaining men retreated to Mexico.
On my recent trip to Florida to visit my parents for Mother’s Day, I also visited the de Soto National Memorial to learn more about his exploration and motivations to undertake such an ambitious and risky journey.
Park ranger Dan Stephens told me that this expedition had two far-reaching results. First, the pigs that de Soto brought from Europe nearly decimated the native population, as they were not immune to these foreign pathogens. Second, the knowledge of geography de Soto acquired from this failed expedition informed future explorers on how better to explore the continent.
As I walked around the territory where de Soto landed, I wondered about his motive for taking on this demanding journey. He already made his fortune in Peru, so he had plenty of money to buy whatever goods he wanted back in Spain. Little was known about Florida at the time, so why would de Soto risk it all for a plunge into the unknown?
Although he could enjoy the comforts of life, de Soto wanted more. As the second-born son, he was not entitled to own land back in Spain. In the New World, he could have become governor and owned land, becoming his own force within the empire. As a conquistador, he had a fighting spirit to conquest, not content to rest on his laurels.
Arrival Beach
The stakes were high. Those who were granted the king’s authority to explore needed to come back as victors. The penalty for failure was exile, imprisonment, or execution. De Soto would have known this, as he himself would have punished such failed explorers in Peru. Simply put, he knew failure was not an option.
Stay hungry, stay foolish. –Steve Jobs
These risks created a desperation that fueled de Soto’s resolve. If he gave up, he would have lost his entire savings, imperiled the lives of his soldiers, destroyed his reputation, and ended up imprisoned or worse. He must have had these things in mind as he trekked through the wilds, day after day, searching for the elusive kingdom of gold. He was hungry for success.
Are you hungry for what you want to achieve in your life?
Successful people are hungry for what they want to accomplish. They are willing to make sacrifices, endure hardships, skip meals, and do what it takes to make it happen. They always think about what they want, and they are always on the move to get there.
De Soto Expedition Map
In my own expeditions, I often meet people who say they want to get ahead. They want to get a better job, but not willing to go to school. They want to lose weight, but not willing to exercise and cut calories. They want to break out of poverty but make excuses for their life circumstances rather than take action.
When I meet these people, I can tell they’re just not hungry enough for what they want. They think about success, but prefer to stay at home and watch television, wallowing in jealousy over the lives of rich and famous people they see on TV. They dream about getting ahead, but then spend hours checking their phones. They have ambitions but are addicted to video games.
I think they have the ideas of achieving success, but they never take it seriously. They complain that they have “no money,” but don’t seem motivated to take action, blaming society or their upbringing for their ills. They translate their vague life ambitions into frustration and excuses rather than goals. Then, laziness and distractions set in, and the cycle continues.
I usually listen to their stories and offer some words of encouragement, but that’s all I can do, as I can tell they’re just not ready for more.
Mangrove Trail
If you want to be successful, you must always be hungry.
Hernando de Soto had an insatiable hunger for success. He was not willing to settle for second class back in Spain, despite his considerable wealth. He wanted to be at the forefront of the empire, building a name that would live into eternity. Such is the conquistador spirit.
So, too, can we emulate this spirit. Rather than conquer another people or civilization, we conquer our obstacles. This hunger is a mindset that fuels our determination, which then leads to consistent action.
De Soto leaves a mixed legacy. Despite his daring exploits that created a new body of knowledge about unknown lands, he was also considered an invader who killed many people and caused the destruction of many native inhabitants. Today, when doing “whatever it takes” to achieve your goal, it’s crucial to stay within ethical boundaries.
If you’re dissatisfied with your stagnant state of life, examine your motivations. If you’re not willing to make the effort, you may just not be hungry enough to achieve your goal. If you have all of the comforts in life, you may not have the desperation that would cause you to take more extreme measures. If you choose not to make the effort, you really can’t complain.
My friend, you have to be hungry for what you want. De Soto’s hunger for success propelled him to risk it all. Even though his epic expedition ended in failure, he changed the history of the United States and the world. Find your hunger, and therein will lie the force that will boost your determination. What are you eager to explore…and achieve?
1.Decimate
a)含义：v. 大量毁灭
b)例句：
i.First, the pigs that de Soto brought from Europe nearly decimated the native population, as they were not immune to these foreign pathogens.
首先，迪索托从欧洲带去的猪几乎使当地人口消失殆尽，因为他们身上没有抵抗异域病菌的抗体。
ii.The pollution could decimate the river's thriving population of kingfishers.
污染可能大量毁灭在这条河茁壮成长的翠鸟群。
c)近义词：annihilate, demolish, destroy
2.Wallow
a)含义： v. 沉迷；打滚
b)例句：
i.They think about success, but prefer to stay at home and watch television, wallowing in jealousy over the lives of rich and famous people they see on TV.
他们想象成功，但却更愿宅在家里看电视，沉溺对荧幕中富商名流生活的嫉妒之中。
ii.He’d been feeling sorry for himself, wallowing in self-pity. 他一直自哀自怜，无法自拔。
c)近义词：indulge, give oneself up to, revel in
3.Vague
a)含义：adj. 模糊的
b)例句：
i.They translate their vague life ambitions into frustration and excuses rather than goals.
他们让空虚的生活化为失望，把追逐的目标变成了接连的借口。
ii.The governor gave only a vague outline of his tax plan.
州长只是含糊地大致说了一下他的税务计划。
c)近义词： fuzzy, hazy, unclear
4.Insatiable
a)含义：adj. 贪得无厌的；不知足的
b)例句：
i.Hernando de Soto had an insatiable hunger for success.
赫南多·迪索托对成功抱着一种永不满足的渴望。
ii.China is leading an Asian surge, with its privatised companies keen to seize on the state's insatiable demand for old energy.
由于中国私营公司热衷于利用该国对旧能源不知满足的需求，中国正在引领一个亚洲的激增。
c)近义词：inappeasable, unappeasable, unquenchable
5.Emulate
a)含义：v. 仿真；模仿
b)例句：
i.So, too, can we emulate this spirit.
所以，我们也可以效仿这种精神。
ii.The simulator will generate random values to emulate a server generating score updates.
这个模拟器将生成随机值来模仿一个生成比分更新信息的服务器。
c)近义词：copy, imitate, mimic
Thank you for watching me to inspire, encourage, and accompany you.
See you next time.
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