《当幸福来敲门》：相信自己，永不言弃
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老桑说
当/幸/福/来/敲/门
无论发生什么事，都要保持专注和坚持。
最终，你要选择你所追随的声音。
正如克里斯所说的，
“你想要什么，就去实现它。就这样。”
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「 朋友，你好，我是老桑。 」
最近一直天气非常寒冷，所以这正是一个完成电影愿望清单的好时候。于是在这个周末，我终于抽出时间看了电影《当幸福来敲门》（The Pursuit of Happyness）。这部2006年的电影改编自一个真实的故事，讲述了一个与无家可归并与生活不断作斗争的人如何在金融行业中战胜困难并取得成功的故事。
威尔·史密斯（Will Smith）饰演的角色——克里斯托弗·加德纳（Christopher Gardner），是一位生活在旧金山的单亲父亲，一度面临连自己的温饱也无法解决的困境。他和年幼的儿子小克里斯托弗（Christopher Jr.），被evict（赶出）了自己的公寓。为了生活，克里斯在一家股票经纪公司当学徒，这期间他带着儿子住在避难所，忍受着许多困难。但克里斯没有放弃，因为他始终希望为自己和儿子创造更好的生活。片中的小孩，其实正是威尔・史密斯现实生活中儿子贾登·史密斯，父子间的默契给喜欢他的影迷带来了很大的看点。
如果你现在情绪低落,这部电影将激励你,因为你很难找到自己比克里斯更糟糕的情况。他失去了他的家庭和妻子,政府把他的全部储蓄来偿还他的税款,他不得不juggle（兼顾）实习、照料孩子以及销售医疗设备的工作——更何况还要去避开小偷以及排队为了在夜晚收容所找到一张床位。这部电影让我们认识到我们现在所拥有的是多么的不容易。
电影中最著名的场景之一是克里斯在工作之前和儿子周末在唐人街打篮球。小克里斯很高兴有时间和他的父亲在一起，他自豪地告诉父亲，自己想成为“职业球员”，长大后想做一名职业篮球运动员。
但老克里斯让他打消了这个想法。他说：“事情不是这样的”，小克里斯也只能打的与他父亲一样。由于克里斯的水平低于平均水平，小克里斯也注定要成为一名低于平均水平的球员。老克里斯说，他的儿子可能会在其他方面做得很出色，只是不会打篮球，所以他干脆放弃算了。
Dejected（沮丧的）小克里斯不情愿地同意了，开始把篮球收起来。接下来是电影中最经典的一幕，克里斯说，他并不是想表达刚才的意思，而只是想让儿子学到人生中重要的一课:
老克里斯
嘿，别让别人告诉你不能做成什么事。即使是我也不行。知道吗?
小克里斯
好吧。如果你有梦想……你就得保护它。当人们做不到一些事情的时候，他们就会说你也不能做到。如果你想要什么，就去争取。就这样。
小克里斯接受了这个建议，振作起来，知道他必须追求自己的命运。随着电影的发展，父子俩经历了许多起起落落，但他们坚持了下来。最后，老克里斯成功在实习生的岗位上脱颖而出，在公司获得了一份coveted（梦寐以求的）全职工作，并后来成立了自己的价值数百万美元的证券经纪公司。梦想最终得以实现。
克里斯知道他在生活中想要什么，他有明确的方向。他是个普通的人，出身贫寒，受教育程度有限。他可能比你现在拥有的还少。然而，他没有依靠社会的恩惠和特权背景，而是向人们展示了专注和努力是如何能够让一个人从贫穷走向富裕。
在这家证券经纪公司，他每天都专注于提高自己的技能。随着他对这个行业的了解加深，他对金融产品的兴趣也与日俱增。当他工作、学习、忙碌时，他开始享受他的工作，这迫使他更加努力地工作。这创造了一个良性循环，将他带到了顶峰，实现了许多人认为不可能实现的目标。
美国的《独立宣言》定义“追求幸福”（the pursuit of happiness）为自由追求快乐和以一种让自己喜悦的方式来生活的基本权利，只要你不做任何违法或违反他人权利的事。
这一幕让我想起了我曾经听过的关于一只乌龟参加比赛的故事。当他接近起跑线时，人们嘲笑他，说他永远不可能完成比赛。发令枪响后，运动员们起跑了，乌龟只是缓缓地走着。人群向跑者欢呼，但却在嘲笑乌龟:
你不会成功的！乌龟不会赛跑。
这场比赛太长了，你走不了那么远。你应该在某个池塘里。
你真傻！乌龟，你在浪费时间。
但是乌龟还是继续往前走。随着时间的推移，其他跑步者放慢速度，退出比赛。一些人受伤，不得不被带走。一些更傲慢的跑步者甚至休息了一段时间，认为他们的速度可以弥补这段时间。可是乌龟不理睬他们，继续往前走。
然后，当比赛接近尾声时，乌龟出乎人意料地冲过了终点线。记者们围住他，问他是如何在一路受到欺凌和嘲笑的情况下完成比赛的。毕竟，集体的批评甚至能够让最强大的选手怀疑自己。
乌龟不知道记者们在问什么——就在那时，他们才知道乌龟是聋子。
我真的很喜欢这个故事，我经常想起它。它有很多版本，您可以根据自己的喜好替换自己喜欢的动物或族群来类比。但这个故事的寓意和克里斯给儿子的建议是一样的:当人们说你无法实现梦想时，要“充耳不闻”。耐心和坚持是成功的保证。
我的学生知道我有一个最喜欢的相对生僻的中国成语，但充满了伟大的智慧:“跛鳖千里“。一只乌龟很慢,瘸腿的乌龟会更慢,但他有毅力和决心,进而可以走很远。如果你像乌龟一样行动迟缓或有任何残疾，别去顾虑，对别人的言论“充耳不闻”，向前冲!
有人告诉你你做不到某事吗？也许他们在说这是不可能的，这条路太长了，或者你不具备成功的条件。考虑别人的建议总是好的。但是克里斯告诉他的儿子，对自己诚实是很重要的，最终，你要选择你所追随的声音。
你心中可能有一个梦想，这个梦想因为某人而被squelch（压制）了，这也许是你尊敬的人，告诉你做不到。就像现实生活中的克里斯多次被告知他会去失败一样，他无视那些反对者，专注于自己的成功之路。你也可以这么做。
考虑那些对你说“不”的人也很重要。“他们是谁?他们有什么资格教导你什么是你能做到的，什么是你不能做到的?”在乌龟的故事中，那些嘲笑乌龟的人并没有参加比赛，而只是一些观众。也许他们仅仅是在嫉妒，因为自己没有勇气参加比赛。
克里斯认为怀疑他的人可能更关心他们自己，而不是你。如果你成功了，而他们没有，你会让他们看起来很糟糕。他们试图通过压制你来抬高自己。看看谁想要你放弃你的梦想，因为他们可能有不完整的信息，或是根据有限的生活经验做出任何判断，或有一个不纯的动机。至少，一定要做出自己独立的判断。
总之，克里斯告诉我们，梦想的实现首先要在自己的内心确定必胜的信念然后再到生活中去实现它。你是自己思想的控制者。
我的朋友，《当幸福来敲门》给我们上了重要的一课，那就是要保护自己的梦想。无论发生什么事，都要保持专注和坚持。总会有怀疑你的人，其中也许还有爱你、关心你的人。但你可以对他们“充耳不闻”，成为自己命运的创造者。正如克里斯所建议的，“你想要什么，就去实现它。就这样。”
本文部分图片来源网络。
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 Pursuit of Happyness:
When others tell you you can't
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「 Hello, my friend！
I'm John Smagula. 」
It has been really cold lately, so it’s a great time to get caught up on movies that are on my bucket list. This weekend, I finally got around to seeing The Pursuit of Happyness. This 2006 film is based on the true story of a man who struggled with homelessness—and how he beat the odds and succeeded in the financial industry.
Christopher Gardner, played by Will Smith, is a single father in San Francisco. He and his young son Christopher Jr., played by his real son Jayden Smith, are evicted from their apartment. Chris is a volunteer intern at a brokerage firm, and the pair lives in shelters and endures many hardships. Chris refuses to give up, as he is driven to create a better life for himself and his son.
If you’re feeling down right now, this movie will inspire you, as it would be difficult to find yourself in a worse situation than Chris’s. He lost his home and his wife, the government took his entire savings to pay off his back taxes, and he had to juggle an internship with child care and a side job selling medical devices—all while dodging thieves and lining up to try to get a bed at a homeless shelter each night. It reminded me how much we take for granted.
In one of the movie’s most famous scenes, Chris and Chris. Jr. are playing basketball in Chinatown one weekend before Chris Sr. has to go out on a sales call. Chris Jr. is excited to have the time with his father, and he proudly tells him that he’s “going pro” and wants to become a professional basketball player when he grows up.
But Chris Sr. just rains on his parade. He said, “That’s not how it works,” and that Chris Jr. would only be as good at basketball as his father ever was. As father Chris was below average, Chris Jr. would also be destined to be a below-average player. Chris Sr. said that his son would probably excel at something else, just not basketball, so he might as well just give up.
A dejected Chris Jr. reluctantly agrees and starts to put the basketball away. And then comes the classic scene from the movie, where father Chris reveals he didn’t really mean what he said, but that he was just setting his son up to learn an important life lesson:
Chris Sr.
Hey, don't ever let somebody tell you you can't do something. Not even me. Alright?
Chris Jr.
Alright.You got a dream…you got to protect it. People can't do something themselves, they want to tell you you can't do it. You want something, go get it. Period.
Chris Jr. absorbs this advice, perks up, and learns that he has to pursue his own destiny. As the movie progresses, the pair goes through many ups and downs, but they persevere. In the end, Chris Sr. succeeds as an intern, earns a coveted full-time position at the company, and goes on to form his own multimillion-dollar brokerage firm. Dream fulfilled.
Rags to riches
Chris knew what he wanted in life, and he had clear direction. He was an ordinary person, having come from a poor background with limited education. He probably came from less than what you possess right now. Yet rather than rely upon social favor and a privileged background, he showed how focused, deliberate effort can bring someone from rags to riches.
At the brokerage firm, he focused on improving his skills every day. As he developed knowledge of the industry, his interest in financial products grew. As he worked, studied, and hustled, he began to enjoy his work—which forced him to work even harder. It created a virtuous cycle that brought him to the top, achieving what to many would believe to be an impossible goal.
The US Declaration of Independence defines ”the pursuit of happiness” as a fundamental right to freely pursue joy and live life in a way that makes you happy, as long as you don't do anything illegal or violate the rights of others.
The turtle in the race
This scene reminded me of a story I once heard about a turtle that entered a race. When he approached the starting line, people laughed at him, saying he could never finish the race. After the starting gun sounded, the runners took off, and the turtle just plodded along. The crowd cheered the runners but jeered the turtle:
You'll never make it! A turtle can't run a race.
This race is too long, and you can't go that far. You belong in a pond somewhere.
What a fool you are! Hey turtle, you're wasting your time.
But the turtle just kept going. Over time, other runners were slowing down and dropping out of the race. Some were injured and had to be taken away. Some of the more arrogant runners even took some time off to rest, thinking they could make up the time. Yet the turtle paid them no mind, and he just kept going.
And then, as the race came to an end, the turtle crossed the finish line to the amazement of the crowd. The journalists surrounded him, asking him how he finished the race despite all of the bullying and mocking along the way. After all, the collective criticism would have caused even the strongest of runners to doubt themselves.
The turtle didn’t understand the questions. And that’s when they learned that the turtle was deaf.
I really love this story, and I think of it often. There are many versions of it, and you can substitute your own animal or race analogy to make it work for you. But the moral of the story is the same as Chris’s advice to his son: be “deaf” when people say you can’t reach your dreams. Patience and persistence ensure success.
My students know that one of my favorite Chinese idioms is rarely used but full of great wisdom: “a lame turtle can go a thousand miles.” A turtle is slow, and a lame turtle is even slower, but with persistence and determination, even he can go quite far. If you feel slow or handicapped in any way, like the turtle, put it aside, be “deaf” to others, and push ahead!
Who is telling you you can’t?
Is somebody telling you that you can’t do something? Maybe they’re saying that it’s not possible, that the road is too long, or that you don’t have what it takes to make it. And it’s always good to consider other people’s advice. But Chris was telling his son that it’s important to be true to yourself, and ultimately, for you to choose which voices you follow.
You may have a dream in your heart that is being squelched because somebody, maybe even someone you respect, is telling you that you can’t do it. Just as the real-life Chris was told many times that he would fail, he ignored the naysayers and stayed focused on his own path to the top. You can do the same.
It’s also important to consider the people who are telling you “no.” Who are they, and what qualifies them to instruct you on what you are or are not capable of? In the turtle story, those who mocked the turtle were not in the race, but rather watching from the sidelines. Maybe they were jealous that they didn’t have the courage to enter the race themselves.
Chris suggested that doubters may be less concerned about you and more about themselves. If you succeed, and they don’t, you make them look bad. They try to bring themselves up by pushing you down. Look at who wants you to abandon your dreams, as they may have incomplete information, have limited life experience to make any judgement, or have an impure motivation. At the very least, be sure to make your own independent judgment.
In sum, Chris tells us that the battle for your dreams is first won in your mind and then later in your life. You are in control of your thoughts.
My friend, a key life lesson from The Pursuit of Happyness is that you have to protect your dreams. Stay focused and persevere, no matter what. There will always be people who doubt you, maybe even some who love and care for you. But you can be “deaf” to them and become the author of your own destiny. As Chris advises, “You want something, go get it. Period.”
{ 今日英文速记卡 }
1.Evict \ i-ˈvikt \
a)含义：v. 驱逐；逐出
b)例句：
i.He and his young son Christopher Jr., played by his real son Jayden Smith, are evicted from their apartment.
他和年幼的儿子小克里斯托弗（由他现实生活中的亲生儿子贾登·史密斯饰演）被赶出了自己的公寓。
ii.London, meantime, resumed legal action Tuesday to evict Occupy protesters, who have been camped on the doorsteps of St. Paul's Cathedral.
与此同时，伦敦市于周二重新采取法律行动驱逐在圣保罗大教堂门口台阶上扎营的占领运动抗议者。
c)近义词：dispossess, eject, expel
2.Juggle \ ˈjə-gəl \
a)含义： v. 尽力同时应付
b)例句：
i.He lost his home and his wife, the government took his entire savings to pay off his back taxes, and he had to juggle an internship with child care and a side job selling medical devices—all while dodging thieves and lining up to try to get a bed at a homeless shelter each night.
他失去了他的家庭和妻子,政府把他的全部储蓄来偿还他的税款,他不得不兼顾实习、照料孩子以及销售医疗设备的工作而避开小偷和排队,并试图在夜晚收容所找到一张床位。
ii.You juggle home and work, run a taxi service for the kids and spouse, organize Neighborhood Watch meetings, serve at the soup kitchen, and you still sew your own clothes!
你在家和工作中奇妙的变换着，跑出租车来承担孩子和配偶的费用，组织邻居观看比赛，在流动厨房服务；但是，你仍然缝合自己的衣服。
c)近义词： balance, coordinate, harmonize
3.Dejected \ di-ˈjek-təd \
a)含义：adj. 沮丧的；灰心的
b)例句：
i.A dejected Chris Jr. reluctantly agrees and starts to put the basketball away.
沮丧的小克里斯不情愿地同意了，开始把篮球收起来。
ii.Jean Valjean, who was dejected and seemed overwhelmed, raised his head with an air of stupefaction.
冉·阿让先头好象是垂头丧气的，听了这称呼，忽然抬起头来，露出大吃一惊的神气。
c)近义词： crestfallen, despondent, heartbroken
4.Coveted \ ˈkə-və-təd \
a)含义：adj. 梦寐以求的
b)例句：
i.In the end, Chris Sr. succeeds as an intern, earns a coveted full-time position at the company, and goes on to form his own multimillion-dollar brokerage firm.
最后，老克里斯作为一名实习生获得了成功，在公司获得了一份梦寐以求的全职工作，并成立了自己的数百万美元的经纪公司。
ii.Much attention has been paid to how electric and hybrid cars are making motorways greener, but what about the coveted advertising space on the sides of those motorways?
电力和混合动力的汽车将怎样使高速公路变得更加绿色已经受到了人们足够的重视，但高速旁令广告商垂涎的广告位的命运的又如何？
c)近义词： craved, desired, wanted
5.Squelch \ ˈskwelch \
a)含义：v. 压碎；压烂
b)例句：
i.You may have a dream in your heart that is being squelched because somebody, maybe even someone you respect, is telling you that you can’t do it.
你心中可能有一个梦想，这个梦想因为某人而被压制了，这也许是你尊敬的人，告诉你做不到。
ii.States could also squelch local resident movements to acquire new territory.
各国也有可能会镇压本地居民运动，以攫取新的领土。
c)近义词： quash, repress, subdue
Thank you for watching me to inspire, encourage, and accompany you.
See you next time.
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