It was finally making sense. He did want us to widen our views. To see what Mrs. Martin could not see, his employees could not see, or my dad for that matter. He used examples that sounded cruel at the time, but I've never forgotten them. My vision widened that day, and I could begin to see the trap that lay ahead for most people.
顯而易見，他想使我們擴展視野，這一切，馬丁太太看不見，他的雇員們看不見，我爸爸也看不見。富爸爸用了聽起來很無情的例子，但這些例子我始終不會忘記。我的視野在那天被打開了，開始注意到大多數人所面臨著的“陷講”。

"You see, we're all employees ultimately. We just work at different levels," said rich dad. "I just want you boys to have a chance to avoid the trap. The trap caused by those two emotions, fear and desire. Use them in your favor, not against you. That's what I want to teach you. I'm not interested in just teaching you to make a pile of money. That won't handle the fear or desire. If you don't first handle fear and desire, and you get rich, you'll only be a high-paid slave."
“你看，我們最終都是雇員，只不過處于不同層次而已。我只希望孩子們有機會避開由恐懼和欲望組成的陷阱，能按你喜愛的方式選用恐懼和欲望，別讓恐懼和欲望控制你。這就是我想教你們的。我對教你們如何掙大把的錢沒有興趣，那解決不了問題。如果你們不先控制恐懼和欲望，即使你們有錢，也只不過是高薪的奴隸而已?！?/p>

"So how do we avoid the trap?" I asked.
“那我們該怎樣避開陷阱？”

"The main cause of poverty or financial struggle is fear and ignorance, not the economy or the government or the rich. It's selfinflicted fear and ignorance that keeps people trapped. So you boys go to school and get your college degrees. I'll teach you how to stay out of the trap."
“造成貧窮和財務問題的主要原因是恐懼和無知，而非經濟環(huán)境、政府或富人。自身的恐懼和無知使人們難以自拔，所以你們應該去上學并且接受大學教育，而我教你們怎樣不落入餡阱?！?/p>

The pieces of the puzzle were appearing. My highly educated dad had a great education and a great career. But school never told him how to handle money or his fears. It became clear that I could learn different and important things from two fathers.
謎底漸漸顯露出來。我爸爸受過高等教育，有著很好的職業(yè)，但學校從不告訴他如何處理金錢或恐懼。我可以從兩個爸爸那里學習不同的但同樣都是很重要的事情。

"So you've been talking about the fear of not having money. How does the desire of money affect our thinking?" Mike asked.
“你談到對缺錢的擔心，那么對錢的欲望會怎樣影響到我們的思想呢？”邁克問。

"How did you feel when I tempted you with a pay raise? Did you notice your desires rising?"
“當我用更高的工資引誘你們時，你們有什么感覺？你感到欲望在膨脹嗎？”

We nodded our heads.
我們點點頭。

"By not giving in to your emotions, you were able to delay your reactions and think. That is most important. We will always have emotions of fear and greed. From here on in, it is most important for you to use those emotions to your advantage and for the long term, and not simply let your emotions run you by controlling your thinking. Most people use fear and greed against themselves. That's the start of ignorance. Most people live their lives chasing paychecks, pay raises and job security because of the emotions of desire and fear, not really questioning where those emotion-driven thoughts are leading them. It's just like the picture of a donkey, dragging a cart, with its owner dangling a carrot just in front of the donkey's nose. The donkey's owner may be going where he wants to go, but the donkey is chasing an illusion. Tomorrow there will only be another carrot for the donkey."
“但你們沒有對感覺屈服，你們推遲了決定的作出。這是極為重要的。我們總是有著恐懼或貪婪之心。從現在開始，對你們來說，重要的是運用這些感情為你們的長期利益謀利，別讓你們的感情控制了思想。大多數人讓他們的恐懼和貪婪之心來支配自己，這是無知的開始。因為害怕或貪婪，大多數人生活在掙工資、加薪、勞動保護之中，而不問這種感情支配思想的生活之路通向哪里。這就像一幅畫：驢子在拼命拉車，因為車夫在它鼻子前面放了個胡蘿卜。車夫知道該把車駛到哪里，而驢卻只是在追逐一個幻覺。但第二天驢依舊會去拉車，因為又有胡蘿卜放在了驢子的面前?！?/p>

"You mean the moment I began to picture a new baseball glove, candy and toys, that's like a carrot to a donkey?" Mike asked.
“你的意思是，當時在我腦海中的那些棒球手套、糖果和玩具的影像就像那驢子面前的胡蘿卜一樣嘍？”

"Yeah. And as you get older, your toys get more expensive. A new car, a boat and a big house to impress your friends," said rich dad with a smile. "Fear pushes you out the door, and desire calls to you. Enticing you toward the rocks. That's the trap."
“不錯。當你長大后，你的玩具會變貴，會變成要給你的朋友留下深刻印象的汽車、汽艇、大房子，”富爸爸笑著說，“恐懼把你推出門外，愿望又召喚你過去，誘惑你去觸礁。這就是陷阱。”

"So what's the answer," Mike asked.
“那答案是什么呢？”

"What intensifies fear and desire is ignorance. That is why rich people with lots of money often have more fear the richer they get. Money is the carrot, the illusion. If the donkey could see the whole picture, it might rethink its choice to chase the carrot."
“強化恐懼和欲望是無知的表現，這就是為什么很多有錢人常常會擔驚受怕。錢就是胡蘿人是幻像。如果驢能看到整幅圖像，它可能會重新想想是否還要去追求胡蘿卜?！?/p>

Rich dad went on to explain that a human's life is a struggle between ignorance and illumination.
富爸爸解釋說人生實際上是在無知和幻覺之間的一場斗爭。

He explained that once a person stops searching for information and knowledge of one's self, ignorance sets in. That struggle is a moment-to-moment decision-to learn to open or close one's mind.
他說一旦一個人停止尋求知識和信息，就會變得無知。因此，人們需要不停地與自己作斗爭：是通過學習打開自己的心扉，還是封閉自己的頭腦。

"Look, school is very, very important. You go to school to learn a skill or profession so as to be a contributing member of society. Every culture needs teachers, doctors, mechanics, artists, cooks, business people, police officers, firefighters, soldiers. Schools train them so our culture can thrive and flourish," said rich dad. "Unfortunately, for many people, school is the end, not the beginning."
“學校是非常非常重要的地方。在學校，你學習一種技術或一門專業(yè)，并成為對社會有益的人。每一種文明都需要教師、醫(yī)生、工程師、藝術家、廚師、商人、警察、消防隊員、士兵等等。學校培養(yǎng)了這些人才，所以我們的社會可以興旺發(fā)達。但不幸的是，對許多人來說，學校是終止而不是開端?！?/p>

There was a long silence. Rich dad was smiling. I did not comprehend everything he said that day. But as with most great teachers, whose words continue to teach for years, often long after they're gone, his words are still with me today.
接下來是長長的沉默。富爸爸依舊微笑著，我還沒弄明白那天他說的全部。但我已經意識到富爸爸是個很偉大的老師，他的話在我耳邊回響了很多年，直到現在我還在回味其中的道理。

"I've been a little cruel today," said rich dad. "Cruel for a reason. I want you to always remember this talk. I want you to always think of Mrs. Martin. I want you always to think of the donkey. Never forget, because your two emotions, fear and desire, can lead you into life's biggest trap, if you're not aware of them controlling your thinking. To spend your life living in fear, never exploring your dreams, is cruel. To work hard for money, thinking that money will buy you things that will make you happy is also cruel. To wake up in the middle of the night terrified about paying bills is a horrible way to live. To live a life dictated by the size of a paycheck is not really a life. Thinking that a job will make you feel secure is lying to yourself. That's cruel, and that's the trap I want you to avoid, if possible. I've seen how money runs people's lives. Don't let that happen to you. Please don't let money run your life."
“今天我有點無情，但無情得有理，”富爸爸說，“我希望你們永遠記住這次談話，我希望你們多想想馬丁太太，多想想那頭驢。永遠別忘記，會有兩種感情——恐懼和欲望，使你落入一生中最大的陷阱，如果你讓它們來控制自己的思想，你的一生就會生活在恐懼中，從不探求你的夢想，這是殘酷的。為錢工作，以為錢能買來快樂，這也是殘酷的。半夜醒來想著許多的賬單要付是一種可怕的生活方式，以工資的高低來安排生活不是真正的生活。這些都很殘酷，而我希望你們能避開這些陷阱，如果可能的話，別讓這些問題在你們身上發(fā)生，別讓錢支配你們的生活?！?/p>

A softball rolled under our table. Rich dad picked it up and threw it back.
一個壘球滾到了桌下，富爸爸拾起來扔了回去。

"So what does ignorance have to do with greed and fear?" I asked.
“無知是怎樣與恐懼、貪婪相聯的？”我問。

"Because it is ignorance about money that causes so much greed and so much fear," said rich dad. "Let me give you some examples. A doctor, wanting more money to better provide for his family, raises his fees. By raising his fees, it makes health care more expensive for everyone. Now, it hurts the poor people the most, so poor people have worse health than those with money.
“對錢的無知導致了如此之多的恐懼和貪婪的產生。我可以給你一些例子。一個醫(yī)生，想多掙些錢來更好地養(yǎng)活家人，就提高了收費，這就使每個人的醫(yī)療支出增加，這一切最無情地損害了窮人的利益，所以窮人的醫(yī)療狀況比富人差。

"Because the doctors raise their rates, the attorneys raise their rates. Because the attorneys' rates have gone up, schoolteachers want a raise, which raises our taxes, and on and on and on. Soon, there will be such a horrifying gap between the rich and the poor that chaos will break out and another great civilization will collapse. Great civilizations collapsed when the gap between the haves and havenots was too great. America is on the same course, proving once again that history repeats itself, because we do not learn from history. We only memorize historical dates and names, not the lesson.
由于醫(yī)生提高收費，則律師也提高收費；由于律師提高收費，學校老師也想增加收入，這就迫使政府提高稅收。這樣一環(huán)套一環(huán)，不久，在富人和窮人之間就有了一條可怕的鴻溝，混亂就會爆發(fā)。當鴻溝大到了極點時，一個社會就會崩潰。美國同樣身在其中，這種歷史一再重演，因為人們沒有以史為鑒。我們只是記住了歷史事件發(fā)生的時間和名稱，卻沒有記住教訓?！?/p>

"Aren't prices supposed to go up?" I asked.
“價格難道不能上漲嗎？”我問。

"Not in an educated society with a well-run government. Prices should actually come down. Of course, that is often only true in theory. Prices go up because of greed and fear caused by ignorance. If schools taught people about money, there would be more money and lower prices, but schools focus only on teaching people to work for money, not how to harness money's power."
“在一個教育水平高和政府管理良好的社會中價格不會上漲，實際上應該下降，價格上漲的原因是由無知引起的貪婪和恐懼。如果學校教學生認識錢，社會就有可能會變得更富有而且物價低廉。但學校關注的只是教學生為錢而工作，而不是如何開發(fā)和利用錢的力量。

"But don't we have business schools?" Mike asked. "Aren't you encouraging me to go to business school for my master's degree?"
“但我們不是有商學院嗎？”邁克問，“你不是在鼓勵我進商學院拿博士學位嗎？”

"Yes," said rich dad. "But all too often, business schools train employees who are sophisticated bean counters. Heaven forbid a bean counter takes over a business. All they do is look at the numbers, fire people and kill the business. I know because I hire bean counters. All they think about is cutting costs and raising prices, which cause more problems. Bean counting is important. I wish more people knew it, but it, too, is not the whole picture," added rich dad angrily.
“是的，但這并不夠！”富爸爸說，“商學院更擅長的是制造精確而廉價的‘計算器’，他們不可能干成大事。他們所做的只是看看數字，解雇人并把生意搞糟，他們所想的只是降低成本提高價格，事實上這會帶來更多的問題。計算是重要的，我希望更多的人懂得計算，但計算并不是全部。”

"So is there an answer?" asked Mike.
“那該怎么辦呢？”邁克問。

"Yes," said rich dad. "Learn to use your emotions to think, not think with your emotions. When you boys mastered your emotions, first by agreeing to work for free, I knew there was hope. When you again resisted your emotions when I tempted you with more money, you were again learning to think in spite of being emotionally charged. That's the first step."
“學會讓感情跟隨你的思想，而不要讓思想跟著你的感情。當你倆控制了感情，同意免費干活時，我就知道你們還有希望。當你們在我用更多的錢誘惑你們時，你們抵制住了感情，你們就又一次進行了思考而不是任由感情控制你們。這是第一步。

"Why is that step so important" I asked.
“這一步為什么如此重要？”我問。

"Well, that's up to you to find out. If you want to learn, I'll take you boys into the briar patch. That place where almost everyone else avoids. I'll take you to that place where most people are afraid to go. If you go with me, you'll let go of the idea of working for money and instead learn to have money work for you."
“噢，這要由你自己來找答案了。如果你想學，我將把你們帶上這條布滿荊棘的道路，大多數人都會選擇避開這條路。我會帶你們去大多數人都怕去的地方，跟著我，你們將學會讓錢為你們所用的方法，而不僅僅是為錢而工作?！?/p>

"And what will we get if we go with you. What if we agree to learn from you? What will we get?" I asked.
“我們跟著你會得到什么呢？我們同意跟你學，可我們能學到什么呢？”我問。

"The same thing Briar Rabbit got," said rich dad. "Freedom from the Tar Baby."
“自由?！?/p>

"Is there a briar patch?" I asked.
“那是一條布滿荊棘的路嗎？”

"Yes," said rich dad. "The briar patch is our fear and our greed. Going into our fear and confronting our greed, our weaknesses, our neediness is the way out. And the way out is through the mind, by choosing our thoughts."
“是的，所謂的荊棘就是我們的恐懼和貪婪。走進我們的恐懼，直面我們的貪婪、弱點和缺陷。這條路的出路就是用心去確定你的思想?！?/p>

（來源：原版英語 編輯：丹妮）