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追求梦想
Follow Your Dream

【心灵感悟】

纵然烈日当头，蜗牛缓缓地向着金字塔的顶端爬行，因为蜗牛相信：我虽然没有鹰的矫健，但毅力是我最大的天赋；即使没有翅膀，蜘蛛却可以把网牢牢地结在空中，因为蜘蛛相信：梦想是最好的翅膀。

蜗牛告诉我，背起行囊出发吧，梦想就是最好的理由；蜘蛛告诉我，如果没有梦想，连翅膀也会成为累赘。

【英语原文】

All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.

Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, "I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy's high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up."

"That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch."

"He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, 'See me after class.'"

"The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, 'Why did I receive an F?'"

"The teacher said, 'This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you'll have to pay large stud fees. There's no way you could ever do it .' Then the teacher added, 'If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.'"

"The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, 'Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.'"

"Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, 'You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream.'"

Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, "I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace." He added, "The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week." When the teacher was leaving, he said, 'Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids' dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.'"

Don't let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.

本文节选自杰克·坎菲尔德（Jack Canfield）主编的《心灵鸡汤》系列，杰克是一位成功的作家、职业演讲家、研讨班领导者、企业培训家和企业家。从哈佛大学毕业后，杰克到芝加哥市中心一所高中执教，开始了自己的职业生涯。很快，他开始学习如何激励那些毫无上进心的学生们。带着这个疑问，他碰到了芝加哥自我实现的百万富翁和成功学导师克莱门特·斯通。斯通是《成功杂志》的发行人，“组合式保险企业”的总裁，《从不失败的成功系统》一书的作者。

杰克·坎菲尔德撰写并与人合著了以下书籍：《增进自信课堂100法》（100 Ways to Enhance Self-Esteem in the Classroom）、《大胆去赢》（Dare to Win）、《阿拉丁因素》（The Aladdin Factor）、《工作有心》（Heart at Work）、《专注的力量：如何百分百确定实现所有个人、商业和经济目标》（The Power of Focus: How to Hit All Your Personal, Business and Financial Goals with Absolute Certainty），以及包括85本畅销书的“心灵鸡汤”系列（现已被翻译成39种语言，在全世界发行超过8000万册）。此外，他还在畅销录音专辑《自信和巅峰表现》和《极限信心》、《阿拉丁因素》中传授自己关于成功、自信和快乐的原理。

【参考翻译】

如果我们有勇气去追逐，那么我们所有的梦想都能实现。

不要害怕你的梦想和现实之间的距离，如果你能有梦，就能把它变为现实。

我有个朋友叫蒙提·罗伯兹，他在圣思多罗（San Ysidro）有座牧马场。我常借用他宽敞的住宅举办募款活动，以便为帮助青少年的计划筹备基金。

上次活动时，他在致辞中提到：“我让杰克借用住宅是有原因的。这故事跟一个小男孩有关，他的父亲是位流动表演的马术师，他从小就必须跟着父亲东奔西波，男孩的求学过程并不顺利。初中时，有次老师叫全班同学写报告，题目是长大后的志愿。”

“那晚他洋洋洒洒写了7张纸，描述他的伟大志愿，那就是想拥有一座属于自己的牧马农场，并且仔细画了一张200亩农场的设计图，上面标有马厩、跑道等的位置，然后在这一大片农场中央，还要建造一栋占地4000平方英尺的巨宅。”

“他花了好大心血把报告完成，第二天交给了老师。两天后他拿回了报告，第一页打了一个又红又大的F，旁边还写了一行字：下课后来见我。”

“脑中充满幻想的他下课后带着报告去找老师：‘为什么给我不及格？’”

“老师回答道：‘你年纪轻轻，不要老做白日梦。你没钱，没家庭背景，什么都没有。盖座农场可是个花钱的大工程；你要花钱买地、花钱买纯种马匹、花钱照顾它们。你别太好高骛远了。’他接着又说：‘如果你肯重写一个比较不离谱的志愿，我会重打你的分数。’”

“这男孩回家后反复思量了好几次，然后征询父亲的意见。父亲只是告诉他：‘儿子，这是非常重要的决定，你必须自己拿定主意。’”

“再三考虑一周后，他决定原稿交回，一个字都不改。他告诉老师：‘即使不及格我也不愿放弃梦想。’”

蒙提此时向众人表示：“我提起这故事，是因为各位现在就坐在200亩农场内，占地4000平方英尺的豪华住宅。那份初中时写的报告我至今还留着。”他顿了一下又说：“有意思的是，两年前的夏天，那位老师带了30个学生来我的农场露营一星期。离开之前，他对我说：‘蒙提，说来有些惭愧。你读初中时，我曾泼过你冷水。这些年来，我也对不少学生说过相同的话。幸亏你有这个毅力坚持自己的梦想。’”

不论做什么事，相信你自己，别让别人的一句话将你击倒。