佚名/Anonymous
We live in an unusual time with corporate downsizing, restructuring, and the increase in global competition. Some view these times as problematic；others see the incredible opportunities created by such change.
In the last decade there has been a huge growth in home-based and service-industry businesses. These businesses have been started by individuals with the courage to pursue their dreams. Yet, for every idea that is implemented, thousands of ideas never get beyond the conceptual stage—from the imagination to a plan of action.
What holds people back from pursuing their dreams and acting on their great ideas?I believe it's fear of failure. Someone once said,“there are a lot of ways to become a failure, but never taking a chance is the most successful way.”I've also heard it said that“people don't plan to fail……they fail to plan.”
Companies these days must be willing and able to change constantly. Sometimes companies change course to survive, and sometimes they do so because an opportunity is too good to resist. I know of a small company that provided a messenger service several years ago. A sudden major increase in corporate use of fax machines nearly put this small company out of business. Fortunately, the owner of the company was astute enough to realize other global corporate trends happening at the same time. The owner shifted gears from offering a messenger service to providing an off site records storage service, and soon business was booming once again.
It all comes down to perspective. When there was a downturn in the economy, some people could say,“This is terrible!With the downturn in the economy, nobody will have a budget for my service.”Or others thought,“This is great!With the tightening of budgets and the loss of support staff, there's an even greater need for professionals to be effective, which is precisely what I'm here to help them do!”
我們生活在一個公司規模縮減、機構重組和全球化競爭加劇的特殊時代。有些人認為，這會帶來眾多問題；也有些人認為，這種變化會帶來難以置信的巨大機遇。
家政服務行業在近十年迅速發展起來。這些業績是那些勇於追尋夢想的人創造的。然而，任何一個得以執行的計劃，都曆經了反反複複的構思階段——從設想到付諸行動。
是什麽阻礙了人們追求並實現他們的夢想？我想，這是恐懼心理在作祟。曾有人說：“失敗的原因有很多，沒把握住機會是一個最主要原因。”也有人說：“人們不是敗於計劃，而是敗於沒有計劃。”
如今，無論是為了生存，還是為了抓住千載難逢的絕好機遇，公司必須願意且有能力進行機構重整。據我所知，幾年前，有一家提供信使服務的小公司做得很不錯，但傳真機的迅速普及使該公司麵臨倒閉。幸而公司老板非常精明，他意識到了當時的全球化趨向。於是，他馬上將公司服務轉型，由提供信使服務轉為遠端記錄存儲服務，很快，公司再度蓬勃發展起來。
因而，一切都取決於你看待問題的視點。經濟不景氣時，有人會說：“太糟糕了！經濟低迷，產品銷不出去。”有些人則會這樣想：“太棒了！預算緊張，雇員減少，這就需要大量的高效率專業人員，這恰好適合我！”
心靈小語
任何事情都有兩麵性，我們往往在難得的機遇來臨之時也麵臨著巨大的困難，是抓住機會迎難而上，還是放棄機會不敢奮鬥，這考驗著我們的智慧和勇氣。
W詞匯筆記
conceptual[k?n'sept?u?l]adj.概念上的
例 The conceptual design is wonderful.
這個概念設計很奇特。
astute[?s'tju:t]adj.機敏的；狡猾的
例 He is an astute businessman.
他是一個精明的商人。
tighten['tait?n]v.勒緊；堅固
例 He tightened his grip on her arm.
他緊抓她的手臂。
precisely[pri'saisli]adv.精確地
例 Tell me precisely what do you want?
請明確地告訴我你想要什麽？
S小試身手
我們生活在一個公司規模縮減、機構重組和全球化競爭加劇的特殊時代。
譯________________________________________
是什麽阻礙了人們追求並實現他們的夢想？我想，這是恐懼心理在作祟。
譯________________________________________
一切都取決於你看待問題的視點。
譯________________________________________
P短語家族
What holds people back from pursuing their dreams and acting on their great ideas?
hold back：退縮；抑製
造________________________________________
A sudden major increase in corporate use of fax machines nearly put this small company out of business.
out of：在……外；離開，缺乏
造________________________________________