主题：【原创】茗谈(十六)-1 -- 本嘉明

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

My third story is about death.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960’s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

总体讲，刘先生的中文翻译，非常好，忠实原意。换了小本，只是因为语言风格的不同，有些地方的处理会不大一样。先说说这几个小节处，供爱好翻译的朋友一笑。

演讲第一句，我会翻译成：“本人从未大学毕业，今天批上学士袍发言，算是最山寨的一次了。”

第二个，“connecting the dots”，嘉木翻译得非常传神，就是“因果”。

第三，故事“love and loss”，我会翻成“爱与痛失”。说“失落”，可能轻了。

第四，是那句关于死亡的格言“If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.”，我会翻成：“假如你非要把每天都看成自己生命的最后一天，那总有一天：恭喜你，答对了。”

第五，胰脏手术后，JOBS说：“……and I’m fine now”，我觉得这一句很难翻译。你可以照字面翻成“现在我痊愈了。”，但这样表现不出原文更深的意味，包括新生后对造物主的谦卑，从头跨越的豪迈，等等很多。美国文化确实有一种大气豪情，是一两个单词就能代表，却不是一两句译文能够言尽的。

第六，是最后那句格言：Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

我想用两句中国的名言套套看：

第一句是：朝得道，夕死可矣------何等的渴求和豪迈。

第二句是：大智若愚。

（二）

盖茨和JOBS，我更喜欢哪一个？

是JOBS。他的人生命运，更跌宕起伏，更精彩，更快意恩仇。小本曾说了半个盖茨打官司的故事，大家还记得吧？

那个法官，为什么如此戏剧性地授人以柄，使得微软的律师团成功申请更换法官，拖延了时间，等到了小布什上台？（在共和党眼里，大公司天然是好公司，所以不打算拆分微软。随后911事发，国土安全部要从后门侵入数以百万计的私人电脑，微软当然更要从牛棚解放出来了）。克林顿的民主党政府敢于立志拆开微软，是相信美国有的是好汉，倒下一个拦路的，其他能一哄而上，小克倒不一定错。

小本认为，那个法官，可能是故意的，由此让微软多个自救的机会。

但那场官司，对盖茨的打击实在太大，可以说，他至今没有缓过来，神志还相当地茫然（就是张国立那种表情）。他怎么能相信，美国曾经下定决心，要抛弃他，而且几乎成功。这么伟大的人物，也有他的“阿基里斯之踵”，他的脆弱和旧伤。

相比起来，JOBS跌得更惨，却又反弹得更高，更奋发，更有后劲，更辉煌。但，我们不要一味被以上JOBS的英雄事迹所迷惑，把自己变成空有演讲里的那种雄心壮志，眼高手低，而忽略最基础的教育积累。

小本跟朋友们聊到中国和美加之间的教育差异时，总劝大家不要妄自菲薄，以为北美的基础教育如何有人性，如何自由发展。这两种教育方式，社会基本面是不同的。

在北美，早年间大多数家庭有3个以上孩子，有7，8个十来个的，不稀奇。普通人家孩子多了，家里管不过来，就“散养”，随地乱丢，一色的走地鸡，哪只鸡胜出了，供他上大专（COLLEGE）或大学。其他鸡，中学毕业去“麦当劳”吧，供不起大学，也没必要嘛。JOBS那样的事业胜出，是一将功成万骨枯，我们普通人家的娃，不要老做这种梦。

而中国的独生子女现状，那一个孩子，得精养。大家都奔了奥数，你连初中课堂上的都没学好，在职场就掉进底层了。虽然中国的教育制度被批得不行，我却认为比美国的，各有优势。因为中国的教育制度，偏重培养“精兵”，也就是如今白菜了的工程师；美国的制度，偏重培养良将，也就是JOBS级别的李云龙。以前大家隔绝，有好兵而无好将，所谓“将熊熊一窝”，中国是吃亏的。现在不了，那么多人留学，虽说银子花海了，可美国最好的大学，变成了替中国培养良将的黄埔。毕竟将军不需要很多，每一届毕业生里，80%是美国将，15%是中国将，中国也足够了。而美国的社区大专，面临巨大问题，可以说培养兵的体系，从根里开始腐烂，以前靠大量世界青年精英来美报效，来弥补好兵之不足，今后的吸引力就难说。这种“美国梦”褪色的困境，只要有个十来年，麻烦就大了，国家竞争力就断代了。

（三）

以下说一个真实的故事，告诉大家学习的重要。

翠西是一个加拿大本地白人，1960年左右出生。当她上中学的时候，老师警告他们：有两种公司不可以去工作，条件太差。第一个，是保险公司（要自己跑街嘛）。第二个，是银行。

是的，我没有说错，银行。当时银行的待遇并不好。

翠西高中毕业后，一天到一个在银行工作的朋友那里玩，那朋友的上司就告诉她：如果你能来我们银行工作，你的朋友就可以被提升，因为介绍有功。

是的，我还是没有说错，跟中国的传销拉人，有得一拼。忘了说的是，那是加拿大前三的大商业银行。

翠西人情难却，就想：先干个五年，攒点钱再去读大学吧。

但人一进入社会，应酬啊，交际啊，没心思读书了，而且人一生中，最适合读书的年纪，就那么几年。一晃早过了五年了，还在银行里呆着，一个萝卜一个坑，简单重复劳动。

1990年，加拿大爆发一次大的经济萧条，银行裁员。翠西只有高中学历，而且她的工作，只限于个人房产安揭部门的一个环节。如果在这几年里，她读个证书，可以上岗兼一些个人理财顾问的工作，她的工作就可以保住了。但她什么都没有，于是被裁。这几年里，翠西嫁了人，儿子两岁时又离了，单亲妈妈，失业时，孩子11岁。

那次经济萧条既深又长，很多人至今记忆犹新。翠西在整整七年里面，无法找到一个全职工作，靠单亲妈妈的福利过活。在辗转了几个短工后，到2000年才回到原来那家银行，当了个“合同工”。因为经济前景不明朗，银行也聪明了，普工尽量合同着，一年一续（加拿大的大企业，长期工和‘合同工’的待遇不同，工作稳定性也不同。以前一般合同半年，等于是实习期，然后就‘转正’，签长期和约）。结果翠西这个普工，花了整4年才转正。

翠西的儿子，人生最重要的那几年，家里乱七八糟，结果也不好好读书，长大在建筑工地当合同工，收入时有时无，最近觉得也不是办法，去学了个“健身教练”的证书，在健身房当一对一的教练。健身房问顾客收费，每小时65元，分到他手里，15元。翠西人挺好，如今差不多是个慈眉善目的半老太太了，母子到今天，还是租房住。

当我们刚到加拿大的时候，是多么羡慕本地人的英语啊。这不是崇洋媚外，是生存的残酷使然。到了今天，我们更明白的，是放之四海而皆准的真理：

知识改变命运，知识挽救人生。

小本给朋友们的建议是：作为一个普通劳动者（猪八戒型，不是JOBS那样天降大任的），你衣食有余后的一点点积攒，可以这样花（排名分先后）：

1）用来终身学习，补脑子，补自身价值。

2）用来吃好，留出合理的休息时间（少打一份零工），补自己的身体。

3）如果还有剩，用来投资防老，比如赶紧买房。

4）如果再有剩，去办个小三吧。如今讲人权，咱也拦不住你。人活一世，不就个折腾吗？Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

南方有嘉木:【最新一期时代杂志的文章】No More Nukes?

本嘉明:【原创】茗谈（十五）-1