Write your story, change history - Brad Meltzer

写下你的故事，改变历史 - 布拉德·门泽

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

翻译人员: Sherry Chen 校对人员: Zaixin Yang

You know what the greatest secret of history is?

你知道历史最大的秘密是什么吗？

It's that history can be changed.

那就是，历史是可以被改变的

And, yeah, yeah, I know,

对，对，我知道

everyone says history can't be changed,

每个人都说“历史无法被改变”

but it can.

但它的确是可以被改变的

And today we're going to talk about

而今天我们将要探讨一下

how history isn't just something that goes backwards,

历史不仅仅是关于回到过去

history goes forward too.

历史也是面向未来的

And all those great things that haven't happened yet,

而那些所有还没发生的大事

that's history that's just waiting to be written.

那都只是正在等待被书写的历史

So how do you change history?

那么你如何改变历史呢？

I'm going to tell you by sharing with you

我将要和大家分享一下

the three things that I tell my kids every night

我每晚哄孩子上床睡觉时

when I tuck them into bed.

都要和他们讲的三件事

It's true.

这是真的

I stole the idea from a friend of mine

这个点子是我从一个朋友那儿偷来的

who told me what his father used to share with him.

他告诉我他的父亲 过去常和他分享这些事

Every single night, when I tuck my kids into bed,

每一个晚上， 当我哄孩子们上床睡觉时

I tell them these three things:

我告诉他们这三件事：

dream big,

理想远大

work hard,

努力奋斗

and stay humble.

并保持谦卑。

So let's look at them all.

让我们一起来审视一下这三件事

First, dream big.

首先，理想远大

You know who has the biggest, best dreams of all?

你知道谁有这世上 最远大、最了不起的梦想吗？

You, young people.

你们，年轻人们

You know how old Martin Luther King, Jr. was

你知道当马丁•路德•金

when he became the leader

成为历史上最有名的公车抵制领袖时

of the most famous bus boycott in history?

他年纪多大吗？

He was 26.

他当时26岁

You know how old Amelia Earhart was

你知道当阿梅莉亚·埃尔哈特

when she broke her first world record?

第一次打破世界纪录时她几岁吗？

25

25岁

You know how old Steve Jobs was

你知道当史蒂芬•乔布斯

when he co-founded Apple Computer?

共同创立苹果电脑公司时他几岁吗？

21

21岁

And you know how old Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were

那你知道当杰瑞·西格尔和乔•舒斯特

when they came up with their idea for the greatest superhero of all time,

想出史上最伟大超级英雄那个点子时 他们几岁吗？

the first one, that they named "Superman"?

就是第一个他们命名为 “超人”的超级英雄那时候

These guys were 17 years old!

那两个家伙只有17岁！

Two 17-year-old kids created Superman.

两个17岁的孩子创造了“超人”

They weren't good looking.

他们当时还不是太好看

(Look at the picture, right?)

（看看这图片，没错吧？）

They weren't popular.

他们还不是太受欢迎

They had no money,

他们当时身无分文

but they were two best friends with one dream.

但他俩是拥有一个共同梦想的 最好的朋友

And with just their imaginations,

而仅凭他俩的想象力

they gave the world Superman.

他们为世界创造出了“超人”

And I know, creating Superman is a once-in-a-lifetime big dream,

而我知道，创造出“超人” 是一个一生一次的远大理想

so I want to tell you about Alexandra Scott.

我要告诉你们 关于亚历山德拉•斯科特的故事

She goes by Alex.

她喜欢大家叫她艾利克斯

Alex was diagnosed with cancer

当艾利克斯只有一岁大时

before she was even a year old,

她被确诊为癌症

and that was the only life she knew:

而这些就成了她伴随一生的宿命：

sickness, chemotherapy, and surgery.

疾病，化疗，手术

When she was four, Alex asked her parents

当她四岁时，艾利克斯问爸爸妈妈

could she put a lemonade stand in the front yard?

她能不能在前院摆一个柠檬汁摊

She didn't want to buy anything for herself,

她并不想给自己买什么东西

she wanted to use the money

她想把这笔钱

to give it to doctors to help other kids with cancer.

捐给医生， 让他们去帮助其他患有癌症的儿童

OK, in a single day, Alex's lemonade stand raised $2,000!

仅仅一天之内，艾利克斯的柠檬汁摊 就筹到了2000美元！

But, here's what I love:

但是我最喜欢的是这一部分：

soon after that, other lemonade stands started popping up,

不久之后， 其他柠檬汁摊开始纷纷涌现

all with Alex's name on it.

而且都以艾利克斯的名字命名

Eventually, they raised $200,000.

渐渐地，他们筹到了20万美元

And then Alex had a new goal.

然后艾利克斯就有了一个新目标

She said let's raise $1,000,000.

她要筹到一百万美元

On June 12, 2004,

在2004年6月12日

hundreds of lemonade stands started opening up

上百个柠檬水摊

in every state in the country.

在美国的各个州纷纷出现

Ordinary people selling water and sugar and lemons

普通人们贩卖水、糖和柠檬

to help kids with cancer.

来帮助患有癌症的孩子们

Nearly two months later,

将近两个月后，

Alex died while her parents were holding her hands.

艾利克斯在父母 紧握着她的双手中去世了

She was 8 years old.

她当时年仅8岁

But before she died, Alex said that next year's goal

但在她去世前， 艾利克斯说下一年的目标

should be $5,000,000.

应该是筹到五百万美元

Today, her dream has raised over $45,000,000

今天，她的梦想已经筹到了 超过四千五百万美元

and it is still going strong!

而且仍在以强劲的势头不断增长

One idea, one girl, one big dream.

一个点子，一个女孩， 一个伟大的梦想

And you know what she said?

而你知道她说了什么吗？

This is a direct quote before she died.

这是她去世前说过的一句话

She said, "Oh, we can do it!

她说：“哦，我们能做到的！”

If other people will help me, I think we can do it.

“如果其他人愿意帮助我， 我觉得我们一定能做到”

I know we can do it!"

“我知道我们一定可以的！”

You dream big,

你要抱有远大理想

I don't care how old you are,

我不在乎你年纪多大

and don't let anyone tell you otherwise,

也不要让别人告诉你 应该介意年纪的大小

you will change history.

你会改变历史的

And that leads me to the second thing I tell my kids:

这就说到了我告诉孩子们的第二件事

work hard.

努力奋斗

Such a simple one, everyone knows this one.

如此简单的一句话，人人都知道

Work hard.

努力奋斗

I saw this one for my father

我从我父亲身上看到这句话的含义

and my father died a few months ago.

而他几个月前刚刚去世

When I was growing up in Brooklyn,

当我在布鲁克林区长大时

ok, my father, he worked hard.

我的父亲十分努力地奋斗

He had no money, we had, no money growing up.

他身无分文， 我们成长过程中一直很穷困

He worked every Saturday, every Sunday.

他在每个周六周日都去工作

I watched first-hand every weekend what hard work was.

在每个周末，我都亲眼见证了 什么叫做勤奋工作

And I saw that the hardest work of all

而我见证的最勤奋的事

is being resilient when you're facing failure.

就是在你面对失败时的坚韧

When I started writing my first book,

当我开始写我的第一本书时

my first book got me 24 rejection letters.

我的第一本书收到了24封拒信

To be clear, there are only 20 publishers,

说明白点，那儿只有20个出版商

I got 24 rejection letters, OK?

而我收到了24封拒信，明白吗？

That means that some people were writing me twice

这就意味着有些人给我写了两封拒信

to make sure I got the point.

以确保我明白了他们的意思

But it wasn't until I was writing my ninth book,

但直到我写到第九本书时

a book of heroes for my son,

一本为我儿子写的关于英雄的书

that I found my favorite story of working hard through failure.

我才发现我最喜欢的故事 是关于努力奋斗跨越失败的故事

It was a story that a friend told me about the Wright brothers.

这是一个朋友告诉我的 关于怀特兄弟的故事

That every time the Wright brothers went out to fly their plane,

每次怀特兄弟出去试飞他们的飞机时

they would bring enough extra materials for multiple crashes.

他们都会带足多余的材料 来防备多次的坠机

That means for every time they went out,

这就意味着他们每次出去时

they knew they would fail.

都知道自己会失败

And they would crash and rebuild,

而他们不断坠机，不断重建

and crash and rebuild,

不断坠机，不断重建

and that's why they took off.

这就是为什么他们最后胜利起飞了

I love that story.

我爱死那个故事了

I wanted my son to hear that story,

我想让我的儿子也听到那个故事

I wanted my daughter to hear that story,

我想让我的女儿也听到那个故事

I wanted everyone to know that if you dream big

我想让所有人知道，如果你理想远大

and you work hard and you fight failure,

并努力奋斗，与失败斗争

you will change history

你就会改变历史

and do what no one on this planet has ever done before.

做到这个世界上 没有人能做到的事情

And that leads me to the final thing I tell them:

最后 我要告诉孩子们的事是

stay humble.

保持谦卑

Here's the thing:

事情是这样的：

if you invent the world's first airplane,

如果你创造了世界上第一架飞机，

or Superman,

或者你创造了“超人”

or a multi-million dollar lemonade stand,

或者是一个好几百万美元的柠檬水摊

you don't need to be humble.

你不需要保持谦卑

You can get a tattoo on your face that says, "I'm the best!"

你完全可以在脸上纹个 “我最赞“的纹身

Right?

对吧？

But pay attention here:

但是请注意这一点：

no one likes a jerk.

没有人会喜欢一个混球

In fact, the world needs fewer loudmouths,

事实上，这个世界 真的不需要高调的人

so stay humble!

所以保持谦卑吧！

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence,

当托马斯•杰斐逊写下自由宣言时

you know he never took credit for writing it while he was alive?

你知道他生前从未 拿这一成就沽名钓誉吗？

It wasn't until he died and it was in his obituary

直到他逝世后， 这一事迹被写在他的讣告里

that the average American found out that he was the author.

美国老百姓才发现 他就是自由宣言的作者

That's humble.

这就是谦卑

So there's the big secret:

所以这个大秘密就是：

dream big,

梦想远大

work hard,

努力奋斗

stay humble.

保持谦卑

"Wait," you're saying, "that's it?"

“等等，”你说道， “就这么简单？”

"What, you tell me a bunch of stories and what?

“什么？你跟我说了一大堆故事， 那又怎样？”

How do I change history?"

“我要怎么做才能改变历史呢？”

Here's the answer:

答案是这样的：

all history ever is

所有的历史不过就是

is a bunch of stories,

一大堆的故事

conflicting stories,

互相矛盾的故事

big stories,

大故事

little stories,

小故事

our stories.

我们的故事

So how do you change history?

那么你如何改变历史呢？

All you got to do is write your story.

你所要做的一切 不过就是写下你的故事

OK? No, I'm serious, this is it.

好吗？不是，我是认真的， 就这么简单

If people think history is a bunch of facts and dates you got to memorize,

如果人们认为历史就是 一大堆你必须记忆的事实和日期

that's not what history is at all.

那完全不是历史的本意

History is a selection process,

历史是一个选择过程

and it chooses every single one of us every single day.

它在每一天里选择我们每一个人

The only question is, do you hear the call?

唯一的问题就是： 你如何听见对自己的召唤呢？

And that leads me to the most important thing I'm going to tell you here:

这就是我要在这儿告诉大家的 最重要的一件事：

you will change history.

你会改变历史的

Some of you will change it in big ways,

你们当中有些人 会对历史有卓越的改变

affecting millions of people.

影响至数百万人

Others of you will do it in more personal ways,

而其他人则会 以一种润物细无声的方式改变历史

helping a family member or someone who needs it.

帮助一个家庭成员 或者某个需要帮助的人

But let me tell you right now,

但让我现在就告诉你

one is not more important than the other.

没有哪个人比别人来得更重要

If you help people in mass or one-by-one,

如果你帮助一群人， 或者一对一地帮助别人

that's how history gets changed,

当你做出行动的时候

when you take action.

那就是历史被改变的时刻

But when you start writing your story

但当你开始书写自己的故事

and you get scared, as we all inevitably do,

当你感到害怕，正如我们所有人 都不可避免地会感到害怕

I want you to know one thing:

我想让你知道一件事情：

no one is born a hero.

没有人生来就是英雄

Every single person that we talked about today,

我们今天探讨的每一个人

whether they were a 26 year old preacher,

不论他们是26岁的传教士

or two 17 year old nerds,

还是两个17岁的书呆子

or little girl who had cancer,

或是一个身患癌症的小女孩

every single one of them had moments

他们中的每一个人都有过

where they doubted themselves,

怀疑自己的时刻

like you, like me.

正如你我一般

They had moments where they worried about school

他们也担心过学业

and friendships

和友谊

and would they be accepted by others,

以及他们是否会被别人接受

like you, like me.

正如你我一般

They had moments where they worried about loneliness and failure

他们也曾为孤独和失败感到忧愁

and would they ever succeed,

担心自己是否会成功

like you, like me.

正如你我一般

But the best part is, you don't have to start

但最赞的是，你并不需要

a multi-million dollar lemonade stand to change the world,

创立一个价值数百万美元的柠檬水摊 来改变世界

all you got to do is help one person,

你所要做的一切就是去帮助一个人

be kind to one person, that's the answer.

善待一个人，那就是答案

It's my core belief,

那是我的核心信仰

it is in every story I just told you.

这深藏于我告诉你们的每一个故事中

I believe ordinary people change the world.

我相信普通人能改变世界

I don't care how much money you have,

我不在乎你有多少钱

I don't care where you go to school,

我不在乎你上哪个学校

that is all nonsense to me.

那些对我来说都是废话

I believe in regular people and their ability to affect change in this world.

我相信普通人 以及他们影响改变这个世界的能力

I believe in my father,

我相信我的父亲

and a 25 year old daredevil named Amelia,

以及那个叫阿米莉亚的25岁勇士

and a little girl who sells lemonade like nobody's business.

以及用非同一般的生意经 来卖柠檬水的小女孩

And it's why I believe in that very first hero we were talking about today, Superman.

这就是为什么我相信 我们今天探讨的第一个英雄，超人

To me, the most important part of the story isn't Superman.

对我而言，这个故事里最重要的部分 并不是超人

The most important part of the story is Clark Kent.

这个故事里最重要的部分 是克拉克·肯特

And you want to know why?

你想知道为什么吗？

Because we're all Clark Kent.

因为我们都是克拉克·肯特

We all know what it's like to be boring and ordinary

我们都知道过着无聊而普通的生活 是怎样的一番体验

and wish we could do something incredibly beyond ourselves.

我们都希望自己能够做些 完全超越自己能力范围的事情

But here's the real news:

但真相就是：

we all can do something incredibly beyond ourselves.

我们都能够做 完全超越自己能力范围的事情

I got 24 rejection letters on my first book,

我的第一本书收到了24封拒信

24 people who told me to give it up,

24个人告诉我，放弃吧

and I don't look back on the experience and say,

而我不会回望那段经历并说道：

"I was right, and they were wrong, and haha on them."

“我是对的，他们都错了， 嘲笑他们吧哈哈哈”

What I look back and realize is that every single one of those rejection letters

我回望那段经历时意识到的是 那每一封的拒信

told me to work harder, to dream bigger,

都告诉我，要更努力奋斗， 要有更远大的梦想

and you better believe it,

并且使我更加谦卑

made me more humble,

你们要深信这一点

but it also made me want it more than anything.

但拒信也令我更加无比地渴望成功

So whatever it is you dream big about,

所以不管你远大的梦想是关于什么

whatever it is you work hard for,

不管你在为什么而努力奋斗

don't let anyone tell you,

不要让任何人告诉你

you're too young

你还太年轻

and don't let anyone tell you no.

不要让任何人跟你说不

Every life makes history.

每段人生都在创造历史

And every life is a story.

每段人生都是一个故事

Thank you.

谢谢