Write your story, change history - Brad Meltzer

活得精彩，改變歷史 - Brad Meltzer

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

譯者: Dharma Lee 審譯者: Coco Shen

You know what the greatest secret of history is?

你們知道歷史最大的祕密是什麼嗎？

It's that history can be changed.

歷史是可以改變的。

And, yeah, yeah, I know,

當然，我知道，

everyone says history can't be changed,

大家都說歷史是不能改變的，

but it can.

但其實它可以。

And today we're going to talk about

而今天我們要討論的是，

how history isn't just something that goes backwards,

歷史為什麼不只是過去的東西，

history goes forward too.

歷史也會往前進。

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

很多很棒的事情還沒發生，

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

歷史正等著它們發生。

So how do you change history?

你該怎麼改變歷史？

I'm going to tell you by sharing with you

讓我用三件事來說明。

the three things that I tell my kids every night

這三件事是我每天晚上，

when I tuck them into bed.

幫我的孩子蓋被前的細語。

It's true.

千真萬確。

I stole the idea from a friend of mine

這個點子其實是我從一個朋友那兒偷來的，

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

他告訴我這點子是他父親告訴他的。

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

每天晚上，在我送孩子進被窩前，

I tell them these three things:

我告訴他們三件事：

dream big,

勇敢做夢，

work hard,

勤奮工作，

and stay humble.

保持謙虛。

So let's look at them all.

讓我們來看看這三件事。

First, dream big.

首先，勇敢做夢

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

你知道誰有最大、最美的夢想嗎？

You, young people.

你們這些年輕人。

You know how old Martin Luther King, Jr. was

你們知道當馬丁路德金恩（黑人人權領袖）

when he became the leader

當上歷史上最有名的巴士杯葛案領袖時，

of the most famous bus boycott in history?

是幾歲嗎？

He was 26.

26歲。

You know how old Amelia Earhart was

你知道當 Amelia Earhart（女飛行員） 第一次破世界紀錄時，

when she broke her first world record?

是幾歲嗎？

25

25

You know how old Steve Jobs was

你知道賈柏斯創建蘋果電腦時，

when he co-founded Apple Computer?

是幾歲嗎？

21

21 歲！

And you know how old Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were

Jerry Siegel 和 Joe Shuster 創造第一個，

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

叫做“超人”的超級英雄時，

the first one, that they named "Superman"?

又是幾歲？

These guys were 17 years old!

他們才 17 歲！

Two 17-year-old kids created Superman.

兩個 17 歲的男孩創造了超人。

They weren't good looking.

他們長得不帥。

(Look at the picture, right?)

（有照為例，不是嗎？）

They weren't popular.

他們不受歡迎。

They had no money,

他們沒錢。

but they were two best friends with one dream.

但這兩位好友共享一個夢。

And with just their imaginations,

於是靠著他們的想像力，

they gave the world Superman.

世界就有了“超人”。

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

我知道，創造“超人”這個夢想太遙不可及了，

so I want to tell you about Alexandra Scott.

所以我想談談 Alexandra Scott。

She goes by Alex.

大家都叫她 Alex。

Alex was diagnosed with cancer

Alex 在一歲前，

before she was even a year old,

就被診斷出患有癌症，

and that was the only life she knew:

她的生活裡只有：

sickness, chemotherapy, and surgery.

生病、化療與手術。

When she was four, Alex asked her parents

她四歲時，她問父母，

could she put a lemonade stand in the front yard?

她可不可以在院子前擺一個檸檬水攤？

She didn't want to buy anything for herself,

她不是想要有錢可以買東西給自己，

she wanted to use the money

而是想利用這筆錢，

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

去幫助其他患有癌症的孩子。

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

一天內，Alex 的檸檬水攤子就募了 2000 元！

But, here's what I love:

但，這還不是最精彩的：

soon after that, other lemonade stands started popping up,

不久以後，其他的檸檬水攤子也冒了出來，

all with Alex's name on it.

攤子上都寫了 Alex 的名字。

Eventually, they raised $200,000.

最後，他們募到了二十萬。

And then Alex had a new goal.

於是 Alex 有了個新目標。

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

她說，這次我們嘗試募一百萬。

On June 12, 2004,

2004 年 6 月 12 日，

hundreds of lemonade stands started opening up

幾百家檸檬水攤子，

in every state in the country.

出現在美國的每一州。

Ordinary people selling water and sugar and lemons

眾人一起試著用水、糖和檸檬，

to help kids with cancer.

幫助癌症病童。

Nearly two months later,

大約兩個月過後，

Alex died while her parents were holding her hands.

Alex 握著父母的雙手遺世了。

She was 8 years old.

那時她八歲。

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

在她過世之前，Alex 說明年的目標，

should be $5,000,000.

應該是五百萬元。

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

直至今日， 她的夢想募了超過四千五百萬，

and it is still going strong!

這個數字還在逐漸增加。

One idea, one girl, one big dream.

一個點子，一個女孩，一個大夢。

And you know what she said?

你知道她怎麼說嗎？

This is a direct quote before she died.

這是她過世前說的話。

She said, "Oh, we can do it!

她說「我們行的！

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

如果大家一起，萬眾一心

I know we can do it!"

我知道我們做得到！」

You dream big,

你無懼夢想，

I don't care how old you are,

無論年齡，

and don't let anyone tell you otherwise,

別讓任何人告訴你不行，

you will change history.

你就能改變歷史。

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

而這與我告訴孩子們的 第二件事是相關的：

work hard.

勤奮工作。

Such a simple one, everyone knows this one.

多麼簡單地一件事啊，每個人都知道。

Work hard.

勤奮工作。

I saw this one for my father

我的父親用身教教會我，

and my father died a few months ago.

他在幾個月前過世了。

When I was growing up in Brooklyn,

當我在布魯克林長大時，

ok, my father, he worked hard.

我爸爸非常努力地工作。

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

我們成長的環境非常貧困。

He worked every Saturday, every Sunday.

他連週末都在工作。

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

我是“勤奮工作”的目擊者，

And I saw that the hardest work of all

其中最難的是：

is being resilient when you're facing failure.

面對失敗時仍能重新振作。

When I started writing my first book,

當我開始寫我的第一本書時，

my first book got me 24 rejection letters.

我接到 24 封拒絕出版的信。

To be clear, there are only 20 publishers,

說真的，只有 20 家出版社。

I got 24 rejection letters, OK?

我竟然可以收到 24 封拒絕信。

That means that some people were writing me twice

表示有些人重複寫了 2 封信給我，

to make sure I got the point.

讓我徹底死了這條心。

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

但在我寫第九本書時，

a book of heroes for my son,

一本為我兒子所寫的有關英雄的書，

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

我才發現我最愛的故事是 無視失敗，繼續努力。

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

那是我朋友告訴我的， 萊特兄弟的故事。

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

每次萊特兄弟試飛，

they would bring enough extra materials for multiple crashes.

都會為試飛失敗餘留多餘零件。

That means for every time they went out,

換句話說，在他們試飛時

they knew they would fail.

他們知道他們會失敗。

And they would crash and rebuild,

飛機會墜毀，但他們會重建。

and crash and rebuild,

墜毀再重建，

and that's why they took off.

那就是為何他們會成功。

I love that story.

我超愛那個故事。

I wanted my son to hear that story,

我要我兒子知道，

I wanted my daughter to hear that story,

我要我女兒知道，

I wanted everyone to know that if you dream big

我要每個人知道如果他們有膽做夢，

and you work hard and you fight failure,

勤奮努力，無懼失敗，

you will change history

你就能改變歷史，

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

創造出這世界沒人做得到的事。

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

最後，我告訴我的孩子：

stay humble.

保持謙虛。

Here's the thing:

這麼說吧，

if you invent the world's first airplane,

如果你發明了世界上第一架飛機，

or Superman,

或是“超人”，

or a multi-million dollar lemonade stand,

或是個上百萬的檸檬水攤子，

you don't need to be humble.

你不需要謙虛。

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

你可以在臉上刺個 “我最棒！”

Right?

對吧？

But pay attention here:

但請注意：

no one likes a jerk.

沒人喜歡自大狂。

In fact, the world needs fewer loudmouths,

事實上，世界上的大聲公夠多了，

so stay humble!

所以謙虛點！

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence,

傑弗遜寫了“獨立宣言”，

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

你知道他在世時不曾炫耀過嗎？

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

直到他過世時，一般美國人，

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

才在訃聞上發現他是作者。

That's humble.

這就是謙虛。

So there's the big secret:

祕訣在此：

dream big,

勇敢做夢，

work hard,

勤奮工作，

stay humble.

保持謙虛。

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

你說「不是吧，就這樣嗎？」

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

「故事說完以後，然後呢？」

How do I change history?"

「我該怎麼改變歷史？」

Here's the answer:

答案在此：

all history ever is

歷史本來就是，

is a bunch of stories,

一堆故事，

conflicting stories,

矛盾的故事，

big stories,

偉大的故事，

little stories,

小事，

our stories.

我們的故事。

So how do you change history?

所以你該如何改變歷史？

All you got to do is write your story.

你該做的就是寫自己的故事。

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

就是這樣。

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

歷史不只是一些你得硬記的

that's not what history is at all.

事實與日期。

History is a selection process,

歷史是挑選的過程，

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

它每天都會選一些人。

The only question is, do you hear the call?

唯一的問題是，你聽到它的呼召了嗎？

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

終於到了這個演講的重點：

you will change history.

你將會改變歷史。

Some of you will change it in big ways,

你們之中的某些人會，

affecting millions of people.

影響上百萬的人。

Others of you will do it in more personal ways,

某些人可能會

helping a family member or someone who needs it.

幫助一個需要幫助的家人或朋友。

But let me tell you right now,

但我認為，

one is not more important than the other.

這兩者並無孰輕孰重之分。

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

幫助一群人或一次一個，

that's how history gets changed,

只要你起而力行，

when you take action.

歷史就因你而變。

But when you start writing your story

在你動手撰寫自己的人生故事時，

and you get scared, as we all inevitably do,

你將會像我們一樣戒慎恐懼，

I want you to know one thing:

我希望你記得：

no one is born a hero.

沒人生來就是個英雄。

Every single person that we talked about today,

今日每個我們認識的人，

whether they were a 26 year old preacher,

不管是 26 歲的牧師，

or two 17 year old nerds,

或是兩個 17 歲的宅男，

or little girl who had cancer,

還是一個患有癌症的女孩，

every single one of them had moments

每個人都曾經有過，

where they doubted themselves,

懷疑自己的時候，

like you, like me.

如同你我。

They had moments where they worried about school

他們曾經為學業

and friendships

友情

and would they be accepted by others,

和別人是否會接納自己感到焦慮

like you, like me.

如你如我。

They had moments where they worried about loneliness and failure

他們曾經為孤獨和失敗

and would they ever succeed,

和是否會成功感到焦慮，

like you, like me.

如你如我。

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

但你毋需為了改變世界

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

而設立一個百萬檸檬水攤子，

all you got to do is help one person,

你只需要幫助一個人，

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

對一個人好。

It's my core belief,

這就是我的信念，

it is in every story I just told you.

也是我今天所有故事的原委。

I believe ordinary people change the world.

我相信普通人可以改變世界

I don't care how much money you have,

我不在乎你有多少錢

I don't care where you go to school,

我不在乎你念哪所學校

that is all nonsense to me.

這些毫無意義。

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

我相信普通人有能力去改變這個世界

I believe in my father,

我相信我父親

and a 25 year old daredevil named Amelia,

和 25 歲的勇者 Amelia

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

以及那個賣檸檬水的無私女孩。

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

那就是為什麼我相信“超人”。

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

故事的重點不是“超人”。

The most important part of the story is Clark Kent.

而是故事中的 Clark Kent。

And you want to know why?

為什麼？

Because we're all Clark Kent.

因為我們都是超人

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

我們都不想平凡無奇，

and wish we could do something incredibly beyond ourselves.

我們都希望超越自己。

But here's the real news:

但其實：

we all can do something incredibly beyond ourselves.

我們的確可以超越自己。

I got 24 rejection letters on my first book,

我的第一本書收到 24 封拒絕信，

24 people who told me to give it up,

24 個人叫我放棄。

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

但我從未回首過去，想著

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

「我是對的，你們是錯的，知道了吧啊哈。」

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

我想的是每封拒絕信

told me to work harder, to dream bigger,

都激勵我更努力，更堅持夢想

and you better believe it,

更重要的事，

made me more humble,

讓我更謙虛，

but it also made me want it more than anything.

讓我更想達到目的。

So whatever it is you dream big about,

不管你的夢想有多大

whatever it is you work hard for,

不管你為此經歷千辛萬苦，

don't let anyone tell you,

別讓任何人告訴你

you're too young

你太年輕

and don't let anyone tell you no.

別讓任何人告訴你你不行。

Every life makes history.

每個人都能創造歷史。

And every life is a story.

每個人都是一個故事。

Thank you.

謝謝大家。