人生不設(shè)限·考驗信心的飛行經(jīng)驗

我的想象力透過上帝的眼睛涌出。我信任它，盡管沒手沒腳，我心里全然有把握自己一定可以打造美妙人生。同樣地，你也應(yīng)該覺得天下無難事，要相信只要盡全力實現(xiàn)夢想，你的付出終會得到回報。

My imagination flows through God's eyes. I trust Him. I have full assurance in my heart that even without arms and legs, I can build a wonderful life. In the same way, you should feel that nothing is out of your reach. Have faith that if you do everything you possibly can to achieve your dreams, your efforts will be rewarded.

事成之前，有時我們的信心會受到考驗，2009年我到南美的哥倫比亞演講時，就有這樣的體悟。那次我被安排要在十天內(nèi)到九個城市演講，因為要在短時間內(nèi)長途奔波，主辦單位租了一架小飛機，載我們往返于不同城市。飛機上坐了八個人，包括兩名都叫米格爾、都不大會講英文的駕駛員。某次飛行途中，機上的人突然聽到電腦驚恐地發(fā)出“拉升，拉升!”的自動警示聲，但用的是英文!

Sometimes our trust is tested before our hard work pays off. I was reminded of this in 2009 while on a speaking tour of Colombia, in South America. I was booked to speak in nine cities in ten days. With so many miles to cover in such a limited amount of time, the tour booker chartered a small airplane to take us from town to town. There were eight of us on the flights, including our two pilots, both of whom were named Miguel and neither of whom spoke much English. During one of the flights, everyone in the passenger cabin was startled to hear the plane's computer call out an automated warning: "Pull up, pull up!" The alert was in English!

電腦繼續(xù)記錄我們急速下降的過程，愈來愈緊急地播報不斷降低的高度：“600英尺”、“500英尺”、“400英尺”，中間還一直插播要駕駛員“拉升、拉升”的命令。

The computer voice tracked our rapid descent with increasing urgency, giving our plane's decreasing altitude. "Six hundred feet!" "Five hundred feet!" "Four hundred feet!" The reports were interspersed with continuing commands to the pilots to "Pull up! Pull up!"

當場雖然沒有人嚇呆，但客艙里還是彌漫著些許緊張的氣氛。我問我的看護，我們是不是應(yīng)該把電腦發(fā)出的警示翻譯成西班牙文，講給米格爾一號跟米格爾二號聽。

No one freaked out, but the mood in the passenger cabin was more than a little tense. I asked my caregiver if he thought we needed to be translating the onboard computer warnings from English to Spanish for Captains Miguel One and Two.

“你以為他們真的不知道我們正在下降嗎?”他問。

"Do you think they really don't know we're descending?" he asked.

我也不知道該怎么以為，但既然其他人都不覺得這是個問題，我就隨眾吧，并且努力別讓自己嚇昏。幸好，我們很快就安全著陸了。之后，一位翻譯跟駕駛員提到我們的驚恐時刻，他們聽了大笑起來。

I didn't know what to think, but since no one else seemed to feel it was a problem, I followed their lead and tried not to freak out. Much to my relief, we soon landed safely. Later when one of our translators mentioned our moment of panic to our pilots, they had a great laugh.

“我們知道電腦在說什么，但降落時不會去理它。”米格爾二號通過翻譯說道，“你應(yīng)該對你的駕駛員更有信心一點，力克!”

"We knew what the computer was saying, but we always ignore it when we're landing," Miguel Two said through the translator. "You should have more faith in your pilots, Nick!"

好吧，我承認，有一刻我對米格爾們的信心是有點動搖了，但大部分時間，我因為相信上帝會照料我的人生，而覺得平穩(wěn)安定。我給你點線索，好讓你知道我的信心有多強：我在柜子里放了一雙鞋子，我真的相信有一天我能穿上鞋走路。這件事或許會發(fā)生，或許不會，但我相信可能性是存在的。如果你能想象一個更美好的未來，你就能相信它;而假如你可以相信它，就能實現(xiàn)。

Okay, I'll admit, for a minute there I questioned my trust in the flying Miguels. But most of the time I rest assured that God is looking out for me and my life. I'll give you a clue about the strength of my trust: I have a pair of shoes in my closet! I truly believe it is possible that someday I will be able to wear them and walk in them. It may happen. It may not. But I believe the possibility is there. If you can imagine a better future, you can believe it. And if you believe it, you can achieve it.

想象無限!

Unlimited vision.

在我10歲那段沮喪期，其實生理上并沒有吃太多苦頭。我是沒有手也沒有腳，但我擁有能讓我過著今天這種報償豐富且圓滿的人生所需的一切——只差一樣。那時的我只相信眼睛看得到的，因此把注意力放在我的限制，而不是我的可能性上。

When I went through my period of depression as a ten-year-old, I wasn't suffering from anything physically. I had no arms and no legs, but I had all I needed to live the rewarding and fulfilling life I have today—with one exception. Back then I was relying only on what I could see. I was focused on my limitations rather than on my possibilities.

人都有所局限。我永遠不可能成為NBA球星，但沒關(guān)系，因為我可以鼓舞人們做他自己生命中的明星啊。你不應(yīng)該看著你所缺失的過日子，相反，你應(yīng)該去過“只要有夢想，什么都做得到”的人生。即使遭遇挫敗或悲劇，通常也會有意料之外、全然不可能的好處等在那里。或許不是馬上發(fā)生，所以有時你也會懷疑挫敗或悲劇中怎么可能會有好事。但是，你要相信一切最終會有好結(jié)果——即使悲劇也能變成勝利。

We all have limitations. I'll never be an NBA star, but that's okay because I can inspire people to be the stars of their own lives. You should never live according to what you lack. Instead, live as though you can do anything you dream of doing. Even when you suffer a setback or a tragedy, there is often an unexpected, totally improbable, and absolutely impossible benefit to be realized. It may not happen right away. You may at times wonder what good could possibly come of it. But trust that it all happens for the good—even tragedies can turn into triumphs.