經濟危機是追逐職業夢想的良機嗎？

Ｐａｍｅｌａ?。樱欤椋?/p>

For a long time, I thought it was totally normal to hear people's deepest creative desires within five minutes of meeting them. Having picked up a prescription at our local grocery store, I told my husband that our new pharmacist longed to be a poet. 'How in the world do you find these things out?' he asked. 'I don't know; I just sense they have a story to tell.'

長久以來,我認為在見面的前五分鐘就可以聽到人們心靈深處充滿想象力的愿望。去地方一家小賣部拿了處方回來后,我告訴丈夫說,新來的藥劑師希望成為一名詩人?！澳阍趺磿?”他問?！拔也恢?我只是感覺他們有故事要講?！?/p>

Interest in people, and my curiosity about what keeps them from realizing their dreams, drove me to become a business coach 13 years ago. I love hearing people's stories, and helping the creatively oppressed come alive. Crumbling markets, huge layoffs and widespread financial panic have unleashed a giant wave of creative yearnings. People from all walks of life are realizing the best time to reinvent their careers is now.

13年前,由于對人感興趣,且好奇于什么讓他們實現自己的夢想,我成了一個商業教練。我喜歡聆聽人們的故事,幫助他們喚醒被壓制的創造力。市場分崩離析,大規模的裁員,金融恐慌四處蔓延,創造渴望卻因此得到釋放。各行各業的人都意識到,經濟動蕩時刻成了再造職業的絕佳機會。

I asked a random sampling of my Twitter followers in 'stable' work situations, what they fantasized about doing for a living. One of them said, 'I'm an online education program administrator and I want to start a church.' Perhaps my favorite was the successful entrepreneur who fantasized about being a United Parcel Service driver. Besides the brown shorts, what made him want to pursue that? 'Order, consistency, time to think, exercise, fresh air: basically everything I pine for lost in my agency's mayhem.'

我在Twitter我的好友中隨意抽取了一些工作“穩定”的人,問他們對于工作有什么幻想。

其中一人說:“我是一名網絡教育項目的負責人,我想創辦一座教堂?！蔽易钕矚g的可能要數一名成功的企業家,他夢想成為UPS快遞公司的一名司機。除了粗茶淡飯,是什么使他想這樣做呢?“工作有條不紊,有時間思考、鍛煉,可以呼吸新鮮空氣,這些都是我在深淵般的辦公室里所渴望得到的?！?/p>

So why do so many of us perceive ourselves as being so terribly mis aligned with our profession? Upbringing can have something to do with it. A client once confessed: 'My father told me I had three career options. I could be a doctor, an engineer or a failure.' I imagine that when the Grammy-winning singer John Legend broke the news that he wanted to quit his job as a management consultant to pursue music full time, some of his relatives were concerned. Obviously, he made the right choice. Many stories don't turn out that way.

為什么我們當中有這么多人覺得自己與正確的工作嚴重錯位呢?這可能跟家庭教育有點關系。一名客戶曾經承認:“我父親說我有三種職業選擇。我可以是醫生、工程師,或者一事無成?！蔽也孪?當格萊美獎獲得者、歌手約翰?萊金透露自己想辭去波士頓咨詢公司業務顧問的工作,全職從事音樂時,他的一些親戚會對此表示憂慮。顯然,他做出了正確的選擇。但許多故事的結局卻并非如此。

What separates crazy dreams from viable business ideas? I don't think it has anything to do with the idea, or the profession, or the market itself. It has to do with the person. Jonathan Fields, a high-powered Wall Street lawyer, quit his job more than a decade ago to do personal training sessions in Central Park for $15 an hour. He turned his passion into one of the most profitable fitness centers in New York. He then founded a flourishing yoga studio, which he sold after getting a deal from a major publishing house to write a career guide. Real creative urges, those we are meant to express, don't go away. If ignored, they bother us, affect our health, fester and eventually turn us into the living dead.

妄想與可行的商業想法區別之處在哪里呢?我覺得與想法、職業、市場都無關,而是在于個人。華爾街大律師喬納森?菲爾茲十幾年前辭職,在中央公園開展個人培訓,每小時收費15美元。之后他又投入飽滿的激情創辦了紐約最賺錢的健身中心之一。后來,他還開辦了一家瑜伽會館,生意興隆。在得到一家大出版社的合同,寫一本有關職業指導的書之后,他又將瑜伽會館出售。我們想表達出來的真正的創造愿望不會消失。如果被忽視,它們會攪擾我們,影響我們的健康,令我們煩惱,最終將我們變成行尸走肉。

There are many ways though to deal with our creative aspirations, as I learned from Anne Nelson. Ms. Nelson left a successful career as a pharmaceutical sales representative when, she said, she realized that her job selling animal antibiotics conflicted with her values. She started down a path of 'self-accuratizing', her term for finding a career that would make her happy. Her first stop was a decorative wall-finishing business, a nod to her study of art in college. Three years later, after spending three days perched on scaffolding painting a living room, she realized that she didn't want to be doing that when she was 55, and quit the business.

對待我們創造志向的方法很多,這是安妮?尼爾森教會我的。尼爾森曾經是一名成功的藥品銷售代表,她表示,自己后來意識到銷售動物抗生素與其個人價值相抵觸。于是她開始了“尋找個人潛能”之路,尋找一種令她快樂的職業。她首先做起了墻壁裝修生意,這正與自己大學的藝術專業對口。三年后,她為了粉刷一間客廳而在腳手架上呆了三天,之后她意識到,自己不愿在55歲的時候還這樣,因此她放棄了做這個。

In Mexico she spent time, 'learning through simple, conscious living, what joy really feels like.' She took up ballroom dancing. She completed an M.B.A. in sustainability. Now she uses visual mapping to help businesses with their conceptual planning; combining her interests: Experience in art, business and using her hands. 'Some people may call me flaky, but I don't really care. I have never been happier,' she said. 'If a situation does not work for me anymore, I leave. My energy is high, I wake up with joy, and I feel alive.'

她呆在墨西哥,“在簡單而清醒的生活中,理解快樂究竟是什么感覺?！彼龑W會了交際舞。完成了可持續發展MBA學位?，F在她使用虛擬制圖給公司做概念規劃;結合了她的興趣:既有從事藝術和經商的經驗,還可以動手?！翱赡軙腥苏f我怪異,但我真的不在乎。我從未如此快樂過,”她說?！叭绻也辉傧矚g這樣的狀況了,我就離開。我精力充沛,每天在快樂中醒來,感到朝氣蓬勃?！?/p>

In this time of economic chaos, people may be inspired by Ms. Nelson's story. Whilst already living with uncertainty, and working like crazy to secure their livelihoods, they might as well pursue something they care deeply about. We may start new businesses and find successful new careers. We will certainly have failed plans, disappointments and broken dreams. But mostly, we will all benefit from the huge blast of creative energy unleashed by people finally pursuing the work that is the best fit for them.

值此經濟動蕩時期,人們可能會受到尼爾森故事的激勵。生活已經充滿不確定因素,與其說瘋狂地工作以保住飯碗,不如做些自己最想做的事。我們可以創業,重新找到成功的職業。我們肯定會遭遇到計劃失敗,失落,夢想破碎。但最重要的是,我們在追求最適合自己的工作時所釋放出來的巨大能量將使我們受益匪淺。