Dan arrived on a Friday evening傍晚 /ˈiːv.nɪŋ/ with a large很大的 /lɑːrdʒ/ bag包 /bæɡ/ and a tired疲倦的 /ˈtaɪ.ɚd/ smile微笑 /smaɪl/. He was Jack's cousin表哥 /ˈkʌz.ɪn/ — twenty years old, halfway through全面考虑 /θruː/ a degree学位 /dɪˈɡriː/ in economics经济学 /ˌiː.kəˈnɑː.mɪks/. Mum made dinner晚饭 /ˈdɪn.ər/ and the conversation对话 /ˌkɒn.vəˈseɪ.ʃən/ stayed light轻松的 /laɪt/. But later之后 /ˈleɪ.t̬ɚ/, after everyone else had gone to bed, Jack and Dan sat in the kitchen厨房 /ˈkɪtʃ.ɪn/ over cold drinks and talked for two hours.
It started when Jack asked whether Dan thought思考 /θɔːt/ university大学 /ˌjuː.nɪˈvɜːr.sɪ.ti/ was worth it. "Worth it for whom?" Dan said. "I have friends who went straight to work直接去工作 at sixteen and now compete竞争 /kəmˈpiːt/ with people twice两次 /twaɪs/ their age. Their strength优势 /streŋkθ/ is practical实践的 /ˈpræk.t̬ɪ.kəl/ experience经验 /ɪkˈspɪr.i.əns/. My advantage优势 /ədˈvæn.tɪdʒ/ is supposed to be theory理论 /ˈθɪr.i/. Neither两者都不 /ˈniː.ðɚ/ is automatically自动地 /ˌɔː.t̬ə.ˈmæt̬.ɪk.li/ better."
"But everyone says you need需要 /niːd/ a degree学位 /dɪˈɡriː/ to achieve实现 /əˈtʃiːv/ anything." Dan shook his head. "The reality现实 /riˈæl.ɪ.t̬i/ is that progress进步 /ˈprɑː.ɡres/ depends on what you commit投入 /kəˈmɪt/ to. A degree学位 /dɪˈɡriː/ is one path路径 /pæθ/. Apprenticeships学徒制 /əˈpren.tɪs.ʃɪps/ are another. Building创建 /ˈbɪl.dɪŋ/ something from scratch从零开始 /skrætʃ/ is another. Leadership领导力 /ˈliː.dɚ.ʃɪp/ can come from any of them."
"What if you have talent才能 /ˈtæl.ənt/ but no confidence自信 /ˈkɑːn.fɪ.dəns/ to use it?" "Then you work on the confidence自信 /ˈkɑːn.fɪ.dəns/, not the talent才能 /ˈtæl.ənt/. Potential潜力 /pəˈten.ʃəl/ without不用 /wɪˈðaʊt/ the right attitude态度 /ˈæt.ɪ.tuːd/ goes nowhere. I've seen brilliant聪明的 /ˈbrɪl.jənt/ people struggle挣扎 /ˈstrʌɡ.əl/ for years because they didn't believe in their own vision想法 /ˈvɪʒ.ən/."
Dan leaned倾身 /liːnd/ forward. "Whatever mission使命 /ˈmɪʃ.ən/ you take on, be professional专业的 /prəˈfeʃ.ən.əl/ about it. That means showing up consistently持续地 /kənˈsɪs.tənt.li/, reflecting反思 /rɪˈflek.tɪŋ/ on what works, and being willing to promote推进 /prəˈmoʊt/ others when they do well. The people who inspire激励 /ɪnˈspaɪr/ me most aren't the ones who achieve实现 /əˈtʃiːv/ the most — they're the ones who contribute贡献 /kənˈtrɪb.juːt/ the most."
"But what if you fail失败 /feɪl/? What if your approach方式 /əˈproʊtʃ/ just doesn't work?" "Then it wasn't the failure失败 /ˈfeɪ.ljɚ/ you think. It was the foundation基础 /faʊnˈdeɪ.ʃən/ for the next attempt尝试 /əˈtempt/. The principle原则 /ˈprɪn.sɪ.pəl/ I live by: if it didn't work, it means you trusted信任 /ˈtrʌs.tɪd/ the spirit精神 /ˈspɪr.ɪt/ of the idea. That's where careers职业生涯 /kəˈrɪrz/ are built — from commitment承诺 /kəˈmɪt.mənt/ that didn't quit."
Dan added that a vocational职业的 /voʊˈkeɪ.ʃən.əl/ route could begin with an apprentice学徒 /əˈpren.tɪs/ position or a mentor导师 /ˈmen.tɔːr/. It might offer a flexible灵活的 /ˈflek.sə.bəl/ schedule, steady income收入 /ˈɪn.kʌm/, and less debt债务 /det/ than university. An entrepreneur创业者 /ˌɑːn.trə.prəˈnɝː/ accepted more risk风险 /rɪsk/, but gained an alternative替代的 /ɔːlˈtɝː.nə.tɪv/ way to pursue追求 /pɚˈsuː/ an ambitious有抱负的 /æmˈbɪʃ.əs/ goal. The real priority优先事项 /praɪˈɔːr.ə.t̬i/, he said, was to evaluate评估 /ɪˈvæl.ju.eɪt/ your abilities, stay realistic现实的 /ˌriː.əˈlɪs.tɪk/, and choose a field in which you could specialize专门从事 /ˈspeʃ.ə.laɪz/ with discipline自律 /ˈdɪs.ə.plɪn/.
Jack went to bed at midnight still thinking. Dan hadn't told him which path路径 /pæθ/ to take. But he had given him something better — the strength优势 /streŋkθ/ to believe that any independent独立的 /ˌɪn.dɪˈpen.dənt/ choice, made honestly诚实地 /ˈɑːn.ɪst.li/, was worth following追随 /ˈfɑː.loʊ.ɪŋ/.