the world is filled with smart, talented, educated and gifted people. we meet them every day. a few days ago, my car was not running well. i pulled it into a garage, and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes. he knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine. i was amazed. the sad truth is, great talent is not enough.

　　世界上滿坑滿谷都是精明能干、才華橫溢、學富五車以及極具天賦之人，我們每天都會見到他們。幾天前，我的汽車運轉不靈了。我把它開進維修廠，一位年輕的機械工只消幾分鐘就把它修好了。他僅憑傾聽發動機的聲音就能確定哪兒有毛病，這讓我驚奇不已。然而遺憾的是，光有非凡才華是不夠的。

　　i am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn. i heard the other day that less than 5 percent of americans earn more than $100,000 a year. a business consultant who specializes in1 the medical trade was telling me how many doctors, dentists andchiropractors struggle financially. all this time, i thought that when they graduated, the dollars would pour in. it was this business consultant who gave me the phrase, “they are one skill away from great wealth。” what this phrase means is that most people need only to learn and master one more skill and their income would jump exponentially. i have mentioned before that financial intelligence is a synergy of accounting, investing, marketing and law. combine those four technical skills and making money with money is easier. when it comes to money, the only skill most people know is to work hard.

　　我常常吃驚，為什么有才華的人卻只有微薄的收入。前幾天我聽人說，只有不到5%的美國人年收入在10萬美元以上。一位精通藥品貿易的商務顧問曾經告訴我，有許多醫生、牙醫和按摩師生活拮據。以前我總以為他們一畢業，財源便會滾滾而來。這位商務顧問告訴了我一句話：“離發大財，他們還差一項技能。”這句話的意思是說，大部分人還需多學習并掌握一項技能，他們的收入才能呈指數倍增長。以前我提到過，財商是會計、投資、市場營銷和法律方面的能力綜合。將上述四種專業技能結合起來，以錢生錢就會更容易。說到錢，大部分人所知的唯一技能就是拼命工作。

　　when i graduated from the u.s. merchant marine academy in 1969, my educated dad was happy. standard oil of california had hired me for its oil-tanker fleet. i had a great career ahead of me, yet i resigned after six months with the company and joined the marine corps to learn how to fly. my educated dad was devastated. rich dad congratulated me.

　　1969年，我從美國海運學院畢業了。我那有學識的爸爸十分高興，因為加州標準石油公司錄用我為它的油輪隊工作。盡管我的未來前程遠大，但我還是在6個月后辭職離開了這家公司，加入海軍陸戰隊去學習飛行。對此我那有學識的爸爸非常傷心，而富爸爸則祝賀我做出的決定。

　　job security meant everything to my educated dad. learning meant everything to my rich dad. educated dad thought i went to school to learn to be a ship's officer. rich dad knew that i went to school to study international trade. so as a student, i made cargo runs, navigating 6 large freighters, oil tankers and passenger ships to the far east and the south pacific. while most of my classmates, including mike, were partying at theirfraternity houses, i was studying trade, people and cultures in japan, thailand, singapore, hong kong, vietnam, korea and the philippines. i also was partying, but it was not in any frat house. i grew up rapidly.

　　對于有學識的爸爸來說，穩定的工作就是一切。而對于富爸爸來說，學習才是一切。有學識的爸爸以為我上學是為了做一名船長，而富爸爸明白我上學是為了學習國際貿易。因此，在做學生時，我跑過貨運、為前往遠東及南太平洋的大型貨輪、油輪和客輪導航。當我的大部分同班同學，包括邁克，在他們的聯誼會會堂舉辦晚會的時候，我正在日本、泰國、新加坡、中國香港、越南、韓國和菲律賓學習貿易、人際關系和文化。我也參加晚會，但不去任何聯誼會，我迅速地成熟起來了。

　　there is an old cliché that goes, “job is an acronym9 for 'just over broke.'” and unfortunately, i would say that the saying applies to millions of people. because school does not think financial intelligence is intelligence, most workers “live within their means。” they work and they pay the bills. instead i recommend to young people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn. look down the road at what skills they want to acquire before choosing a specific profession and before getting trapped in the “rat race”. once people are trapped in the lifelong process of bill paying, they become like those little hamsters running around in those little metal wheels. their little furry legs are spinning furiously, the wheel is turning furiously, but come tomorrow morning, they'll still be in the same cage: great job.