TED演讲：成功是一条延续的旅程(3)

 　　And yeah, the black cloud faded¹ a little bit, but so did all the work, because I was just floating along. 乌云似乎有点消散了，但工作也是，因为我如坠云中。

　　I couldn't care less if clients² ever called. 我根本不在乎客户有没有与我联系。

　　And clients didn't call. Because they could see I was no longer serving them, I was only serving myself. 事实上也没有。因为他们知道我已经不再在乎他们，我只在乎我自己。

　　So they took their money and their projects to others who would serve them better. 于是他们带着钱和计划到真正能服务他们的人那里去。

　　Well, it didn't take long for business to drop like a rock. 很快的，我的事业如坠深渊，

　　My partner and I, Thom, we had to let all our employees³ go. 我的合伙人和我只有让我们的员工走了。

　　It was down to just the two of us, and we were about to go under. And that was great. 只剩下我们两个，也差不多要完蛋了，但突然一切又好了。

　　Because with no employees, there was nobody for me to manage. 因为没有员工，就不用管理。

　　So I went back to doing the projects I loved. 我可以回去做我喜欢的计划。

　　I had fun again, I worked harder and, to cut a long story short, did all the things that took me back up to success. 工作又开始有趣了，我也更努力工作，长话短说，我又开始走回成功的道路。

　　But it wasn't a quick trip. It took seven years. 但那不是条高速公路。它总共花了我七年。

　　But in the end, business grew bigger than ever. 但现在，我们的公司比之前更强大。

　　And when I went back to following these eight principles, the black cloud over my head disappeared altogether. 我也继续履行我的八条原则，在我头上的乌云消失了。

　　And I woke up one day and I said, "I don't need Prozac anymore." And I threw it away and haven't needed it since. 某天早上我醒来，对自己说：“我不需要百忧解了。”我把它扔了出去，再也没有碰过。

　　I learned⁴ that success isn't a one-way street. 我学到成功不是一条单行道。

　　It doesn't look like this; it really looks more like this. It's a continuous⁵ journey. 它看起来不像这样，它看起来更像这样。是一条持续的长路。

　　And if we want to avoid "success-to-failure-syndrome," we just keep following these eight principles, 如果我们不想染上“从成功到失败”症，只要持续地谨守这八条原则，

　　because that is not only how we achieve success, it's how we sustain⁶ it. 因为你要的不只是成功，更是保持成功。

　　So here is to your continued success. Thank you very much. 愿我们都继续成功。非常谢谢各位。

1 faded   

a.褪了色的

参考例句：

• All colour had faded from the sky. 天上的颜色都退去了。
• a faded pair of blue jeans 一条退了色的蓝色牛仔裤

2 clients   

n.顾客( client的名词复数 )；当事人；诉讼委托人；[计算机]客户端

参考例句：

• a lawyer with many famous clients 拥有许多著名委托人的律师
• She understood the importance of establishing a close rapport with clients. 她懂得与客户建立密切和谐的关系的重要性。

3 employees   

n.雇工，雇员( employee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She is always polite and considerate towards her employees. 她对待雇员总是客客气气，关心体谅。
• The company has a strict dress code—all male employees are expected to wear suits. 公司有严格的着装规定—所有男职员都要穿西服。

4 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

5 continuous   

adj.继续的，连续的，持续的，延伸的

参考例句：

• She finally got in after 10 years'continuous effort.坚持不懈地努力了十年后，她终于当选了。
• We must be continuous to study.我们必须不断学习。

6 sustain   

vt.保持，供养，维持，支持，经受

参考例句：

• During the war we had just enough food to sustain us.战争期间，我们的食物仅够维持生活。
• These four posts sustain the entire building.这四根柱子支撑着整座建筑物。