困难和机遇并存 Problems and Opportunities

佚名/Anonymous

We live in an unusual time with corporate downsizing, restructuring, and the increase in global competition. Some view these times as problematic；others see the incredible opportunities created by such change.

In the last decade there has been a huge growth in home-based and service-industry businesses. These businesses have been started by individuals with the courage to pursue their dreams. Yet, for every idea that is implemented, thousands of ideas never get beyond the conceptual stage—from the imagination to a plan of action.

What holds people back from pursuing their dreams and acting on their great ideas?I believe it's fear of failure. Someone once said,“there are a lot of ways to become a failure, but never taking a chance is the most successful way.”I've also heard it said that“people don't plan to fail……they fail to plan.”

Companies these days must be willing and able to change constantly. Sometimes companies change course to survive, and sometimes they do so because an opportunity is too good to resist. I know of a small company that provided a messenger service several years ago. A sudden major increase in corporate use of fax machines nearly put this small company out of business. Fortunately, the owner of the company was astute enough to realize other global corporate trends happening at the same time. The owner shifted gears from offering a messenger service to providing an off site records storage service, and soon business was booming once again.

It all comes down to perspective. When there was a downturn in the economy, some people could say,“This is terrible!With the downturn in the economy, nobody will have a budget for my service.”Or others thought,“This is great!With the tightening of budgets and the loss of support staff, there's an even greater need for professionals to be effective, which is precisely what I'm here to help them do!”

我们生活在一个公司规模缩减、机构重组和全球化竞争加剧的特殊时代。有些人认为，这会带来众多问题；也有些人认为，这种变化会带来难以置信的巨大机遇。

家政服务行业在近十年迅速发展起来。这些业绩是那些勇于追寻梦想的人创造的。然而，任何一个得以执行的计划，都历经了反反复复的构思阶段——从设想到付诸行动。

是什么阻碍了人们追求并实现他们的梦想？我想，这是恐惧心理在作祟。曾有人说：“失败的原因有很多，没把握住机会是一个最主要原因。”也有人说：“人们不是败于计划，而是败于没有计划。”

如今，无论是为了生存，还是为了抓住千载难逢的绝好机遇，公司必须愿意且有能力进行机构重整。据我所知，几年前，有一家提供信使服务的小公司做得很不错，但传真机的迅速普及使该公司面临倒闭。幸而公司老板非常精明，他意识到了当时的全球化趋向。于是，他马上将公司服务转型，由提供信使服务转为远端记录存储服务，很快，公司再度蓬勃发展起来。

因而，一切都取决于你看待问题的视点。经济不景气时，有人会说：“太糟糕了！经济低迷，产品销不出去。”有些人则会这样想：“太棒了！预算紧张，雇员减少，这就需要大量的高效率专业人员，这恰好适合我！”

心灵小语

任何事情都有两面性，我们往往在难得的机遇来临之时也面临着巨大的困难，是抓住机会迎难而上，还是放弃机会不敢奋斗，这考验着我们的智慧和勇气。

W词汇笔记

conceptual[kən'septʃuəl]adj.概念上的

例 The conceptual design is wonderful.

这个概念设计很奇特。

astute[əs'tju:t]adj.机敏的；狡猾的

例 He is an astute businessman.

他是一个精明的商人。

tighten['taitən]v.勒紧；坚固

例 He tightened his grip on her arm.

他紧抓她的手臂。

precisely[pri'saisli]adv.精确地

例 Tell me precisely what do you want?

请明确地告诉我你想要什么？

S小试身手

我们生活在一个公司规模缩减、机构重组和全球化竞争加剧的特殊时代。

译________________________________________

是什么阻碍了人们追求并实现他们的梦想？我想，这是恐惧心理在作祟。

译________________________________________

一切都取决于你看待问题的视点。

译________________________________________

P短语家族

What holds people back from pursuing their dreams and acting on their great ideas?

hold back：退缩；抑制

造________________________________________

A sudden major increase in corporate use of fax machines nearly put this small company out of business.

out of：在……外；离开，缺乏

造________________________________________