英语美文:把时间看做投资，生活就不一样了

Think of how stingy you are with your money: if someone on the street asks for $10, you're not giving it to them. There's no way you're giving a 30% tip for a normal dining experience. And so on.
想想你在花钱上是多么的吝啬，如果有人在街上问你要10美元，你是不会给的。普通的一顿饭要收你30%的小费，那也是没门。诸如此类的事情还有不少。

And yet so many of us just waste ungodly amounts of our time. We throw it away, every day. I know I do unless I'm careful. What helps me to not waste time is to see it as an investment, and to keep track of the returns I get for my investment.
但是我们大部分人都肆意挥霍着时间，对于时间的浪费，每天如此。除非我们刻意留心，不然我们还是明知故犯。怎样做才能不浪费时间？不如将它看成一种投资，看看它能带来多少回报。

This approach has led me to recognize that some things offer incredible immediate return on investment: a night spent learning a new song on my preferred instruments, for example, gives me a lifetime of being able to play that song. That's an incredible return. Other investments are more like low-interest, high security, long-term investments: going to the gym, eating right, etc. Some, like reading good books, are kind of a combination of both.
在某些方面，让我觉得（投资时间）会有不可思议的即刻回报。比如，花一个晚上的时间，在我喜欢的乐器上学会一首新的曲子，那我今后的一生中就都会弹奏这首曲子。这是多么不可思议的回报。还有一些低利率、高安全率的长期投资，比如：去健身房锻炼、健康饮食等等。还有一些，包括阅读有意义的书，算是两者的结合。

But many activities are worthless from an investment perspective: whatever benefit they seem to give doesn't last any longer than the activity itself."Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." - Warren Buffett. This applies to everything: money, relationships, time. Knowing this changes your life.
但是有很多的活动从投资的角度来说是毫无价值的，除了活动本身的价值，其他的任何利益都不会得到延续。“你付出的是价格，买来的是价值。”这是沃伦·巴菲特的名言。这条定律适用于所有事物，金钱、关系、时间。知道这个会改变你的人生。