《哈利波特》之母JK罗琳的11堂人生课

7. “The crucial importance of imagination.”
“想象力极其重要。”

Did you think imagination is to be left for the kids? Maybe you’re just a big kid after all.
你以为只有小孩才有想象力吗？或许你自己就是个大小孩呢！

“Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not and therefore the fount of all invention…we have the power to imagine better.”
“想象力不仅是人类独有的想象能力，同时也是所有发明的源泉……我们有能力想象得更美好。”

“It is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we never shared.”
“这种力量能让我们体会到自身不曾经历的他人经验。”

Go ahead and daydream. Let your imagination run where it may and imagine a better life, a better world. You have Jo’s permission.
请尽情做梦吧。让想象力自由奔放，去想象更美好的生活、更和谐的社会。罗琳允许你这么做！

8. “The first story I finished was when I was six years old.”
“我6岁时写完了第一个故事。”

Our childhoods have lots of clues. What were you doing when you were six? What toy did you want? What did you play with?
从小看到老。6岁时你在干什么？你喜欢过什么样的玩具，又有哪些玩伴儿？

If you can’t remember, take a trip to the virtual toy store and see what you want to play with and play. It may lead to what you really want to be doing.
如果你记不起来，可以到实体玩具店看看自己喜欢什么，然后玩一玩。或许你就能发现自己真正想要从事什么。

9. “I began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.”
“我开始把所有精力投入到唯一重要的事情中去。”

What work matters to you?
什么样的事情对你而言是重要的？

“I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was.”
“我不再假装是真实自我之外的其他人。”

What might you be pretending to be? What box are you in? Climb on out.
你会假装成什么样的人？你陷在怎样的围城里？赶紧出来吧。

10. “Harry Potter gave me back self-respect. Harry gave me a job to do that I loved more than anything else.”
“《哈利波特》为我赢得了自尊，让我从事了自己最喜欢的工作。”

Do what you love and what you are meant to do and the self-respect will follow.
选你所爱、做你所想，自尊便会自然而来。

11. “It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might not have lived at all, in which case you fail by default.”
“活着不可能不犯错，除非你过得极其谨慎、仿佛不曾活过一样，可这样你其实也还是犯了错失败了。”

Failure is good. It means you are out in the ring, not in the nosebleed section, watching other people battle it out.
失败是有益的。失败意味着你出局了，不在血腥的现场，看别人你争我斗。

“There was a point where I really felt I had ‘penniless divorcee lone parent’ tattooed on my head.”
“有一段时间，我真的觉得自己脑门上刻着‘身无分文的离异单亲妈妈’字样。”

“What I feared most; failure. I was the biggest failure I knew.”
“我最最害怕的就是失败，可我自己就是最大的失败。”

What do you think you have tattooed on your forehead? Too old to start? Young and inexperienced? Too poor? Too scared?
你觉得你脑门上刻着什么字？年纪太大为时已晚？年轻青涩毫无经验？太穷？没胆量？

Time to pour the concrete and lay the foundation for greater things.
是时候去为更美好的事情和泥砌根基了。

Here is a bonus life lesson:
以下是额外的人生课堂：

“I don’t think about who the audience is for my books.” Expectations of others can rule our lives if we let them. IF we let them.
“我不会考虑书的读者是谁。” 如果我们允许，真的只要我们允许，别人的期望就能约束我们的生活。

“I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself and what those closest to me expected of me.”
“我很努力地去平衡自我抱负和身边人对我的期许。”

Take a break from wondering how to create your career based on what others want. If you do what helps you, with the gifts you have, you will do as Jo did.
先缓一缓，不要困惑如何按照别人的期许来创造你的职业生涯。如果能做好有用之事，再凭借自身天赋，你也会像罗琳那样成功。

So there you have it. Life on JK Rowling’s terms.
这就是你能学到的。这就是JK罗琳的人生教诲。

“I was set free because my greatest fear had been realized. And I was still alive and I still had a daughter whom I adored and I had an old typewriter and a big idea.” Go ahead. Set yourself free. Your failures can be your stepping stones to greatness. This one life you have is yours to live. Do what you love and want to do—that’s where the magic is. Believe in yourself.
“我自由了，因为最大的恐惧已成为现实。我还活着，还有一个深爱着的女儿；我有一台旧打字机，并且有一个很棒的想法。” 开始行动，给自己自由吧！你的失败也可能是将来成功的垫脚石。这辈子需要由你自己来过。所以，请做自己喜欢和渴望的事情——这才是魔法魅力所在。请相信你自己！

Light yourself up and dig deep for the magic inside you. It’s there, and it’s in all of us. Harry leads the way!
请点亮内心希望，发挥你内在的魔力吧。魔力是存在的，所有人都拥有这样的魔力。哈利波特，请领路！