有才华的穷人（上）

　　世界上满坑满谷都是精明能干、才华横溢、学富五车以及极具天赋之人，我们每天都会见到他们。几天前，我的汽车运转不灵了。我把它开进维修厂，一位年轻的机械工只消几分钟就把它修好了。他仅凭倾听发动机的声音就能确定哪儿有毛病，这让我惊奇不已。然而遗憾的是，光有非凡才华是不够的。

　　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 consultant² who specializes in1 the medical trade was telling me how many doctors, dentists and chiropractors 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 accounting³, investing, marketing⁴ 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.

　　我常常吃惊，为什么有才华的人却只有微薄的收入。前几天我听人说，只有不到5%的美国人年收入在10万美元以上。一位精通药品贸易的商务顾问曾经告诉我，有许多医生、牙医和按摩师生活拮据。以前我总以为他们一毕业，财源便会滚滚而来。这位商务顾问告诉了我一句话：“离发大财，他们还差一项技能。”这句话的意思是说，大部分人还需多学习并掌握一项技能，他们的收入才能呈指数倍增长。以前我提到过，财商是会计、投资、市场营销和法律方面的能力综合。将上述四种专业技能结合起来，以钱生钱就会更容易。说到钱，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 Marine⁵ 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 Corps⁶ to learn how to fly. My educated dad was devastated⁷. Rich dad congratulated me.

　　1969年，我从美国海运学院毕业了。我那有学识的爸爸十分高兴，因为加州标准石油公司录用我为它的油轮队工作。尽管我的未来前程远大，但我还是在6个月后辞职离开了这家公司，加入海军陆战队去学习飞行。对此我那有学识的爸爸非常伤心，而富爸爸则祝贺我做出的决定。

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