麥可是那種你真想恨一恨的傢伙，他總是樂呵呵的，總是說些積極上進的話。如果有人問他近況如何，他會這樣回答：“如果我還能再好，我就成雙胞胎了!”他生來就會讓人積極進取。
if an employee was having a bad day, michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. seeing this style really made me curious, so one day i went up to michael and asked him, "i don' t get it. you can' t be positive all the time. how do you do it?"
如果哪位雇員有天過得很糟糕，麥可會告訴他如何看待問題的積極一面。他的這種方式著實讓我好奇，所以有一天我找到麥可問：“我真弄不明白。你怎么能總是那樣積極樂觀?你是如何做到這一點的?”
michael replied, each morning i wake up and say to myself 'mike, you have two choices today. you can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' i choose to be in a good mood. each time something bad happens, i can choose to be a victim or choose to learn from it. i choose to learn from it. every time someone comes to me complaining i can choose to accept their complaining or i can point out the positive side of life. i choose the positive side of life."
麥可回答說，“每天早晨醒來時我對自己說，‘邁克，今天你有兩種選擇。你可以選擇心情愉快，你也可以選擇心情惡劣。’我選擇心情愉快。每次什麼不愉快的事情發生時，我可以選擇成為一個犧牲品，也可以選擇從中吸取教訓。我選擇從中吸取教訓。每次有什麼人找我來抱怨，我可以選擇接受他們的抱怨，也可以選擇向他指出生活的積極面。我選擇指出生活的積極面。”
"yeah, right. it isn't that easy." i protested.
“是的，不錯。可並不那么容易呀。”我表示異議。
"yes it is, " michael said. "life is all about choices. when you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. you choose how you react to situations. you choose how people will affect your mood. you choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. the bottom line is: it's your choice how you live life. " i reflected on what michael said.
“其實很容易，”麥可說。“生活就是選擇。從每一事物剔除一切枝節後剩下的都是一種選擇。你選擇如何應付生活中的種種情形。你選擇他人會怎樣影響你的情緒。你選擇是心情愉快還是心情惡劣。說到底：如何生活是你自己的選擇。”我琢磨著麥可的這席話。
soon thereafter, i left the big enterprise that i had worked in for years to start my own business. we lost touch, but i often though about him when i made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. several years later, i heard michael was involved in a serious accident, falling off 60 feet from a communications tower.
那以後不久，我離開了工作數年的大企業去創建自己的公司。我們失去了聯繫，但當我對生活做出一種選擇而非對它做出反應時，我時常想起麥可。幾年之後，我聽說麥可遭遇一場惡性事故，從一座通訊大樓的60英尺高處掉了下來。
after l8 hours of surgery, and weeks of intensive care, michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. i saw michael about six months after the accident. when i asked him how he was, he replied, "if i were any better, i’d be twins. wanna see my scars?" i declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
在經歷了18個小時的手術和數周的精心護理之後，麥可出院了，背部裝有金屬桿。大約事故半年之後，我見到了麥可。當我問他怎么樣時，他回答，“如果我還能再好，我就成雙胞胎了。想看看我的傷疤嗎?”我拒絕看他的傷痕，但的確問了他事故發生時他是怎么想的。
"the first thing that went through my mind was the well being of my soon-to-born daughter," michael replied. "then, as i lay on the ground, remembered i had two choices: i could choose to live or i could choose to die. i chose to live." "weren’t you scared? did you lose consciousness?" i asked. michael continued, "... the paramedics were great. they kept telling me i was going to be fine. but when they wheeled me into the operation room and i saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, i got really scared. in their eyes, l read 'he's a dead man.' i knew i needed to take action." "what did you do?" i asked. "well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me” said michael. "she asked me if i was allergic to anything. ‘yes,’ i said. the doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. i took a deep breath and yelled", ‘gravity’” over their laughter, i told them, 'i'm choosing to live. operate on me as if i am alive, not dead'."
“我首先想到的是我那即將出世的女兒的幸福生活，”麥可答道。“當時我躺在地上，我記起我有兩種選擇：我可以選擇活著，也可以選擇死。我選擇了活。”“你難道不害怕嗎?你失去知覺了嗎?”我問。麥可接著說，“……那些護理人員棒極了。他們不停地告訴我我會好的。但當他們把我推進手術室，我看到醫生和護士臉上的表情時，我真是嚇壞了。在他們的眼裡，我讀出了‘他是個死人。’我知道我應該採取行動。”“你採取了什麼行動?”我問道。“有一位人高馬大的護士大聲沖我問問題，”麥可說。“她問我是否對什麼過敏。‘是的，’我說。醫生和護士都停下手中的活兒等我回答。我深吸一口氣大聲說出，‘萬有引力。’他們的笑聲未了，我告訴他們，‘我選擇活著。把我當活人而不是死人來做手術。”’
michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. i 1eamed from him that every day we have a choice to live fully. attitude is everything.
麥可活了下來，這要感謝他那些醫生的高明醫術，但也要歸功於他那令人讚嘆的態度。我從他那裡學到了我們每天都有機會充實地活著，關鍵是態度。