第一篇：我得過的最好的禮物演講稿

我得過的最好的禮物演講稿

Transcript

Imagine, if you will, a gift.I'd like for you to picture it in your mind.It's not too big--about the size of a golf ball.So envision what it looks like all wrapped up.But before I show you what's inside, I will tell you, it's going to do incredible things for you.It will bring all of your family together.You will feel loved and appreciated like never before and reconnect with friends and acquaintances you haven't heard from in years.Adoration and admiration will overwhelm you.It will recalibrate what's most important in your life.It will redefine your sense of spirituality and faith.You'll have a new understanding and trust in your body.You'll have unsurpassed vitality and energy.You'll expand your vocabulary, meet new people, and you'll have a healthier lifestyle.And get this, you'll have an eight-week vacation of doing absolutely nothing.You'll eat countless gourmet meals.Flowers will arrive by the truckload.People will say to you, “You look great.Have you had any work done?” And you'll have a lifetime supply of good drugs.You'll be challenged, inspired, motivated and humbled.Your life will have new meaning.Peace, health, serenity, happiness, nirvana.The price? $55,000.And that's an incredible deal.By now I know you're dying to know what it is and where you can get one.Does Amazon carry it? Does it have the Apple logo on it? Is there a waiting list? Not likely.This gift came to me about five months ago.It

looked more like this when it was all wrapped up--not quite so pretty.And this.And then this.It was a rare gem, a brain tumor, hemangioblastoma, the gift that keeps on giving.And while I'm okay now, I wouldn't wish this gift for you.I'm not sure you'd want it.But I wouldn't change my experience.It profoundly altered my life in ways I didn't expect in all the ways I just shared with you.So the next time you're faced with something that's unexpected, unwanted and uncertain, consider that it just may be a gift.

第二篇：我得過的最好的禮物演講稿

The Best Gift I Ever Survived

Stacey Kramer Imagine, if you will, a gift.I'd like for you to picture it in your mind.It's not too big--about the size of a golf ball.So envision what it looks like all wrapped up.But before I show you what's inside, I will tell you, it's going to do incredible things for you.It will bring all of your family together.You will feel loved and appreciated like never before and reconnect with friends and acquaintances you haven't heard from in years.Adoration and admiration will overwhelm you.It will recalibrate what's most important in your life.It will redefine your sense of spirituality and faith.You'll have a new understanding and trust in your body.You'll have unsurpassed vitality and energy.You'll expand your vocabulary, meet new people, and you'll have a healthier lifestyle.And get this, you'll have an eight-week vacation of doing absolutely nothing.You'll eat countless gourmet meals.Flowers will arrive by the truckload.People will say to you, “You look

great.Have you had any work done?” And you'll have a lifetime supply of good drugs.You'll be challenged, inspired, motivated and humbled.Your life will have new meaning.Peace, health, serenity, happiness, nirvana.The price? $55,000.And that's an incredible deal.By now I know you're dying to know what it is and where you can get one.Does Amazon carry it? Does it have the Apple logo on it? Is there a waiting list? Not likely.This gift came to me about five months ago.It looked more like this when it was all wrapped up –

Not quite so pretty.And this.And then this.It was a rare gem, a brain tumor, hemangioblastoma, the gift that keeps on giving.And while I'm okay now, I wouldn't wish this gift for you.I'm not sure you'd want it.But I wouldn't change my experience.It profoundly altered my life in ways I didn't expect in all the ways I just shared with you.So the next time you're faced with something that's unexpected, unwanted and uncertain, consider that it just may be a gift.我得過的最好的禮物(演講稿)絲德茜·克萊默(2010.02.)請想象一份禮物，請你們在腦海中構想一下：不是很大，大概高爾夫球般大小，包裝好大致是這個樣子。

在我揭開謎底之前，我先告訴你們，這件禮物會有多么奇妙的效果。它會使你合家團聚，你會感受到前所未有的愛與回饋，你會與久未謀面的老友和舊識重逢，愛與贊美會充盈你身。你會重新檢視何為生命中的要事，你會重新定義自己對精神和信仰的看法。你對自己的身體也會有全新的認識和信任，你會擁有無與倫比的生命力和能量。你將拓展你的詞匯量，結交新的朋友，并擁有更健康的生活方式。

當你得到這件禮物時，你將會有八個禮拜的假期，不需要做任何事情。你將享用無盡的佳肴，收到好幾卡車的鮮花，人們會對你說：“你看起來氣色真不錯！你是怎么做到的？”

你還會得到終生的藥物供給，你會面臨挑戰，被啟發、被鼓舞，同時變得更謙虛，你的生命將被賦予新的意義，平和、健康、寧靜、快樂，猶如涅槃。

這件禮物的值多少錢呢？五萬五千美元。真是樁好買賣。

我知道你一定迫不及待地想知道：這到底是什么？在哪里可買到？亞馬遜網站上有嗎？是蘋果公司的產品嗎？要排隊等貨嗎？

都不對。

大概五個月前，我收到了這份禮物。包裹起來的話，大概是這個樣子：

看起來沒那么漂亮。之后是這個：

還有這個：

一個罕見的麻煩——一顆腦瘤，成血管細胞瘤。這禮物一直在影響著我，現在我已無大礙了。

我不希望這份禮物降臨于你，雖然我不確定你是否想得到。我就不想經歷這樣的變化，但它突如其來地徹底改變了我的生活，帶來了以上所述的那些改變。所以下一次當你面對意料之外的、避之不及和前途未卜的事，不妨就把它看成一件禮物。

第三篇：我得過最好的禮物文稿及譯文

視頻: TED演講集.2010.02.絲德茜·克萊默：我得過的最好禮物（演講稿）

Transcript

Imagine, if you will, a gift.I'd like for you to picture it in your mind.It's not too big--about the size of a golf ball.So envision what it looks like all wrapped up.But before I show you what's inside, I will tell you, it's going to do incredible things for you.It will bring all of your family together.You will feel loved and appreciated like never before and reconnect with friends and acquaintances you haven't heard from in years.Adoration and admiration will overwhelm you.It will recalibrate what's most important in your life.It will redefine your sense of spirituality and faith.You'll have a new understanding and trust in your body.You'll have unsurpassed vitality and energy.You'll expand your vocabulary, meet new people, and you'll have a healthier lifestyle.And get this, you'll have an eight-week vacation of doing absolutely nothing.You'll eat countless gourmet meals.Flowers will arrive by the truckload.People will say to you, “You look great.Have you had any work done?” And you'll have a lifetime supply of good drugs.You'll be challenged, inspired, motivated and humbled.Your life will have new meaning.Peace, health, serenity, happiness, nirvana.The price? $55,000.And that's an incredible deal.By now I know you're dying to know what it is and where you can get one.Does Amazon carry it? Does it have the Apple logo on it? Is there a waiting list? Not likely.This gift came to me about five months ago.It looked more like this when it was all wrapped up--not quite so pretty.And this.And then this.It was a rare gem, a brain tumor, hemangioblastoma, the gift that keeps on giving.And while I'm okay now, I wouldn't wish this gift for you.I'm not sure you'd want it.But I wouldn't change my experience.It profoundly altered my life in ways I didn't expect in all the ways I just shared with you.So the next time you're faced with something that's unexpected, unwanted and uncertain, consider that it just may be a gift.請想象一份禮物，請你們在腦海中構想一下。不是很大 大概高爾夫球般大小，包裝好大致是這個樣子。在我揭開謎底之前，我先告訴你們這件禮物會有多么精妙的效果。它會使你合家團聚，你會感受到前所未有的愛與感激，與久未謀面的老友和舊識重聚，愛與贊美會充盈你身。你會重新檢視何為生命中的要事，你會重新定義自己對精神和信仰的看法。，你對自己的身體也會有全新的認知和信任，你會擁有無與倫比的生命力和能量，你將拓展你的詞匯量。結交新的朋友，并擁有更健康的生活方式。當你得到這件禮物時，你將會有八個禮拜的假期，不需要做任何事情。你將享用無盡的佳肴，收到好幾卡車的鮮花。人們會對你說，“你看起來氣色真不錯 完成什么了嗎？”你還會得到終身的良藥供給，你將面臨挑戰，被啟發，被鼓舞，同時變得更謙虛。你的生命將被賦予新的意義，平和，健康，寧靜，快樂，猶如涅槃。禮物的價格呢？五萬五千美金。真是樁好買賣。我知道你一定迫不及待地想知道這到底是什么？在那里可買到？亞馬遜網站上有嗎？是蘋果公司的產品嗎？要排隊等貨嗎？都不對。大概五個月前，我收到了這份禮物。包裹起來的話，大概是這個樣子。沒那么漂亮，之后是這個，還有這個。一個罕見的麻煩，一顆腦瘤，成血管細胞瘤。這禮物一直在影響著我，現在我已無大礙了。我不希望這份禮物降臨于你，我不確定你是否想得到，但是我不渴望改變過去。它突如其來的徹底改變了我的生活，帶來了以上所述的那些改變。所以下一次 當你面對意料之外的避之不及和前途未卜的事，不妨就把它看成一份禮物。謝謝！

第四篇：我得過最好的禮物文稿及譯文

視頻: TED演講集.2010.02.絲德茜·克萊默：我得過的最好禮物（演講稿）

Transcript

Imagine, if you will, a gift.I'd like for you to picture it in your mind.It's not too big--about the size of golf ball.So envision what it looks like all wrapped up.But before I show you what's inside, I will tell you, it's going to do incredible things for you.It will bring all of your family together.You will feel loved and appreciated like never before and reconnect with friends and acquaintances you haven't heard from in years.Adoration and admiration will overwhelm you.It will recalibrate what's most important in your life.It will redefine your sense of spirituality and faith.You'll have a new understanding and trust in your body.You'll have unsurpassed vitality and energy.You'll expand your vocabulary, meet new people, and you'll have a healthier lifestyle.And get this, you'll have an eight-week vacation of doing absolutely nothing.You'll eat countless gourmet meals.Flowers will arrive by the truckload.People will say to you, “You look great.Have you had any work done?” And you'll have a lifetime supply of good drugs.You'll be challenged, inspired, motivated and humbled.Your life will have new meaning.Peace, health, serenity, happiness, nirvana.The price? $55,000.And that's an incredible deal.By now I know you're dying to know what it is and where you can get one.Does Amazon carry it? Does it have the Apple logo on it? Is there a waiting list? Not likely.This gift came to me about five months ago.It looked more like this when it was all wrapped up--not quite so pretty.And this.And then this.It was a rare gem, a brain tumor, hemangioblastoma, the gift that keeps on giving.And while I'm okay now, I wouldn't wish this gift for you.I'm not sure you'd want it.But I wouldn't change my experience.It profoundly altered my life in ways I didn't expect in all the ways I just shared with you.So the next time you're faced with something that's unexpected, unwanted and uncertain, consider that it just may be a gift.請想象一份禮物，請你們在腦海中構想一下。不是很大 大概高爾夫球般大小，包裝好大致是這個樣子。在我揭開謎底之前，我先告訴你們這件禮物會有多么精妙的效果。它會使你合家團聚，你會感受到前所未有的愛與感激，與久未謀面的老友和舊識重聚，愛與贊美會充盈你身。你會重新檢視何為生命中的要事，你會重新定義自己對精神和信仰的看法。，你對自己的身體也會有全新的認知和信任，你會擁有無與倫比的生命力和能量，你將拓展你的詞匯量。結交新的朋友，并擁有更健康的生活方式。

當你得到這件禮物時，你將會有八個禮拜的假期，不需要做任何事情。你將享用無盡的佳肴，收到好幾卡車的鮮花。人們會對你說，?你看起來氣色真不錯 完成什么了嗎？?你還會得到終身的良藥供給，你將面臨挑戰，被啟發，被鼓舞，同時變得更謙虛。你的生命將被賦予新的意義，平和，健康，寧靜，快樂，猶如涅槃。

禮物的價格呢？五萬五千美金。真是樁好買賣。我知道你一定迫不及待地想知道這到底是什么？在那里可買到？亞馬遜網站上有嗎？是蘋果公司的產品嗎？要排隊等貨嗎？都不對。

大概五個月前，我收到了這份禮物。包裹起來的話，大概是這個樣子。沒那么漂亮，之后是這個，還有這個。一個罕見的麻煩，一顆腦瘤，成血管細胞瘤。這禮物一直在影響著我，現在我已無大礙了。我不希望這份禮物降臨于你，我不確定你是否想得到，但是我不渴望改變過去。它突如其來的徹底改變了我的生活，帶來了以上所述的那些改變。所以下一次 當你面對意料之外的避之不及和前途未卜的事，不妨就把它看成一份禮物。謝謝！

安妮?海瑟薇 My dear friends，You have honored me this evening to a degree I don't feel I yet deserve.I believe I have received this award not because of what I have done, but because of how I was born and raised.I was born the younger sister of a gay man, and the daughter to parents who are empathetic to, and loving of the LGBT community.In my household, being gay was and is no big deal.When my brother came out we loved him, hugged him and that was that.When he brought his first boyfriend home for a couple of weeks one Christmas, the only comment from my father was, “Please, don't mix up out underwear!”.We had no idea that I would become notable for my work and that our family would be labelled as having 'an alternative family lifestyle'...for the record, we don't think there is anything alternative about our family values.I don't consider myself just an ally of the LGBT community, I consider myself family.And so, I'm doing what we should all do with our families, loving you, supporting you and if anyone ever tries to hurt you, I'm gonna give them hell.There are people that have said I'm being brave by supporting gay marriage and adoption, but with all die respect I humbly dissent.I'm not being brave, I'm being a decent human being, and I don't believe I should receive an award for that.For believing that love is a human experience, not a political statement.Sadly, we don't live in a world where everybody feels the same, and so my family and I will try and help the good fight continue until that long awaited moment arrives.When our rights are equal and when the political limits on love have been smashed.This award does not in any way show the pinnacle of my work with the LGBT community, rather a triumphant roar to say that we are just beginning our fight together.In closing, to paraphrase a quote by the man embodied so well by the late and great Heath Ledger, I swear HRC, I swear, I have not yet done enough to deserve this award, but the best is yet to come!

Susan Cain 蘇珊·凱恩：內向性格的力量

When I was nine years old I went off to summer camp for the first time.And my mother packed me a suitcase full of books, which to me seemed like a perfectly natural thing to do.Because in my family, reading was the primary group activity.And this might sound antisocial to you, but for us it was really just a different way of being social.You have the animal warmth of your family sitting right next to you, but you are also free to go roaming around the adventureland inside your own mind.And I had this idea that camp was going to be just like this, but better.(Laughter)I had a vision of 10 girls sitting in a cabin cozily reading books in their matching nightgowns.當我九歲的時候 我第一次去參加夏令營 我媽媽幫我整理好了我的行李箱 里面塞滿了書 這對于我來說是一件極為自然的事情 因為在我的家庭里 閱讀是主要的家庭活動 聽上去你們可能覺得我們是不愛交際的 但是對于我的家庭來說這真的只是接觸社會的另一種途徑 你們有自己家庭接觸時的溫暖親情 家人靜坐在你身邊 但是你也可以自由地漫游 在你思維深處的冒險樂園里我有一個想法 野營會變得像這樣子，當然要更好些（笑聲）我想象到十個女孩坐在一個小屋里 都穿著合身的女式睡衣愜意地享受著讀書的過程

(Laughter)（笑聲）

Camp was more like a keg party without any alcohol.And on the very first day our counselor gathered us all together and she taught us a cheer that she said we would be doing every day for the rest of the summer to instill camp spirit.And it went like this: “R-O-W-D-I-E, that's the way we spell rowdie.Rowdie, rowdie, let's get rowdie.” Yeah.So I couldn't figure out for the life of me why we were supposed to be so rowdy, or why we had to spell this word incorrectly.(Laughter)But I recited a cheer.I recited a cheer along with everybody else.I did my best.And I just waited for the time that I could go off and read my books.野營這時更像是一個不提供酒水的派對聚會 在第一天的時候呢 我們的顧問把我們都集合在一起 并且她教會了我們一種今后要用到的慶祝方式 在余下夏令營的每一天中 讓?露營精神?浸潤我們 之后它就像這樣繼續著 R-O-W-D-I-E 這是我們拼寫?吵鬧“的口號 我們唱著?噪音，喧鬧，我們要變得吵一點? 對，就是這樣 可我就是弄不明白我的生活會是什么樣的 為什么我們變得這么吵鬧粗暴 或者為什么我們非要把這個單詞錯誤地拼寫（笑聲）但是我可沒有忘記慶祝。我與每個人都互相歡呼慶祝了 我盡了我最大的努力 我只是想等待那一刻 我可以離開吵鬧的聚會去捧起我摯愛的書

But the first time that I took my book out of my suitcase, the coolest girl in the bunk came up to me and she asked me, ”Why are you being so mellow?“--mellow, of course, being the exact opposite of R-O-W-D-I-E.And then the second time I tried it, the counselor came up to me with a concerned expression on her face and she repeated the point about camp spirit and said we should all work very hard to be outgoing.但是當我第一次把書從行李箱中拿出來的時候 床鋪中最酷的那個女孩向我走了過來 并且她問我：?為什么你要這么安靜？? 安靜，當然，是R-O-W-D-I-E的反義詞 ?喧鬧?的反義詞 而當我第二次拿書的時候 我們的顧問滿臉憂慮的向我走了過來 接著她重復了關于?露營精神?的要點并且說我們都應當努力 去變得外向些

And so I put my books away, back in their suitcase, and I put them under my bed, and there they stayed for the rest of the summer.And I felt kind of guilty about this.I felt as if the books needed me somehow, and they were calling out to me and I was forsaking them.But I did forsake them and I didn't open that suitcase again until I was back home with my family at the end of the summer.于是我放好我的書 放回了屬于它們的行李箱中 并且我把它們放到了床底下 在那里它們度過了暑假余下的每一天 我對這樣做感到很愧疚 不知為什么我感覺這些書是需要我的 它們在呼喚我，但是我卻放棄了它們 我確實放下了它們，并且我再也沒有打開那個箱子 直到我和我的家人一起回到家中 在夏末的時候

Now, I tell you this story about summer camp.I could have told you 50 others just like it--all the times that I got the message that somehow my quiet and introverted style of beingwas not necessarily the right way to go, that I should be trying to pass as more of an extrovert.And I always sensed deep down that this was wrong and that introverts were pretty excellent just as they were.But for years I denied this intuition, and so I became a Wall Street lawyer, of all things, instead of the writer that I had always longed to be--partly because I needed to prove to myself that I could be bold and assertive too.And I was always going off to crowded bars when I really would have preferred to just have a nice dinner with friends.And I made these self-negating choices so reflexively, that I wasn't even aware that I was making them.現在，我向你們講述這個夏令營的故事 我完全可以給你們講出其他50種版本就像這個一樣的故事--每當我感覺到這樣的時候 它告訴我出于某種原因，我的寧靜和內向的風格 并不是正確道路上的必需品 我應該更多地嘗試一個外向者的角色 而在我內心深處感覺得到，這是錯誤的內向的人們都是非常優秀的，確實是這樣 但是許多年來我都否認了這種直覺 于是我首先成為了華爾街的一名律師 而不是我長久以來想要成為的一名作家 一部分原因是因為我想要證明自己 也可以變得勇敢而堅定 并且我總是去那些擁擠的酒吧 當我只是想要和朋友們吃一頓愉快的晚餐時 我做出了這些自我否認的抉擇 如條件反射一般 甚至我都不清楚我做出了這些決定

Now this is what many introverts do, and it's our loss for sure, but it is also our colleagues' loss and our communities' loss.And at the risk of sounding grandiose, it is the world's loss.Because when it comes to creativity and to leadership, we need introverts doing what they do best.A third to a half of the population are introverts--a third to a half.So that's one out of every two or three people you know.So even if you're an extrovert yourself, I'm talking about your coworkers and your spouses and your children and the person sitting next to you right now--all of them subject to this bias that is pretty deep and real in our society.We all internalize it from a very early age without even having a language for what we're doing.這就是很多內向的人正在做的事情 這當然是我們的損失 但這同樣也是同事們的損失 我們所在團隊集體的損失 當然，冒著被指為夸大其詞的風險我想說，更是世界的損失 因為當涉及創造和領導的時候 我們需要內向的人做到最好 三分之一到二分之一的人都是內向的--三分之一到二分之一 你要知道這可意味著每兩到三個人中就有一個內向的 所以即使你自己是一個外向的人 我正在說你的同事 和你的配偶和你的孩子 還有現在正坐在你旁邊的那個家伙--他們都要屈從于這樣的偏見 一種在我們的社會中已經扎根的現實偏見 我們從很小的時候就把它藏在內心最深處 甚至都不說幾句話，關于我們正在做的事情。

Now to see the bias clearly you need to understand what introversion is.It's different from being shy.Shyness is about fear of social judgment.Introversion is more about, how do you respond to stimulation, including social stimulation.So extroverts really crave large amounts of stimulation, whereas introverts feel at their most alive and their most switched-on and their most capable when they're in quieter, more low-key environments.Not all the time--these things aren't absolute--but a lot of the time.So the key then to maximizing our talents is for us all to put ourselves in the zone of stimulation that is right for us.現在讓我們來清楚地看待這種偏見 我們需要真正了解?內向?到底指什么 它和害羞是不同的 害羞是對于社會評論的恐懼 內向更多的是 你怎樣對于刺激做出回應 包括來自社會的刺激 其實內向的人是很渴求大量的鼓舞和激勵的 反之內向者最感覺到他們的存在 這是他們精力最充足的時候，最具有能力的時候 當他們存在于更安靜的，更低調的環境中 并不是所有時候--這些事情都不是絕對的--但是存在于很多時候 所以說，關鍵在于 把我們的天賦發揮到最大化 這對于我們來說就足夠把我們自己 放到對于我們正確又合適的激勵的區域中去

But now here's where the bias comes in.Our most important institutions, our schools and our workplaces, they are designed mostly for extroverts and for extroverts' need for lots of stimulation.And also we have this belief system right now that I call the new groupthink, which holds that all creativity and all productivity comes from a very oddly gregarious place.但是現在偏見出現了 我們最重要的那些體系 我們的學校和工作單位 它們都是為性格外向者設計的 并且有適合他們需要的刺激和鼓勵 當然我們現在也有這樣一種信用機制 我稱它為新型的?團隊思考? 這是一種包含所有創造力和生產力的思考方式 從一個社交非常零散的地方產生的

So if you picture the typical classroom nowadays: When I was going to school, we sat in rows.We sat in rows of desks like this, and we did most of our work pretty autonomously.But nowadays, your typical classroom has pods of desks--four or five or six or seven kids all facing each other.And kids are working in countless group assignments.Even in subjects like math and creative writing, which you think would depend on solo flights of thought, kids are now expected to act as committee members.And for the kids who prefer to go off by themselves or just to work alone, those kids are seen as outliers often or, worse, as problem cases.And the vast majority of teachers reports believing that the ideal student is an extrovert as opposed to an introvert, even though introverts actually get better grades and are more knowledgeable, according to research.(Laughter)當你描繪今天典型教室的圖案時 當我還上學的時候 我們一排排地坐著 我們靠著桌子一排排坐著就像這樣 并且我們大多數工作都是自覺完成的 但是在現代社會，所謂典型的教室 是些圈起來并排的桌子--四個或是五個或是六、七個孩子坐在一起，面對面 孩子們要完成無數個小組任務 甚至像數學和創意寫作這些課程 這些你們認為需要依靠個人閃光想法的課程 孩子們現在卻被期待成為小組會的成員 對于那些喜歡 獨處，或者自己一個人工作的孩子來說 這些孩子常常被視為局外人 或者更糟，被視為問題孩子 并且很大一部分老師的報告中都相信 最理想的學生應該是外向的 相對于內向的學生而言 甚至說外向的學生能夠取得更好的成績 更加博學多識據研究報道（笑聲）

Okay, same thing is true in our workplaces.Now, most of us work in open plan offices, without walls, where we are subject to the constant noise and gaze of our coworkers.And when it comes to leadership, introverts are routinely passed over for leadership positions, even though introverts tend to be very careful, much less likely to take outsize risks--which is something we might all favor nowadays.And interesting research by Adam Grant at the Wharton School has found that introverted leaders often deliver better outcomes than extroverts do, because when they are managing proactive employees, they're much more likely to let those employees run with their ideas, whereas an extrovert can, quite unwittingly, get so excited about things that they're putting their own stamp on things, and other people's ideas might not as easily then bubble up to the surface.好了。同樣的事情也發生在我們工作的地方 現在呢，我們中的絕大多數都工作在寬闊沒有隔間的辦公室里 甚至沒有墻 在這里，我們暴露 在不斷的噪音和我們同事的凝視目光下工作 而當談及領袖氣質的時候 內向的人總是按照慣例從領導的位置被忽視了 盡管內向的人是非常小心仔細的 很少去冒特大的風險--這些風險是今天我們可能都喜歡的 賓夕法尼亞大學沃頓商學院的亞當·格蘭特教授做了一項很有意思的研究 這項研究表明內向的領導們 相對于外向領導而言總是會生產更大的效益 因為當他們管理主動積極的雇員的時候 他們更傾向于讓有主見的雇員去自由發揮 反之外向的領導就可能，當然是不經意的 對于事情變得十分激動 他們在事務上有了自己想法的印跡 這使其他人的想法可能就不會很容易地 在舞臺上發光了

Now in fact, some of our transformative leaders in history have been introverts.I'll give you some examples.Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Gandhi--all these peopled described themselves as quiet and soft-spoken and even shy.And they all took the spotlight, even though every bone in their bodies was telling them not to.And this turns out to have a special power all its own, because people could feel that these leaders were at the helm, not because they enjoyed directing others and not out of the pleasure of being looked at;they were there because they had no choice, because they were driven to do what they thought was right.事實上，歷史上一些有改革能力的領袖都是內向的人 我會舉一些例子給你們 埃莉諾·羅斯福，羅沙·帕克斯，甘地--所有這些人都把自己描述成 內向，說話溫柔甚至是害羞的人 他們仍然站在了聚光燈下 即使他們渾身上下 都感知他們說不要 這證明是一種屬于它自身的特殊的力量因為人們都會感覺這些領導者同時是掌舵者 并不是因為他們喜歡指揮別人 抑或是享受眾人目光的聚焦 他們處在那個位置因為他們沒有選擇 因為他們行駛在他們認為正確的道路上

Now I think at this point it's important for me to say that I actually love extroverts.I always like to say some of my best friends are extroverts, including my beloved husband.And we all fall at different points, of course, along the introvert/extrovert spectrum.Even Carl Jung, the psychologist who first popularized these terms, said that there's no such thing as a pure introvert or a pure extrovert.He said that such a man would be in a lunatic asylum, if he existed at all.And some people fall smack in the middle of the introvert/extrovert spectrum, and we call these people ambiverts.And I often think that they have the best of all worlds.But many of us do recognize ourselves as one type or the other.現在我覺得對于這點我有必要說 那就是我真的喜愛外向的人 我總是喜歡說我最好的幾個朋友都是外向的人 包括我親愛的丈夫 當然了我們都會在不同點時偏向 內向者/外向者的范圍 甚至是卡爾·榮格，這個讓這些名詞為大眾所熟知的心理學家，說道 世上絕沒有一個純粹的內向的人 或者一個純粹的外向的人 他說這樣的人會在精神病院里 如果他存在的話 還有一些人處在中間的跡象 在內向與外向之間 我們稱這些人為?中向性格者? 并且我總是認為他們擁有世界最美好的一切 但是我們中的大多數總是認為自己屬于內向或者外向，其中一類

And what I'm saying is that culturally we need a much better balance.We need more of a yin and yang between these two types.This is especially important when it comes to creativity and to productivity, because when psychologists look at the lives of the most creative people, what they find are people who are very good at exchanging ideas and advancing ideas, but who also have a serious streak of introversion in them.同時我想說從文化意義上講我們需要一種更好的平衡 我們需要更多的陰陽的平衡 在這兩種類型的人之間 這點是極為重要的 當涉及創造力和生產力的時候 因為當心理學家們看待 最有創造力的人的生命的時候 他們尋找到的 是那些擅長變換思維的人 提出想法的人 但是他們同時也有著極為顯著的偏內向的痕跡

And this is because solitude is a crucial ingredient often to creativity.So Darwin, he took long walks alone in the woods and emphatically turned down dinner party invitations.Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr.Seuss, he dreamed up many of his amazing creations in a lonely bell tower office that he had in the back of his house in La Jolla, California.And he was actually afraid to meet the young children who read his books for fear that they were expecting him this kind of jolly Santa Claus-like figure and would be disappointed with his more reserved persona.Steve Wozniak invented the first Apple computer sitting alone in his cubical in Hewlett-Packard where he was working at the time.And he says that he never would have become such an expert in the first place had he not been too introverted to leave the house when he was growing up.這是因為獨處是非常關鍵的因素 對于創造力來說 所以達爾文 自己一個人漫步在小樹林里 并且斷然拒絕了晚餐派對的邀約 西奧多·蓋索，更多時候以蘇索博士的名號知名 他夢想過很多的驚人的創作 在他在加利福尼亞州拉霍亞市房子的后面的 一座孤獨的束層的塔形辦公室中 而且其實他很害怕見面 見那些讀過他的書的年輕的孩子們 害怕他們會期待他 這樣一位令人愉快的，圣誕老人形象的人物 同時又會因發現他含蓄緘默的性格而失望 史蒂夫·沃茲尼亞克發明了第一臺蘋果電腦 一個人獨自坐在他的機柜旁 在他當時工作的惠普公司 并且他說他永遠不會在那方面成為一號專家 但他還沒因太內向到要離開那里 那個他成長起來的地方

Now of course, this does not mean that we should all stop collaborating--and case in point, is Steve Wozniak famously coming together with Steve Jobs to start Apple Computer--but it does mean that solitude matters and that for some people it is the air that they breathe.And in fact, we have known for centuries about the transcendent power of solitude.It's only recently that we've strangely begun to forget it.If you look at most of the world's major religions, you will find seekers--Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad--seekers who are going off by themselves alone to the wilderness where they then have profound epiphanies and revelations that they then bring back to the rest of the community.So no wilderness, no revelations.當然了這并不意味著我們都應該停止合作--恰當的例子呢，是史蒂夫·沃茲尼亞克和史蒂夫·喬布斯的著名聯手創建蘋果電腦公司--但是這并不意味著和獨處有重大關系 并且對于一些人來說 這是他們賴以呼吸生存的空氣 事實上，幾個世紀以來我們已經非常明白 獨處的卓越力量只是到了最近，非常奇怪，我們開始遺忘它了 如果你看看世界上主要的宗教 你會發現探尋者--摩西，耶穌，佛祖，穆罕默德--那些獨身去探尋的人們 在大自然的曠野中獨處，思索 在那里，他們有了深刻的頓悟和對于奧義的揭示 之后他們把這些思想帶回到社會的其他地方去沒有曠原，沒有啟示

This is no surprise though if you look at the insights of contemporary psychology.It turns out that we can't even be in a group of people without instinctively mirroring, mimicking their opinions.Even about seemingly personal and visceral things like who you're attracted to, you will start aping the beliefs of the people around you without even realizing that that's what you're doing.盡管這并不令人驚訝 如果你注意到現代心理學的思想理論 它反映出來我們甚至不能和一組人待在一起 而不去本能地模仿他們的意見與想法 甚至是看上去私人的，發自內心的事情 像是你被誰所吸引 你會開始模仿你周圍的人的信仰 甚至都覺察不到你自己在做什么

And groups famously follow the opinions of the most dominant or charismatic person in the room, even though there's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas--I mean zero.So...(Laughter)You might be following the person with the best ideas, but you might not.And do you really want to leave it up to chance? Much better for everybody to go off by themselves, generate their own ideas freed from the distortions of group dynamics, and then come together as a team to talk them through in a well-managed environment and take it from there.還曾跟隨群體的意見 跟隨著房間里最具有統治力的，最有領袖氣質的人的思路 雖然這真的沒什么關系 在成為一個卓越的演講家還是擁有最好的主意之間--我的意思是?零相關? 那么...（笑聲）你們或許會跟隨有最好頭腦的人 但是你們也許不會 可你們真的想把這機會扔掉嗎？如果每個人都自己行動或許好得多 發掘他們自己的想法 沒有群體動力學的曲解 接著來到一起組成一個團隊 在一個良好管理的環境中互相交流 并且在那里學習別的思想

Now if all this is true, then why are we getting it so wrong? Why are we setting up our schools this way and our workplaces? And why are we making these introverts feel so guilty about wanting to just go off by themselves some of the time? One answer lies deep in our cultural history.Western societies, and in particular the U.S., have always favored the man of action over the man of contemplation and ”man“ of contemplation.But in America's early days, we lived in what historians call a culture of character, where we still, at that point, valued people for their inner selves and their moral rectitude.And if you look at the self-help books from this era, they all had titles with things like ”Character, the Grandest Thing in the World.“ And they featured role models like Abraham Lincoln who was praised for being modest and unassuming.Ralph Waldo Emerson called him ”A man who does not offend by superiority.“ 如果說現在這一切都是真的 那么為什么我們還得到這樣錯誤的結論？ 為什么我們要這樣創立我們的學校，還有我們的工作單位？ 為什么我們要讓這些內向的人覺得那么愧疚。對于他們只是想要離開，一個人獨處一段時間的事實？ 有一個答案在我們的文化史中埋藏已久 西方社會特別是在美國 總是偏愛有行動的人 而不是有深刻思考的人 有深刻思考的?人? 但是在美國早期的時候 我們生活在一個被歷史學家稱作?性格特征?的文化 那時我們仍然，在這點上，判斷人們的價值 從人們的內涵和道義正直 而且如果你看一看這個時代關于自立的書籍的話 它們都有這樣一種標題： ?性格?，世界上最偉大的事物 并且它們以亞伯拉罕·林肯這樣的為標榜 一個被形容為謙虛低調的男人 拉爾夫·瓦爾多·愛默生稱他是 ?一個以‘優越’二字形容都不為過的人?

But then we hit the 20th century and we entered a new culture that historians call the culture of personality.What happened is we had evolved an agricultural economy to a world of big business.And so suddenly people are moving from small towns to the cities.And instead of working alongside people they've known all their lives, now they are having to prove themselves in a crowd of strangers.So, quite understandably, qualities like magnetism and charisma suddenly come to seem really important.And sure enough, the self-help books change to meet these new needs and they start to have names like ”How to Win Friends and Influence People.“ And they feature as their role models really great salesmen.So that's the world we're living in today.That's our cultural inheritance.但是接著我們來到了二十世紀 并且我們融入了一種新的文化 一種被歷史學家稱作?個性?的文化 所發生的改變就是我們從農業經濟發展為 一個大商業經濟的世界 而且人們突然開始搬遷從小的城鎮搬向城市 并且一改他們之前的在生活中和所熟識的人們一起工作的方式 現在他們在一群陌生人中間有必要去證明自己 這樣做是非常可以理解的 像領袖氣質和個人魅力這樣的品質 突然間似乎變得極為重要 那么可以肯定的是，自助自立的書的內容變更了以適應這些新的需求 并且它們開始擁有名稱 像是《如何贏得朋友和影響他人》（戴爾?卡耐基所著《人性的弱點》）他們的特點是做自己的榜樣 不得不說確實是好的推銷員 所以這就是我們今天生活的世界 這是我們的文化遺產

Now none of this is to say that social skills are unimportant, and I'm also not calling for the abolishing of teamwork at all.The same religions who send their sages off to lonely mountain tops also teach us love and trust.And the problems that we are facing today in fields like science and in economics are so vast and so complex that we are going to need armies of people coming together to solve them working together.But I am saying that the more freedom that we give introverts to be themselves, the more likely that they are to come up with their own unique solutions to these problems.現在沒有誰能夠說 社交技能是不重要的 并且我也不是想呼吁 大家廢除團隊合作模式 但仍是相同的宗教，卻把他們的圣人送到了孤獨的山頂上 仍然教導我們愛與信任 還有我們今天所要面對的問題 像是在科學和經濟領域 是如此的巨大和復雜 以至于我們需要人們強有力地團結起來 共同解決這些問題 但是我想說，越給內向者自由讓他們做自己 他們就做得越好 去想出他們獨特的關于問題的解決辦法

So now I'd like to share with you what's in my suitcase today.Guess what? Books.I have a suitcase full of books.Here's Margaret Atwood, ”Cat's Eye.“ Here's a novel by Milan Kundera.And here's ”The Guide for the Perplexed“ by Maimonides.But these are not exactly my books.I brought these books with me because they were written by my grandfather's favorite authors.所以現在我很高興同你們分享 我手提箱中的東西 猜猜是什么？ 書 我有一個手提箱里面裝滿了書 這是瑪格麗特·阿特伍德的《貓的眼睛》 這是一本米蘭·昆德拉的書 這是一本《迷途指津》 是邁蒙尼德寫的 但這些實際上都不是我的書 我還是帶著它們，陪伴著我 因為它們都是我祖父最喜愛的作家所寫

My grandfather was a rabbi and he was a widower who lived alone in a small apartment in Brooklyn that was my favorite place in the world when I was growing up, partly because it was filled with his very gentle, very courtly presence and partly because it was filled with books.I mean literally every table, every chair in this apartment had yielded its original function to now serve as a surface for swaying stacks of books.Just like the rest of my family, my grandfather's favorite thing to do in the whole world was to read.我的祖父是一名猶太教祭司 他獨身一人 在布魯克林的一間小公寓中居住 那里是我從小到大在這個世界上最喜愛的地方 部分原因是他有著非常溫和親切的，溫文爾雅的舉止 部分原因是那里充滿了書 我的意思是，毫不夸張地說，公寓中的每張桌子，每張椅子 都充分應用著它原有的功能 就是現在作為承載一大堆都在搖曳的書的表面 就像我其他的家庭成員一樣 我祖父在這個世界上最喜歡做的事情就是閱讀

But he also loved his congregation, and you could feel this love in the sermons that he gave every week for the 62 years that he was a rabbi.He would takes the fruits of each week's reading and he would weave these intricate tapestries of ancient and humanist thought.And people would come from all over to hear him speak.但是他同樣也熱愛他的宗教 并且你們可以從他的講述中感覺到他這種愛 這62年來每周他都作為一名猶太教的祭司 他會從每周的閱讀中汲取養分 并且他會編織這些錯綜復雜的古代和人文主義的思想的掛毯 并且人們會從各個地方前來 聽他的講話

But here's the thing about my grandfather.Underneath this ceremonial role, he was really modest and really introverted--so much so that when he delivered these sermons, he had trouble making eye contact with the very same congregation that he had been speaking to for 62 years.And even away from the podium, when you called him to say hello, he would often end the conversation prematurely for fear that he was taking up too much of your time.But when he died at the age of 94, the police had to close down the streets of his neighborhood to accommodate the crowd of people who came out to mourn him.And so these days I try to learn from my grandfather's example in my own way.但是有這么一件關于我祖父的事情 在這個正式的角色下隱藏著 他是一個非常謙虛的非常內向的人 是那么的謙虛內向以至于當他在向人們講述的時候 他都不敢有視線上的接觸 和同樣的教堂會眾 他已經發言有62年了 甚至都還遠離領獎臺 當你們讓他說?你好?的時候 他總會提早結束這對話 擔心他會占用你太多的時間 但是當他94歲去世的時候 警察們需要封鎖他所居住的街道鄰里 來容納擁擠的人們 前來哀悼他的人們 這些天來我都試著從我祖父的事例中學習以我自己的方式

So I just published a book about introversion, and it took me about seven years to write.And for me, that seven years was like total bliss, because I was reading, I was writing, I was thinking, I was researching.It was my version of my grandfather's hours of the day alone in his library.But now all of a sudden my job is very different, and my job is to be out here talking about it, talking about introversion.(Laughter)And that's a lot harder for me, because as honored as I am to be here with all of you right now, this is not my natural milieu.所以我就出版了一本關于內向性格的書 它花了我7年的時間完成它 而對我來說，這七年像是一種極大的喜悅 因為我在閱讀，我在寫作 我在思考，我在探尋 這是我的版本 對于爺爺一天中幾個小時都要獨自待在圖書館這件事 但是現在突然間我的工作變得很不同了 我的工作變成了站在這里講述它 講述內向的性格（笑聲）而且這對于我來說是有一點困難的 因為我很榮幸 在現在被你們所有人所傾聽 這可不是我自然的文化背景

So I prepared for moments like these as best I could.I spent the last year practicing public speaking every chance I could get.And I call this my ”year of speaking dangerously.“(Laughter)And that actually helped a lot.But I'll tell you, what helps even more is my sense, my belief, my hope that when it comes to our attitudes to introversion and to quiet and to solitude, we truly are poised on the brink on dramatic change.I mean, we are.And so I am going to leave you now with three calls for action for those who share this vision.所以我準備了一會就像這樣 以我所能做到的最好的方式 我花了最近一年的時間練習在公共場合發言 在我能得到的每一個機會中 我把這一年稱作我的?危險地發言的一年?（笑聲）而且它的確幫了我很大的忙 但是我要告訴你們一個幫我更大的忙的事情 那就是我的感覺，我的信仰，我的希望 當談及我們態度的時候 對于內向性格的，對于安靜，對于獨處的態度時 我們確實是在急劇變化的邊緣上保持微妙的平衡 我的意思是，我們在保持平衡 現在我將要給你們留下一些東西 三件對于你們的行動有幫助的事情 獻給那些觀看我的演講的人

Number one: Stop the madness for constant group work.Just stop it.(Laughter)Thank you.(Applause)And I want to be clear about what I'm saying, because I deeply believe our offices should be encouraging casual, chatty cafe-style types of interactions--you know, the kind where people come together and serendipitously have an exchange of ideas.That is great.It's great for introverts and it's great for extroverts.But we need much more privacy and much more freedom and much more autonomy at work.School, same thing.We need to be teaching kids to work together, for sure, but we also need to be teaching them how to work on their own.This is especially important for extroverted children too.They need to work on their own because that is where deep thought comes from in part.第一： 停止對于經常要團隊協作的執迷與瘋狂 停止它就好了（笑聲）謝謝你們（掌聲）我想讓我所說的事情變得清晰一些 因為我對于我們的辦公深信不疑 應該鼓勵它們 那種休閑隨意的，聊天似的咖啡廳式的相互作用--你們知道的，道不同不相為謀，人們聚到一起 并且互相交換著寶貴的意見 這是很棒的 這對于內向者很好，同樣對于外向者也好 但是我們需要更多的隱私和更多的自由 還有更多對于我們本身工作的自主權 對于學校，也是同樣的。我們當然需要教會孩子們要一起學習工作 但是我們同樣需要教會孩子們怎么樣獨立完成任務 這對于外向的孩子們來說同樣是極為重要的 他們需要獨立完成工作 因為從某種程度上，這是他們深刻思考的來源

Okay, number two: Go to the wilderness.Be like Buddha, have your own revelations.I'm not saying that we all have to now go off and build our own cabins in the woods and never talk to each other again, but I am saying that we could all stand to unplug and get inside our own heads a little more often.好了，第二個：去到野外（打開思維）就像佛祖一樣，擁有你們自己對于事物的揭示啟迪 我并不是說 我們都要跑去小樹林里建造我們自己的小屋 并且之后就永遠不和別人說話了 但是我要說我們都可以堅持去去除一些障礙物 然后深入我們自己的大腦思想 時不時 得再深入一點

Number three: Take a good look at what's inside your own suitcase and why you put it there.So extroverts, maybe your suitcases are also full of books.Or maybe they're full of champagne glasses or skydiving equipment.Whatever it is, I hope you take these things out every chance you get and grace us with your energy and your joy.But introverts, you being you, you probably have the impulse to guard very carefully what's inside your own suitcase.And that's okay.But occasionally, just occasionally, I hope you will open up your suitcases for other people to see, because the world needs you and it needs the things you carry.第三點： 好好看一眼你的旅行箱內有什么東西 還有你為什么把它放進去 所以外向者們 也許你們的箱子內同樣堆滿了書 或者它們裝滿了香檳的玻璃酒杯 或者是跳傘運動的設備 不管它是什么，我希望每當你們有機會你們就把它拿出來 用你的能量和你的快樂讓我們感受到美和享受 但是內向者們，你們作為內向者 你們很可能有仔細保護一切的沖動 在你箱子里的東西 這沒有問題 但是偶爾地，只是說偶爾地 我希望你們可以打開你們的手提箱，讓別人看一看 因為這個世界需要你們，同樣需要你們身上所攜帶的你們特有的事物

So I wish you the best of all possible journeys and the courage to speak softly.所以對于你們即將走上的所有旅程，我都給予你們我最美好的祝愿 還有溫柔地說話的勇氣

Thank you.Thank you.非常感謝你們

（掌聲）

TED演講:更好的方式去迎接死亡

Alison Killing: There’s a better way to die, and architecture can help

在這場簡短且充滿刺激的演講中，建筑師艾莉森基林研究著不同的建筑物，那里都是一些死亡或臨終地。例如：墓地、醫院或住宅。我們迎接死亡的方式正在改變，而我們為臨終地所興建的建筑物，或許也應該改變。這是一場令觀眾陶醉的演講，讓我們看到城市及生活中那隱藏的一面。

Why you should listen？

Alison Killing is an architect and urban designer working to engage people with their built environment, via design of buildings and urban strategies, film making, exhibitions and events.She explores the relationship between death and modern architecture, looking at how cities are rebuilt after disaster.Recent projects include Death in the City(and its first iteration, Death in Venice, which was shown as an independent event during the opening week of the Venice Architecture Biennale), a touring exhibition about death and modern architecture;work with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on better rebuilding after disaster and how to integrate relevant urban design tools into humanitarian response;and a study of financial models for arts and community projects temporarily using vacant buildings to help these projects become self-sustaining.I'd like to tell you a story about death and architecture.A hundred years ago, we tended to die of infectious diseases like pneumonia that, if they took hold, would take us away quite quickly.We tended to die at home, in our own beds, looked after by family, although that was the default option because a lot of people lacked access to medical care.And then in the 20th century a lot of things changed.We developed new medicines like penicillin so we could treat those infectious diseases.New medical technologies like x-ray machines were invented.And because they were so big and expensive, we needed large, centralized buildings to keep them in, and they became our modern hospitals.After the Second World War, a lot of countries set up universal healthcare systems so that everyone who needed treatment could get it.The result was that lifespans extended from about 45 at the start of the century to almost double that today.The 20th century was this time of huge optimism about what science could offer, but with all of the focus on life, death was forgotten, even as our approach to death changed dramatically.Now, I'm an architect, and for the past year and a half I've been looking at these changes and at what they mean for architecture related to death and dying.We now tend to die of cancer and heart disease, and what that means is that many of us will have a long period of chronic illness at the end of our lives.During that period, we'll likely spend a lot of time in hospitals and hospices and care homes.Now, we've all been in a modern hospital.You know those fluorescent lights and the endless corridors and those rows of uncomfortable chairs.Hospital architecture has earned its bad reputation.But the surprising thing is, it wasn't always like this.This is L'OspedaledegliInnocenti, built in 1419 by Brunelleschi, who was one of the most famous and influential architects of his time.And when I look at this building and then think about hospitals today, what amazes me is this building's ambition.It's just a really great building.It has these courtyards in the middle so that all of the rooms have daylight and fresh air, and the rooms are big and they have high ceilings, so they just feel more comfortable to be in.And it's also beautiful.Somehow, we've forgotten that that's even possible for a hospital.Now, if we want better buildings for dying, then we have to talk about it, but because we find the subject of death uncomfortable, we don't talk about it, and we don't question how we as a society approach death.One of the things that surprised me most in my research, though, is how changeable attitudes actually are.This is the first crematorium in the U.K., which was built in Working in the 1870s.And when this was first built, there were protests in the local village.Cremation wasn't socially acceptable, and 99.8 percent of people got buried.And yet, only a hundred years later, three quarters of us get cremated.People are actually really open to changing things if they're given the chance to talk about them.So this conversation about death and architecture was what I wanted to start when I did my first exhibition on it in Venice in June, which was called ”Death in Venice." It was designed to be quite playful so that people would literally engage with it.This is one of our exhibits, which is an interactive map of London that shows just how much of the real estate in the city is given over to death and dying, and as you wave your hand across the map, the name of that piece of real estate, the building or cemetery, is revealed.Another of our exhibits was a series of postcards that people could take away with them.And they showed people's homes and hospitals and cemeteries and mortuaries, and they tell the story of the different spaces that we pass through on either side of death.We wanted to show that where we die is a key part of how we die.Now, the strangest thing was the way that visitors reacted to the exhibition, especially the audio-visual works.We had people dancing and running and jumping as they tried to activate the exhibits in different ways, and at a certain point they would kind of stop and remember that they were in an exhibition about death, and that maybe that's not how you're supposed to act.But actually, I would question whether there is one way that you're supposed to act around death, and if there's not, I'd ask you to think about what you think a good death is, and what you think that architecture that supports a good death might be like, and mightn't it be a little less like this and a little more like this?

Thank you.(Applause)

第五篇：絲德茜·克萊默：我得過的最好禮物(演講稿)

視頻: TED演講集.2010.02.絲德茜·克萊默：我得過的最好禮物（演講稿）

Transcript

Imagine, if you will, a gift.I'd like for you to picture it in your mind.It's not too big--about the size of a golf ball.So envision what it looks like all wrapped up.But before I show you what's inside, I will tell you, it's going to do incredible things for you.It will bring all of your family together.You will feel loved and appreciated like never before and reconnect with friends and acquaintances you haven't heard from in years.Adoration and admiration will overwhelm you.It will recalibrate what's most important in your life.It will redefine your sense of spirituality and faith.You'll have a new understanding and trust in your body.You'll have unsurpassed vitality and energy.You'll expand your vocabulary, meet new people, and you'll have a healthier lifestyle.And get this, you'll have an eight-week vacation of doing absolutely nothing.You'll eat countless gourmet meals.Flowers will arrive by the truckload.People will say to you, “You look great.Have you had any work done?” And you'll have a lifetime supply of good drugs.You'll be challenged, inspired, motivated and humbled.Your life will have new meaning.Peace, health, serenity, happiness, nirvana.The price? $55,000.And that's an incredible deal.By now I know you're dying to know what it is and where you can get one.Does Amazon carry it? Does it have the Apple logo on it? Is there a waiting list? Not likely.This gift came to me about five months ago.It looked more like this when it was all wrapped up--not quite so pretty.And this.And then this.It was a rare gem, a brain tumor, hemangioblastoma, the gift that keeps on giving.And while I'm okay now, I wouldn't wish this gift for you.I'm not sure you'd want it.But I wouldn't change my experience.It profoundly altered my life in ways I didn't expect in all the ways I just shared with you.So the next time you're faced with something that's unexpected, unwanted and uncertain, consider that it just may be a gift.