"Well, you boys had better start thinking. You're staring at one of life's biggest lessons. If you learn the lesson, you'll enjoy a life of great freedom and security. If you don't learn the lesson, you'll wind up like Mrs. Martin and most of the people playing softball in this park. They work very hard, for little money, clinging to the illusion of job security, looking forward to a three-week vacation each year and a skimpy pension after forty-five years of work. If that excites you, I'll give you a raise to 25 cents an hour."
“你們正在學習一生中最重要的一課，你們應該學會思考。”富爸爸說道，“如果你學會了這一課，你將一生享受自由和安寧；如果沒有學好這一課，你們就會像馬丁太太和其他在這空場里玩壘球的人一樣了此一生。他們為一點點錢而勤奮工作，兼有一種有工作的虛幻安全感，盼著一年三周的假期和工作45年后獲得的一小筆養老金。如果你喜歡這樣，我就把工資提到每小時25美分。”

"But these are good hard-working people. Are you making fun of them?" I demanded.
“但他們都是努力工作的好人啊，你在嘲笑他們嗎？”我問道。

A smile came over rich dad's face.
一絲笑容浮上了富爸爸的面龐。

"Mrs. Martin is like a mother to me. I would never be that cruel. I may sound cruel because I'm doing my best to point something out to the two of you. I want to expand your point of view so you can see something. Something most people never have the benefit of seeing because their vision is too narrow. Most people never see the trap they are in."
“馬丁太太對我就像媽媽一樣，我決不會那么殘忍地對她。我上面的話可能聽起來很無情，可是我正盡力向你倆說明一些事情。我想拓寬你們的視野以便讓你們看清一些東西。這些東西甚至大多數成年人也從未有看見過，因為他們眼界狹窄，大多數人從未認識到他們身處困境。”

Mike and I sat there uncertain of his message. He sounded cruel, yet we could sense he was desperately wanting us to know something.
邁克和我還是不太明白他的話。他聽起來很無情，然而我們能感到他確實急于想讓我們明白一些事情。

With a smile, rich dad said, "Doesn't that 25 cents an hour sound good? Doesn't it make your heart beat a little faster."
富爸爸笑著又說了：“25美分1小時怎么樣？這樣是否能讓你們心跳加速？”

I shook my head "no," but it really did. Twenty five cents an hour would be big bucks to me.
我搖搖頭說：“不會啊”，可事實上，25美分1小時對我而言可真是一大筆錢啊！

"OK, I'll pay you a dollar an hour," rich dad said, with a sly grin.
“好，我每小時給你1美元。”富爸爸帶著狡黠的笑容說。

Now my heart was beginning to race. My brain was screaming, "Take it. Take it." I could not believe what I was hearing. Still, I said nothing.
我的心開始狂跳，頭也開始發暈。“接受，快接受。”我的心里在喊，但我不相信我所聽到的，所以什么也沒說。

"OK, $2 an hour."
“好吧，每小時2美元。”

My little 9-year-old brain and heart nearly exploded. After all, it was 1956 and being paid $2 an hour would have made me the richest kid in the world. I couldn't imagine earning that kind of money. I wanted to say "yes." I wanted the deal. I could see a new bicycle, new baseball glove, and adoration of my friends when I flashed some cash. On top of that, Jimmy and his rich friends could never call me poor again. But somehow my mouth stayed silent.
我那9歲的大腦和心臟幾乎要爆炸了。畢竟這是1956年，每小時2美元將使我成為世界上最有錢的孩子！我無法想像能掙到這么多錢。我想說“好的”，我真想達成這筆交易。我似乎看見一輛新自行車，一副新棒球手套，以及當我拿出錢時同學們羨慕的表情。最重要的是，基米和他的朋友再也不能叫我窮人了，但不知怎么我仍未開口。

Maybe my brain had overheated and blown a fuse. But deep down, I badly wanted that $2 an hour.
也許我的腦袋已經熱昏了，但內心深處，我極其想要那每小時的2美元。

The ice cream had melted and was running down my hand. The ice-cream stick was empty, and under it was a sticky mess of vanilla and chocolate that ants were enjoying.
冰淇淋化了，流到了我手上。冰淇淋筒已經空了，螞蟻正在享受著一團香精和巧克力。

Rich dad was looking at two boys staring back at him, eyes wide open and brains empty. He knew he was testing us, and he knew there was a part of our emotions that wanted to take the deal. He knew that each human being has a weak and needy part of their soul that can be bought. And he knew that each human being also had a part of their soul that was strong and filled with a resolve that could never be bought. It was only a question of which one was stronger. He had tested thousands of souls in his life. He tested souls every time he interviewed someone for a job.
富爸爸看著兩個孩子盯著他，眼睛睜很大大的，腦子里卻空空如也。事實上，他正在考驗我們，而且他也知道我們很想接受這筆交易。他知道每個人都有可以被擊中的弱點，也知道每個人都有一種強大、堅定、無法用金錢收買的精神。問題在于哪一部分更強大。他在一生中考驗了成百上千的人，每次的招工面試都是一番考驗。

"OK, $5 an hour."
“好，5美元1小時。”

Suddenly there was a silence from inside me. Something had changed. The offer was too big and had gotten ridiculous. Not too many grownups in 1956 made more than $5 an hour. The temptation disappeared, and a calm set in. Slowly I turned to my left to look at Mike. He looked back at me. The part of my soul that was weak and needy was silenced. The part of me that had no price took over. There was a calm and a certainty about money that entered my brain and my soul. I knew Mike had gotten to that point also.
我的內心突然平靜下來了，內心發生了一些變化。這個出價太高了，顯得有些荒謬。在1956年，連成年人也沒有幾個人可以每小時掙5美元的。誘惑消失了，平靜回來了。我慢慢地轉過頭去看邁克，他也在看我。我靈魂中軟弱而貧乏的一面沉默了，而無法用錢收買的一面占了上風。面對錢，我開始心安神定。我知道邁克也一樣。

"Good," rich dad said softly. "Most people have a price. And they have a price because of human emotions named fear and greed. First, the fear of being without money motivates us to work hard, and then once we get that paycheck, greed or desire starts us thinking about all the wonderful things money can buy. The pattern is then set."
“很好，”富爸爸輕輕地說，“大多數人都希望有一份工資收入，之所以會這樣是因為他們有恐懼和貪婪之心。先說恐懼感，沒錢的恐懼會刺激我們努力工作，當我們得到報酬時，貪婪或欲望又開始讓我們去想所有錢能買到的東西。于是就形成了一種模式。”

"What pattern?" I asked.
“什么模式？”我問。

"The pattern of get up, go to work, pay bills, get up, go to work, pay bills... Their lives are then run forever by two emotions, fear and greed. Offer them more money, and they continue the cycle by also increasing their spending. This is what I call the Rat Race."
“起床，上班，付賬，再起床，再上班，再付賬……他們的生活就是在無窮盡地為這兩種感覺而奔忙：恐懼和貪婪。給他們更多的錢，他們就會以更高的開支重復這種循環。這就是我所說的‘老鼠賽跑’”。

"There is another way?" Mike asked.
“有什么法子嗎？”邁克問。

"Yes," said rich dad slowly. "But only a few people find it."
“有，但只有少數人知道。

"And what is that way?" Mike asked.
“是什么方法？”邁克問道。

"That's what I hope you boys will find out as you work and study with me. That is why I took away all forms of pay."
“我希望你倆能在工作和跟我學習的過程中找到解決的辦法。這就是我不給你們任何工資的原因。”

"Any hints?" Mike asked. "We're kind of tired of working hard, especially for nothing."
“有什么提示嗎？”邁克問。“我們工作得很累，尤其是白干的時候。”

"Well, the first step is telling the truth," said rich dad.
“哦，第一步是講真話。”富爸爸說。

"We haven't been lying." I said.
“我們可沒撒謊。”我叫道。

"I did not say you were lying. I said to tell the truth," rich dad came back.
“我沒說你們撒謊，我是說要分清真相。”

"The truth about what?" I asked.
“那什么是真相？”

"How you're feeling," rich dad said. "You don't have to say it to anyone else. Just yourself."
“靠你感覺，除了你自己誰也不能真正明白你的感覺。”

"You mean the people in this park, the people who work for you, Mrs. Martin, they don't do that?" I asked.
“你說這公園里的人，那些為你工作的人，還有馬丁夫人，他們都沒弄清楚這些東西？”

"I doubt it," said rich dad. "Instead, they feel the fear of not having money. Instead of confronting the fear, they react instead of think. They react emotionally instead of using their heads," rich dad said, tapping us on our heads. "'Then, they get a few bucks in their hands, and again the emotion of joy and desire and greed take over, and again they react, instead of think."
“我想是的。他們害怕沒有錢，不愿面對沒錢的恐懼，對此他們作出了反應但不是用他們的頭腦。”富爸爸說著拍拍我們的頭。“他們會去掙了點小錢，可快樂、欲望、貪婪會接著控制他們，他們會再作出反應，仍然是不加思考。”

"So their emotions do their thinking," Mike said.
“他們的感情代替了他們的思想。”邁克說。

"That's correct," said rich dad. "Instead of telling the truth about how they feel, they react to their feeling, fail to think. They feel the fear, they go to work, hoping that money will soothe the fear, but it doesn't. That old fear haunts them, and they go back to work, hoping again that money will calm their fears, and again it doesn't. Fear has them in this trap of working, earning money, working, earning money, hoping the fear will go away. But every day they get up, and that old fear wakes up with them. For millions of people, that old fear keeps them awake all night, causing a night of turmoil and worry. So they get up and go to work, hoping that a paycheck will kill that fear gnawing at their soul. Money is running their lives, and they refuse to tell the truth about that.Money is in control of their emotions and hence their souls."
“正是如此，他們不去分辨真相，不去思考，只是對感受作出反應。他們感到恐懼，于是去工作，希望錢能消除恐懼，但錢不可能消除恐懼。于是，恐懼追逐著他們，他們只好又去工作，希望錢能消除恐懼，但還是無法擺脫恐懼。恐懼使他們落入工作的陷階，掙錢——工作——掙錢，希望有一天能消除恐懼。但每天他們起床時，就會發現恐懼又同他們一起醒來了。恐懼使成千上萬的人徹夜難眠，憂心忡忡。所以他們又起床去工作了，希望薪水能殺死那該死的恐懼。錢主宰著他們的生活，他們拒絕去分辨真相，錢控制了他們的情感和靈魂。”

Rich dad sat quietly, letting his words sink in. Mike and I heard what he said, but really did not understand fully what he was talking about. I just knew that I often wondered why grownups hurried off to work. It did not seem like much fun, and they never looked that happy, but something kept them hurrying off to work.
富爸爸靜靜地坐著，讓他的話音漸漸消失。邁克和我聽著他的話，但不能完全明白他在講些什么。我經常奇怪于大人們為什么總是急急忙忙去工作，這事看起來真是無趣，而且他們看上去也不快活，但好像總有些東西使他們不斷地急著去工作。