Many of us fall into business because of passion, circumstance or perhaps an exciting idea, forgetting about the 1)endgame. However, goal-setting—making 2)tangible, definable goals—is critical in getting you to where you want to go.
我们大多数人从商的原因各有不同，或是因为激情，或是环境所致，抑或是出于某个激动人心的想法，而将商业的最终决战抛诸脑后。然而，设定目标——定下切实且确定的目标——对于你的预期发展至关重要。
I want to tell you a bit about my mother, Sheri, and her adventures in 3)entrepreneurship. She can create an elegant evening 4)brooch out of a brown paper grocery bag and 5)freehand pancakes in the shape of elephants. She would often do just that while wearing four-inch 6)stiletto heels and purple 7)contact lenses. Being talented and creative, once upon a time, that creativity led her towards entrepreneurship.
我想给你讲讲我母亲谢莉和她成为一名企业家的经历。她可以用一个装杂货的棕色纸袋折叠出一枚优雅的晚装胸针，可以徒手将薄煎饼切成大象的形状，也会时常穿着一对四英寸高的细跟高跟鞋，戴着紫色的隐形眼镜。母亲既有天分又有创造力，曾经，这创造力引领她走上从商之路。
In the early 1980s, my mom was putting together some really unique holiday gift baskets that looked like loaded 8)reindeer. One of our neighbors came over and asked my mom if she would make a few gift baskets for her to give as gifts for the holidays. My mom agreed and news of the unique gift baskets my mom was making 9)spread like wildfire throughout the neighborhood and keeping my mom busy throughout the holiday season. She 10)enlisted a friend to help her. When the orders continued after the holiday season for baby gifts, get-well gifts, birthday gifts and more, it occurred to them that maybe this job could be turned into a business. Nearly 30 years ago, this concept didn’t exist, and my mom and her partner really were pioneers in the 11)niche. They started the business in our basement, which usually looked like a 12)tornado had hit 13)Party City. 14)Inventory, 15)cellophane, ribbons and balloons were everywhere. The business quickly took off—they were working full time, taking orders, assembling and wrapping the gifts, packing, finding new business, purchasing inventory, 16)invoicing, chasing down payments and creating marketing materials. Eventually, the operation 17)outgrew the basement and they bought a warehouse and continued to work hard.
20世纪80年代初，我母亲制作了一些看起来像载满礼物的驯鹿造型的节日 礼品篮，十分独特。其中一位邻居来我们家，问母亲是否也能为她制作一些礼品篮，用作节日馈赠。母亲同意了，于是她能制作独特礼品篮的消息不胫而走，很快就在睦邻之间疯传开来，母亲也因此在整个假期里忙得不可开交。她找了一位朋友来帮忙。假期结束了，但订单却源源不断，要求制作婴儿礼品篮、康复礼品篮、生日礼品篮甚至更多种类的礼品篮，母亲及其朋友意识到，这也许能发展成一门生意。早在30年前，这一概念尚未存在，我的母亲和她的搭档算得上是这一特色行业的先驱。她们开始在我家的地下室做生意，弄得整个地下室看起来像遭受过龙卷风袭击的派对城一般。满地都是礼品、玻璃纸、彩带和气球。生意很快就越做越大——她们开始全职工作，接收订单、组合和包装礼品、外包装、寻找新的商机、购买礼品、制单、催款和制作宣传材料。最后，地下室已经无法满足这个项目进行所需的场地，她们购买了一个仓库，继续努力工作。
By 1991, nearly a decade after they had started the business, their circumstances changed. My mom’s partner got in to financial trouble and they realized: this was a job, not a business, and one that wasn’t even 18)pulling in the minimum wage. This was not enough money to sustain either my mom or her partner when their circumstances changed.
到1991年，在她们从事这门生意10年之后，情况发生了改变。我母亲的搭档陷入了财务麻烦，她们也意识到，这是一份工作，而非一门生意，连最低工资也赚不到。情况发生改变之后，经营所得根本不足以维持我母亲和她搭档的生活。
My mom went into her business because she had a creative idea. Even though she got some proof of concept, there was no goal, no purpose and no real strategy. She got orders, she filled orders, she had increasing interest in her product, but ultimately, she never made enough for it to be worth her time or effort—a fact lost on her for a decade until her circumstances shifted.
我母亲因为拥有一个有创意的想法而踏足商界。即使她得到了一些验证这个想法的证据，但是其中毫无目标、没有目的和真正的策略可言。她接 到订单，完成订单，对自己的产品愈加投入，但最终，这一切所赚的钱根本抵不上她所付出的时间和精力——她一直没有意识到这个事实，直至情况发生了改变。
If you are led by your creativity or passion, make sure to ask yourself what you want out of your business. If you don’t set goals, how will you know what direction to go in? Do you want to build something? Do you want to help even more people? Do you want to create jobs and growth in the economy? Do you want recognition as a 19)savvy businessperson? Are you looking for a hobby? It is totally up to you and there is no right answer except to make the conscious decision. You can’t keep scores if you don’t know what game you are playing.
如果你受到创意或激情的驱动，务必自问：想从生意中获得什么。假如你不设定目标，你如何知道自己该朝哪个方向发展？你想有所建树吗？你希望帮助更多人吗？你想为这个社会创造更多的就业机会并促进经济增长吗？你想获得认可，成为一个精明的商人吗？你纯粹只是找个爱好吗？这完全由你决定，除了做出理智的决定没有其他答案。如果你不清楚自己正在参与何种比赛，你就无从保持得分。
After my mom’s circumstances changed, she had to abandon her business to support herself (as did her partner). She swore she would revisit running a business and do it differently the next time. However, there wasn’t time for a “next time” for her. Just a few years after leaving the business behind, my mom was diagnosed with 20)Leukemia. She passed away just after her 51st birthday. She was creative, she was bright and she had an entrepreneurial spirit, but she never had someone tell her how important having a goal was to get where she wanted to go. She never had an opportunity to hear that message and she also never had an opportunity to be everything that she could be.
我母亲的境况发生改变之后，她不得不放弃她的生意来维持生计（她的搭档亦如此）。她发誓下一次会再次尝试做生意，经营方式也会有所改变。然而，她已经不再有“下一次”机会了。放弃生意后几年，我母亲罹患了白血病，在过了51岁生日不久后，她就离世了。她富有创造力、聪慧过人、有着企业家的精神，但是没有人告诉她，设定目标对于她的事业发展有多重要。她已经没有机会听到这条忠告，也再没有机会发挥自己的潜能了。
There are no right or wrong goals, only the ones that matter to you. Set them so that you can make progress and achieve success, whatever that may mean to you.
目标没有对错之分，区别只是你认为它们有多重要。定下目标，进而取得进步，迈向成功，不管对你而言，那意味着什么。
