Would you BET on the future of this man? He is 53 years old. Most of his adult life has been a losing struggle against debt and misfortune. A war injury has made his left hand stop functioning, and he has often been in prison. Driven by heaven-knows-what motives, he determines to write a book.
你会赌这个人的未来吗？他今年53岁，成年后的大部分时间都在和债务及不幸作斗争，并屡遭失败。由于战争期间受伤，他的左手失去知觉，还经常被关进监狱。出于无人知晓的动机，他决定写一本书。

The book turns out to be one that has appealed to the world for more than 350 years. That former prisoner was Cervantes, and the book was Don Quixote. And the story poses an interesting question: why do some people discover new vitality and creativity to the end of their days，while others go to seed long before?
这本书吸引了全世界超过350多年。那个曾经的囚犯是塞万提斯，书是《堂吉诃德》。这个故事提出了一个有趣的问题：为什么有些人在生命的尽头发现了新的活力和创造力，而另一些人却早就开始播种了？

We've all known people who run out of steam before they reach life's halfway mark. I'm not talking about those who fail to get to the top. We can't all get there. I'm talking about people who have stopped learning on growing because they have adopted the fixed attitudes and opinions that all too often come with passing years.
我们都知道有些人在到达人生的一半之前就已经筋疲力尽了。我不是说那些没能登上顶峰的人，我们不可能都到达那里。我指的是那些停止学习成长的人，因为他们采取了故步自封的态度和观点，而这些往往来自于流逝的岁月。

Most of us, in fact, progressively narrow the variety of our lives. We succeed in our field of specialization and then become trapped in it. Nothing surprises us. We lose our sense of wonder. But, if we are willing to learn, the opportunities are everywhere.
事实上，我们大多数人逐渐缩小了生活的多样性。我们在专业领域取得成功，然后陷入其中。没有什么令我们惊讶，我们失去了好奇心。但是，如果我们愿意学习，机会无处不在。

The things we learn in maturity seldom involve information and skills. We learn to bear with the things we can't change. We learn to avoid self-pity. We learn that however much we try to please, some people are never going to love us - an idea that troubles at first but is eventually relaxing.
我们在长大后学到的东西很少涉及知识和技能。我们学会忍受无法改变的事情，我们学会避免自怜。我们了解到，无论我们多么努力地取悦他人，有些人永远不会爱我们——这个想法一开始会让人烦恼，但最终会让人放松。

With high motivation and enthusiasm，we can keep on learning. Then we will know how important it is to have meaning in our life. However, we can achieve meaning only if we have made a commitment to something larger than our own little egos, whether to loved ones, to fellow humans, to work, or to some moral concept.
有了高度的动力和热情，我们可以继续学习。然后我们就会知道在我们的生活中有意义是多么重要。然而，只有当我们致力于比我们自己的小自我更大的东西时，我们才能实现意义(自我）, 无论是对所爱的人，对人类同胞，对工作，还是对某些道德观念。

Many of us equate “commitment” with such “caring” occupations as teaching and nursing. But doing any ordinary job as well as one can is in itself an admirable commitment. People who work toward such excellence—whether they are driving a truck, or running a store-make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They've learned life's most valuable lesson.
我们中的许多人将“承诺”等同于教学和护理等“关爱”职业。但尽可能做好任何一项普通工作本身就是一项令人钦佩的承诺。那些追求卓越的人，无论是开卡车还是开商店，只要他们是这样的人，世界就会变得更好。他们学到了人生最宝贵的一课。