第十一章：罪恶的交易：你的工作
CHAPTER 11 -- The Criminal Trade: Your Job
每天坚持工作8小时，迟早有一天你会成为每天需要工作12小时的老板。
——罗伯特·弗罗斯特
我花五年时间上大学难道就为了一本通讯录？
I SPENT FIVE YEARS IN COLLEGE . . . FOR A PHONEBOOK?
在大学毕业前，我主动参加了几次招聘。我清楚的记得有一次：是一个芝加哥大型保险公司的初级岗位。当我们在公司职员前自我介绍的时候，公司的招聘官明确告诉我们他们的要求：
Before college graduation, I humored myself and attended a few job workshops. One I remember vividly: an entry-level position at a big insurance firm in Chicago. During ourintroduction at the corporate facility, the company recruiters told us exactly what to expect:
“那里（指向由小隔间构成的海洋）是我们新招员工干活的地方。我坦白讲吧；刚开始的时候这份工作会非常辛苦。我们会给你三样东西：一张桌子，一部电话和一本通讯录。你每天将要花上10个小时进行推销，从而建立起你的客户群。我知道，这并不吸引人，但回报是……”
“Over there [pointing to a sea of cubicles] is where our new hires sit. I won’t be coy; in the beginning this job is difficult. We give you three things: a desk, a telephone, and a telephone book. You will spend 10 hours a day cold-calling to build your clientele. I know, not glamorous, but the rewards . . .”
就在那一瞬间回报对我来说已经无足轻重了，我进入了假装模式。我假装很感兴趣，假装很开心，假装这一切都是可以接受，但并不是这样。
At that point the rewards were inconsequential and I went into acting mode. I acted interested.I acted happy. I acted like it was acceptable. It wasn’t.
我花了五年时间念大学难道就是为了坐进36平方英尺的隔间并且向那些通讯录上的老人推销保险。你难道在跟我开玩笑嘛？我初中毕业就能干这个了，而且我也不需要花掉上万块钱念个学位来卖保险。即使，我会有机会获得同龄人垂涎的起薪，401（k）养老保险和顶配的医疗保险。不，谢谢。如果我需要那本该死的通讯录推销，我也绝不会为了我的老板，而是我自己。
I spent five years in college just to sit in a 6 X 6 cubicle and cold-call elderly people out of adamn telephone book? Are you freaking kidding me? I could have done this out of junior high,and I didn’t need to spend thousands on a college degree to hawk insurance. Yet, my peers salivated at the opportunity of having a nice base salary, a great 401(k), and a top-tier healthplan. No thanks. If I’m cold-calling out of the damn phonebook, it won’t be for my boss, but for me.
工作：驯化绵羊
JOBS: DOMESTICATION INTO NORMALCY
如果你要逃离财富的慢车道，快点找到财富和自由，你就必须要丢掉工作。
让我再重复一次，
丢掉该死的工作！
If you want to escape the Slowlane, find wealth and freedom fast, you’ve got to dump the job.
Let me repeat.
Dump the damn job!
工作逊毙了。我不是特指某一份工作，而是大多数。无论你是电工还是店长都要保持工作。工作逊毙了，因为这些岗位在借贷和自主权上都受到限制。当然，你可以拥有一份体面的工作（而且还很有趣！）但从财富的角度看，这些岗位都限制了借贷和自主权——这两者对于财富来讲至关重要。下面是6个你不应该卷入到工作中去的理由，财富慢车道的真相。
Jobs suck. I mean that generically, not targeted toward a specific job. Whether you’re an electrician or a store manager, you hold a job. Jobs suck because they’re rooted in limited leverage and limited control. Sure, you can have great job (and a fun one too!) but in the scope of wealth, they limit both leverage and control—two things desperately needed if you want wealth. Here are six sucky reasons your financial plan shouldn’t revolve around a job, the nucleus to the Slowlane.
理由1：交换时间就是交换生命。
谁告诉我们说为钱工作是一个好主意？为什么这种俗见长期被视冠冕堂皇的理由？你将会被工作戴上镣铐，你在从事一项光荣的交易，用你的时间（生命）来换取能保障你自由的纸钱？出卖你的自由去获得自由？这很蠢，不是吗？
Suckage #1: To Trade Time Is to Trade Life
Who taught us that trading time in exchange for money was a great idea? Why does this normalcy consistently translate into unrivaled suckage? If you’re shackled to a job, you’re engaged to a glorified exchange of your time (your life) for pieces of paper that grant you freedom. You sell your freedom to get freedom. Pretty stupid, huh?
工作逊毙了是因为工作贪婪的耗费时间。在工作里，交换时间是你赚钱的核心。一份工作的本质就是5天工作换2天休息的恐怖买卖。如果让我用“生命”来翻译“时间”这个词。在工作中，你为钱出卖你的生命。如果你工作，就会得到报酬。如果你不工作，你就得不到报酬，这到底是谁定的？
Jobs suck because they ravenously consume TIME. At a job, TIME TRADE is central to how you make money. A job is the basis for that horrific 5-for-2 exchange. But let me translate that word, TIME, differently: LIFE. In a job, you sell your life for money. If you work, you get paid. If you don’t work, you don’t get paid. Who officiated this bloodsucking marriage?
以下是一份关于各种工作，你要做多久才能赚到100万的清单，如果你很勤勉，节省下你10%的收入，并把它藏在床垫下面，那你获得到一百万的时间就要乘以10。你有300年时间去存你的100万吗？
Here is a list of common jobs and how long you have to work just to earn $1 million. If you diligently save 10% of your earnings and stuff it under a mattress, your time to $1 million multiplies by a factor of 10. Do you have 300 years to save your way to $1 million?
赚到/存到100万所需的职业生涯
PROFESSION YEARS TO EARN $1M YEARS TO SAVE $1M
难道你还不明白你所获得的远远不及你所付出吗？能在睡觉、游戏、泡吧，躺在沙滩上又同时获得收入吗？为什么不去用一段时间去获得收入，并且让时间为你工作而不是反过来？有这种好事吗？是的，但这并不来自于致富慢车道。
Wouldn’t it make sense to get paid regardless of what you’re doing? Get paid while you sleep,while you have fun, while you poop, while you sit on the beach? Why not get paid with the simple of time and make time work for you instead of against you? Does that exist? It does, but it doesn’t come from a Slowlane.
理由2：受限的经验
当我创业两个月后所学到的东西就远远多于我10年毫无出路的工作上。专业技能最大的问题就在于，仅仅将你有价值的技能限定在市场需求上。你成为汽车上众多齿轮中的一个。而且当齿轮老化或者损耗时，猜猜看，我想你要倒霉了。
Suckage #2: Limitation on Experience
I learned more as an entrepreneur in two months than I did working 10 years at dozens of dead-end jobs. The problem with a specialized skill set is, it narrows your useful value to a confined set of marketplace needs. You become one of many cogs in a wheel. And if that cog becomes obsolete or expendable? Guess what, you’re out of luck.
举一个例子，成千上万个汽车工人失业是因为岗位过剩或者被机器人取代。工作经验并不能拯救他们，反而妨碍他们。还记得打字机么？你觉得打字机的修理工现在在干什么？那股票经纪人呢？旅代理？夕阳行业的失宠就像流行时尚。一旦时过境迁，你的技能就会变得毫无价值。
For example, thousands of autoworkers have been displaced because their jobs have been outsourced or replaced by robotics. Experience doesn’t help them, it hinders them. Remember typewriters? How is the typewriter repairman doing these days? How about stockbrokers?Travel agents? Dying breeds of jobs move out of favor like fashion fads. One year your skill set has value, the next, it doesn’t.
其次，工作经验通常来自于一组严格管理的日程活动中，日复一日的重复。在习得初始技能学之后，从工作中获取的知识和积累变得越来越缓慢。一份工作限制了你的认知并演变成你生命的丧钟：一份迫使用生命获取薪水的交易。
Second, job experience is usually regimented into a core group of activities that is routinely repeated over and over again, day after day. After the initial learning experience, the job becomes regimented and accumulation of new knowledge creeps to a crawl. A job limits learning and mutates into life’s death knell: a trade of life force for money.
经验来自于你在生命里所做的事情，而不是你在工作里所做的，你并不需要一份工作来获取经验。
Experience comes from what you do in life, not from what you do in a job. You don’t need a job to get experience.
问问你自己：哪种经验更为重要？一种来自于为生计而卑微工作的经验？还是来自于为创造某些事情而获得的经验（有失败），但这可能会给你带来终身的财富自由，而且不用再去找工作。
Ask yourself this: Which experience is more important? The experience of a menial job designed to pay your bills? Or the experience (and failures) of creating something that could provide you financial freedom for a lifetime without ever having to hold a job again?
理由3：无法掌控
工作就像坐在一辆皮卡车的货箱上。当皮卡司机舒服的坐在他的驾驶座上，而你则暴露在各种风险中。如果行驶变得颠簸？你将会被甩起来，甚至更糟被甩到车外。坐在皮卡后面的货箱里，你将没有任何掌控能力。如果你在心中的财务计划中采取这种“策略”是极为愚蠢的。你根本无法掌控你的财务计划。如果你无法掌控你的财务计划，你就无法实现自由。
Suckage #3: No Control
A job is like sitting in the bed of a pickup truck. You’re exposed to the harsh elements while the driver of the truck sits comfortably in the driver’s seat. And if the ride gets rough? You get jacked around or worse, tossed overboard. There is no control sitting in the back of a pickup truck, and to have this “strategy” at the heart of your financial plan is asinine. If you don’t control your income, you don’t control your financial plan. If you don’t control your financial plan,you don’t control your freedom.
数百万顺从的人唱着雇员们的《Kumbaya》，相信工作是维持他们生计的重心所在。当然，一份工作可以维持你的生计，难道你的目标仅仅是“维持生计”？你想要财富还是平凡？如果你财务之行的开端就可以被一份解雇通知阻挠，那么你是在赌博。你不坦诚，而且很傻。一份工作里既没有安全也没有保障。
Millions obediently sing the employee Kumbaya, believing that a job is central to supporting themselves. Sure, a job can support you, but is your goal only “support”? Do you want wealth or mediocrity? If the momentum of your financial road trip can be road blocked by a pink slip,you’re gambling. You aren’t being real; you’re being foolish. There is neither safety nor security in a job.
理由4：琳达的口臭
我的家族中有一辈子做雇员的人。我听说一些他们的考验和折磨。虽然当下有几十种工作，我注意到当他们谈论办公室政治时一切都没变。不同的人物，不同的时间，在不同的办公室里，都是同样的故事。诸如谁跟老板上床或者争风吃醋之类的事情。吉米很懒却老在工作上邀功。琳达有口臭但所有人都不敢跟她讲。莱西迟到早退。霍勒斯每天都偷吃别人东西而且每天都穿同一件运动夹克。懒鬼莱斯特永远不会换打印纸。同样的故事，不同的办公室。
Suckage #4: Linda’s Bad Breath
I have people in my family who are life-long employees. I hear about their trials and toils.Despite two dozen different jobs over the years, I noticed nothing changes when it comes to office politics. It’s the same story, different people, different day, in a different office. So-andso is sleeping with the boss and courting favor. Jim is lazy but takes credit for the work. Linda has bad breath and everyone is afraid to tell her. Lacey arrives late and leaves early. Horace steals food and wears the same sport jacket every day. Lazy Lester never replaces the copier paper. Same stories, different office.
无论你在哪里工作，办公室政治都在上演。舞台不同，但演员都差不多。而且，不幸的是雇员们沉浸在这种工作环境里，你不得不玩这个游戏。你不得不屈从或者面对来自你同事或者上司的报复。
No matter where you work, office politics play a part. The stage is different but the actors are the same. And, unfortunately, as an employee immersed in the work environment, you have to play the game. You have to be obedient or face retribution from coworkers or your boss.
我还记得朋友在下班后的牢骚，由于她在一个高强度的工作环境里工作。任何工作都有一个流程。有主意了吗？那好，发给上司，上司发给他的上司，授权，然后打回重新修订，然后再发给她上司的上司，blah blah blah！到时候，这个主意既不新鲜而且有其它四个人声称对其拥有所有权。谁需要这种毁灭心智的复杂人际？唯一抵御办公室政治的办法就是掌控赛场，你要成为老板。为了成为老板，你不仅需要继续演这戏，你还得要拥有它。
I can remember my friend’s after-work rants as she toiled at a high-carb corporate environment. Everything had a process. Got an idea? Great, send it to the boss, the boss sends it to his boss, who then hands it off to legal, who then sends it back to her boss’s boss for revisions, who sends it back, blah blah blah! By the time the “idea” gets anywhere it’s either stale or four other people have staked a claim to it. Who needs this entangled web destroying your sanity? The only defense to office politics is to control the playing field, and to do that,you have to be the boss. And to be the boss, you not only need to run the show, you need to own it.
理由5：一笔“最后付给你”的捐款
“首先付我薪水”，这是财富慢车道的信条。但问题在工作里这几乎是不可能的。地方政府、州政府和联邦政府会从你的收入里苛扣税金，而你选择把税后收入贡献给了401（k）养老保险和IRAs个人退休账户，这占到了你10%的收入，或者最多占掉了16500元，两者必居其一。
Suckage #5: A Subscription to “Pay Yourself Last”
“Pay yourself first” is a Slowlane doctrine. The problem is that it’s near impossible in a job.Local, state, and federal governments heavily tax earned income and your options to shield that income from taxation is limited to contributions to 401(k)s and IRAs—which are also limited—10% of your income or a maximum of $16,500, whichever is less.
如果你勤勉的交换你的生命，并且爬上了公司的管理层，至少50%的收入已经在到你手上之前就消失了。作为一名雇员，你马上收到了一笔“最后付给你”的捐款，是的，这笔捐款即使你没有认领也会送达。所有人都比你先拿到钱，你不可能期望以此迅速建立起财富。
If you diligently trade your life and ascend into corporate management, expect 50% of your money to disappear before it touches your hands. As an employee, you immediately receive a subscription to “pay yourself last,” and yes, that subscription arrives even if you don’t subscribe. If you are paying yourself last and everyone gets your money first, don’t expect to build wealth fast.
理由6：报酬的专制
你有过来自你老板1000%加薪的经历吗？
Suckage #6: A Dictatorship on Income
Ever get hit with a 1,000% pay raise from your boss?
想象一下：你为公司贡献了令人印象深刻的业绩，你自信地步入你老板的办公室并且要求加薪。
Imagine this: Impressed at the obvious returns you’ve provided at your job, you confidently stroll into your boss’s office and demand a raise.
“我为公司带来了价值”你争辩道，“我很可靠并且没请过病假”
“I bring value to this company,” you argued. “I’m reliable and rarely call in sick.”
你的老板摆出一副防御的姿势，双手交叉，抬高他的脑袋，从容不迫地靠在他那张红色的大主管椅上
Your boss takes a defensive posture, crosses his arms, tilts his head skyward, and leisurely reclines in his big, red executive chair.
你深吸一口气，接着说道“因此，我想要加薪1000%，先生。”
You take a deep breath and let it ride. “Therefore, sir, I’d like a 1,000% pay raise.”
你的老板发出一声深沉的喉音。他把靠在椅子的身子向前倾斜，把手捶向桌面：“好吧，你开什么玩笑？我很忙”他挖苦道。
Your boss emits a guttural groan. He lurches forward, ends his recline and hammers his hands to the desk. “OK, what’s the joke? I’m busy” he snipes.
你回答说：“不是我想，我是认真的，我现在时薪9元，我想加到时薪90元。”
You reply, “No joke. I’m serious. I make $9 an hour. I want a raise to $90 an hour.”
“那不如这样？你什么都别想得到。停止浪费我的时间，滚出我的办公室。如果你滚得够快，我就不会解雇你。你觉得这个回答怎么样？”
“How about this? You’ll get nothing and like it. Get out of my office, quit wasting my time, and if you do it fast, I won’t fire you. How about that for an offer?”
你哑口无言的出门。我猜你的老板并不认为加薪1000%可行。但这个场景从未发生。作为一名雇员，你不能要求比10%更多的加薪，更何况1000%。至此，作为一名公司的雇员，这是你的赛场，你的价值被支配而且工作成了财富的分界线，不能被推翻的限制。
You stammer out. I guess the boss didn’t think the 1,000% pay raise was doable.
This scenario would never happen. As an employee, you can’t demand a pay raise greater than 10%, let alone 1,000%. Yet, as an employee of any company, this is your playing field. Your value is dictated and the job becomes a wealth delimiter with limitations that cannot be subverted.
工作将你封印在一项罪恶的时间交易中：5天的生命来交换2天的自由。
A job seals your fate into a criminal time trade: five days of life traded for two days of freedom.
工作将你束缚在特定级别的经验里。工作夺走了你的自主权。工作迫使你跟那些你无法忍受的人一起做事。工作迫使你在最后才得到报酬。工作使你的报酬屈从于专制。这些束缚都是你无法反抗。
A job chains you to a set grade of experience. A job takes away your control. A job forces you to work with people you can’t stand. A job forces you to get paid last. A job imposes a dictatorship on your income. These limitations are counter-insurgencies to wealth.