做或不做

“What are you doing today? ”

“Not much.”

“So what are you going to do today since you have the whole day to do whatever you want?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll play a few video games, watch some movies, and go and hang out with my friends at the mall later.”

“I thought you were going to apply for a couple of colleges since you just finished high school?”

“Na. I don’t have the smarts—I just can't seem to get into the whole study thing.”

“Well have you ever really studied the right way? I mean studied with no distractions[1], no music, no TV on, and dedicated a specific amount of time?”

“I’ve tried to do that but haven't been able to do it very often.”

“Interesting. But, tried is not the same as doing it. You either do or you don’t. You cannot get anything in life no matter what you do if you only try. Would you want to hire yourself if you only tried to do what you wanted to get done.”

“I suppose not.”

“Think about it. If you were hired to pile a bunch of products in a certain way and you only tried to do it but didn’t, do you think you’d last very long at the job. I certainly wouldn’t pay you very long if you didn’t get the job done. There are lots of people to hire that CAN get the job done.”

“Kinda mean[2] aren't you?”

“That’s not being mean; that’s being truthful. Nobody wants to hire a person who just tries but can never get it done. If you are taught how to do something and know everything it takes to get the job done, and then only try but don’t use your training, what contribution do you actually make—none. Might as well do the job myself.”

“I suppose.”

“Suppose. That’s the same thing as trying. Do you agree with me or not?”

“Yeah. I agree then.”

“Okay. If you agree then you know the difference between trying and doing it. The same applies to studying. You either do it, or you don’t. There is no try. You have the potential to make a life that you want instead of just wasting it playing video games, or watching TV, or just hanging out. What kind of future will you have if you just do things that are easy to do but really add nothing to your life?”