Answered by Marcus Geduld

Marcus Geduld的回复：

Too late for what?

晚什么呀？

If you slept through your 26th birthday, it's too late for you to experience that. It's too late for you to watch "LOST" in its premiere broadcast. (Though, honestly, you didn't miss much.) It's too late for you to fight in the Vietnam War. It's too late for you to go through puberty or attend nursery school. It's too late for you to learn a second language as proficiently as a native speaker. It's probably too late for you to be breastfed.

如果你睡过了26岁生日，想再过一次是太晚了。想看《迷失》首播也已经晚了（不过说实话，你也没错过多少东西）。参加越战，度过青春期，上幼儿园，把外语学得像母语一样精通，这些对你来说都太晚了。可能想吃奶也已经晚了。

It's not too late for you to fall in love.

但你还来得及谈场恋爱；

It's not too late for you to have kids.

你还来得及体验为人父母的感觉；

It's not too late for you to embark on an exciting career or series of careers.

你还来得及开始从事一段或几段激动人心的事业。

It's not too late for you to read the complete works of Shakespeare; learn how to program computers; learn to dance; travel around the world; go to therapy; become an accomplished cook; sky dive; develop an appreciation for jazz; write a novel; get an advanced degree; save for your old age; read "In Search of Lost Time"; become a Christian, then an atheist, then a Scientologist; break a few bones; learn how to fix a toilet; develop a six-pack ...

通读莎士比亚全集；学编程；学跳舞；环游世界；看心理医生；精通厨艺；高空跳伞；学会欣赏爵士乐；写部小说；深造；存些养老钱；读读《追忆似水年华》；成为基督徒，再当无神论者，再信奉科学教派；摔断几根骨头；学会修马桶；练出6块腹肌……这些都还来得及。

Honestly, I'm 47, and I'll say this to you, whippersnapper: you're a fucking kid, so get over yourself. I'm a fucking kid, too. I'm almost twice your age, and I'm just getting started! My dad is in his 80s, and he wrote two books last year.

说实话，我已经47岁了，我要告诉你这个傲慢的家伙：你只是个小屁孩，别自以为是了！我也只是个小屁孩。尽管我的年龄几乎是你的两倍，但我才刚刚开始！我爸爸已经80多岁了，但他去年还写了两本书。

You don't get to use age as an excuse. Get off your ass!

不要再拿年龄当借口了。行动起来！

Also, learn about what economists call "sunk costs." If I give someone $100 on Monday, and he spends $50 on candy, he'll probably regret that purchase on Tuesday. In a way, he'll still think of himself as a guy with $100—half of which is wasted.

还有，学一下经济学家们所说的“沉没成本”。如果我周一给了某人100美元，他花50买了糖，周二的时候他可能就会后悔花了这笔钱。从某种程度上来说，他还是觉得自己有100美元——只是其中一半已经浪费掉了。

What he really is is a guy with $50, just as he would be if I'd handed him a fifty-dollar bill. A sunk cost from yesterday should not be part of today's equation. What he should be thinking is this: "What should I do with my $50?"

实际上他只有50美金，就像最初我只给了他50美金一样。昨天的沉没成本不应划入今天的收支等式。他应该思考的是：“我该怎么利用手里的这50美金？”

What you are isn't a person who has wasted 27 years. You are a person who has X number of years ahead of you. What are you going to do with them?

你不是一个已经荒废了27年光阴的人，你是一个今后还有大把年华的人。接下来人生你又想怎么度过？