[Read] 想變有錢，先選個數字吧!

Why Picturing a Magic Number Can Help Make You Rich
(You should read this original article!)

喬治克隆尼在《型男飛行日記》裡邂逅女主角時聊到，他有個心中數字，一直還沒達到(see quote below)。作者發現一個有趣的巧合：所有非常有錢的人心中都有一個數字。是什麼樣子的數字呢? 按照台灣的說法應該這麼寫：數(ㄗˋ)字(ㄧㄡˊ)。一個代表自由的數字，可以自由地做你想做的事；自由地離開辦公室，永遠不用理會你的主管；隨心所欲地度過餘生。

Natalie Keener: So, what are you saving up for? Hawaii? South of France?Ryan Bingham: It's not like that. The miles are the goal.Natalie Keener: That's it? You're saving just to save?Ryan Bingham: Let's just say that I have a number in mind and I haven't hit it yet.

具體這個數字多大，作者的朋友說：「一千萬美金會讓我開心，保守一點要兩千萬，五千萬就真有點太多了。」「我覺得五到十年內，我可以達到我的數字。」作者一點也不懷疑這位朋友做得到。

成功的人總是著迷於某個「數字」，這個共通點聽起來詭異，卻是能夠奏效的方法。心裡的數字可以把目標變得具體，進而才能接著計畫該如何達成目標。「我要變有錢!」太過抽象，在心裡念一百萬遍也不太有靠近目標的機會。「我要賺一千萬!」要達成的時程就可以根據現況設想出來，接著才有機會去改變現狀，讓自己更快達到自己的目標。

同樣道理，很多創業家和運動家也常有類似的作法，不停談論心中的理念，如何改變世界的想法；麥可喬丹也習慣在比賽開始前，預想自己的最後一個射籃會是什麼樣的情況。當然並不代表，只要在心裡有個明確的數字，可以保證一定成功。而是透過明確的目標來指引自己，如何規劃生涯，在達成目標之前，需要有什麼樣的能力和夥伴。文章裡的眾多例子和原由，即便不能證實百分百的關聯性，心中的「數字」仍是一個很好的方法，引導出更多關於如何實現的問題，才有機會去改變和執行。

作者接著提出幾個提議，讓我們更有機會達成我們的「數字」。具體把目標寫下來，目標則可以大膽一點，不要侷限於現況太多，它應是你的夢想，你夢寐以求的成就。並且要定期回想自己和目標之間的距離和可能性，以免淪於白日夢。最後，要有耐心，一個大夢想需要很多小成就來累積，這趟旅程可能會花好幾十年，但這幾十年來經歷的風景，將會使你的「數字」更有意義。

Quotes in the article

What it does is help you organize all the things that you need to do to get to that goal.

The important thing to remember is that visualization costs you nothing and is private

One of the hardest things to do in this day and age is to just sit somewhere and think.

None of the above will work unless you practice one vitally important thing: patience. Sometimes the journey is just as important as the destination.

Words to takeaway
1. delusional: 令人費解的、難以理解的
Ex: To nearly all of us, that sounds delusional.
2. charitable causes(=目標、事業) 為了公益
Ex: free to give it away to whatever charitable causes he liked
3. akin to: 類似 =similar
Ex: Thinking about a number is akin to visualizing something into reality
4. envision: 預計、設想 (UK envisage)
Ex: Some spend 15 minutes a day envisioning how they want their lives and companies to look like.
5. corny: 老套、老生常談
Ex: While this may sound corny, I can't tell you how many very wealthy people I've met carry little pieces of paper or notes.
6. shriveled: 乾扁、乾皺的
7. pay stub(=存根、票根): 薪資單、所得明細
8. bound by: 受限於、侷限在
Ex: People tend to think of their futures bound by their current realities.
9. modest: 保守的
Ex: They often visualize something more modest
10. risk averse(=反對、厭惡的) 不願冒險
Ex: People are generally risk averse.
11. so long as: 只要
Ex: So feel free to be wild and crazy with your images, so long as they are really what you want.