1、1. Never, Ever Give up 永不放弃 Never ever give up Its the fifth time I stand on this shore, the Cuban shore, looking out at distance horizon, believing, again, that I am going to make it. All the way across that vast, dangerous wilderness of an ocean. Not only have I tried four times, but the great swi
2、mmers in the world have been trying since 1950, and its still never been done. The team is proud of our four attempts. Its an expedition of some 30 people. Bonnie is my best friend and head handler, who somehow summons will, that last drop of will within me, when I think its gone, after many ,many h
3、ours and days out there. 这是我第十五次站在这片古巴海滩上，望着远处的地平线，我再次相信，我会成功跨越 这片浩瀚、危险的海中荒漠。不仅仅是我都尝试了四次失败，世界上其他伟大的游泳健将， 自从 1950 年以来就开始尝试了，而至今还没有人可以做到。我和我的团队尝试了四次，团队 由 30 人组成，伯尼是我最好的朋友，也是我的首席训练师，她总能在我要放弃的时候唤醒我 心 底最后的力量，很长时间来一直如此。 The shark expert is the best in the world-large predator below. The box jellyfish, the
4、 deadliest venom in all of the ocean, is in these waters, and I have come close to dying from them on a previous attempt. The conditions themselves, besides the sheer distance of over 100 miles in the open ocean the currents and whirling eddies and the Gulf Stream itself, are the most unpredictable
5、of all of planet Earth. 我们有世界上最好的鲨鱼专家 大型捕食杀手就在水底游荡， 这片水域里的箱型水母， 拥有海洋里最致命的毒液，在这片海洋，这片水域里。之前一次的尝试就差点毙命于此。这 里的水域条件，除了海面超过 100 英里的直线距离，水流、涡流和墨西哥湾暖流，所有的条 件都是这个地球上最不可预知的。 And by the way Its amusing to me that journalists and people before these attempts often you know ask me,” Well, are you going to go wi
6、th any boats or any people or anything?” And I m thinking, what are they imaging? That I ll just sort of do some celestial navigation, and carry a bowie knife in my mouth, and I ll hunt fish and skin them alive and eat them, and maybe drag a desalinization plant behind me for fresh water. Yes I have
7、 a team. And the team is expert, and the team is courageous, and brimming with innovation and scientific discovery, as its true with any major expedition on the planet. 顺便说一下，让我好笑的是，在我的这些尝试之前，很多记者和旁观的人都问我这样的 问题： 你是不是一个人完成这次冒险，有没有什么船只和工作人员跟着你呢？我想，他们想 的都是什么呢 ,以为我跟天文导航差不多么， 嘴里叼一把猎刀， 亲自捕鱼， 现场扒皮并食用么？ 也许还
8、要拖一个海水淡化器在身后用来补给淡水。我当然有一只团队，他们是专家，都勇敢无畏，充满着创新，会有科学发现，和地球上任何大型的远征都是这样的。 And we ve been on the journey. And the debate is raged, hasn t it, since the Greeks, of isn t it what its all about？Isn t life about the journey, not really the destination? And here we ve been on this journey, and the truth is,i
9、ts been thrilling. We haven t reached that other shore, and still our sense of pride and commitment, unwavering commitment. 我们踏上了一个旅途。对此人们一直有激烈的争论，自从古希腊以来，难道不都是关于旅途吗？难道生活不就是关于旅程而不是目的地么？而我们一直都在这个旅途中，事实是， 这一路刺激极了。我们还没有到达彼岸，然而，我们有强烈的自豪感和决心，坚定不移的决 心。 When I turned 60, the dream was still alive from havi
10、ng tried this in my 20s, and dreamed it and imagined it. The most famous body of water on the Earth today, I imagine, Cuban to Florida. And it was deep. It was deep in my soul. 当我六十岁的时候，那个梦还活着，从二十几岁时候的尝试，到后来一直梦想着、想象着。我想，如今地球上最出名的水域 就是古巴到佛罗里达一带，它如此深不可测，深 到我的灵魂深处。 And when I turned 60, it wasn t so mu
11、ch about the athletic accomplishment, it wasn t the ego of “ I want to be first.” That s always there and its undeniable. But it was deeper. It was, how much life is there left? Let s face it, we re all on a one-way street, aren t we, and what are we going to do? What are we going to do as we go for
12、ward to have no regrets looking back? What are we going to do o have no regrets looking back as we go forward. Life is full of obstacles and the only way to realize your dream is to overcome them. 生活充满障碍，实现梦想的唯一途径就是克服梦想当我六十岁的时候，梦想不再主 要和体育成就有关，也没有了 “ 我要当第一 ” 的那种自我实现，它一直在那儿，无可抗拒。但它更深，是关于生命还剩下多少时间。 让我们
13、直面生活吧，我们都在人生的单程路上，不是么？那我们要做什么呢，我们要做什么才能在回首时无怨无悔呢？ And all the past year in training, I had that Teddy Roosevelt quote to paraphrase it, floating all around in my brain, and Its said,” You go ah ead, you go ahead and sit back in your comfortable chair, and you be the critic, you be the observe, while
14、 the brave one gets the in the ring and engages and get bloody and gets dirty and fails over and over and over again, but yet isn t afraid and isn t timid and lives life in a bold way.” And so of course I want to make it across. Its the goal, and I should be so shallow to say that this year, destina
15、tion was even sweeter than the journey. 在过去训练的那些年里，我有泰迪 .罗斯福名言来解释它，一直萦绕在我的脑海里， 他说：“ 你尽管，你尽管坐到你舒服的椅子上，你就是一个批 评家、一个观察员，同时那个勇敢的人走上拳击台开始比赛，血流了下来，变得脏兮兮，一次又一次失败，但是他不害怕不胆怯，依然勇敢的生活着。 ” 因此我渴望实现这一次跨越。这是我的目标，我也坦率地跟大家说，终点确实要比过程更甜。 But the journey itself was worthwhile taking. And at this point, by this summer,
16、everybody, scientists, sports scientists, endurance experts, neurologists, my own team, Bonnie said its impossible. Its just simply can t be done, and Bonnie said to me,” But you re going to take the journey, I m going to see you through to the end of it, so Ill be there.” And now we re there. 但是这个过
17、程本身依然值得去经历，在这个时候，这个 夏天，每个人，科学家、运动 科学家、耐力专家、精神科专家、我的团队、伯尼都说这不可能，这就是不可能的完成的任务。伯尼对我说，但是你要开始这段旅程，我要见证你到达终点，所以我会出现在那里，我们都会在那里。 And as we looking out ,kind of a surreal moment before the first stroke, standing on the rocks at Marina Heming way, the Cuban flag is flying above, all my team s out in their bo
18、ats, hands up in the air,” We re here, we re here for you,” 当我们放眼望去，在我开始入水划第一下之前，一切显得有些不真实。我们站在海明威 码头的岩石上，古巴国旗飘扬在头上，我所有的团队成员都站在船上，举起手，告诉我， “ 我 们在这里，我们支持你。 ” Bonnie and I looked at each other, and we say, this year, the mantra is and I ve been used it in training find a way. You have a dream and you
19、have obstacles in front of you, as we to do. None of us ever get through this life without heartache, without turmoil, and if you believe and you have faith and you can get knocked down and get back up again and you believe in perseverance as a great human quality, you find way, and Bonnie grabbed m
20、y shoulders, and she said,” Let s find our way to Florida.” 伯尼和我互相看着对方，我们说，今年，口头禅是，你有一个梦想，在你去实现它 的时候，有很多的阻碍在你面前。没有人能够过完这一生而没有心痛和骚动，如果你相信而 且拥有信念， 你就能被击倒之后从新在站起来， 你会相信坚持不懈是人类的一种伟大的品质， 你就会找到方法， Bonnie 抓住我的肩膀，然后说，让我们找到去往佛罗里达的路。 And we started, and for the next 53 hours, it was an intense and unforgettab
21、le life experiences. The high were high, the awe, I m not a religious person, but I ll tell you, to be in the azure blue of the Gulf Stream as if, as you re breathing, you re looking down miles and miles and miles, to feel the majesty of this blue planet we live on, Its awe-inspiring. 我们出发了，接下来的 53
22、个小时是一段紧张而难忘的生命经历。天空很高远，令 人敬畏， 我并不是宗教徒， 但是我告诉你， 在蔚蓝 的墨西哥暖流中你可能会变成一个宗教徒。 当你呼吸的时候， 看到深不可测的海底， 感受到我们生存的蓝色星球的威严， 如此令人敬畏。 I have a playlist of about 85 songs, and especially in the middle of the night, and that night, because we use no lights-light attract jellyfish, lights attract sharks, lights attract
23、baitfish that attract sharks, so we go in the pitch black of the night. You ve never seen black this black. You can t see the front of your hand, and the people on the boat, Bonnie and my team on the boat, they just hear the slapping of the arms, and they know where I am, because there s no visual a
24、t all. 我有大概 85 首歌的播放列表，尤其是在午夜的时候，那天晚上，因为我们没有用 光，光会吸引水母，鲨鱼和那些会吸引鲨鱼的小鱼 (诱饵鱼 )，所以我们只能在你漆黑的夜里 前行。你从未见过这种黑，完全伸手不见五指。船上的人， Bonnie 和我的团队在船上，他们只能通过我划水的声音判断我的位置，因为完全没有光。 And I m out there kind of tripping out on my little playlist. I ve got a tight rubber cap, so I don t hear a thing. I ve got goggles and I
25、m turning my head 50 times a minute, and I m singing,” Imagine there s no heaven, doo doo doo doo doo” Its easy if you try, doo doo doo doo doo” And I can sing that song a thousand times in arrow. 我在那里专注在我的小小播放列表上， 有点与世隔绝了。 我戴着一个很紧的橡皮帽， 听不到外面任何声音。戴着护目镜，一分钟摆头 50 次，唱着歌， “ 想象那里有个天堂，如果 你尝试就会很简单。 ” 我可以连着
26、唱一千遍。 Now there s a talent unto itself. And each time I get done with” Ooh, you may say I m a dream but I m not the only one”222,”Imagine there ?s no heaven” And when I get through the end of a thousand of John Lennon s “Imagine,” I have swum nine hours and 45 minutes, exactly. 这是天赋使然。每次唱完 “ 你会说我是一个
27、梦想家，但是又何止我一人呢 ” ， 222 次， “ 想象那里有个天堂 ” ，当我唱完 Lennon 的想象一千多遍的实收，已经游了 9 小时 45 分钟，千真万确。 And then there are the crises. Of cause there are. And the vomiting starts, the seawater, you re not well, you are wearing a jellyfish mask for the ultimate protection. It is difficult to swim in. It is causing abras
28、ions on the inside of the mouth, but the tentacles cannot get you. 然后那里有很多危机。当然有很多。开始呕吐，海水，感到不舒服，戴着一个防水母的 面具， 用来做最后的保护。 在海水中游泳很艰难， 会引起口腔的磨损， 但是触角不会得到你， 低体温症会趁虚而入。 And the hypothermia sets in. The water is 85 degrees, and yet you are losing weight and using calories, and as you come over toward the s
29、ide of the boat, not allowed to touch it, not allowed to get out, but Bonnie and her team hand me nutrition and ask me what I am doing, am I all right, I am seeing the Taj Mahal over here. 水温 85 华氏度，你的体重下降，小号卡路里，当你朝船游来是不允许碰到船身的， 不允许出水，但是 Bonnie 和我的团队会递蛋白质给我，会问我正在干什么，是否正常，我看到了泰姬陵在远处。 I am in a very d
30、ifferent state, and I am thinking, wow, I never thought I should running into the Maj Mahal out here, it is gorgeous. I mean, how long did it take them to build that? It is just-So, uh, wooo. And then we kind of have a cardinal rule that I never told, really, how far it is, because we do not know ho
31、w far it is. What is going to happen to you between this point and that point? What is going to happen to the weather and the currents and, God forbid, you are stung when you do not think you could be stung in all the armor, 我处在一个完全不同的角度，我想，哇，我从未想过我会在那里进入泰姬陵，它看起来 合计华丽灿烂。我的意 思是，它花费了多久建成的？它如此的，哇。我们有一条
32、主要的规则 就是我不会被告知有多远，因为我们不知道到底有多远。在这点和那点之间你会碰到什么样 的事？天气和水流会变成什么样？但愿不会发生这样的事情。你被蛰到了，在你以为穿着防 护措施就不会遭遇此事的时候。 and Bonnie made a decision, coming into that third morning that I was suffering and I was hanging on by a thread and she said,” come here,” and I came close to the boat, and she said,” Look, kook o
33、ut there,” and I saw light, because the day is easier than the night, and I thought we were coming into the day, and I saw a stream of white light along the horizon, and I said,” it is g oing to be morning soon.” And she said,” No, those are the lights of Key West.” It is 15 more hours, which for mo
34、st swimmers would be a long time. You have no idea how many 15-hour training swims I had done. Bonnie 做了一个决定， 第三晚， 我很痛苦快要坚持边去的时候， 她对我说， “ 到这里来 ” ， 我向船靠过去，她接着说， “ 看看那儿 ” ，我看到了光，因为白天比晚上更容易看清楚，我 以为马上就要天亮了，我看到一条白光在地平线上，我说道， “ 要天亮了。 ” 她说， “ 不是 的，那是季韦斯特的灯光。 ” 那时已经有了 15 个小时了，对于大多数有用的人来说已经很长 了。你不了解我有过多少次 15
35、 个小时的训练。 So here we go, and I somehow, without a decision, went no counting of strokes and no singing and no quoting Stephen Hawking and the parameters of the universe. I just went into thinking about this dream, and why, and how. And as I said, when I turned 60, it was not about the concrete” Can y
36、ou do it?” That is the everyday machinations. That is the discipline, and it is the preparation, and there is a pride in that. 所以我们出发了，我不知道怎么了，也没有做一个决定，没有计算划水的次数，没有唱歌，没有引用 Stephen Hawking 和宇宙的各种参数，我只是陷入思考，关于我的梦想， 为什么，怎样实现。就像我说的，当我六十岁的时候，它不仅仅与 “ 你能做到吗？ ” 这样具体的东西，这是每天的诡计。这是纪律，是准备工作，有一份自豪在那里。 But I dec
37、ided to think, as I went along about, the phrase usually is reaching for the starts, and in my case, it is reaching for the horizon. And when you reach for the horizon, as I proven, you may not get there, but what a tremendous built of character and spirit that you lay down. What a foundation you la
38、y down in reaching for those horizons. 但是，我决定去想，在我前进的时候，那个在开始需要伸手去够的短语，就我而言，是 去够地平线。当你达到地平线的时候，就像我证明的那样，你可能还没到那里，但是那是你 能够依靠的多么重大的人格和精神的力量，是可以是你它到达地平线想的基础。 And now the shore is coming, and there is just a little part of me that is sad. The epic journey is going to be over. So many people come up to m
39、e now and say,” What is next? We love that! That little tracker that was on the computer? When are you going to do next one? We just cannot wait to follow the next one.” Well, they were just there for 53 hours, and I was there for years. And so there will not be another epic journey in the ocean 现在海
40、岸正在不断靠近，内心有点感伤。这段传奇的旅程就要结束了。很多人围到我身 边问我， “ 下一次是什么时候？我们很喜欢这样的壮举！那个电脑上小小的追踪器？你什么时候开始下一次挑战呢 ?我们都迫不及待的想看到了下一次了。 ” 然而，他们仅仅在那里待了 53 小时，但是我已经为此付出了数年了。所以，不会再有下一 次海洋传奇之旅了。 But the point is, and the point was that every day of our lives is epic, and I will tell you, when I walked up onto that beach, staggered
41、 up onto that beach, and I had so many times in a very puffed up ego way, rehearsed what I would say on the beach. When Bonnie thought that the back of my throat was swelling up, and she brought the medical team over to our boat to say that she is really beginning to have trouble breathing. 但不管是现在还是
42、过去，重点都是，我们生活的每一天都是传奇的，我要告诉你，当我走上那片海滩的时候，踉踉跄跄走上海滩的时候，我有太多自我膨胀的方式， 预演我将在 海滩上讲的话。当 Bonnie 认为我喉咙已经肿胀，她带着医疗团队到我们的船上说我的呼吸确实开始出现问题了 Another 12,24 hours in the saltwater, the whole thing-and I just thought in my hallucinatory moment, that I heard the word tracheotomy. And Bonnie said to the doctor,” I am no
43、t worried about her not breathing. If she cannot talk when she gets to the shore, she is going to pissed off.” 。在海水里多待上 12 或者 24 小时，所有的事情，就在我觉得我出现幻觉的时候，我 听到了气管切开手术这个词。这时候 Bonnie 对医生说， “ 我并不担心她不能呼吸。如果她到 达海滩不能说话的时候，她会吐出来的。 ” But the truth is, all those orations that I had practiced just to get myself
44、through some training swims as motivation, it was not like that. It was a real moment with that crowd, with my team. We did it, I did not do it. We did it. And we will never forget it. It will always be part of us. And the three things that I did sort of blurt out when we got there, was first,” Neve
45、r, never give up.” I live it. What is the phrase from today from Socrates? To be is to do. So I do not stand up and say, do not ever give up. I did not give up, and there was action behind these words, The second is, ”You can chase your dreams at any age; you are never too old.” Sixty-four, that no
46、one at any age, any gender, could ever do, has done it, and there is no doubt in my mind that I am at the prime of my life today. And the third thing I said on that beach was,” It looks the most solitary endeavor in the world, and in many way it is, and in other ways, and the most important ways, it
47、 is the team, and you think I am a badass, you want to meet Bonnie.” 但是实际情况是，所有那些我准备的演讲只是让自己熬过一些游泳训练的 动力，而不是想的那样。 那是一个和人群， 我的团队在一起的真实的时刻。 我们做到了， 不是我做到了， 是我们做到了。我们永远也忘不了，它将成为我们自身的一部分。当我们到达终点的时候， 有三件事我脱口而出。第一， “ 永远，永远不要放弃。 ” 我就活在其中。苏格拉底说的什么来着？生命需要践行，所以我没有站着说，不要放弃，而是在用实际行动在诠释；第二， “ 你 在什么年纪都可能追求你的梦想，你永远
48、不会太老。 ” 六十四岁，不分性别，没有人在任何 年龄曾经做到过，但是在我的心底，从来没有怀疑过，如今我就是我生活的君王。我在海滩 上讲的第三点是， “ 这段经历耗费了这个世界上最为孤独的努力，在很多时候，在其他的方 面，在最为重要的方面，是这个团队，如果你认为我是个坏蛋，你会想见见 Bonnie。 ” Bonnie, where are you? Where are you? There is Bonnie Stoll. My buddy. The Henry David Thoreau quote goes, when you achieve your dream, it is not s
49、o much what you get as who you have become in achieving them. And yeah, I stand before you now. In the three months since that swim ended, I ve sat down Oprah and I ve been in President Obama s Oval Office. I ve been invited to speak in front of esteemed groups such as yourselves. I have singed a wonderful major book contract, all of that is great, and I do not denigrate it. I am proud of it all, but the truth is, I am walking around tall because I am that bold, fearless person, and I will be, every day, until it i
