Why I Chose to Become a Homeless Entrepreneur

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文章来源： https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/285452
大乐乐友情提示：
今天是五月四日青年节，你还在因为超过28岁不能放半天假而耿耿于怀？其实，大可不必嘛。人生这种东西，思前想后哪怕活满100岁也就36500天，你只能睡一张床，吃一碗饭，拥一个人。既然都是借来的，何必在意那么多呢？最重要的当然是不断学习，不断进步。你看，这篇文章的作者就给我们现身说法断舍离，在中国那么多年轻人因为买不起房子而郁闷的时候，人家挥挥手卖了拉斯维加斯的豪宅，走天涯去了。这次文章段落比较多，但是文字很口语化，比较简单。建议大家好好揣摩第五部分，除了英文知识，心灵收获会更多呢。

You’ve probably heard about people who make a radical lifestyle choice relating to their living abode(住所）. Remember that Google employee who retrofitted（改进；更新） a box truck into an apartment? Or the Silicon Valley product designer who lived in his Honda Civic for four months? This year, I made a similar choice. I got rid of my home.

Part I：Goodbye, Las Vegas condo

A few years ago, I saw a killer real estate opportunity（特别棒的房子）, and snatched up（抓住） an condo（分户出售的公寓大厦） overlooking the Las Vegas strip. It was a comfortable place to live. The greatest feature of the condo? The views! They were fantastic.Every bedroom had a great view of the Strip.Even the bathrooms had a view! The real estate market worked in my favor, and I made a profit when I sold the condo.（这才是关键啊） Now, I do not have a home. I do not rent a home. I do not have a vehicle. I have a briefcase, a suitcase and a few things to put inside them. That’s it.

Part II：Why did I get rid of my home?

【1】Even though my condo was nice and comfortable, it was a distraction（分散精力的事物） for me -- something that sucked away my energy, time and money. Besides, I didn't spend a lot of time there. I travel a lot due to my work. It didn’t make sense to leave a nice place abandoned most of the time（大部分时间）. What good（好处） were the views if I wasn’t enjoying them? Why pay to keep a place that’s just sitting（闲置） there? Those were the practical reasons why I chose to become homeless. But there were other reasons, too.I don’t need stuff to make me happy. In fact, the more stuff I have, the more hassle（麻烦） I’m forced to deal with. And a house is the ultimate（终极的） hassle. If my air-conditioner breaks, someone has to notice it, find a repair company, make the call, schedule the appointment, let the repair person into the house and pay for the repair.、

金词：
distraction [dɪ'strækʃ(ə)n] n. 分散精力的事物
hassle ['hæs(ə)l] n. 麻烦
ultimate ['ʌltɪmət] adj. 终极的
走心金句
I don’t need stuff to make me happy. In fact, the more stuff I have, the more hassle（麻烦） I’m forced to deal with.
我不需要物质来让自己快乐。实际上，我拥有得越多，我不得不面对的麻烦就越多。
The more…the more… 这个句型大乐乐在之前的课上讲到过哦，等一下还会遇到。

【2】That, for me, is a headache. If I’m going to spend my time and energy solving problems, I’d rather spend it on meaningful（有意义的） problems. I realized that getting rid of my home would add to my life in the areas that mattered.
I would have more time to work on my businesses. I would not waste my energy dealing with silly problems. I would be free of the worry of maintaining（维修） a house. I would eliminate（消除） a major distraction. It seemed like a perfectly logical（合理的） and empowering（令人振奋的） choice. So I sold the condo, and became officially homeless. This was an easy choice for me -- one that presented itself as the next natural step in my life.

走心金句
If I’m going to spend my time and energy solving problems, I’d rather spend it on meaningful（有意义的） problems.
如果我要花时间精力来解决问题的话，我宁愿解决更有意义的问题。
spend one's time doing sth 花时间做某事
spend one's time on sth 把时间花在某事上
有同学会问，那我把sth换成动名词，不也可以说，spend one's time on doing sth嘛。尽量不要这样用。
如果有现成的名词，就用spend one's time on sth比较好。

【3】Here’s how it happened. A few years ago, I met Mukund Mohan while I was on business in India. We became friends, and I began to learn a lot from this man, an older and wiser tech entrepreneur. He told me that every year he chooses to give up one thing. He selects something that is limiting his potential（潜力） or holding him back in some way. This practice（做法）, he explained, has revolutionized（彻底改变） his life. I decided to give it a try. At the start of the New Year, I said no to coffee.

金词：
potential [pəˈtenʃl] n.潜力
practice ['præktɪs] n.做法
revolutionize [,revə'lju:ʃənaiz] vt.彻底改变

【4】I was surprised at the impact（影响） it had on my life. It was a deeply energizing（令人振奋的） experience, giving me a sense of control and ownership over the direction of my life. Who knew that giving up something so small -- a daily morning beverage（饮料） -- would have such a big impact? I did this again the next year. I said no to tea. Then I got rid of sugary（含糖的）, carbonated（含碳酸的）, and energy drinks（能量饮料）. I eliminated red meat. I even denied（拒绝给予） myself pie. (Yes, pie.) If these small sacrifices（牺牲） were having such a profound（深刻的） impact, then what impact would a bigger sacrifice have?I decided to go radical（激进的）. I decided to get rid of my home.

语法点：
It was a deeply energizing（令人振奋的） experience, giving me a sense of control and ownership over the direction of my life.
戒掉咖啡是一次令人振奋的体验，给了我一种对生活方向的掌控感和自主感。
energizing adj. 令人振奋的
giving在这里是现在分词作定语限定前面的experience，可以改为：
It was a deeply energizing experience which gave me a sense of control and ownership over the direction of my life.

Part III：What else did I get rid of?

【1】When you get rid of your house, you have to let everything go. Unless you want to rent a storage space（迷你仓） (not for me), you’ll need to leave behind（扔掉） your bed, TV, chairs, dishes and whatever else is in the home. I got rid of everything. I don’t own a car, boat or helicopter. Heck, I don’t even have my own yoga mat（瑜伽垫）!

【2】All my possessions fit in a small Tom Ford briefcase（公文包） and international size carry-on（手提行李）. (Full disclosure: I keep a couple of suits, a tuxedo and a winter coat in my parents' house in Orange County.) The things I directly own are: 1 carry-on 手提行李 1 briefcase 公文包 A few miscellaneous toiletries — to（各种各样的洗漱用品）toothbrush, deodorant（止汗剂）, razor, etc. 4 polo shirts 6 t-shirts 2 pairs of gym shorts 2 pairs of jeans 1 belt Underwear Socks Tennis shoes Casual shoes Sweater Gold Macbook (it’s getting old) iPhone SE (the cheapest one)

Part IV：Where do I live?

【1】So the obvious question is, where do I live? I have to live somewhere, right? As I mentioned, I travel a lot for work. If I have a meeting in a certain city, I’ll live there for a few weeks. I'll find a decent hotel that provides room service. I don’t have to worry about meals, laundry or even making my bed. I can be focused and productive（高效的） wherever I go. In this manner, I’ve stayed in New York City, Sydney, Paris, London, Sao Paulo and Toronto (to name a few). Every couple of months, I stay with my parents in California for a while. If I ever get homesick, they’re there for me.

【2】The more I roam（漫游）, the more I learn. I network（此处为动词，编织人际关系网） like an addict（瘾君子）. I’m constantly meeting and learning from fascinating people all over the world. It’s not about what I got rid of. It’s what I gained. Letting go of things is one of the best ways to discover yourself. Growing up in a middle-class neighborhood, I always heard people say, "Get a good job." "Buy a nice house." "Settle down." Etc. Why did so much of life revolve around（以…为中心） having a house? What if that lifestyle isn’t for everyone?

金句
The more I roam（漫游）, the more I learn.
我越是旅行，学到得就越多。
所以，世界那么大，你真的应该去看看，but你得先有钱，想要有钱，没有更好的资源，怎么办？
那就是伏在暗处默不作声地疯狂吸收知识直到有一天机会来临。
Letting go of things is one of the best ways to discover yourself.
扔掉不需要的东西是最好的自我发现方式。
letting go of things 是动名词作主语，所以谓语动词用第三人称单数。

【3】Through a series of events in my life, I realized that life wasn’t about the things that I had, but about the relationships that I built with people. A house doesn’t fill me with passion. It doesn’t energize me. It doesn’t give me purpose. It’s not a source of joy. By leaving my condo behind, I was able to learn more about who I am and what I’m passionate about. I live to work on my businesses and to help others. That’s it. If a house, an apartment or other stuff gets in the way（阻碍） of my passions, then I should leave it behind.

Part V：What has been the result of my choice?
【1】The minute I signed the papers on the sale of my condo, something within me — primal（原始的）, deep, and powerful -- was ignited（点燃）. I felt free. Completely, truly, internally, externally, and absolutely free. I wasn’t tied down to a zip code or the four walls of a dwelling place（住所）. I could go anywhere I wanted to. Sometimes, people wonder, what would it feel like to have just a few possessions（财产）? My own experience was huge relief. My worries vanished（消失）. Suddenly, my disposable income（可支配收入） shot up, too!

金词：
primal ['praɪm(ə)l] adj.原始的
ignite [ɪg'naɪt] vt 点燃
vanish ['vænɪʃ] vt. 消失

【2】I don’t have a water bill, gas bill, electric bill, property taxes, homeowners association dues and all the other costs that come with home ownership. My fixed costs of living involve some life insurance policies, and that’s about it. My life is ultra-simple（特别简单的）. Minimalism（极简主义） might start with getting rid of your possessions, but it goes much deeper than that. It reorients（重新调整） your mind, helping you focus on the things that truly matter. My minimalism makes my life easy, stress-free and streamlined（合理化的）.

金词：
minimalism ['mɪnɪmə,lɪz(ə)m] n 极简主义
可以去这个网站看看

https://bemorewithless.com/25-reasons-you-might-be-a-minimalist/

【3】Looking back, I can’t imagine why I clung on to（紧紧抓住） my condo as long as I did. What a waste of money, time, and energy! By eliminating the clutter（杂乱；混乱） in my life, I encountered the freedom and power of simplicity.This lifestyle choice won’t work for everyone. Not everyone has a location-independent job. People choose to settle, buy a home, raise a family and put down roots. That is a good and healthy thing. But individuals and families should make the decision that allows them to enjoy and experience life to its fullest. For me, minimalism and homelessness have been my path to fulfillment（满足） and discovery.

金词：
cling on to 紧紧抓住
fulfillment [fʊl'fɪlmənt] n. 满足

Part VI:Conclusion

Right now, I’m sitting in a hotel room in Florianopolis, Brazil. My “home” is the seventh floor. I have a view of the beach. I’m not shopping for condos, and I’m not looking for another place to settle down. My mind is clear. My life is simple.

参考中文： 公共微信号：乐乐老师读原版 推送“豪宅”两个字

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