原文: Create a Richer Life in 24 Hours or Less

The overwhelming majority of people wish for more money. Unfortunately, it seems that the more money we accumulate, the richer we want to become. The way I see it, a wish for material wealth is one that is never really fulfilled.

Thank goodness there are two types of riches or wealth that define our lives: there's being financially rich and there's being life rich -- one doesn't necessarily exclude the other. You can be both at the same time, at different times, or at no time.

While there's nothing wrong with striving to have a larger bank account, it's important to remember that money really can't buy happiness. Just ask Chris Farley or Kurt Cobain about that.

That's why it's so important to strive for having a rich life as opposed to material wealth.

Here's how to make yourself richer in 24 hours or less.

1. Be thankful for life. Every single one of us takes for granted that when we go to sleep at night, we're going to wake up the next morning. I'm not trying to frighten you, but to make you understand how thankful you should be for every single morning you open your eyes because it's not a guarantee that it'll happen. I know you don't think about it because when you wake up, you've already got a ton of things on your mind.
   
   Well, stop. Lay in bed for a few seconds and just be thankful that you've got another day because they're so few in number.
   
   
2. Make a new friend. True, it's tougher for adults to make friends than it is for kids. When you were a kid you could easily walk up to whomever had a new toy at the playground and he was instantly your new best friend. However, for adults, friendship too often comes with more strings attached than a marionette show. We tend to see friends as people who can help us achieve something rather than another soul to be enjoyed.
   
   Well, life is nothing if it isn't about relationships, and friendships are the easiest to come by if you're willing to put forth the effort.
   
   
3. Count your blessings. Okay, I know it's a cliché, but if you truly want a richer life, then you have to be thankful for what you already have. And don't tell me that you have nothing because no one truly has nothing. You can be living on the street with only a garbage bag full of possessions, but as long as you still have breath in your lungs, you have opportunity. The world is filled with examples of people who appeared to have nothing left to live for only to rise up and show everyone what life is all about. Stephen Hawking, anyone?
   
   
4. Try living life instead of surviving it. How many of you feel like you just went 12 rounds with the champ at the end of each week? How many of you really need a weekend on the couch just to store up enough energy for Monday? If this sounds familiar then you're not living life, you're surviving it - and that's no way to live.
   
   You don't have to fill up your entire day with work to be worth something. I'll tell you right now, for nothing, that you could spend a week earning ten thousand dollars and it wouldn't be worth as much as spending an hour with your kid, your wife, as a Big Brother or Big Sister, or as a volunteer to a family in distress.
   

译文: 在24小时或更短的时间里创造更富足的生活

      绝大多数的人渴望有更多的钱。遗憾的是，似乎我们积累的钱越多，我们越想变得更富有。在我看来，对于物质财富的欲求是不会真正得到满足的。

     幸亏界定我们生活是否富足的财富，或者说财产，有两种——经济富有和生活富有。它们并不相排斥，你可能会同时兼具两者或在不同时期分别拥有它们，但也有可能不会兼得。

     尽管努力争取更多的积蓄无可非议，然而牢记“金钱不可能买到快乐”也很重要。想想克里斯·法力和科特·柯本，就会明白为何追求过上富足的生活相对于追逐物质财富来说更重要。

      这里是一些如何在24小时或者更短的时间里使自己的更富足的方法。

      感恩生活。我们每个人都把在深夜入眠于次日清晨醒来看作理所当然。我并不是要吓唬你，而是希望你明白，你该对每个你睁开眼睛的早晨心存感激，因为没人担保这一定会发生。我知道你不会那样想，因为在你醒来时，你脑中已经有千千万万的事情要想了。但是，请停下来。在床上躺一会，为你得到了新的一天感恩，因为它们是这样的为数不多。

      交个新朋友。确实，比起孩子，这对于成人来说要艰难得多。当你还是个孩子的时候，你可以很轻松地走近操场上的一个有新玩具的孩子而且他很快就成了你新的最好的朋友。然而对于成人，友情总是牵扯着千丝万缕，那远比操纵木偶戏的几根线要复杂得多。我们往往将能帮助我们达成某些事情的人而不是心灵高洁者当作朋友。生活中充满了各种关系。如果你愿意付出努力，友情是最容易获得的。

      默默祈祷。是的，我知道这是陈词滥调了，但是如果你真的想要一种更富足的生活，你就要对你所已经拥有的一切表示感恩。别告诉我你什么都没有，因为没有人会真的一无所有。你可能流落街头，只有一个满是垃圾的袋子。但只要你气息犹存，你就还有机会。世界上多的是这样的例子：一个原本看来生活难以为继的人崛起并向世人证明了什么才是生活。除了史蒂芬·霍金，你还可以想到谁也是如此？

      试着生活而不只是生存。你们当中有多少人觉得自己每一周下来只是咀嚼了十二轮？你们中有多少人极需一个周末安躺在床上为周一储存充足的能量？如果这对于你很平常，那你并不是在生活，你只是在生存，那算不上是生活。

      不必将自己的一整天都用工作填满以换取什么。现在我要告诉你，那并不能换来任何东西。用一星期赚一万美元远没有你花一小时像《老大哥》节目里的“老大哥”“老大姐”那样陪伴妻儿，或作为志愿者到一个贫困家庭去那么有价值。

      过一种富足的生活与当你离开人世时所留下的财物数量完全无关，别人不会真正在乎那些。相反，你对周围人所做的，才是会永远延续和流传的东西。

      你平常习惯做的哪些小事会让你打心底里感到快乐呢？