There was an extended period of time in my twenties when I didn’t have a job. For most of us, that’s not a big deal. We have our whole lives ahead of us to work, so taking a few months off to “find yourself” can be completely justifiable.

Well, let’s just say that wasn’t the case for me.

I spent sleepless nights scouring job postings for any company that might be interested in what little I had to offer. I smacked that “Upload Resume” button around like it was my arch nemesis, but made sure to carefully upload the proper file format before doing so.

二十多岁的时候，有很长一段时间没有工作。对大多数人来说，这并不是什么大事。我们有一生的时间来工作，所以花几个月的时间来 “寻找自己 ”也很合理的。

好吧，我只能说我的情况并非如此。

我在深夜搜寻招聘信息，寻找任何可能有一点感兴趣的公司。我把 “上传简历 ”的按钮当做如临大敌，在上传之前，我仔细确保上传适当的文件格式。

My days consisted of nothing but napping, eating, uploading, and submitting. To put it mildly, I was in a state of panic to find some sort of work.

Some might have viewed this obsessive job search as an impressive character trait. It may have masqueraded as a signal of ambition, an indicator that I was a guy that had his priorities straight.

The truth, however, was far from that. I wasn’t driven by some magnificent search for purpose, or the nagging desire to provide value to society. I was driven by something far less chivalrous:

My intense, terrifying fear of being homeless.

我每天除了打盹、吃饭、上传简历和提交申请之外，什么都没做。说句不好听的，我当时正处于恐慌状态，想找到工作。

有些人可能把这种强迫性的找工作过程，看作是一种令人印象深刻的性格特征。可能是伪装成的一个雄心勃勃的信号，表明我是一个知道什么最重要的人。

然而，事实却远非如此。并不是对目标的宏伟追求驱使着我，也不是想要为社会提供价值。我是被一些一点也不高尚的东西所驱动。

我对无家可归的强烈恐惧。

For the longest time, this fear is what drove my panicked desire to find stable, well-paying work (regardless of how pointless it was). I thought that as long as I could save some money with each paycheck, I wouldn’t have to sleep in the streets if something went awry.

Some of you may understand this fear, while others may view it as deeply irrational. I know people from wealthy backgrounds who have this fear, and people raised on welfare that don’t. My family didn’t have much money growing up, but that doesn’t quite justify the existence of this strain of fright.

Regardless of its origin, this fear was very much alive in me throughout my twenties, and it framed my perspective of money. Instead of viewing money as a generator of wealth, I saw it as an immediate safety net that (barely) kept me away from living on freeway on-ramps. The more of it I had, the more relief and distance it gave me from the streets.

在很长一段时间里，这种恐惧驱使我惊慌失措地想要找到稳定、高薪的工作（不管这份工作多么的无意义）。我想，只要我每次发工资都能存下一些钱，如果出了问题，我就不必流落街头。

一些读者可能理解这种恐惧，而另一些人可能认为这是非常不理性的。我知道来自富裕家庭背景的人有这种恐惧，而靠福利长大的人则没有。我在家庭成长过程中并没有多少钱，但这并不完全代表这种恐惧是合理的。

不管源自什么，这种恐惧在我整个二十多岁的阶段都非常活跃，它构成了我对金钱的看法。我没有把钱看作是财富的创造者，而是把它看作是一个安全网，（勉强）使我不至于生活在高速公路的匝道上。我拥有的钱越多，就越能让我摆脱流落街头的困扰

Well, many years have passed since then, and fortunately, I no longer have this fear.1 However, that doesn’t mean that I no longer think about money. It’s the greatest story humanity has ever subscribed to, so it will always be a central character in the theater of everyday life. What has changed isn’t money itself, but the way in which it colors the way I view the world.

Life is almost always a framing problem, and wealth is no exception to this. To say that money is complicated is a cliche worthy of a thousand eye rolls, but when it comes to our ongoing relationship with it, I find that it’s quite simple to explain and distill. At any given moment, our journey falls along a vertical spectrum with three main phases:

已经过去很多年了，幸运的是，我不再有这种恐惧。然而，这并不意味着我不再考虑金钱，这是人类有史以来最伟大的故事，所以金钱将永远是日常生活戏剧中的核心。改变的不是金钱本身，而是金钱给我看待世界的方式带来的变化。

生活几乎总是一个问题构建（framing problem），财富也不例外。钱很复杂，这是一个老生常谈，但当涉及到我们与金钱的持续关系时，我发现解释和提炼相当简单。在任何特定的时刻，我们的旅程是沿着一个垂直的光谱，有三个主要阶段：

This is what I call The Money Spectrum, and it represents the wide variety of views we have about the almighty dollar/euro/whatever throughout our lives. Money can be a difficult thing to talk about because it invokes a blend of weird emotions, and this amorphous slushie of feelings can be hard to express through the crude tool of language.

The purpose of the Money Spectrum is to take this formless slushie and build it into a concrete model that we can all understand. The first step to solving a problem is to articulate it clearly, and that’s what this spectrum is here to do.

Each of the three phases represent a specific purpose money has for us, with Phase 1 being the ground level of this journey up the tower. We will go into what each of these three phases are soon, but before we do, keep in mind that this is a spectrum, meaning that we will find ourselves sliding along the scale at any time.

It’s entirely possible that someone will be 100% immersed in Phase 1, but it’s more likely that they will be closer to Phase 1 than Phase 2, and will share characteristics of both areas. This is an important distinction that we will make later on in this post, but for now, remember that our relationship with things are rarely absolutes, and money is no exception to this rule.

这就是我所说的 “金钱光谱”，它代表了我们一生中对万能的美元/欧元/人民币的各种看法。钱可能是一个很难谈论的东西，因为它唤起了各种奇怪的情绪，而这种无定形的感觉，很难通过语言来表达。

金钱光谱的目的是把这种无形的泥浆，建立成一个我们都能理解的具体模型。解决问题的第一步是清楚地表达问题，而这正是这个光谱的作用。

这三个阶段中的每一个阶段都代表了金钱对我们的一个特定目的，第一阶段是基础阶段。我们会讨论这三个阶段的内容，但在此之前，请记住这是一个连续的光谱，这意味着我们可能处在这个范围内的任何地方。

完全有可能有人100%沉浸在第一阶段，但更有可能的是，离第一阶段更近，离第二阶段稍远，并同时有这两个阶段的特征。这是一个重要的区别，我们将在本篇文章的后面做出区分，但现在请记住，我们与事物的关系很少是绝对的，金钱也不例外。

Let’s begin our journey up the Money Spectrum with this question: when you take a look at your bank account balance, what do you feel?

Well, if you’re a part of the 28% of Americans that have no emergency savings whatsoever, the answer to that question will likely be a combination of fear and anxiety. When the sole purpose of money is to provide for the basic necessities of life, then your relationship with it will be a shaky one. Scarcity creates fragility, and it is this situation that opens the doors to Phase #1.

Phase #1: Survival

让我们从这个问题开始我们的金钱光谱之旅：你看一下你的银行账户余额，你有什么感觉？

好吧，如果你是28%的美国人中的一员，没有任何紧急储蓄，这个问题的答案很可能是恐惧和焦虑的结合。当金钱的唯一目的是提供生活的基本必需品时，那么你与它的关系将是不稳定的。匮乏造成脆弱，正是这种情况打开了第一阶段的大门。

第一阶段：生存

One might say that we all share some space in this part of the spectrum. Ultimately, all the necessities of life require payment of some kind: the food we put in our mouths, the clothes we walk around in, the roof over our heads, etc. Without money we wouldn’t have any of these things, so it’s fair to say that it is a requisite of survival for all of us, right?

Well, not quite.

While it’s true that money is required to have these basic necessities, that doesn’t mean that we all fear the loss of these necessities equally. A low-income household and an upper middle-class family may both rent property, but the former may worry incessantly about next month’s payment, while the latter may not. Both understand the importance of money, but have different ideas of how their survival could be impacted by the lack of it.

The difficult thing about the word “survival” is how subjective it tends to be, as humans are more reactive to loss than to gain. If a billionaire experienced a sudden reversal in fortune and couldn’t afford his ten-bedroom house anymore, it’s quite possible that he’d say his very survival was being threatened.

To remove this fog of subjectivity, let’s zoom in on the Survival part of the spectrum and break it down. When I use the word “survival” in this post, I’m simply referring to one’s ability to exist and to have one’s health. In the illustration below, I’ve separated the section out into its smaller constituents, with the level of poverty increasing the lower you go.

可以说，我们每个人都经历过这个阶段。归根结底，所有的生活必需品都需要某种形式的支付：我们放进嘴里的食物，我们穿在身上的衣服，我们的住所等等。没有钱，就没有这些东西，可以说这是我们所有人生存的一个必要条件，对吧？

不尽然。

虽然拥有这些基本必需品确实需要钱，但这并不意味着我们都同样害怕失去这些必需品。一个低收入家庭和一个中产阶级上层家庭可能都租房，但前者可能会一直担心下个月的房租，而后者可能不会。两者都明白钱的重要性，但对缺钱会如何影响他们的生存有不同的想法。

关于 “生存”（survival）这个词，复杂之处在于它的主观性，因为人类对损失的反应比对收益的反应更大。如果一个亿万富翁经历了财富的突然剧变，再也买不起他的十间卧室的豪华房子，他很可能会说他的生存受到了威胁。

为了消除这种主观性的迷雾，让我们把生存的部分放大，分解它。当我在这篇文章中使用 “生存”一词时，只是指一个人的生存能力和健康。在下面的插图中，我把这个部分分成了更小的组成部分，越往下贫

At the lowest level, you have no money or access to food, and you are literally starving to death. This is more likely a function of national/civic infrastructure than an individual’s lack of money, as this is quite rare in any first-world country. However, it is still largely a function of having no fiscal resources, and this is the worst place one can find themselves in as a result of that.

A step up would be the lack of shelter, or homelessness. This is where one’s fears regarding survival can start feeling real, despite the fact that they are probably nowhere near it (my own fear was a good example of this). This likely happens because most of us are vividly familiar with the problem of homelessness, and have grown up seeing real-life evidence of it everywhere.

I have clear childhood memories of my parents interacting with the homeless, and you probably do as well. Homelessness is an ever-present window into the difficulties of the human condition, and it reminds you of what can be possible when things go wrong. When we think about our survival being threatened, this familiar sight is where the mind can point to, regardless of how distant that place actually is.

The next few steps up the spectrum have to do with one’s idea of survival once they have their basic necessities (food/water, shelter, and clothing). Survival is no longer a relentless exercise in acquiring these necessities, but more so a strong commitment in maintaining them. And of course, the fuel that keeps the resource engine running is money.

在最底层，你没有钱，也没有食物，可能会饿死。这更可能是国家/公民基础设施的功能的问题，而不是个人缺乏资金，因为这在任何第一世界国家都是相当罕见的。然而，这在很大程度上仍然是一个没有财政资源的问题，而这是一个人可能处于的最糟糕的地方。

更高一级的是缺乏住所，或无家可归。这是一个人开始真实感受到生存恐惧的地方，尽管事实上他们可能远远没有那么艰难（我自己的恐惧就是一个很好的例子）。这很可能是因为我们大多数人都对无家可归的问题非常熟悉，并且在成长过程中到处都能看到它的存在。

我有清晰的童年记忆，我的父母与无家可归者互动，你可能也是如此。无家可归者是了解人类困境的一个永远存在的窗口，它提醒你当事情出错时可能会发生什么。当我们想到生存受到威胁时，这种熟悉的景象是头脑中现实存在的，无论那个地方实际上有多遥远。

接下来的几个步与一个人拥有基本必需品（食物/水、住所和衣服）后的生存观念有关。生存不再是为了获得必需品的不懈努力，而是维持这些必需品。当然，维持资源引擎运转的燃料是金钱。

In order to sustain the health of oneself and one’s family, a consistent stream of income is needed, and this generally comes in the form of paid employment. Keep in mind that toward the upper-end of the Survival phase, you are no longer fighting for existence; you are fighting for preservation. You want the flow of money to be predictable, something you can count on every few weeks to sustain the level of basic resources you need.

A job provides this sense of security, and when you view money as a means for survival, holding this job is all that matters. It doesn’t matter how much you hate your job or how terrible the working conditions may be; as long as the number of hours you work result in a predictable deposit amount, you’ll succumb to it.

But if this pattern continues and time runs in your favor, there’s a point in which the lines between the Survival phase and Phase #2 (which I’ll reveal shortly) start getting blurry.

At what point does your job provide you with enough money to feel a sense of security? Is it when you’re no longer living paycheck-to-paycheck and you’re able to save some money each month? If that’s the case, what do your savings have to look like for you to feel a sense of relief? $2,000? $10,000? $30,000?

为了维持自己和家人的健康，需要有稳定的收入来源，收入来源通常是工作。请记住，在生存阶段的上层，你不再为活下去而奋斗，而是为保持现状而战。你希望金钱的流动是可预测的，来维持你所需要的基本资源水平。

工作提供了这种安全感，当你把钱看作是一种生存手段时，有一份工作就是最重要的。你有多讨厌你的工作或工作条件有多糟糕并不重要；只要你的工作时间能带来可预测的存款数额，你就会屈服于它。

但是，如果这种状态继续下去，那么在某一时刻，生存阶段和下一阶段之间的界限开始变得模糊。

从什么时候开始，你的工作为你提供了足够的金钱，让你有安全感？是在你不再靠工资生活，并且每月能存下一些钱的时候吗？如果是这样的话，你的储蓄要达到什么程度才会让你感到轻松？2000? 10000？ 30000？

Toward the upper end of this phase, survival becomes more about your mindset and less about your reality. You are well past the place where you risk sleeping in the streets, but you may continue to operate under the belief that it could happen at any time. This traps you into a limited way of thinking, and paralyzes your potential for growth.

When you’re in a survival mindset, you will always feel like you’re barely holding onto what you have. Whether that’s $1,000 or $100,000, nothing you have can adequately push away the fears you have about sliding down the spectrum. This may be the result of parental conditioning, personal experience, or any number of reasons, but the longer you view money as a means for survival, the less willing you will be to take the risks required to lead a fulfilling life.

Risk is usually accompanied with the emotion of fear, and if you’re operating on survival mode, you will be scared to do anything uncertain, no matter how small that risk actually is:

在这个阶段的顶部，生存变得更多的是关于你的心态，而不是关于你的现实生活。你已经没有流落街头的风险，但你可能继续认为它随时可能发生。这使你陷入了一种有限的思维方式，并麻痹了你成长的潜力。

当你处于生存心态时，你总是会觉得你在勉强维持你所拥有的东西。无论那是1000美元还是10万美元，你所拥有的一切都不能减少你对往下滑的恐惧。这可能是家庭背景、个人经验或任何原因的结果，但你将金钱视为生存手段的时间越长，你就越不愿意承担过上充实生活所需的风险。

风险通常伴随着恐惧的情绪，如果你在生存模式下运作，你会害怕做任何不确定的事情，无论这个风险实际上有多小。

有了这种程度的持续恐惧，你就不会做任何超出你舒适区的事情。你不会要求升职，因为害怕被解雇。你不会在股市投资，因为害怕亏钱。你不会追求有意义的东西，因为害怕身无分文。

生活中最有意义的事情都有一定程度的风险，如果你处于生存模式，你就不会去做这些事情。赌注似乎总是太高，哪怕这种风险的负面程度是有限度的。

摆脱生存模式的关键是要意识到你拥有足够的东西。“足够” 这个词可能会引起不同人的不同感受，但我是指你需要的基本生活必需品。

你能负担得起一个居所吗？如果你辞掉工作，你真的会无家可归，还是会没事？考虑到你的基本需求已经得到满足，你对钱的焦虑在很大程度上是不是没有根据的？

当现实被恐惧的迷雾所笼罩时，生存模式就会开启。它将完全可以控制的情况变成一个被夸大的情况，每一个关于金钱的小决定都会引起巨大的焦虑。

Removing this fog requires rationality, along with the understanding that everything will be okay. As long as you remain committed to your financial well-being, things have a funny way of working themselves out. If you lost your job, you will find another one. If you didn’t hit your savings goal, you’ll eventually get there. If you overspent your budget this month, you’ll make up for it in the next one.

Once you realize that money is a resource you own – and not the other way around – you will see money for what it really is: a tool that amplifies the values you already espouse.

In the next phase of the spectrum, money becomes a mechanism, rather than the end result. It is here where its value truly shines, as it enables you to live a life that coincides with purpose

消除这种迷雾需要理性，要理解一切都会好起来。只要你用心改善你的财务状况，事情就会以一种有趣的方式自行解决。如果你失去了工作，你会找到另一份工作。如果你现在没有达到你的储蓄目标，你最终会达到的。如果你这个月的预算超支了，你可以在下个月补上。

一旦你意识到金钱是你拥有的资源（而不是相反）你就会看到钱的真正含义：一个放大你自己的价值观的工具。

在金钱光谱的下一个阶段，金钱成为一种机制，而不是最终结果。在这里，它的价值才真正闪耀，因为它让你的生活与目的相吻合。

Phase #2: Freedom

I recall a conversation where a friend was telling me how much she hated her job. When I asked her why she was still working there, she begrudgingly replied, “Well, it provides a lifestyle that my family and I can enjoy. We can go on cool vacations together, see interesting places, and eat amazing meals. I guess that’s what makes it worth it.”

This is the first taste of money as a tool for freedom. When money is used to sustain a lifestyle rather than life itself, you have moved out of Survival and into this new territory.

阶段二：自由

我记得有一次和朋友聊天，她告诉她有多讨厌她的工作。当我问她为什么还在那里工作时，她勉强地回答说：“工作提供了一种我和我的家人可以享受的生活方式。我们可以一起去享受很酷的假期，看到有趣的地方，吃到美味的食物。我想这就是它的价值所在。”

这是你第一次尝到金钱作为自由工具的滋味。当金钱被用来维持一种生活方式而不是用于生存时，你已经走出了生存状态，进入了这个新的领域

One of the most common forms of freedom is leisure. Once you have your basic needs covered, leisure becomes the manner in which you express your tastes and preferences to yourself and others. Purchasing memorable experiences and delicious meals is not only pleasant, it also signals the things that are important to who you are.2

When you and your family are sitting on beach chairs in a faraway country, overlooking the oscillating waves of the sea, it can evoke feelings of the good life. It can make you feel like you’ve reached the pinnacle of freedom, and that everything you had to do in life was worth it for this moment.

最常见的自由形式是休闲。一旦你的基本需求得到满足，休闲就成为你向自己和他人表达你的品味和喜好的方式。购买令人难忘的经历和美味的食物不仅是令人愉快的，它也预示什么对你来说重要以及你是谁。

当你和家人坐在异域国家的沙滩椅上，俯瞰大海的波浪，可以唤起对美好生活的感受。它可以让你感觉到你已经达到了自由的巅峰，这一刻的到来值得你在生活中所做的一切。

But this is also where the problem lies.

The price of leisure can be high, and since life familiarizes us with its contents, we tend to want more of what we already have. If leisure is the way we express our freedom, we would be willing to do all kinds of tedious work to fund that form of expression.

This is the situation that my friend found herself in. She was putting up with mind-numbing, pointless work so it would give her the resources to fund the lifestyle choices that made life a little more pleasant.

The problem with freedom-as-leisure is that it is fundamentally asymmetrical. You have to work significantly more hours for each hour of leisure you may gain, which means that if you hate your job, you have to accumulate a lot of misery before you can cash it in for freedom.

The sad reality is that many people don’t enjoy their jobs, nor do they learn much from them. If you combine this with the fact that we spend over a third of our lives working, you have a situation where money is the only reason you’re waking up each morning for a long, long time.

This is why these are the top results when you search “retirement” in Google Images:

但这也是问题所在。

休闲的价格可能很高，我们又倾向于想要更多我们已经拥有的东西。如果休闲是我们表达自由的方式，我们会愿意做各种繁琐的工作来换取这种自由。

这就是我的朋友发现自己所处的情况。她忍受着令人头疼的、无意义的工作，因为这样就能给她提供资源，资助她选择让生活愉快那么一点儿的生活方式。

自由即休闲的问题在于，它从根本上是不对称的。你必须为你可能获得的每一个小时的休闲，而工作更多的时间，这意味着如果你讨厌你的工作，你必须积累大量的痛苦，然后才能把它兑现为自由。

可悲的现实是，许多人并不喜欢他们的工作，也没有从工作中学到很多东西。如果你把这一点与我们一生中超过三分之一的时间在工作这一事实结合起来，你就会发现，在很长很长时间内，钱是你每天早上醒来的唯一原因。

这就是为什么当你在谷歌图片中搜索 “退休 ”时，会看到这些：

For most people, retirement means they are finally free to do whatever they want without worrying about money. They could finally leave their jobs, travel around the world, and set their schedules so it fits their rhythm of life.

However, this is a low bar for freedom. Giving away thirty-plus years of your life to an indifferent career is like spending all your youth with a partner that you’d rather not be around. When you finally break free of that job or relationship, you’ll be left wondering what else you could have done with all that misspent energy.

As long as money is the top priority for why you work, you will be trapped in the lowest part of the Freedom phase. To escape this trap, the way you view money needs a perspective shift:

Rather than using money as the ticket out of an unfulfilling career, use it as the ticket in to a fulfilling one.

The next point up the spectrum is the freedom money can buy as it relates to your work.

对大多数人来说，退休意味着他们终于可以自由地做他们想做的事情，而不用担心钱的问题。他们终于可以离开工作岗位，到世界各地旅行，并设定自己的时间表，使之适合自己的生活节奏。

然而，这是一个低标准的自由。把你三十多年的生命交给一个无所谓的职业，就像把你的青春都花在一个你不喜欢的伴侣身上。当你最终挣脱那份工作或关系时，你会想知道，那些曾经被浪费的精力本来应该做点什么。

只要金钱是你工作考虑的首要原因，你就会被困在自由阶段的最低部分。为了摆脱这个陷阱，你看待金钱的方式需要进行视角转换。

与其把钱看作是离开不满意工作的门票，不如把它看作进入一个有意义职业的门票。这样，金钱可以买到的自由，因为它与你的工作有关。

In the freedom-as-leisure (or traditional retirement) model, the rank-order of the reasons for work was this:

在自由即休闲（传统退休）模式中，工作动力的排名顺序是这样的：

But in the freedom-in-work model, the order of priorities switches:

但在工作自由模式（freedom-in-work）中，顺序发生了变化：

It’s still important to make money, but its purpose extends beyond its mere accumulation. Its primary purpose is to give you the freedom to work on the things you want to build.

This is where you realize that work isn’t about retirement; it’s about working on the things you’d do if money wasn’t even a factor. Whether you made $1,000 a month or $10,000, you’d continue working on the same projects, day in and day out. Not because they’re profitable, but because you enjoy the hard work it takes in building them.

Of course, the question here then becomes, “How much money do I need to buy this type of freedom?”

The answer will vary based on your circumstances (the biggest ones being where you live and if you have a family of your own), but it’s probably not as high as you would expect.

The first thing that the freedom-in-work model does is that it lowers the threshold of money you need to continue your work. When work in itself is fulfilling and worthwhile, you become more content with a minimal lifestyle.

This is because money no longer serves as a reliable signal of your worth and priorities. In the freedom-as-leisure model, the amount of money you made from your job was of utmost importance. If money was the only justification for your continued employment, that salary better be high enough to make your time worth it.

赚钱仍然很重要，但目的不只是单纯的积累金钱。主要目的是让你有自由去从事你想做的事情。

这时你会意识到，工作并不是为了退休；如果钱根本不是一个需要考虑的因素，你会做的事情是什么？无论你每月赚1000美元还是10000美元，你都会继续做这件事，日复一日地工作。不是为了赚钱，而是因为你喜欢创造所需要的辛勤工作。

当然，这里的问题就变成了：“我需要多少钱来得到这种自由？”

答案将根据你的情况而变化（最大的情况是你住的地方和你是否有自己的家庭），但它可能没有你预期的那么高。

首先，工作自由的模式降低了你继续工作所需的金钱门槛。当工作本身是充实和有价值的时候，你就会对最低限度的生活方式更加满意。

这是因为金钱不再作为你的价值导向和优先事项。在自由即休闲的模式中，你从工作中赚到的钱的数量是最重要的。如果钱是你继续工作的唯一理由，那么这个工资最好高到足以让你值得花时间。

But in the freedom-in-work model, money is simply the fuel you need to keep you and your endeavor running. If you combine this with the zero marginal cost nature of the internet (especially for content creators), you don’t need much to live your day-to-day life. As long as your basic necessities are covered, you can continue working on the things you care about for a surprisingly long time.

但在工作自由的模式中，钱只是你需要的燃料，以维持生活，让你努力做你在做的事情。如果你把这一点与互联网的零边际成本性质结合起来（特别是对内容创作者而言），你不需要太多的东西来过你的日常生活。只要你的基本生活需求得到满足，你就可以继续从事你所关心的事情，而且可以做很久很久。

While this sounds liberating, I get that it can seem far-fetched. Untying money from your self-worth is a rather difficult thing to do. We’ve been conditioned to view money as an indicator of success, and it is a status signal that is recognized anywhere in the world. Wealth drives perceptions, both of ourselves and others.

But ask yourself: how long will these societal norms control the way you live your life? What’s so great about having money if you’re using it to live a life you’re expected to live, instead of one that makes sense for your unique abilities and perspectives?

Money is easily replicable, humans are not. There is no one out there that shares your same genetic makeup, let alone your life experiences. While a dollar is innumerable, you are – quite literally – one of one.

So don’t let something plentiful like money be the building blocks of your identity. Instead, allow it to amplify the authentic voice only you can have.

虽然听起来很自由，但我知道这可能感觉很牵强。将金钱与你的自我价值联系起来是一件相当困难的事情。我们已经被调教成将金钱视为成功的标志，而且它是一个在世界任何地方都被认可的地位信号。财富驱动着人们的看法，包括对自己和他人的看法。

但问问自己：这些社会规范要控制你的生活方式多久？如果你按社会所期望的来过你的生活，而不是用你自己的能力和观点来过有意义的生活，那么拥有金钱有什么好的呢？

复制金钱很容易，而人是不容易复制的。没有人与你有相同的基因构成，更不用说你独一无二的生活经历。虽然一美元有无数张，但你只有一个。

因此，不要让像金钱这样的东西成为你身份的组成部分。相反，让它来放大只有你才能发出的真实声音。

In the freedom phase, money is seen as a tool, an amplifier of the authenticity you embody. It is the resource that allows you to take care of yourself as you work on the problems you find worthwhile. You don’t need a lot to keep going, you just need enough.

Although the mindset of “enough” sounds great, I understand that it can be difficult. After all, the hardest part of this journey may be the stress that comes from monitoring the balances in your bank account. If you’re pursuing this endeavor as a side hustle, you may have some leeway here, but if it’s your full-time thing, the fact that “enough” may be slightly out-of-reach can induce anxiety.

The key here is to remain (1) diligent, (2) patient, and (3) rational.

Diligence refers to your work ethic. There are no shortcuts to this. No amount of wishful thinking can substitute the necessity of hard work.

Patience refers to your resilience. The benefits of compounding always come later, and patience is what allows you to drive the long, bumpy road necessary to get there.

Rationality refers to your mindset. Will you helplessly slide down into Survival mode, or will you understand that you’re actually exercising freedom, spending your time solving the problems you want to work on? Can you be rational about your situation, and understand that you will be okay?

Combine these three tenets with the mindset of “enough,” and eventually you will find yourself in an interesting situation. A while ago, nobody seemed to care about what you were working on, but now, a niche of people have grown to love your work. Some of them even pay you for your services, your products, or whatever you have to offer. Slowly but surely, you’re able to expand your money tool belt a few notches.

在自由阶段，金钱被视为是一种工具，是你所体现的真实性的放大器。它是一种资源，使你在处理你认为有价值的问题时能够照顾自己。你不需要很多金钱来维持下去，足够就好。

虽然 “足够就好”的心态听起来不错，但我理解这其实很困难。毕竟，这段旅程中最困难的部分，可能是看到你银行账户余额所带来的压力。如果你把想做的事情当作副业来做，你可能会有一些回旋余地，但如果它是你的全职工作，“足够”这个事实可能稍微有点遥不可及，会引起焦虑。

这里的关键是要保持（1）勤奋，（2）耐心，和（3）理性。

勤奋是指你的职业道德。这方面没有捷径可走，任何一厢情愿的想法都不能取代艰苦工作的必要性。

耐心指的是你的适应力。复利的好处总是后期才有的，而耐心是让你能够在漫长、颠簸的道路上驶向成功的必要条件。

理性是指你的心态。你会无助地滑落到生存模式，还是会明白你实际上是在行使自由，把时间花在解决你想努力解决的问题上？你能理性地看待你的情况，并理解事情会好起来？

将这三个信条与 “足够就好”的心态相结合，最终你会发现自己处于一个有趣的境地。前一段时间，似乎没有人关心你在做什么，但现在，有一小群人已经开始喜欢你的工作。他们中的一些人甚至为你的服务、你的产品、或你所提供的任何东西付钱。过程缓慢，但可以肯定的是，你能够将你的赚钱能力扩大几个档次。

When the income you generate from your endeavor begins to exceed the threshold of costs to keep things going, you get what I call the Fulfillment Surplus.

当你从你的努力中产生的收入，开始超过维持事情的成本门槛时，你就会得到我所说的 “成就感盈余”（Fulfillment Surplus.）。

The Fulfillment Surplus is the best kind of money one can have. Not only do you have more than you need, you’ve earned it doing something that you would have done for free. Better yet, the reverse is also true: you would’ve worked on this endeavor even if you had all the money in the world.

But perhaps the best part of the Fulfillment Surplus is that it frees your attention away from money. The hardest part about doing meaningful work isn’t the work itself, but the stress that can result from frequently checking your bank account balances. The Fulfillment Surplus is the ticket that takes you away from here and into the highest end of the Freedom phase:

Freedom-in-attention.

成就感盈余是一个人所能拥有的最好的钱。你不仅拥有比你需要的更多的钱，而且你是在做一些你免费也愿意做的事情时赚到的。更好的是，反过来也是如此：即使你有世界上所有的钱，你也会努力做这件事。

但是“成就感盈余”最好的部分可能是，它将你的注意力从金钱上解放出来。做有意义的工作最困难的部分不是工作本身，而是经常检查你的银行账户余额可能导致的压力。实现盈余带你离开这里，进入自由阶段的最高阶段：

注意力自由（Freedom-in-attention.）

When we think of financial freedom, we tend to picture a super rich person in this situation:

当我们想到财务自由时，我们往往会想象一个超级富翁：

And when we think of someone’s who not financially free, we picture an average person in this scenario:

而当我们想到某人在财务上不自由时，我们会想象一个普通人：

However, if the super rich guy spends all his energy thinking about how much money he has and how he’s going to sustain this lifestyle, then he is not wealthy:

然而，如果超级富翁把所有的精力都花在思考他有多少钱，以及如何维持这种生活方式上，那么他就不是富翁：

But if the average person doesn’t ruminate about money because he knows he has everything he needs, then he is wealthy:

但是，如果普通人不只想着更多的钱，而是知道他拥有他所需要的一切，那么他就是富有的：

Financial freedom isn’t about money, it’s about attention. The less you have to think about money, the more free you actually are.

This is what the Fulfillment Surplus helps you realize. Once you get to the top of the Freedom phase, you are using money in a way that serves you. It is a tool that has enabled you to do the things you love, and has drifted out of focus when it has fulfilled that specific purpose. This is the sweetest spot in all of the Money Spectrum, and if we didn’t have any other aspirations or desires, then we’d be wise to stay here for a long time.

However, it’s inevitable that our relationship with money will extend past the domain of the self. If we have families, we will want to use money in a way that gives our children the best possible lives. If we are part of a community, we will want to use money in a way that allows our fellow members to thrive.

When it comes to the network of lives that are connected to ours, money can amplify these bonds dramatically… for better or for worse. It’s up to us to determine which direction it’ll go in, and this reflection takes us into the final phase of the Money Spectrum.

财务自由不是关于钱，而是关于注意力。你越是不需要考虑钱的问题，你实际上就越自由。

这就是 ”成就感盈余“帮助你实现的东西。一旦你到了自由阶段的顶峰，你就会以一种让金钱为你服务的方式使用金钱。钱是一种工具，使你能够做你喜欢的事情，当它满足了特定的目的后，你就会渐渐不会再去关注钱了。这是所有金钱光谱中最好的地方，如果我们没有任何其他的愿望或欲望，我们可以一直停在这里。

然而，我们与金钱的关系将不可避免地延伸到自我的领域之外。如果我们有家庭，我们会希望用钱让孩子过上最好的生活。如果我们是社区的一部分，我们将希望以一种让伙伴茁壮成长的方式来使用金钱。

当涉及到与我们相连的生命网络时，金钱可以极大地放大这些纽带：或好或坏。这取决于我们的决定，这个思考将我们带入金钱光谱的最后阶段。

Phase #3: Power

When you think of the word “power,” an image like this probably comes to mind:

阶段三：权力

当你想到 “权力”这个词时，脑海中可能会出现上面的画面。

但是，让我们花点时间看看我们牛津大学的语言学专家是如何真正定义这个词的：

But let’s take a moment to see how our linguistic overlords at Oxford actually define the word. Power:

1. the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality.

2. the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.

These two definitions provide a good framework to understand power, but notice that there’s no value judgment in either of them.

Power in itself is neither good nor evil. We often conflate the outcome of one’s power with one’s possession of it, but we must remember that these are two wholly different things. If someone used power in a horrible way, that doesn’t mean power in itself is evil. It just means that a shitty person got their grubby hands on a value-neutral ball of influence, and exercised it with malice.

At its core, power is about two things:

[Definition #1] One’s ability to act freely, and

[Definition #2] One’s ability to influence the behavior of others.

When you first cross the border between Freedom and Power on the Money Spectrum, you are making a seamless transition into Definition #1. With an abundant Fulfillment Surplus on hand, you are pursuing the things you want to pursue, while limiting the attention you give to the continuous demands of money.

I call this initial territory power-over-the-self.

权力：

1.以特定方式做某事或行事的能力，特别是作为一种能力或品质。

2. 指挥或影响他人行为或事件进程的能力或才能。

这两个定义为理解权力提供了一个很好的框架，但请注意，这两个定义中都没有价值判断。

权力本身既不是善也不是恶。我们经常把一个人拥有权力的结果，与他的权力混为一谈，但我们必须记住，这是两件完全不同的事情。如果有人以一种可怕的方式使用权力，这并不意味着权力本身是邪恶的。它只是意味着权力落在一个低劣的人的肮脏手中，并以恶意的方式行使它。

就其核心而言，权力是关于两件事。

定义1： 一个人自由行动的能力。

定义2：一个人影响他人行为的能力。

当你第一次跨越金钱光谱上自由与权力的边界时，你正在无缝过渡到定义1，有了丰富的满足感盈余，你正在追求你想追求的东西，同时不再过分关注金钱。

我把这一初始领域称为 “超越自我的权力”。

We’re not going to linger here too long because it’s similar to the upper end of the Freedom phase, but there’s one important statement I want to go over before we proceed:

The way you exercise power over yourself will set the conditions for how you exercise power over others.

In other words, the way you express your autonomy will construct the views you have of others. And nowhere is this more apparent than the way we use our money.

If you want to express your individual power by buying yachts, wearing gold chains, and balling out at night clubs, then that does two things. First, it signals to others that these are the things that matter to you, and they will tie your human worth to your material worth. Second, you will view others through this same lens, and you will see materiality as the answer to solving their problems in turn.

This leads to a vicious cycle where money is how you’re viewed, and money is how you view the world. Emotions like love and sympathy are incredibly nuanced, and believing that you can express them with a crude tool like cash will put a nasty taste in the mouths of the people that matter most (more on this soon).

Understanding how you want to exercise your individual power is the key to navigating the next – and final – area of the spectrum: power-over-others.

我们不会在这里逗留太长时间，因为它类似于上一个阶段，但在我们继续之前，有一个重要的声明我想说一下：

你对自己行使权力的方式，将为你如何对他人行使权力创造条件。

换句话说，你表达自我的方式，将构建你对他人的看法。这一点在我们使用金钱的方式上最为明显。

如果你想通过购买游艇、佩戴金链子和在夜总会打球来表达你的个人权力，那么首先，这是在向其他人发出信号，表明这些是对你很重要的东西，他们会把你的个人价值与你的物质价值联系起来。第二，你将通过这个视角来看待其他人，你将把物质视为解决他们问题的答案。

这导致了一个恶性循环，金钱是你看待世界的方式，而别人会以同样的方式来看待你。像爱和同理心这样的情感是非常细微的，如果认为你可以用金钱这样的粗糙方式来表达，就会让那些对你最重要的人感到厌恶。

了解你想如何行使你的权力是下一个、也是最后一个关键：对他人的权力（ power-over-others）。

“Power-over-others” sounds menacing, but remember, it simply refers to one’s ability to influence the behavior of others. The key question in this area is: how are you using money to direct the course of people’s lives?

For most of us, the power of money resides in its ability to provide a better life for our families. With this precious resource, we are able to provide a better education for our children, larger homes for our partners, and grander vacations for our parents. These things provide a solid foundation for our family’s futures, and will direct the course that these lives will ultimately take.

If influence were a tower, the immediate level up from the self would be the domain of family. The power of money in this realm is immediate, as your loved ones will see evidence of it in the form of higher-quality life experiences.

”对他人的权力“听起来很吓人，但记住，它只是指一个人影响他人行为的能力。这个领域的关键问题是：你是如何利用金钱来引导人们的生活轨迹的？

对我们大多数人来说，金钱的力量在于它能够为我们的家庭提供更好的生活。有了这种宝贵的资源，我们能够为孩子提供更好的教育，为伴侣提供更大的房子，为父母提供更多的假期。这些东西为我们家庭的未来提供了一个坚实的基础，并将引导这些生活最终的方向。

如果影响力是一座塔，那么从“自我”往上的那一层就是家庭。在这个领域，金钱的力量是直接的，因为可以改善亲人的生活品质。

However, that doesn’t mean that the power of money will always yield a better family life. In fact, the reverse can be true: the more you elevate the importance of money, the more you may be (unintentionally) isolating yourself from them.

This is where the greatest distinction between Power and Freedom resides. The upside of power is generally capped, whereas the upside of freedom is not. With power, there is usually a point where more of it starts having an adverse effect. If the influence over others becomes too great (even if it’s in the name of well-being), it can breed distrust, envy, and resentment.

Baked into each layer of influence is the Power Tradeoff, where the green area represents the benefits of having the power of money, and the red signifies its more detrimental aspects.

然而，这并不意味着金钱总是会带来更好的家庭生活。事实上，情况可能恰恰相反：你越是看重金钱，你就越可能（无意中）远离家人。

这就是权力和自由之间最大的区别所在。权力的上升空间通常是有上限的，而自由的上升空间则没有。对于权力，通常有一个点，到达那个点之后更多的权力开始产生不利影响。如果对他人的影响变得太大（即使是以福利的名义），也可能会滋生不信任、嫉妒和怨恨。

在每一层“权力之塔”中，都有权力的光谱，绿色区域代表拥有金钱权力的好处，而红色则代表其更不利的方面。

The above image shows the family layer’s Power Tradeoff, where both green and red areas exist. The green part should come as no surprise – the main reason why people work so much is so they could provide for their families. The more money they make, the more power they have to elevate the well-being of their loved ones.

The red part represents the other side of the story. There are many children who never get to see their parents because they’re out working 90-100 hours a week. They might live in a huge house with all the things they want, but the sense of abandonment can morph into resentment.

This red section is what happens when you forget that pursuing your idea of power has a deep effect on others. Many parents believe that working hard and making money is how they express their love for their children, but miss the fact that their children may not see it the same way. This leads to situations where these parents work tirelessly to become millionaires, only to see that their relationships with their kids have been defined by lost opportunities.

However, in this Power Tradeoff, the green still outweighs the red because we are eventually able to understand the nature of sacrifice. As long as we know that our parents love us, we are able to empathize with their plight, and understand the hustle they put in to provide better lives for everyone. This may take time, but if rationality prevails, these types of family difficulties can be healed in the long run.

上图显示了家庭内部的权力权衡，其中绿色和红色区域都存在。绿色部分应该不足为奇，人们拼命工作的主要原因是为了能够供养他们的家人。赚的钱越多，就有更多的能力来提升所爱的人的幸福感。

红色部分代表故事的另一面。有许多孩子很难见到他们的父母，因为父母每周在外面工作90-100小时。他们可能住在一个巨大的房子里，拥有所有他们想要的东西，但这种被抛弃的感觉可能会演变成怨恨。

这个红色部分，就是当你只顾着赚钱时的情况。许多父母认为，努力工作和赚钱是他们表达对孩子的爱的方式，但却忽略了孩子可能不会以同样的方式看待这个事实。这就导致了这样的情况：这些父母孜孜不倦地工作，成为百万富翁，但却看到与孩子的关系早已无法挽救。

然而，在这种权力交换中，绿色区域仍然大于红色，因为我们最终能够理解牺牲的本质。只要我们知道父母爱我们，我们就能理解他们的困境，理解他们为给大家提供更好的生活而付出的艰辛。这可能需要时间，但如果理性占上风，这些类型的家庭困难从长远来看是可以解决的。

上图显示了家庭内部的权力权衡，其中绿色和红色区域都存在。绿色部分应该不足为奇，人们拼命工作的主要原因是为了能够供养他们的家人。赚的钱越多，就有更多的能力来提升所爱的人的幸福感。

Many people will stop here in the tower of influence. They might be content in providing for themselves and their family, and won’t progress through additional power structures. But more likely, if those two layers are fulfilled, they will look to help or influence the health of the close-knit groups they’re a part of.

Next up is the domain of community.

许多人会停在这个阶段。他们可能满足于供养自己和家人，不想追求更多。但更有可能的情况是，如果这两层得到满足，他们会想要帮助或影响他们所处的亲密圈子。

接下来是社区领域（community）。

So what does the Power Tradeoff look like here?

People in your close communities know you quite well, and you are generally together for some shared purpose. That glue might be religion, it may be service, or it could be something more value-free like entertainment. Regardless of what it is, this purpose is distributed across each of its members, and equalizes everyone’s role in this communal playing field.

那么，这里的权力的权衡是什么样子的呢？

你身边的人都很了解你，而且你们一般都是为了一些共同的目的在一起。这种粘合剂可能是宗教，可能是服务，也可能是一些更无价值的东西，如娱乐。无论是什么，这个目的是分布在每个成员身上的，并使每个人在这个社区的竞争环境中的角色平等。

Influencing the community through money, however, can complicate the situation.

If you decide to make an outsized donation and everyone hears about it, this is likely to happen:

然而，通过钱影响社区，会使情况变得复杂。

如果你决定做一笔大额的捐款，而每个人都听说了，接下来很可能发生

The tricky thing with money is that it’s often used as a measuring stick of one’s value to their community. If you give a lot of money to a cause you care about, that might be the way people gauge how much that cause means to you, as nuance tends to be removed the larger the group is.

I mentioned earlier that financial freedom is obtained by the elimination of attention, but the reverse is also true. Financial freedom is diminished by the constant receipt of attention as well.

The more you are viewed through the lens of money, the less you are able to break free from the identity of money. For some, that may not necessarily be a bad thing. Perhaps you’re a financial advisor, and your personal wealth has to be a reliable signal to others that you know what you’re doing.

But if you just want to elevate the financial health of your local church, being “that person that gives a shitload of money” can be a cumbersome role to play. Money is a low-resolution surrogate for your value judgments, and sadly, many people have a hard time making this distinction.4

The closest members of your communities, however, may be more nuanced in their perceptions. They may not be as close to you as your immediate family, but they can understand your principles, your values, and the things that make you who you are, independent of wealth.

In the community layer, the Power Tradeoff is still more positive than negative, but not as much as the family layer below. The impact of money can go far, but since there are more people involved (some of whom you may not even know), the many shades of your identity can start congealing into the singular dimension of wealth.

The balance is finer here. Use your money mindfully, and the community will thrive with you. Use it recklessly, and you will be vilified by the very community you were trying to help. Money can breed all kinds of weird group behaviors, so your judgment must be sharp when navigating this domain.

金钱的棘手之处在于，它经常被用作衡量一个人对其社区价值的标尺。如果你给你关心的事业提供了大量的金钱支持，什么就会以金钱来衡量该这件事对你意味着什么。

我在前面提到，财务自由是通过消除关注获得的，反过来也是如此。也会因不断遭受关注而减少财务自由。

别人越是通过金钱的视角来看待你，你就越是无法从金钱的身份中挣脱出来。对某些人来说，这不一定是件坏事。也许你是一名财务顾问，你的个人财富必须成为一个可靠的信号，向他人表明你知道自己在做什么。

但是，如果你只是想给本地教会捐款，成为 “那个捐了大量金钱的人”可能是一个麻烦的角色。钱成了你价值判断的标准，可悲的是，许多人很难做出这种区分。

然而，你社区中最亲密的成员，他们的看法可能会有更细微的差别。他们可能不像你的直系亲属那样亲近你，但他们可以理解你的原则、价值观，这与财富无关。

在社区层，仍然是正面多于负面，但不像下面的家庭层那样多。金钱的影响可以走得很远，但由于有更多的人参与其中（其中一些人你可能甚至不认识），你身份的许多阴影可以开始凝结成财富的单一维度。

这里需要更精细，谨慎地使用你的钱，社区将与你一起茁壮成长。鲁莽地使用，你就会被你试图帮助的社区所诋毁。金钱可以滋生各种奇怪的群体行为，所以你的判断力必须在这一领域中保持清醒。

For the vast majority of us, this is where our desire for influence (as it relates to money) will stop. Having the power to help people we know yields a sense of fulfillment, and that is enough to keep us contented for the rest of our lives.

However, there are some people that want to go beyond their immediate circles, and use their money to direct the behaviors of people they don’t know at all. They want their wealth to go far, and act as the tool to spread influence over the lives of many. This type of power can range from the smaller scale of things (local non-profit groups, influencing district elections, angel investing, etc.) all the way to the largest scale we could think of (global philanthropy, influencing presidential elections, big venture capital firms, etc.).

To simplify this massive range of possibilities, let’s all throw them into one final layer titled “People You Don’t Know.”

对我们绝大多数人来说，我们对影响力的渴望（因为它与金钱有关）就就到此为止了。有能力帮助我们认识的人，会产生一种成就感，而这足以让我们在余生中感到满足。

然而，有一些人想超越他们直属的圈子，用他们的钱来引导完全陌生人的行为。他们希望自己的财富能走得更远，并作为工具对许多人的生活产生影响。这种类型的权力可以从较小规模的事情（地方非营利组织，影响地区选举，天使投资等）一直到我们能想到的最大规模（全球慈善事业，影响总统选举，大型风险投资公司等）。

为了简化这个巨大的范围，让我们把它们全部扔到最后一层，名为 “你不认识的人”。

Of all the layers in the tower of influence, this one is by far the riskiest. This is where “power + money” gets its shitty reputation, and people tend to be skeptical of the folks that operate here.

To illustrate why, recall this scenario from the community level:

在影响力之塔的所有层级中，这一层是迄今为止风险最大的。这是 “权力+金钱”获得恶名的地方，人们往往对在这里运作的人持怀疑态度。

为了说明原因，请回顾一下社区层面上的这个场景：

And realize that when you’re operating at the “People You Don’t Know” level, you get this daunting situation:

然后你就会意识到，当你在 “你不认识的人 ”层面上时，会遇到下面这种令人生畏的情况：

With that much attention to your financial decisions, it’s easy to be perceived as a caricature of your money. People that don’t know you are indifferent to the relationships you have with your neighbors, the fact that your sister may be ill, or the details of your daily meditation practice. You are defined primarily by your wealth, and what you do with your wealth shapes the perceptions of your character.

You may think I’m overgeneralizing here, but when you mix wealth into someone’s list of attributes, everything else seems to go out the window. Want to see evidence of this? Put the name of any prominent businessperson or entrepreneur in Google, and guess what will always pop up as a top search suggestion:

这么多人都关注着你的财务决定，很容易把你看作金钱的化身。不了解你与邻居的关系、你妹妹可能生病的事实、或你日常冥想练习的细节都无动于衷。你主要是由财富来定义的，而你对财富所做的事情塑造了人们对你的看法。

你可能认为我在以偏概全，但当你把财富放到某人的特点清单时，其他一切似乎都会被淘汰。想看看这一点的证据吗？把任何杰出的商人或企业家的名字放在谷歌上，猜猜看，什么搜索建议会弹出来：

This singular view of identity is the source of most problems on the “People You Don’t Know” layer. If everyone knew you as an artist, you couldn’t help but to see the world through the lens of creation. Similarly, if everyone used wealth to define you, then you will likely solve problems through the lens of money.

Sometimes this works out well for humanity. For example, Bill Gates is using his power to help solve some of the world’s greatest problems. But for every Bill Gates, there may be thousands of people that want their money to influence others in less fruitful ways. Political corruption and racketeering are just a few examples here. When money is used to solve big problems in zero-sum games, it usually comes at the expense of the powerless.

But of course, being rich and powerful doesn’t imply that you’re evil. The truth is far from that. I’m reminded of this great illustration, which depicts the reality of the situation:

这种对身份的单一看法是 “你不认识的人 ”这一层中大多数问题的来源。如果每个人都知道你是个艺术家，你就会情不自禁地通过创作的视角来看待世界。同样地，如果每个人都用财富来定义你，那么你很可能会通过金钱的视角来解决问题。

有时这是很好的结果。例如，比尔·盖茨正在利用他的力量帮助解决世界上的一些重大问题。但是，对于每一个比尔·盖茨来说，可能有成千上万的人希望他们的钱能以不太有效的方式影响他人。政治腐败和敲诈勒索只是其中几个例子。当金钱被用来解决零和游戏中的大问题时，它通常是以牺牲无权无势者为代价的。

但当然，富有和强大并不意味着你是邪恶的。事实远非如此。我想起了这幅杰出的插图，它描绘了现实的情况：

There are plenty of wealthy, influential people that have the best intentions in mind. The point I’m making, however, is that operating in the “People You Don’t Know” layer of influence is a tricky place, primarily because it tends to cultivate the feeling of attachment.

I don’t have the personal wealth to operate in this final layer, but I imagine that much of the struggle here comes from the inability to detach one’s wealth from the rest of their persona. I’ve read cases about executives (and even a billionaire) committing suicide because they lost money in the 2008 recession. That might sound crazy to someone like me, but then again, I don’t know what it feels like to have my personal wealth define my entire existence.

Money is a tool, but if that tool defines how you impact the lives of thousands of people, it will be of utmost importance for you to continue having it.

有很多富有的、有影响力的人，他们的目的都是很好的。然而，我想说的是，在 “你不认识的人”的影响层中有一个棘手的地方，主要是因为它往往会培养出执念（feeling of attachment）。

我个人没有足够的财富来到达这最后一层，但我想象，这里的大部分挣扎来自于无法将一个人的财富，与他们的其他角色中分离出来。我读过关于高管（包括亿万富翁）自杀的案例，因为他们在2008年的经济衰退中失去了财富。这对像我这样的人来说可能听起来很疯狂，但话说回来，我不知道把财富当作自我存在的意义是什么感觉。

钱是一种工具，但如果这个工具决定了你如何影响成千上万人的生活，那么继续拥有它对你来说将是最重要的。

And when it comes to attachment, these three words sum it up well:

而说到对金钱的执念，这三个词很好地概括了它：

Ironically, the end of the Money Spectrum can breed just as much fear as the Survival entrance into it. Having immense power can make someone just as fearful of losing their money as a person who needs it to survive another day.

This tendency toward attachment is what makes the Power Tradeoff in this final level an unfavorable bet:

具有讽刺意味的是，金钱光谱的顶端和底端一样，都会滋生恐惧。拥有巨大的权力可以使一个人和一个需要钱来生存的人一样，害怕失去他们的钱。

这种执念的倾向使这最后一关风险非常大。

Now that we’ve colored in each layer, let’s take a step back and look at the tower of influence in its entirety.

现在我们已经在每一层上了色，让我们退后一步，看看“影响力之塔”的整体情况：

At the moment, it looks like a collage of individual red-and-green spectrums, but if we blend them all together to create an average Power Tradeoff for the whole thing, it’ll look something like this:

目前，它看起来像一个红色和绿色光谱的拼贴画，但如果我们将它们混合在一起它看起来会像是这样：

This is a good summarization of what the Power phase looks like on the Money Spectrum. Money can work well for you in the domain of the self and the family, but it can create attachment when it gives you power over many people. When your identity becomes defined by the influence of money, you are wading into dangerous waters, and you will have to exercise brilliant judgment to navigate through it properly.

At the same time, if your judgments are right, you will be able to do immense good. Just consider all the tradeoffs that exist toward the end of the Money Spectrum, and understand how your decisions ripple through each subsequent layer below it.

这是对金钱光谱中“权力阶段”的一个很好的总结。在自我和家庭领域，金钱可以很好地发挥作用，但当金钱给你带来对许多人的权力时，它就会产生执念。当你的身份被金钱的影响所定义时，你就会涉入危险的水域，你将不得不行靠出色的判断力来正确地驾驭它。同时，如果你的判断是正确的，你将能够做出巨大的好事。

Where Are You On The Money Spectrum?

We’ve conducted a comprehensive review of all three phases, so now it’s time to zoom out and see the Money Spectrum as a whole.

你在金钱光谱中的哪个位置？

我们已经对所有三个阶段进行了全面的探讨，所以现在是时候放大并将金钱光谱作为一个整体来看待。

The first question I ask myself when I see this is, “What determines someone’s place on this spectrum?”

The initial assumption here might be the amount of money you have. After all, if you have no money, you’re probably scraping for survival, but if you have a lot, you can exercise great freedom and power with it.

当我看到这张图时，问自己的第一个问题是，“是什么决定了某人在这个光谱上的位置？”

我最初的答案是你有多少钱。毕竟，如果你没有钱，你可能在为生存而挣扎，但如果你有很多钱，你可以用它行使巨大的自由和权力。

But this is simply not true.

You can have a modest sum of money, but live high up on the Freedom phase. A good example would be someone that makes $30K a year, but earns it doing work she loves. On top of that, she lives a lifestyle where she reliably spends just $20K a year. She has freedom-in-work, and power-over-the-self. She is a rich person.

Conversely, you can have a large sum of money, but be low on the Survival phase. This would be someone that makes $300K a year, but earns it doing work he hates. On top of that, he lives a lifestyle where he is racked up in credit card debt, with a mortgage on a house he can’t even afford. He has limited freedom, and is barely scraping by. He is a poor person.

There are many variations of this that highlight the inadequacy of the “money-in-the-bank” metric. There are many millionaires that have no desire to influence or help their families and close communities. On the other hand, there are people earning a minimum wage that send what little they have back home to assist their parents and friends.

The amount of money you have is not the proper lens to view your place on the Money Spectrum.

但事实并非如此。

你可以钱不多，但处于“自由阶段”的高层。一个很好的例子是一个年薪3万美元的人，但她从事的是自己喜欢的工作。除此之外，她的生活方式是每年只花2万美元。她有工作上的自由，也有超越自我的力量。她就是一个富有的人。

相反，你可以有一大笔钱，但在“生存阶段“的底部。比如一个年薪30万美元的人，但他在做他讨厌的工作。此外，他的生活方式是信用卡债务累累，房子的抵押贷款他甚至负担不起。他的自由有限，只能勉强维持生计。他是一个穷人。

这种情况有很多变化，突出了 ”银行里的钱 “这一衡量标准的问题。有许多百万富翁不愿意影响或帮助他们的家庭和邻近社区。另一方面，也有一些赚取最低工资的人，把他们仅有的一点钱寄回家里，帮助他们的父母和朋友。

你有多少钱并不能决定你在金钱光谱上的位置。

So if money itself doesn’t determine your place on the Money Spectrum, then what the hell does?

Well, the answer may sound trite, but it’s the truth.

You choose your position yourself.

如果金钱本身并不能决定你在金钱谱系上的位置，那么到底是什么决定了你的位置？

好吧，答案可能听起来很老套，但这是事实：你自己决定了你的位置。

To understand what I mean, we need to first view things through the right frame. Instead of viewing the spectrum through the lens of how much money you have, you must view it through the emotional ranges of two things: clarity and fear.

The lower you are in Survival mode, the more fearful you are of money and its impact on your life. However, as you move up the Survival phase and get closer to Freedom, the fear surrounding money gradually fades and things enter the domain of clarity.

要理解我的意思，我们首先需要通过正确的框架来看待事物。不是通过你有多少钱的视角来看待金钱光谱，而必须通关注：”确定性“（clarity）和”恐惧感“。

你在生存模式中的位置越低，你就越害怕金钱对你生活的影响。然而，当你上升到生存阶段高出并接近自由阶段时，围绕金钱的恐惧逐渐消失，事情进入确定性的领域。

When you’re in the Freedom phase, things are more clear, but freedom-in-leisure is still a somewhat hazy place. You start having more control over your life the higher you go, and the greatest benefits come when you’re in the freedom-in-work and the freedom-in-attention areas of this phase.

This is what I call the sweet spot, and it is where your wealth goes the longest way, regardless of how much you have.

当你处于自由阶段时，事情更加清晰，但休闲中的自由仍然是一个有些模糊的地方。你开始对生活有更多的控制，当你在这个阶段的“工作自由”和“注意力自由”领域时，会获得很大的好处。

这就是我所说的甜蜜点，不管一个人有多少财富，这就是财富最有价值的地方。

If you make the decision to proceed further into the Power phase, then you must enter the tower of influence, where Power Tradeoffs become increasingly tenuous the higher you go. Exercising your influence through money may be more manageable with your family, but once it goes into the layers of communities and people you don’t know, there’s more at stake. Attachment can become fervent, and fear can dominate the spectrum once again.

如果你决定进一步进入“权力阶段”，那么你必须进入“影响力之塔”，在那里，权力的权衡变得越来越高风险，你走得越高，通过金钱行使你的影响力，对你的家人来说可能更容易，但一旦进入“社区”和“你不认识的人”的层面，就会有更多的风险。执念会变得狂热，而恐惧会再次主宰整个光谱。

The Money Spectrum makes the most sense when you view it alongside this gradation of emotions. It helps you understand that money is not something you own, it’s something you have a relationship with. And just like the people you choose to have around you, it’s a bond that is shaped with intention and care.

Of all the things that define your place on this spectrum, the most important one is your identity. Which phase do you see yourself in the most?

If you view the world through the lens of scarcity and survival, money will only amplify that feeling of inadequacy. But if freedom is what defines you, then money will feel abundant, no matter how much you have. If power and influence is what you want, then money will drive the nature of your relationships in that direction.

Where on this spectrum do you think you are now? And where do you want to be? What’s holding you back? Is it money, or is it your mentality?

Be honest with yourself when asking these questions. Your identity will inevitably answer them for you, but you don’t want any surprises when it does.

After all, if you don’t give money its purpose, it will end up defining yours.

当你把金钱光谱与这种情绪一起看，是最有意义的。它帮助你理解金钱不是你有多少钱，它是你与之有关系的东西。就像你身边的人一样，它是一种有一选择和关怀所建立的纽带。

在确定你在这个光谱上的位置的所有因素中，最重要的是你的身份，你认为自己在哪个阶段最合适？

如果你以匮乏和生存的视角来看待世界，金钱只会放大这种不足的感觉。但是，如果你想要的是自由，那么无论你有多少钱，都会感觉很充实。如果权力和影响力是你想要的，那么金钱将推动你的关系朝着这个方向发展。

你认为你现在处于这个光谱上的什么位置？你又想在哪里？是什么在阻碍你？是钱，还是你的心态？

问自己这些问题时要诚实回答。你是谁，决定了问题的答案。

毕竟，如果你不给金钱一个目的，金钱就会成为你的目的。

这些问题时，要对自己绝对诚实。你是谁，答案就会是什么样，所以一定要确保这个环节不要出现任何意外。

如果我们不为钱指出流动的方向，钱就会为我们决定我们的去向。

flomo 丢了好多链接。分享其中两句和投资相关的「金句」🍊：

1. 任何保证能在短时间内能赚取超额收益的事情，都不值得投入与之相当强度的精力，或是接受与之相应的道德考验。

   Anything with the allure of an astronomical return within a short timeframe isn’t worth the mental (and moral) tension that comes with it.

2. 在被形容成「错过的机会」时，所有的收益变现听着都像刺耳的「自食其果」。

   Realized gains feel like penalties when they’re interpreted as missed opportunities.

次课代表。

生存阶段

在这个阶段，金钱用来保证基础生活，让人可以以健康的状态活着。

长期处在这个阶段，会过分看重金钱，因为失去金钱，就是失去基础生活本身。

因此，处在这个阶段的人会极力规避与金钱相关的风险：

• 担心失去工作而不要求升职加薪

• 担心亏损而不敢投资

• 担心身无分文而不去追求有意义的事情

• ……

自由阶段

在这个阶段，金钱足以保证基础生活，围绕金钱的恐惧会渐渐消失。此时，人会更多地关注自由。

自由分为几种：

1. 休闲自由：不在意工作的价值（可能工作本身也没什么价值），只在意工作所能换取的金钱，越多越好。然后，再通过金钱去换取支配工作之外剩余时间的能力。

2. 工作自由：只做自己认为有价值的工作，工作所能换取的金钱足够维持生活即可。通过勤奋、耐心、理性努力耕耘，等待回报。

3. 注意力自由：拥有金钱足够多，不再关注金钱，每天只需要做自己喜欢的事情。

在这个阶段，人对生活会有越来越多的掌控感。同时，这也会是持续时间最长的阶段。

权利阶段

在这个阶段，人要解决如何支配金钱的问题。说白了就是如何花钱。

钱要么花给自己，要么花给别人。

先说「花给自己」。你的钱，想怎么花就怎么花，但要小心一些陷阱：

1. 金钱会影响你的价值观。

2. 你花钱的方式会影响他人看待你的方式。

再说「花给别人」。

1. 家庭：主要目的是提升家庭生活品质。但，不一定可以让整个家庭更幸福。（个人认为，情感的维系更为重要）

2. 社群：主要目的是帮助社群发展。不过，你花给社群的钱可能会滋生各种奇怪的群体行为。社群里的大部分人并不真正了解你的价值观，因此不论你处于什么目的给社群花钱，大家也都只关注钱，不会去理解你，甚至会诋毁你。所以，给社群花钱的时候还是谨慎点。

3. 不认识的人：（没有特别理解这部分，请赐教！）在这部分中学到了一点 —— 有些人误以为金钱就是全部，逐渐在金钱中迷失自我。

你处在哪个阶段？#

「是你决定了自己的位置。」恩，老鸡汤了。

最后

你越不在乎金钱，你就越自由。人来尘世一遭，关键还是要找到属于自己的意义。