為愛追尋

by David Bruno

大衛(wèi)·布魯諾(David Bruno)

從機械師到編碼員：追尋夢想如何改變了我的生活 (From mechanic to coder: how following my dreams changed my life)

I still remember the dirt underneath my nails, the sounds of the bays, the clinking of the hammer, the revs of the engines. The long hours, the sore back, the showers that seemed to last 30–40 minutes.

我仍然記得指甲下的污垢，海灣的聲音，錘子的叮當聲，發(fā)動機的轉(zhuǎn)速。 長時間的工作，背部酸痛，陣雨似乎持續(xù)了30至40分鐘。

Today, I write this from inside my home, preparing for my latest assignment as a coder. It’s a far cry from what was — and shows the purpose of following your dreams and making real life changes. Don’t worry: It’s not sappy. Here goes.

今天，我在家中寫這篇文章，為我作為編碼員的最新工作做準備。 這與當時的情況相去甚遠，它表明了實現(xiàn)夢想并改變現(xiàn)實生活的目的。 不用擔心：它并不傻。 開始。

上車 (Getting into cars)

Growing up, I was nobody special. I had no special trait that set me apart — either from the kids at school or within my own family. The only thing that set me apart was ADHD. If there was anything I wanted to learn and lock into my memory, I had to reread or practice it many times. I never did well in school — I was a C and D student — and I only did what was needed to just get by. I didn’t necessarily disagree with studying; I just didn’t like being told what to do or what to learn.

長大后，我沒什么特別的。 無論是在學(xué)校的孩子還是在我自己的家庭中，我都沒有讓我與眾不同的特質(zhì)。 唯一讓我與眾不同的是多動癥。 如果有什么我想學(xué)習(xí)并鎖定在我的記憶中，我必須多次重讀或練習(xí)。 我在學(xué)校從來沒有做得很好-我是一名C和D學(xué)生-而且我只做了度過愉快的時光。 我不一定不同意學(xué)習(xí)。 我只是不喜歡被告知該做什么或該學(xué)習(xí)什么。

I also had trouble identifying interests or what I might be passionate about. The only thing I really enjoyed was playing video games. Then the first Fast & Furious movie came out. I remember watching that movie and becoming excited about the cars, all the engines, turbos, the colors, the sounds when the wheels peeled off the pavement. I was 15 years old at the time. I remember specifically being entranced by the import tuner culture.

我也很難確定興趣或我可能感興趣的東西。 我唯一喜歡的就是玩電子游戲。 然后，第一部《速度與激情》電影問世。 我記得看那部電影時對車輪，所有發(fā)動機，渦輪增壓器，顏色，車輪從人行道上脫落時發(fā)出的聲音感到興奮。 當時我15歲。 我記得我特別被進口調(diào)諧器文化所吸引。

That was the day my hobby for the race car life began. I eventually pursued this interest in import tuners by buying my first — a 2000 Honda Civic Si. It was a beat-up car, and neglected too. But it had a five speed manual transmission that ran and drove.

那是我對賽車生活的愛好開始的那一天。 我最終通過購買第一臺2000本田思域Si追求了對進口調(diào)諧器的興趣。 那是一輛破舊的汽車，也被忽略了。 但它有五速手動變速箱，可以行駛。

發(fā)現(xiàn)我的超能力 (Discovering my superpower)

When I was 18 years old (the year was 2012), I enrolled in Vatterott College. I had the goal of becoming a professional automotive technician and soon found myself on the school’s honor roll. But around that time, I dropped out. It was because I realized I had a special ability: The ability to teach myself anything.

當我18歲(2012年)時，我就讀于Vatterott College。 我的目標是成為一名專業(yè)的汽車技術(shù)員，并很快成為學(xué)校的榮譽榜。 但是在那個時候，我退學(xué)了。 這是因為我意識到自己具有特殊的能力：能夠自學(xué)任何東西的能力。

For instance: The ’97 Honda Prelude. Instead of asking the instructors or a student above my level to help with repairs, I downloaded a service manual and would take the car into the school’s parking lot, tearing the car apart and fixing things that were broken. The learning was through trial and error but I realized — I’m fully capable of teaching myself.

例如：'97本田前奏曲。 我沒有要求老師或水平以上的學(xué)生進行維修，而是下載了服務(wù)手冊，將汽車駛?cè)雽W(xué)校的停車場，將汽車拆開并修理損壞的東西。 學(xué)習(xí)是通過反復(fù)試驗而完成的，但我意識到-我完全有能力自學(xué)。

Even the shop’s teacher was impressed: They would tell the other students to watch me as a I worked.

甚至商店的老師也印象深刻：他們會告訴其他學(xué)生在我工作時看著我。

Then there was the debt. The three months enrolled in the college had landed me a little over $8,000 in student loan debt, and if I had stayed there for the full two year program, I would have been over $40,000 in debt, with an outstandingly high interest rate.

然后是債務(wù)。 在大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)的三個月使我的學(xué)生貸款債務(wù)增加了8,000多美元，如果我在那呆了整整兩年的課程，我的債務(wù)將超過40,000美元，而且利率很高。

This confirmed my realization: I am fully capable of teaching myself and I can find a job out there that will pay me to learn as I go.

這證實了我的認識：我完全有能力自學(xué)，而且我可以在那里找到一份工作，這將使我受益匪淺。

And I did just that. Soon after leaving college, I approached a local automotive performance shop that worked on anything that had an engine. They also modified cars and installed performance parts. Working for them, I was able to pay off my $8,000 debt in ten months.

我就是這樣做的。 大學(xué)畢業(yè)后不久，我去了一家當?shù)氐钠囆阅苌痰?#xff0c;該商店從事任何有發(fā)動機的工作。 他們還改裝了汽車并安裝了性能部件。 為他們工作，我能夠在10個月內(nèi)還清8,000美元的債務(wù)。

I worked as an automotive technician from August 2013 until October 2017. I got really good at what I could and had a really great boss; however, it was hard labor, as we had a small five bay shop that would be booked 2–3 weeks in advance just for people to get their cars in for repairs.

從2013年8月至2017年10月，我擔任汽車技術(shù)員。我盡我所能，并且擁有一個非常出色的老板。 但是，這是艱苦的工作，因為我們有一個小的五灣商店，需要提前2-3周預(yù)訂，以便讓人們將汽車送去維修。

Each day, I’d move between 15 and 30 cars to open the shop up, then move them all back into place to close down. About 90 percent of the time, I was outside in the weather — hot or cold, rain or snow, pulling engines, dropping transmissions and many other labor-intensive jobs.

每天，我會在15至30輛汽車之間移動以打開商店，然后將它們?nèi)恳苹卦灰躁P(guān)閉。 大約90％的時間，我在外面–天氣炎熱，寒冷，下雨或下雪，拉引擎，降低變速箱以及許多其他勞動密集型工作。

It was around that time that I got tired — both my body and my mind. I was weary of working in such conditions, and the pay wasn’t really that great. I wanted more out of life and because I was a homeowner with an expensive car hobby, the income of being a mechanic wasn’t enough.

大約在那個時候，我累了–我的身體和思想都疲倦了。 我在這樣的條件下工作很疲倦，薪水并不是那么高。 我想要更多的生活，因為我是一個擁有昂貴汽車愛好的房主，所以做機械師的收入還不夠。

I knew there was more: A job where I could live comfortably and not have to work nearly as hard to keep the bills paid. It was around the beginning of 2017 when I finally began to get serious. I knew that for my life to change I needed to take action.

我知道還有很多：可以讓我過上舒適的工作，而不必付出幾乎相同的努力來保持賬單支付的工作。 大約在2017年初，我終于開始變得認真起來。 我知道為了改變生活，我需要采取行動。

Although every day I worked, I would get destroyed, be tired, exhausted, and nine out of 10 times filthy from the dirty work, I’d go home and start learning about what I could do. I looked at many things: buying and selling products online, retail arbitrage, starting a drop-shipping company, building passive income. I also looked into careers, ones that could lead me to a high-paying comfortable lifestyle.

盡管我每天工作，但都會被破壞，疲倦，疲憊，并且在骯臟的工作中十分骯臟，十分骯臟，但我還是要回家并開始學(xué)習(xí)如何做。 我看了很多東西：在線買賣產(chǎn)品，零售套利，開辦一家速遞公司，建立被動收入。 我還研究了職業(yè)，這些職業(yè)可能使我過上高薪舒適的生活。

The goal was to work remotely and make great money. I tried many things, but nothing seemed to work for me. I never gave up. I knew something would click with me as something that would interest me and lead to the life of my dreams.

目標是遠程工作并賺大錢。 我嘗試了很多事情，但似乎沒有任何效果。 我從未放棄。 我知道某些事情會引起我的興趣，并引起我的夢想。

做出改變 (Making changes)

Then a friend of mine, who I worked alongside at the automotive shop, got a night job configuring, diagnosing, and repairing routers. He was doing Cisco CCNA work and had no college education or prior work experience that would’ve led to getting this job. He was paid well (if he did this full time for the company he would have made six figures) and had gotten the job just from a reference. I couldn’t believe it.

然后，我的一個朋友和我在汽車修理店一起工作，他做了一個夜間工作，負責配置，診斷和維修路由器。 他從事Cisco CCNA的工作，沒有大學(xué)學(xué)歷或以前的工作經(jīng)驗，無法找到這份工作。 他的薪水很豐厚(如果他全職為公司工作，他將賺六位數(shù))，僅憑參考即可獲得這份工作。 我簡直不敢相信。

At that time, the bills from my first home were putting pressure on me. And here he was, working remotely, not doing any physical labor, and getting paid very well. He basically faked it till he made it — and made it, you can bet, he certainly did.

那時，我第一套房子的帳單給我施加了壓力。 在這里，他在遠處工作，不做任何體力勞動，薪水也很高。 他基本上是偽造的，直到制造出來為止-可以肯定，他確實做到了。

He told me, “Start learning Cisco CCNA work. If a position opens up, I’ll try to get you in.”

他告訴我：“開始學(xué)習(xí)Cisco CCNA的工作。 如果職位空缺，我會盡力讓您加入。”

So I started researching online courses and schools that offered CCNA Certification classes. It was around July 2017 that I stumbled onto a local school that offered the course. It was called New Horizons Computer Technology. I submitted my information and got a call from a recruiter.

因此，我開始研究提供CCNA認證課程的在線課程和學(xué)校。 大約在2017年7月，我偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)了一所提供該課程的當?shù)貙W(xué)校。 它被稱為新視野計算機技術(shù)。 我提交了我的信息，并接到了招聘人員的電話。

We chatted for a good 30 minutes and he explained that the courses I wanted were pricey: $6,000 total cost for the two weeks of classes. I was disappointed. I was living close to paycheck to paycheck and generally only had enough money to covers bills and save up a little.

我們聊了30分鐘，他解釋說我要的課程很貴：兩周的課程總費用為6,000美元。 我很失望。 我當時的生活很接近薪水，通常只有足夠的錢來支付賬單并節(jié)省一些錢。

The recruiter understood. He told me about a special Tennessee grant program for adults below 25 years old who made less than $30K yearly that would pay for the courses, making them free. I was only 24 years old and it gave me hope.

招聘人員了解。 他告訴我一個針對田納西州的特殊贈款計劃，該計劃針對25歲以下的成年人，他們的年收入不足3萬美元，可以為課程付費，使他們免費。 我只有24歲，這給了我希望。

He sent me to an orientation where I brought specific documentation such as a high school degree, birth certificate, and pay-stub, to prove I was qualified. They collected the information and sent it off. Nearly three weeks went by before I finally got the phone call.

他派我參加了一個介紹會，向我?guī)砹艘恍┨囟ǖ奈募?#xff0c;例如高中學(xué)位，出生證明和工資單，以證明我是合格的。 他們收集了信息并將其發(fā)送出去。 在我終于接到電話之前，已經(jīng)過去了將近三個星期。

They’d pay for the courses.

他們會為課程付費。

Overwhelmed with excitement from this new possibility, I began fulfilling all of the requirements for enrollment at the school. A couple of weeks passed, the school and I came to an agreement that because I had no prior experience with Cisco computer work, I would take Comptia A+ for the first two weeks, with merging into Cisco in the second set of two weeks.

我對這種新的可能性感到不知所措，我開始滿足學(xué)校所有的入學(xué)要求。 幾周過去了，我和學(xué)校達成協(xié)議，由于我以前沒有從事過思科計算機工作的經(jīng)驗，所以我將在頭兩周參加Comptia A +，然后在兩周的第二套工作中合并到思科。

Even though I had little experience, I would do whatever it took to learn so that when a position opened up, I would be ready to get it.

即使我經(jīng)驗很少，我也會竭盡所能去學(xué)習(xí)，這樣當一個職位空缺時，我就準備好了。

The classes ran like a typical work week: Monday through Friday, 8am until 5pm, for four total weeks. The good part, which made this financially viable, was that I could choose on which weeks to take the courses. This brought me hope: ‘I have a way,’ I thought, ‘to get out this daily cycle of hard labor work and living paycheck to paycheck.’

這些課程的運行就像一個典型的工作周：周一至周五，上午8點至下午5點，共四個星期。 好的方面使這在財務(wù)上可行，這是我可以選擇在幾周內(nèi)學(xué)習(xí)這些課程。 這給我?guī)砹讼Ｍ?#xff1a;“我有一種方法，”我想，“擺脫每天的辛苦工作和以薪水為生的薪水。”

The date was set for October 2017.

該日期定為2017年10月。

But I also knew that my work wouldn’t approve of me taking off for such an extended period of time. It was a step, and a big one. I chose to put my two weeks’ notice in on the first Monday of October.

但是我也知道，我的工作不會得到我這么長時間的支持。 這是一步，也是很大的一步。 我選擇在十月的第一個星期一放兩個星期的通知。

I was placing all my money down on this set of cards — this new possibility of a new career choice. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve never left a job without having another job lined up. I had several part time jobs available, supervisors who were willing to hire me on the spot if things got too hard.

我把所有的錢都花在了這套卡片上，這是一種新的職業(yè)選擇的可能性。 不要誤會我的意思：我從來沒有離開過一份工作，而沒有安排另一份工作。 我有幾個兼職工作，如果事情太難了，主管們愿意當場雇用我。

A couple months prior to leaving work, I had made a plan. I saved as much of my paychecks as I could. I cut costs and bills, things I didn’t need, such as the Netflix bill. I realized I had to put all my momentary needs on hold if I wanted to change my life.

離職前幾個月，我已經(jīng)計劃好了。 我盡可能地節(jié)省了我的工資。 我削減了成本和賬單，這些我不需要的東西，例如Netflix賬單。 我意識到，如果我想改變自己的生活，我必須暫時擱置所有暫時的需求。

I also timed things well. I spread out my classes so that I could take side jobs as an electrician, carpenter, computer repair person, and auto technician, for instance. As an “if all else fails” back-up plan, I had a stockpile of named brand performance parts that I had accumulated from years for a project car. I could sell these if nothing else.

我也安排好時間。 我分散了課程，以便可以從事電工，木匠，計算機維修人員和汽車技術(shù)員等兼職工作。 作為“如果其他所有方法都失敗了”的后備計劃，我將儲備多年來為項目車積累的命名品牌性能零件。 如果沒有別的，我可以賣掉。

I had a plan and was moving forward but it was difficult. I could no longer buy things for loved ones and still had a mortgage over my head. It was extremely daunting and I was fearful, but I couldn’t let my fear take over me. I worked to strengthen myself.

我有一個計劃，并且正在前進，但是很難。 我再也無法為親人買東西了，但仍然有抵押貸款。 這非常令人生畏，我感到恐懼，但我不能讓我的恐懼接管我。 我努力增強自己。

I started to research successful people, and not just the wealthy. Some inspirations came from those who built successful companies. Apple, Dell, Tesla, Space X. Elon Musk was a huge inspiration.

我開始研究成功人士，而不僅僅是富人。 一些啟發(fā)來自那些建立了成功公司的人。 蘋果，戴爾，特斯拉，SpaceX。埃隆·馬斯克(Elon Musk)受到了巨大的啟發(fā)。

Motivational videos and self-improvements videos were constantly running on my phone and computer. When successful people spoke, I took note of their habits, as I had learned that success starts with a daily routine of small habits, an insight I applied instantly.

勵志視頻和自我完善視頻一直在我的手機和計算機上運行。 當成功的人講話時，我會注意到他們的習(xí)慣，因為我了解到成功始于日常的小習(xí)慣，這是我立即運用的見解。

December of 2017 approached. I was in the final week of my CISCO class and I realized it was nearly impossible for someone to learn everything about the two certification tests — ICND-1 and ICND-2 — in just a matter of two weeks.

2017年12月臨近。 我當時正處于CISCO課程的最后一周，我意識到幾乎沒有人可以在短短兩周的時間里了解有關(guān)這兩種認證測試的所有知識-ICND-1和ICND-2。

At the same time, the school’s advisor was notifying me of any entry level IT job openings. But I was discouraged. I attended interviews and hiring events only to be told my starting hourly rate would be $14, because I didn’t have a magical IT background or a college degree.

同時，學(xué)校的顧問將所有入門級IT職位空缺通知我。 但是我很灰心。 我參加了面試和招聘活動，但被告知我的起薪為每小時14美元，因為我沒有神奇的IT背景或大學(xué)學(xué)位。

I’m sure you can feel my frustration here. I had worked hard to get this far and taken a huge risk. The last day of classes came and went. I crammed down all the knowledge and soon learned that I hated the stuff in the CISCO classes. It was dry, boring, and mixed with my ADHD very difficult to stay focused on.

我敢肯定，您會在這里感到沮喪。 我為達到這一目標付出了巨大的努力，并承擔了巨大的風險。 上課的最后一天來了又去了。 我把所有的知識都塞滿了，很快得知我討厭CISCO班上的那些東西。 它干燥，無聊，與我的注意力缺陷多動癥混合在一起，很難集中精力。

The situation was like this: The first round of tests were paid for thanks to the grant; however, if I failed, I had to pay the cost of the tests. These were around $300 a test and even if I passed, I would still start out making less money than a full-time mechanic. And I knew, with my bills, that wouldn’t work.

情況是這樣的：由于贈款，第一輪測試就付了錢； 但是，如果我不及格，則必須支付測試費用。 每次測試大約300美元，即使我通過了考試，我仍然比全職技工掙的錢少。 而且我知道憑我的帳單是行不通的。

It would take three to six months to study for them. I decided not to take them, which was a bitter pill to swallow. I had invested so much time in the course already, and that I thought this was my “golden ticket.”

為他們學(xué)習(xí)需要三到六個月的時間。 我決定不服用它們，這是吞咽的苦藥。 我已經(jīng)在這門課程上投入了很多時間，所以我認為這是我的“金票”。

The disappointment stung.

令人失望。

The end of December approached and I still didn’t have a plan of action going into the new year. I wanted a job in the IT field but couldn’t work for years at the lower levels, earning little income. But I trusted my motivation. I needed to keep trying different things, investing in myself, working side jobs until I found what I wanted.

12月底臨近，但我仍然沒有新的一年的行動計劃。 我想在IT領(lǐng)域找到一份工作，但無法在低層次工作多年，收入很少。 但是我相信自己的動力。 我需要繼續(xù)嘗試不同的事情，投資自己，做一些副業(yè)，直到找到想要的東西為止。

改變游戲規(guī)則的人 (The game-changer)

January 2018 came. I was listening to a motivational video of a very successful person. He said, “If you want to be successful, then you need to surround yourself with successful people.” Then he mentioned something specific: An app called MeetUp.

2018年1月到來。 我正在聽一個非常成功的人的勵志視頻。 他說：“如果想要成功，那么就需要與成功的人在一起。” 然后他提到了一些特定的東西：一個名為MeetUp的應(yīng)用程序。

I downloaded it soon after, and it became the best decision of my life.

不久之后我下載了它，這成為我一生中最好的決定。

In the app, I soon searched for technology and found a subcategory called Blockchain. I knew very little about it, just having a coinbase wallet with a small amount of money invested in bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin. But it sparked my curiosity. It caught my attention.

在應(yīng)用程序中，我很快搜索了技術(shù)，并找到了一個名為Blockchain的子類別。 我對此一無所知，只擁有一個硬幣基礎(chǔ)的錢包，并在比特幣，以太坊和萊特幣中投入了少量資金。 但這激發(fā)了我的好奇心。 它引起了我的注意。

A list of local meetups popped up. The one with the most members was called Blockchain901 (901 being the area code of Memphis) and they had a meeting scheduled for end of January, just three days after I had downloaded the app.

彈出本地聚會的列表。 成員最多的一個人叫做Blockchain901(901是孟菲斯的區(qū)號)，他們計劃在1月底召開一次會議，距離我下載該應(yīng)用程序僅三天。

Do you believe in destiny?

你相信命運嗎？

Here is where I think it came into play.

這是我認為它起作用的地方。

Because, at the same time I was looking into blockchain, I was exploring the option of real estate. People made a lot of money in real estate and it was a way to build up a great deal of passive income. And, you could’ve guessed it, the soonest meetup was scheduled for the exact same date as the blockchain meetup, and at the exact same time.

因為在我同時研究區(qū)塊鏈的同時，我也在探索房地產(chǎn)的選擇。 人們在房地產(chǎn)中賺了很多錢，這是積累大量被動收入的一種方式。 而且，您可能已經(jīng)猜到了，最早的聚會計劃在與區(qū)塊鏈聚會的日期完全相同的日期，也恰好在同一時間。

I pondered. Both events were in different parts of the city. The one I picked would be the one I stuck with.

我在想 兩次活動都在城市的不同地方。 我選擇的那個就是我堅持的那個。

When the day came, it was pouring rain. This was either a sign: Not to go or overcome an obstacle. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and I knew that either choice would remove me from my comfort zone. But this was necessary: To make my dreams come true, I had to buckle down and step outside of it.

那天到了，正在傾盆大雨。 這既是一個信號：不要走或克服障礙。 我不知道自己要進入什么領(lǐng)域，而且我知道任何一種選擇都會使我脫離舒適區(qū)。 但這是必要的：為了實現(xiàn)我的夢想，我必須屈服并走出它。

I wrote down pros and cons, for both the real estate meetup and the blockchain meetup. With real estate, I knew I would struggle. I had little money saved up for investing. But the blockchain meetup posed opportunity. I could invest myself in knowledge of blockchain, which might lead to a better paying job. I felt my odds were greater with blockchain, and I followed through.

我寫下了房地產(chǎn)聚會和區(qū)塊鏈聚會的利弊。 有了房地產(chǎn)，我知道自己會掙扎。 我積little了很少的錢用于投資。 但是區(qū)塊鏈聚會帶來了機會。 我可以將自己的知識投入到區(qū)塊鏈的知識上，這可能會帶來更高的薪水。 我覺得使用區(qū)塊鏈的可能性更大，于是我堅持到底。

I drove through the storm to the FedEx Institute of Technology, which was on the University of Memphis campus. When I arrived, I was nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. I was several minutes early, walking across campus, and the room was already full. I was blown away.

我開車穿越了風暴，來到了孟菲斯大學(xué)校園內(nèi)的FedEx技術(shù)學(xué)院。 當我到達時，我很緊張。 我不知道會發(fā)生什么。 我早了幾分鐘，在校園里走來走去，房間已經(jīng)滿了。 我被吹走了。

Luckily, there was a seat open at the very front of the room. I quickly walked to it and sat down with my notebook. The large crowd might have been due to a specific reason: There was a special guest speaker flown all the way in from Taiwan (he was a big player in the blockchain industry called Everex). Alongside the guest speaker was a local Memphian called Brian.

幸運的是，在房間的最前面有一個開放的座位。 我Swift走到它旁邊，坐下我的筆記本。 大量的人群可能是由于特定的原因：臺灣有一個特別的嘉賓演說(他是區(qū)塊鏈行業(yè)的大參與者Everex)。 演講嘉賓旁邊是當?shù)氐拿戏扑谷?#xff0c;名叫布萊恩。

As the door closed for the meetup to start, I took a look around. It was a massive classroom where every seat was filled and people lined the walls standing up, preparing to hear the speakers. There had to be 100 people in a classroom meant for around 60.

當門關(guān)閉以便聚會開始時，我環(huán)顧了四周。 那是一個巨大的教室，每個座位都坐滿了人，人們排成一排排的墻壁，準備聆聽演講者的聲音。 一間教室必須有100人，可容納60人左右。

There were introductions. Brian introduced himself as a local Memphis software developer who specialized in blockchain and was also starting up a blockchain company in Memphis.

有介紹。 Brian介紹自己是當?shù)氐拿戏扑管浖_發(fā)人員，他專門研究區(qū)塊鏈，并且還在孟菲斯開辦了一家區(qū)塊鏈公司。

As the two hours of the meetup flew by, I took many notes and asked several questions. When it ended, people began to disperse, and I summoned the courage to approach Brian.

聚會的兩個小時過去了，我記了很多筆記，問了幾個問題。 當它結(jié)束時，人們開始分散，我鼓起勇氣接近布萊恩。

Ignoring my nervousness, shyness, and anxiety, I walked right up and said, “Hey, man, loved the speech and lessons from the class. I wanted to ask you if you guys had any positions opening up or if I could come hang out and learn from you.”

我無視我的緊張，羞怯和焦慮，直走說：“嘿，伙計，喜歡上全班的演講和教訓(xùn)。 我想問你你們是否有空缺職位，或者我可以出去玩并向你學(xué)習(xí)。”

Brian was baffled and caught off guard.

布萊恩感到困惑，措手不及。

As he hesitated, another man quickly approached and introduced himself as Aaron. He said, “You really wanna learn this stuff?”

猶豫了一下，另一個男人Swift走近，并介紹了自己為亞倫。 他說：“您真的想學(xué)習(xí)這些東西嗎？”

“Absolutely,” I said.

“絕對。”我說。

“Good, then here’s my contact info. You are going to meet me downtown at this address.”

“很好，這是我的聯(lián)系信息。 您將在這個地址與我在市區(qū)見面。”

I had a huge mix of emotions. On the one hand, I was exploding with excitement for what could go right, but on the other hand there was a good amount of doubt and fear of the unknown.

我情緒激動。 一方面，我為可能發(fā)生的事情而興奮不已，但另一方面，人們對未知事物充滿了懷疑和恐懼。

Brian chatted with Aaron for a moment, then said to me, “Totally go with Aaron. He’s a good guy and will show you what you need to start doing.”

Brian和Aaron聊天了一下，然后對我說：“完全和Aaron一起去。 他是一個好人，將向您展示您需要開始做的事情。”

Between the meetup and my scheduled meeting with Aaron, I did what I was supposed to do. On February 2nd, 2018, I wrote my first line of code and made my first Git push to github. I followed up with Aaron, confirmed the time and place.

在聚會和我與亞倫的預(yù)定會議之間，我做了我應(yīng)該做的事情。 在2018年2月2日，我編寫了第一行代碼并將我的第一個Git推送到github。 我跟了亞倫，確認了時間和地點。

Heading towards downtown Memphis, I approached the address given to me. It had led me to a massive 19-story skyscraper. He had told me to meet up on the 19th floor. I remember thinking how crazy — me meeting this man at the top floor of a massive skyscraper.

前往孟菲斯市中心，我到達了給我的地址。 它把我?guī)У搅艘蛔?9層的摩天大樓。 他已經(jīng)告訴我在19樓見面。 我記得當時曾想到有多瘋狂-我在一個大型摩天大樓的頂層遇見了這個人。

I approached the room and knocked on the door. Aaron opened it and quickly I noticed all the windows overlooking nearly all of downtown Memphis. In the room was a table with just his MacBook on it.

我走近房間，敲了敲門。 亞倫打開它，很快我注意到所有俯瞰著孟菲斯市區(qū)幾乎所有地方的窗戶。 房間里有一張桌子，上面只有他的MacBook。

He sat me down and showed the project he was working on. There was the front end and the code that changed was basic HTML and CSS, and I had no experience with either. He instructed me to figure out how to change the front end and add some styles to it.

他讓我坐下來，展示了他正在從事的項目。 有前端，更改的代碼是基本HTML和CSS，而我都沒有經(jīng)驗。 他指示我弄清楚如何更改前端并為其添加一些樣式。

Not knowing what to do, I googled my heart out. I looked for the knowledge needed to accomplish this task a mix of emotions were running through me — desperation, fear of failure, excitement. Surprisingly enough, I caught on quickly. That old ability — to teach myself anything — took hold.

不知道該怎么辦，我用心搜尋。 我尋找完成這項任務(wù)所需的知識，充滿了種種情緒—絕望，對失敗的恐懼和興奮。 令人驚訝的是，我很快就流行起來。 那種古老的能力-可以教自己任何東西-占據(jù)了上風。

Aaron saw my potential. He gave me some advice: To use my free time studying on a site called freeCodeCamp. Then, after a few days of working with him, he made me an offer of paying me hourly out of his pocket to continue helping him with his project. It wasn’t much, but it was something, and it was much better getting paid to learn rather than the other way around.

亞倫看到了我的潛力。 他給了我一些建議：利用業(yè)余時間在一個名為freeCodeCamp的網(wǎng)站上學(xué)習(xí)。 然后，在與他一起工作了幾天之后，他給了我一個提議，要求他每小時從口袋里掏錢給我，以繼續(xù)幫助他完成他的項目。 它雖然不多，但是卻是一回事，與其他方法相比，獲得報酬要好得多。

Weeks went by. I continued meeting with Aaron during the late weekend night and coding nonstop for 8+ hours. During the weekdays, I worked my side jobs and spent my free time studying.

幾周過去了。 在周末深夜，我繼續(xù)與Aaron會面，并連續(xù)8個多小時編碼。 在工作日中，我從事兼職工作，并有空余時間學(xué)習(xí)。

This opportunity gave me hope for the future.

這個機會給了我未來的希望。

終于成功了 (Success at last)

In time, I met Brian again and the rest of the Web3Devs team. They gave me more tasks to see how I would handle them and I exceeded expectations — because I was determined not to fail.

及時，我再次遇到了Brian和Web3Devs團隊的其他成員。 他們給了我更多任務(wù)，看看我將如何處理它們，而且我超出了期望-因為我決心不失敗。

On August 21, 2018, I received my first salary paycheck as a junior software developer from Web3Devs. Since then, I have been given more responsibilities, taking on clients, handling meetings, scheduling events, and much more — still while coding and studying.

2018年8月21日，我以Web3Devs的初級軟件開發(fā)人員的身份獲得了第一筆薪水。 從那時起，我被賦予了更多的責任，接管客戶，處理會議，安排活動等等，甚至在編碼和學(xué)習(xí)時。

Soon, they were taking me on trips to hackathons.

不久，他們帶我去了馬拉松比賽。

On September 6th, 2018, we flew out to Wyoming for the Blockchain Hackathon. I was excited — collecting a salary while traveling. The Hackathon was a massive success. We won four bounties, including a first place prize. It was a divine moment being on that stage while the event was live-streamed.

2018年9月6日，我們飛往懷俄明州參加了區(qū)塊鏈黑客馬拉松。 我很興奮-在旅行時收取薪水。 黑客馬拉松取得了巨大的成功。 我們贏得了四個賞金，包括一等獎。 活動現(xiàn)場直播時，那是一個神圣的時刻。

Two weeks later, we went to Atlanta for the ETH-Atlanta Hackathon, where we again won the first place prize.

兩周后，我們?nèi)チ藖喬靥m大參加ETH-Atlanta Hackathon，在那里我們再次獲得了第一名。

As these events were happening, more work opportunities were coming around and more doors were opening for me. Soon, November 9th came and we flew out to San Francisco for the EOS-Hackathon. Competition was huge, as there were travelers from all over the globe and massive cash prizes.

隨著這些事件的發(fā)生，更多的工作機會來了，更多的門為我打開了。 很快，11月9日到了，我們飛往舊金山參加EOS-Hackathon。 競爭非常激烈，因為有來自世界各地的旅行者和大量的現(xiàn)金獎勵。

Although we didn’t get first place, this was my favorite trip. We made tons of connections and I proved myself to the team. It was a massive success for me.

盡管我們沒有獲得第一名，但這是我最喜歡的旅行。 我們建立了無數(shù)的聯(lián)系，我向團隊證明了自己。 對我來說是巨大的成功。

Then, as New Year’s Eve of 2019 rolled around, I looked back at 2018, how it started and how it ended. I started with no guaranteed paycheck or a game plan for how to change my life for the better. Things had gotten hard — the mortgage payments, the loss of income, the challenges of moving forward.

然后，隨著2019年除夕的到來，我回顧了2018年，它是如何開始和結(jié)束的。 我從沒有保證的薪水開始，也沒有制定如何使自己的生活變得更好的游戲計劃。 事情變得很艱難-抵押貸款，收入損失，前進的挑戰(zhàn)。

But things got better. I studied the habits of successful people. I applied what they said. The right opportunity presented itself and I moved forward, sometimes with doubt and sometimes needing courage, but I did just that and I achieved what I wanted to achieve — becoming a remote software developer and living the life that I had wanted and set out to do.

但是情況變好了。 我研究了成功人士的習(xí)慣。 我按了他們的說法。 正確的機會出現(xiàn)了，我有時會帶著懷疑，有時需要勇氣前進，但是我做到了，我實現(xiàn)了我想要實現(xiàn)的目標-成為一名遠程軟件開發(fā)人員，過著我想要并開始做的生活。

最后的想法 (Final thoughts)

What I’m trying to say in this story — and hopefully share and convey — is that no matter how hard things are, no matter how much weight is placed on your shoulders, no matter how many times you fail or struggle, never give up. Never quit fighting for what you truly want out of life. No matter what education you have or what job you work, you too can fulfill your dreams. If that’s coding, that’s coding, but it can be anything else. The lessons in this story can be applied to anything you are passionate about. You are the creator of your destiny.

我在這個故事中要說的是-并希望能分享和傳達-無論事情多么艱辛，無論肩上承受了多大壓力，無論失敗或掙扎多少次，都不要放棄。 永遠不要為生活中真正想要的東西而戰(zhàn)。 無論您接受什么教育或從事什么工作，您都可以實現(xiàn)自己的夢想。 如果那是編碼，那是編碼，但是可以是其他任何東西。 這個故事中的課程可以應(yīng)用于您感興趣的任何事物。 您是命運的創(chuàng)造者。

Fin. (Extra sections below for those looking to get started into coding)

鰭。 (下面的部分供那些希望開始編碼的人使用)

給您的一些提示 (Some tips for you)

Here are some extra tips if you’re starting out (or looking to start out) as a coder.

如果您剛開始(或希望開始)以編碼器的身份，那么這里有一些額外的技巧。

First, for a programming language, I recommend pursuing JavaScript. JavaScript is a scripting language that allows you to implement complex things on web pages. It consists of HTML, CSS, and variety of other frameworks such as nodeJS and React (a popular Facebook language). JavaScript can be applied to many things, including blockchain applications. It’s also easier to get an entry level job with JavaScript than other programming languages.

首先，對于編程語言，我建議使用JavaScript 。 JavaScript是一種腳本語言，可讓您在網(wǎng)頁上實現(xiàn)復(fù)雜的事物。 它由HTML，CSS和其他各種框架組成，例如nodeJS和React(一種流行的Facebook語言)。 JavaScript可以應(yīng)用于許多事物，包括區(qū)塊鏈應(yīng)用程序。 使用JavaScript獲得入門級工作也比其他編程語言容易。

The websites I recommend are as follows:

我推薦的網(wǎng)站如下：

freeCodeCamp.org is a completely free site for learning in detail about JavaScript, NodeJS, React, and many others. You have to teach yourself as there aren’t any videos. It’s just straight code.

freeCodeCamp.org是一個完全免費的網(wǎng)站，可詳細了解JavaScript，NodeJS，React等許多其他信息。 您必須要自學(xué)，因為沒有視頻。 這只是簡單的代碼。

Another site, uDemy.com, has excellent courses if you prefer to learn code alongside an instructor. These courses are in-depth and lengthy, some having 40+ hours of coursework. A double monitor method helps with the videos from the instructors. A good course I took and recommend is “The Modern JavaScript Bootcamp (2019)” by Andrew Mead. uDemy.com also has regular sales so you can snag courses for as low as $10.

如果您想和指導(dǎo)老師一起學(xué)習(xí)代碼，則另一個網(wǎng)站uDemy.com擁有出色的課程。 這些課程是深入而冗長的，有些課程需要40多個小時的課程。 雙重監(jiān)控方法可幫助講師提供視頻。 我參加并推薦的一門不錯的課程是安德魯·米德(Andrew Mead)的“ The Modern JavaScript Bootcamp(2019)”。 uDemy.com也有常規(guī)銷售，因此您可以低至10美元購買課程。

Lastly, if you’re curious about getting started in blockchain as a programmer, then I recommend, after learning some JavaScript, a site called cryptozombies.io. It is a completely free game that teaches you how to write Ethereum Smart contracts using Solidity as a programming language, all while building a zombie army. The game was created to inspire and teach kids in middle school how to code and the game creators are always adding more chapters. Solidity is a lot like Javascript, making it a good start into blockchain.

最后，如果您想以程序員的身份開始使用區(qū)塊鏈，那么我建議在學(xué)習(xí)了一些JavaScript之后，創(chuàng)建一個名為cryptozombies.io的站點。 這是一個完全免費的游戲，教您如何在建立僵尸軍隊的同時使用Solidity作為編程語言來編寫以太坊智能合約。 這款游戲的創(chuàng)建是為了啟發(fā)和教導(dǎo)中學(xué)的孩子們?nèi)绾尉幋a，而游戲的創(chuàng)建者們總是在增加更多的章節(jié)。 堅固性很像Javascript，使其成為區(qū)塊鏈的良好開端。

All three things listed will make you a knowledgeable programmer. Always remember that habits are everything. Practicing every day for thirty minutes will make someone that much more advanced by year’s end. The progress may surprise you.

列出的所有三件事將使您成為一個知識淵博的程序員。 永遠記住習(xí)慣就是一切。 每天練習(xí)三十分鐘，到年底將使一個人變得更加先進。 進展可能會讓您感到驚訝。

翻譯自: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/from-mechanic-to-coder-how-following-my-dreams-changed-my-life-ef93b796ca72/

為愛追尋

總結(jié)

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