We know it's possible, even if we haven't read "The Four-Hour Work Week" yet. We know people in our neighborhoods or we've seen people on TV who have dream jobs, so we know they exist. It's the post-millennium workplace fantasy: To do work we love and are passionate¹ about, be paid well for doing it, and to work among smart and supportive team members under the leadership of a wise and ethical² chief executive³ officer. Sounds reasonable on paper. Why is it so hard, in real life, to get all the dream job ducks to line up in a row? 我们知道有份理想的工作是可能的，即便我们没读过《The Four-Hour Work Week》这本书。在街坊里、在电视上，我们认识或见过那些拥有理想工作的人，所以，我们知道，"理想工作”是存在的。这就是“后千年”时代下的职场幻想：做自己喜欢的、抱有激情的工作，有丰厚的收入，同事们要聪明，会支持我们，领导要明智、有道德感。听上去合情合理。可现实的生活中，找到理想的工作怎么就那么难？

For starters, it's helpful to remember that our dream-job requirements often change over time. One job I held in my youth was a dream job at the time but would be impossible for me now because of the working hours. When I was twenty-something and single, I was perfectly⁴ happy to sit in a conference room with my workmates, eating pizza and talking shop at 11 p.m. Couldn't, wouldn't consider that now. 对于刚开始工作的人来说，要记住我们对理想工作的要求往往会随着时间发生变化。年轻时的工作在那时是理想工作，但是现在由于工作时长则一点都不理想。当我二十来岁、单身的时候，我可以晚上11点和同事们坐在会议室一起吃着比萨，兴致勃勃地讨论公事。现在不能、也不会有那个念头了。

You may have longed for a management role at one time and realize now that's the last thing you're interested in; or you may learn that you're happiest working independently, where your teammates are available if you need them but aren't in your face all day long. 也许，你曾渴望过一个管理位置而现在发觉对此毫无兴趣；或者你曾感到独自办公时最快乐，你的同事们在你需要的时候出现，但是不要整天都在眼前晃。