我們知道有份理想的工作是可能的，即便我們沒讀過《The Four-Hour Work Week》這本書。在街坊裏、在電視上，我們認識或見過那些擁有理想工作的人，所以，我們知道，"理想工作”是存在的。這就是“後千年”時代下的職場幻想：做自己喜歡的、抱有激情的工作，有豐厚的收入，同事們要聰明，會支援我們，領導要明智、有道德感。聽上去合情合理。可現實的生活中，找到理想的工作怎麼就那麼難？
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 perfectly 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. 對於剛開始工作的人來說，要記住我們對理想工作的要求往往會隨着時間發生變化。年輕時的工作在那時是理想工作，但是現在由於工作時長則一點都不理想。當我二十來歲、單身的時候，我可以晚上11點和同事們坐在會議室一起吃着比薩，興致勃勃地討論公事。現在不能、也不會有那個念頭了。
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. 也許，你曾渴望過一個管理位置而現在發覺對此毫無興趣；或者你曾感到獨自辦公時最快樂，你的同事們在你需要的時候出現，但是不要整天都在眼前晃。
Put it All On Paper
寫下你對理想工作的要求
The point is, dream jobs aren't a one-size-fits-all kind of deal. And that means that your ultra-customized dream job is the perfect job for you, not the whole world of job-seekers. So your task is first to understand what you're looking for, and decide which elements in your wish list are most critical for you; and then to make and execute a plan to go out and find that job. The very worst way to land a dream job is to wait for it to find you. 關鍵的一點是要知道理想的工作並不是“一刀切”的買賣。意思是說爲你量身定做的理想工作對你來說是完美的，但對全部人來說卻並不如此。因此，你的首要任務是要去了解你想要什麼，你的“願望清單”上哪些元素最適合你；然後再製定一個計劃加以執行，找到那樣的工作。尋找理想工作的下下策就是等工作來找你。
As you create your dream job must-have list, it's helpful to think about your wishes in two separate categories. In your first category, you'll list the "hard" attributes you're hoping to find in a dream job -- company size, industry, job function, local or global enterprise, level of management, division vs. headquarters role, etc. Geography is perhaps the "hardest" -- the least flexible of dimensions. Would you move across the country or abroad for your dream job? Will you move across town, doubling your commute? Think really hard about these questions, because these factors aren't likely to change. 在你開出一張理想工作要素清單時，將你的期望要素分成兩類。在第一類中，列出的是理想工作中的“硬指標”——公司大小，行業，職能，當地或全球企業，管理程度，部門還是總部，等等。地理因素也許是最“硬”的因素——它的靈活度最小。你願意爲了理想的工作而搬家甚或搬到國外嗎？你願意讓上班往返行程增加嗎？好好的想清楚這些問題，因爲它們是不太可能改變的。
Be as specific as you'd like as you create your dream job profile. For instance, "I want to manage human resource information systems for a global employer with 10,000 or more employees and a proactive, forward-looking management team in the apparel industry in the New York metro area." In fact, the narrower your scope, the easier it will be to identify potential employers and begin to research them. But before you do that, let's back up and list the 'soft' attributes of your dream job. After all, it's these soft elements that make these jobs so dreamy. 要儘可能明確地描述理想工作。比如：”我希望在紐約大都市地區爲這樣的公司管理人力資源系統，這個公司應該是在服裝行業擁有１萬名或以上員工的跨國公司，有一隻具有前瞻性的管理團隊。“事實上，你的範圍越窄，就越容易發現潛在僱主，並開始對他們進行調查。但是，先別急，讓我們先來說說那些理想工作的”軟指標“。畢竟，讓你嚮往的.正是這些”軟指標“。
Left Brain vs. Right Brain
左腦和右腦
On this list, you want to dig into what makes a work environment appealing for you, including items like: How mature an industry do I want to work in? Typically, the more mature (heavy equipment manufacturing, for instance) the more conservative the corporate culture will be. How flat vs. how tiered an organization do I desire? If there are 14 levels of management between me and the CEO, my experience at work will be drastically different from how it will be if there are two. How "left-brain" vs. "right-brain" an organization do I want? Although neurology types don't use those left-brain/right-brain models as they once did to understand brain function, they're still useful for us in understanding our strengths and preferences. Left-brain areas are math, music, programming, and flowcharting. 在這張清單所列的元素裏，你需要去探究什麼樣的工作環境對你有吸引力，包括有：我希望在一個多麼成熟的行業工作？行業越成熟，那麼企業環境就會越保守（例如，重型機器製造業)。我希望的是扁平化組織還是層次化結構？如果我和CEO之間有14層管理層，那麼我的體驗就會和在兩層結構中的大不一樣。我希望爲一個”左腦“還是”右腦“組織工作？雖然神經學上現在用的左右腦模式和曾用的理解大腦功能的模式不同，這一概念在幫助瞭解我們的強項和喜好上依舊有用。左腦和數學、音樂、程序和流程有關。
If you're that person, organizations dominated by that type of thinking are perfect for you -- research institutions and engineering firms are two examples. Right-brain-focused people veer toward the humanities, language, and the arts. An advertising agency or a freewheeling startup might be a better fit. 如果你是"左腦”思維的人，那麼以“左腦”思維爲主導的組織就適合你——例如，研究院和工程公司。偏重右腦的人們傾向於人文、語言和藝術。廣告代理或自主創業也許是更好的選擇。
What looks like a dream job on paper will quickly turn to ashes if the organizational culture doesn't celebrate what you love to do and do well. 如果公司文化和你喜歡、擅長的並不合拍，那麼看上去理想的工作很快就會變的糟糕。