Dear 17-year-old self,
亲爱的17岁的我：
When your Laker dream comes true tomorrow, you need to figure out a way to invest in the future of your family and friends. This sounds simple, and you may think it's a no-brainer, but take some time to think on it further.
明天，你的湖人梦就要实现了，此时，你需要为家人和朋友的未来找到一种更合理的投资方式。这听上去不难，你也许认为根本不需要动什么脑筋，但是，请你多花些时间好好思考一下吧。
I said INVEST.
我说的是投资。
I did not say GIVE.
而不是给予。
Let me explain.
让我来解释下。
Purely giving material things to your siblings and friends may appear to be the right decision. You love them, and they were always there for you growing up, so it's only right that they should share in your success and all that comes with it. So you buy them a car, a big house, pay all of their bills. You want them to live a beautiful, comfortable life, right?
在物质方面对兄弟姐妹和朋友纯粹地给予似乎没错。你爱他们，他们在你成长过程中一直默默支持着你，所以他们应该分享你的成功和它所带来的一切。所以，你为他们买车，买大房子，帮他们付账单。你想让他们过上体面的舒适的生活，对吗？
But the day will come when you realize that as much as you believed you were doing the right thing, you were actually holding them back.
但是终有一天，你会意识到，你以为自己做得对，其实这反而阻碍了他们的发展。
You will come to understand that you were taking care of them because it made YOU feel good, it made YOU happy to see them smiling and without a care in the world — and that was extremely selfish of you. While you were feeling satisfied with yourself, you were slowly eating away at their own dreams and ambitions. You were adding material things to their lives, but subtracting the most precious gifts of all: independence and growth.
你会懂得，你照顾他们是因为这让你自己感觉很好，看到他们无忧无虑的笑容你自己很开心。但是，你这样做是极其自私的。当你对自己感到满意时，你其实慢慢地吞噬了他们自己的梦想和抱负。你给了他们许多物质上的馈赠，却剥夺了他们最珍贵的礼物：独立和成长。
Understand that you are about to be the leader of the family, and this involves making tough choices, even if your siblings and friends do not understand them at the time.
懂得自己将成为家庭的领导者，这包含了做出艰难的抉择，即使你的兄弟姐妹和朋友们暂时无法理解。
Invest in their future, don't just give.
为他们的未来投资，而不是仅仅给予。
Use your success, wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose. Put them through school, set them up with job interviews and help them become leaders in their own right. Hold them to the same level of hard work and dedication that it took for you to get to where you are now, and where you will eventually go.
用你的成功、财富和影响力使他们能够去实现自己的梦想、找到自己的人生目的。送他们去学校，让他们去面试，帮助他们凭借自己的实力成为领袖，要他们付出和你同样多的辛勤和汗水，正是这些努力使你走到今天，走向未来的目标。
I'm writing you now so that you can begin this process immediately, and so that you don't have to deal with the hurt and struggle of weaning them off of the addiction that you facilitated. That addiction only leads to anger, resentment and jealousy from everybody involved, including yourself.
我给你写信，这样你就能立刻开始这一过程，你就不用为了摆脱他们对你的依赖而痛苦挣扎。这种依赖只会给每个人带来愤怒、仇恨和极度，包括你自己。
As time goes on, you will see them grow independently and have their own ambitions and their own lives, and your relationship with all of them will be much better as a result.
随着时间的推移，你会看见他们变得独立，拥有自己的志向和生活，你和他们的关系也会变得更好。
There's plenty more I could write to you, but at 17, I know you don't have the attention span to sit through 2,000 words.
我能给你写得太多了，但是17岁的你可能没有那么多耐心读完一封2000字的信。
The next time I write to you, I may touch on the challenges of mixing blood with business. The most important advice I can give to you is to make sure your parents remain PARENTS and not managers.
下次我给你写信的时候，我可能会谈及血缘关系和事业纠缠不清的问题。我能给你最重要的建议就是：不要让父母做自己的经纪人。
Before you sign that first contract, figure out the right budget for your parents — one that will allow them to live beautifully while also growing your business and setting people up for long-term success. That way, your children's kids and their kids will be able to invest in their own futures when the time comes.
在你签下第一份合约前，弄清楚你要为父母留多少钱，让他们能过上体面的生活，而同时你也能发展自己的事业，让大家都着眼于长远的成功。只有这样，你的子孙后代才能在适当的时候为自己的未来投资。
Your life is about to change, and things are about to come at you very fast. But just let this sink in a bit when you lay down at night after another nine-hour training day.
你的人生即将改变，许多事情将会迅速到来，但是当你这天又完成了9小时的训练，晚上躺在床上时，请好好思考下这封信吧。
Trust me, setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and heartache, some of which remains to this day.
相信我，从最开始就把事情处理好，可以避免未来无数的眼泪和心痛，有些痛苦到今天还没有消除。
Much love,
非常爱你的
Kobe
科比
