我不知道你们是否喜欢罗列清单，但我非常喜欢这样做。罗列清单能帮我们把事情做得井井有条，这一点毋庸置疑。所以当我第一次读到理查德的“成功八部曲”时，我就觉得这是行动的伟大向导。但细细品味，我又对此产生了怀疑。因为，虽然经历过一些痛苦，但我的生活依然很好，我在很多方面也获得了成功。

　　Yet when I looked more closely at Richard's list, I realised that I had skipped over some of his most important steps. For example, I am passionate about far too many things to concentrate on just one--be it politics and leadership, economic history, public policy, mentoring, rainforests and gardens, community and family--I could go on. Clearly I seem to lack focus! In fact, my whole career has been a bit of a random walk.

　　然而，当我更加仔细品读理查德的“成功八部曲”时，我发现自己忽略了一些最重要的步骤。例如，我热爱太多的事情，并没有专注于一件事情——我涉足过政界、做过领导，研究过经济史和社会政策，从事过教育，关注过雨林和园艺，还对社区和家庭感兴趣等待。显然，我缺乏专注。事实上，我的职业生涯有点像漫步。

　　I started spruiking Australian wine at the New York food fair, before becoming a secretary in Washington because the World Bank did not recognise my ANU degree and I needed a job. Then I morphed from an economic policy wonk at the Commonwealth Treasury, to being a senior advisor to the Prime Minister of Australia, in charge of government business and multiculturalism.

　　在华盛顿做秘书前，我在纽约食品市场推销过澳洲酒，因为当时世界银行不认可我在澳大利亚国立大学获得的学位，而我需要一份工作。后来，我从联邦财政部的经济政策专家转而成为澳大利亚总理的调理顾问，主要负责政府工作和多元文化研究。