Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no days, no hours or minutes. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will all expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so
It won’t matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived.
It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Your gender, skin color, ethnicity will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.
What will matter is not your memories, but the memories of those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
参考译文：
不管你是不是已经准备好了，生命终将有走到终点的那一天。不再有旭日东升，不再有日日时时，也不再有一分一秒。你所有的一切，无论是所珍爱的还是已遗忘的，都将交到另一个人的手里。
你的财富、名望和凡世的权力都将变得卑微，成为无关紧要的东西。你欠了世人什么，世人又欠了你什么，所有这一切都不再重要。
希望、抱负、计划以及想要做的林林总总，和幽怨、愤恨、失败、妒忌一起，都归于灰飞烟灭。曾经是那么在意的成败得失也变得无足轻重。
你来自哪里，你住在路的那边，都不足挂齿。你是否拥有美貌和才气也不值一提。你的性别、肤色、民族亦变得无关紧要。
那么，什么才是生命中重要的东西呢？你生命的价值又是如何体现的？
生命中重要的不是你买到了什么，而是你创建了什么；不是你得到了什么，而是你给予了什么；不是你所取得的成功，而是你创造的价值；不是你学到了什么，而是你教会了别人什么。
生命中重要的是你正直、仁慈、勇敢、奉献的每一个行为。这些行为充实了别人、鼓舞着别人以你为榜样去为这世界的美好而努力。
生命中重要的不是你的能力，而是你的性格；不是你认识多少人，而是当你离去时会有多少人感到永远地失去了些什么；不是你的记忆，而是那些深爱着你的人的怀念。
生命中重要的是人们会怀念你多久，谁会怀念你，怀念你什么。
拥有一个有意义的人生不是偶然的事情，也不是环境所能决定的事情，而是你自己的选择。
相关单词：irrelevance
irrelevance解释：n.无关紧要；不相关；不相关的事物
irrelevance例句：
the irrelevance of the curriculum to children's daily life 课程与孩子们日常生活的脱节
A President who identifies leadership with public opinion polls dooms himself to irrelevance. 一位总统如果把他的领导和民意测验投票结果等同起来，那么他注定将成为一个可有可无的人物。 来自辞典例句
相关单词：grudges
grudges解释：不满，怨恨，妒忌( grudge的名词复数 )
grudges例句：
He never grudges money. 他从不吝惜金钱。
They bear grudges against each other. 他俩有过节儿。
相关单词：resentments
resentments解释：（因受虐待而）愤恨，不满，怨恨( resentment的名词复数 )
resentments例句：
He could never transcend his resentments and his complexes. 他从来不能把他的怨恨和感情上的症结置之度外。
These local resentments burst into open revolt. 地方性反感变成公开暴动。
相关单词：frustrations
frustrations解释：挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意
frustrations例句：
The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。
相关单词：jealousies
jealousies解释：n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡
jealousies例句：
They were divided by mutual suspicion and jealousies. 他们因为相互猜疑嫉妒而不和。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
I am tired of all these jealousies and quarrels. 我厌恶这些妒忌和吵架的语言。 来自辞典例句
相关单词：gender
gender解释：n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性
gender例句：
French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。
相关单词：irrelevant
irrelevant解释：adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的
irrelevant例句：
That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
A question
相关单词：compassion
compassion解释：n.同情，怜悯
compassion例句：
He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。
相关单词：emulate
emulate解释：v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿
emulate例句：
You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。
相关单词：competence
competence解释：n.能力，胜任，称职
competence例句：
This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。
相关单词：lasting
lasting解释：adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持
lasting例句：
The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
