"One Thought Heaven" (Yì Niàn Tiāntáng) literally means "Heaven and Hell are only a thought away", which suggests "positive thinking." Positive thinking is a well-known concept and doesn't seem difficult to carry out, but unfortunately, we tend to forget to do so.
初到異鄉，面對截然不同的文化；或是初進一個新的工作環境，我們常會有：「怎麼這麼不合理？」的反應。就連我這個在台灣土生土長了五十一年，嗯，零十一個月的人都還會碰到讓我想不通的情況。一天走在羅斯福路上，看到一家彩券行的廣告標語－「半年內賣出三次頭獎彩券！」當下我第一個反應是：那我當然不會在這兒買，因為再中頭獎的機率太低了！但是轉念想想，老闆為什麼要這麼寫？一定有他的理由，只是這個理由不合乎我自己的思考邏輯而已。也許他認為這表示財神爺總是會照顧他的店，也許常買彩券的人都相信財神爺是存在的！如此一來，他的廣告詞就挺有道理的！
When entering a distinctly different culture in a foreign country or starting a career in a new environment, oftentimes we grumble, "Why are things so unreasonable here?" Believe it or not, this also happens to someone who was born and raised here in Taiwan and has lived here for fifty one years (...and eleven months) like me. When I was walking down Roosevelt Road one day, I saw an advertisement in front of a lottery store which said: "Three Lottery Winners Here in Half a Year!" My immediate reaction was: "Why would I buy a lottery ticket here? The possibility of their winning another lottery is too low!" However, on second thought, I said to myself: "This ad must have meant something. It's just that its logic does not agree with mine. Perhaps the boss believes the God of Fortune always takes care of his business, and the players also believe in God of Fortune!" In that sense, the advert does sound persuasive!
不管我自己相不相信財神爺，這個廣告所代表的觀念讓我覺得很有趣，也似乎讓我更能了解跟我想法不同的一群人。我現在每逢看到別人不同的做法，會試著先別生氣，先別批判，想想看他的理由可能是什麼。了解他的理由以後，要接受或是要說服別人改變就容易多了。至於彩券呢？嗯，其實，那個廣告到目前為止還沒說服我！
It doesn't matter whether I believe in the God of Fortune or not. What matters is that the concept of this advertisement sounds rather interesting to me, and it also helps me better understand people with diverse viewpoints. Now, whenever I come across a dispute, I try to stay calm and put myself in the other person's shoes. A thorough understanding of someone's rationale makes it much easier to accept his opinion or to persuade him otherwise.
As for the lottery advert - to be honest, it has yet to convince me!