Dare to think out of the box (型にはまらない考え方)

There was a loud shout of "Cheers!" followed by mass gulping and then the buzz of excited conversation. The air was electric with the energy that was flowing from each table of young "international business persons." It marked the opening of an evening for young Japanese and foreign companies to source venture capital and court prospective partners.

Cheers!: 「乾杯!」   mass gulping: 一斉にごくりとお酒を飲むこと
buzz ざわめき   air was electric with 〜: 空気は〜でぴりぴり張り詰めていた
source:調達する   court: 得ようと努める、求愛する   prospective: 将来の

Being neither a young business person nor a venture capitalist I was free to mingle and eavesdrop on hundreds of urgent conversations and zealous sales pitches. It was a joy to see young people fired up with such passion. But my peace was broken with a sudden request that I give a substitute speech in five minutes. What could I possibly talk about?

Being neither 〜 nor 〜:〜でも〜でもなかったので
was free to 〜: 自由に〜できた
mingle: 特にパーティなどでいろいろな人と歓談をする
eavesdrop on 〜: (スパイ的に)〜に聞き耳を立てる。eavesは軒下。eavesdropは
      軒から滴る水のことで、雨宿りの軒下でつい、立ち聞きすることから、
      聞き耳を立てる意味になった。
zealous sales pitches: 熱のこもった売り込みの言葉

As I searched my mind the idea for a topic erupted inside me. It was like a bolt of lightning! I knew it would work. I am not a business expert but I do know a lot about lightning (you have to when you live in a tree house) so I decided to talk about lightning.

fired up: いきいきとした   erupted inside me:思い浮かんだ
bolt of lightning:稲妻
work: うまく行く。workは人・物・計画その他が、求めた或いは求められた任務・
      機能を果たすこと。「人が働く」のも、実はそういうこと。
you have to when 〜: 〜していると知らずにはすまされない。You have to は
      You have to know a lot about lightningを略したものです。have
      toは必然性を表します。to以下のことを既成事実として持っている
      状態だから義務にもなるわけです。

In the Middle Ages, it was believed that the ringing of church bells could ward off lightning. This was proved false by a young scholar who observed that over three decades, church towers in his area were struck over 386 times and over 100 bell ringers were killed by lightning. He dared to challenge popular opinion and question the beliefs of the day. He also saved many bell ringers. I guess you could say he dared to "think out of the box."

Middle Ages: 中世
ward off 〜: 〜を避ける。ここでは雷が落ちないようにすること。
was proved false by 〜: 〜によって誤りだと証明された
were struck:雷が落ちた
bell ringers: 教会の鐘を鳴らす人   beliefs of the day:当時信じられていたこと

Another myth, which even persists today, is that lightning never strikes twice. Well, it does, and often finds certain times and certain areas very appealing. In the United States, living in some states like Florida, Texas and North Carolina would greatly increase your chances of being struck by lightning.

myth: 俗説
even persists today: 今日でも信じられている。persistは生き残ること。ここでは
      mythが生きていること。

Lightning can also be predicted and, with the right tools and preparation such as lightning rods and kite strings (as Benjamin Franklin showed us), it can be attracted for a purpose.

be predicted:予測される   lightning rods:避雷針   kite strings: たこ糸
Benjamin Franklin:作家、科学者、外交官などの分野で活躍した米国人。雷が
      電気であることを証明した(1706〜90)。まさにthink out of the boxです。
can be attracted for a purpose:都合よく落ちるよう誘導できる

So how is this all relevant to business? For business, don't we stress thinking out of the box, preparing, and being at the right place at the right time to increase our chances of success? Then the opposite is also true. Companies increase their chance of failure by carelessly being in the wrong place at the wrong time and totally unprepared.

(is) relevant to 〜: 〜に関係する   opposite: 正反対のこと

We also know that lightning chooses victims who place themselves in vulnerable places such as ballparks, open spaces and even under trees. Close to 20 percent of deaths from lightning happen to people who seek shelter under trees during a lightning storm. In troubled financial times, be careful about where you take shelter and which businesses and partners you embrace.

vulnerable:被害を受けやすい   ballparks: 野球場   lightning storm:雷雨

Since 1954 until the present, over 10,000 people have died of lightning because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. How many businesses have also been struck and gone under since then? I personally enjoy risks and thrive on challenges. I live in a tree house and climb the world's largest trees for a living, and I encourage you to take educated and calculated risks. Risks won't kill you.

embrace: 受け入れる   (have) gone under: 倒産する
thrive on 〜: 〜を糧に成長する。The shop is thrivingは、はやっていること。
educated and calculated: 知識に基づき、かつ計算された

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