TED演讲 | 你为何不会成就伟业

I want to discuss with you this afternoon why you're going to fail to have a great career.

今天下午我想和你们讨论一下你为什么不会成就伟业。

I'm an economist. I do dismal. End of the day, it's ready for dismal remarks.

我是个经济学家。我让人心情低落。一天过完了，准备好听听让人心情低落的评论。

I only want to talk to those of you who want a great career.

我只想和你们想要成就伟业的那些人谈。

I know some of you have already decided you want a good career. You're going to fail, too.

我知道你们有些人已经决定了你们想要一个成功的事业。你们也会失败的。

Because -- goodness, you're all cheery about failing. Canadian group, undoubtedly.

因为，天呐，你们听到失败都这么高兴。无疑是加拿大人。

Those trying to have good careers are going to fail, because, really, good jobs are now disappearing.

想事业有成的人会失败，因为，真的，现在好工作都在消失。

There are great jobs and great careers,

有好工作和好事业，

and then there are the high-workload, high-stress, bloodsucking, soul-destroying kinds of jobs, and practically nothing in-between.

也有工作量大，压力大，吸食血液，侵蚀灵魂的那种工作，而且几乎没有工作能好点的。

So people looking for good jobs are going to fail.

所以想找好工作的人会失败。

I want to talk about those looking for great jobs, great careers, and why you're going to fail.

我想谈谈那些寻找伟业的人，你们为什么要寻找，为什么会失败。

First reason is that no matter how many times people tell you,

第一个原因是不管多少次别人告诉你，

"If you want a great career, you have to pursue your passion, you have to pursue your dreams,

“如果你想成就伟业，你就必须追随你的热忱，你必须追随你的梦想，

you have to pursue the greatest fascination in your life," you hear it again and again, and then you decide not to do it.

你必须追随你人生中最大的吸引，”你听过这句话一遍又一遍，然后你决定不去这样做。

It doesn't matter how many times you download Steven J.'s Stanford commencement address, you still look at it and decide not to do it.

不管你下载多少次Steven J在斯坦福大学的开学演讲，你还是看看然后决定不去做。

I'm not quite sure why you decide not to do it. You're too lazy to do it. It's too hard.

我不太确定你为什么决定不去做。你太懒了。这事太难。

You're afraid if you look for your passion and don't find it, you'll feel like you're an idiot,

你害怕如果你去寻找梦想然后找不到，你会觉得你像个白痴，

so then you make excuses about why you're not going to look for your passion.

所以你给自己找借口，为什么你不去追寻你的梦想。

They are excuses, ladies and gentlemen. We're going to go through a whole long list

这些都是借口，女士们先生们。我们要列一个长单子，

your creativity in thinking of excuses not to do what you really need to do if you want to have a great career.

你的创造力，想想你不去做成就伟业该做的事情的借口。

So, for example, one of your great excuses is:

所以，举例来说，你众多借口之一是，

"Well, great careers are really and truly, for most people, just a matter of luck.

“嗯，伟业实际上对于大多数人来说只是运气问题，

So I'm going to stand around, I'm going to try to be lucky, and if I'm lucky, I'll have a great career.

所以我就在这待着，我就试试做那个幸运的人，然后如果我真幸运的话，我就能成就伟业。

If not, I'll have a good career." But a good career is an impossibility, so that's not going to work.

如果不能，我就找个还不错的事业。”但是没有还不错的事业，所以这个行不通。

Then, your other excuse is, "Yes, there are special people who pursue their passions, but they are geniuses.

然后，你还有其他借口：“是的，有那些与众不同的人，追寻自己的梦想，但是他们是天才。

They are Steven J. I'm not a genius.

他们是Steven J。我不是天才。

When I was five, I thought I was a genius, but my professors have beaten that idea out of my head long since."

我五岁的时候以为自己是天才，但是我的教授们早就把这个念头打消了。”

"And now I know I am completely competent."

“然后现在我知道自己完全有能力。”

Now, you see, if this was 1950, being completely competent -- that would have given you a great career. But guess what?

现在你看，如果这是在1950年，完全有能力，就能让你成就伟业。但是你知道么？

This is almost 2012, and saying to the world, "I am totally, completely competent," is damning yourself with the faintest of praise.

现在几乎是2012年了，对世界说“我完全，绝对，有能力，”就是用最无力的称赞谴责你自己。

And then, of course, another excuse: "Well, I would do this, I would do this, but, but -- well, after all, I'm not weird.

然后，当然，另外一个借口：“嗯，我会做这个，我会做这个，但是，但是，嗯，毕竟，我不是个怪人。

Everybody knows that people who pursue their passions are somewhat obsessive.

每个人都知道那些追寻自己梦想的人都多少有点强迫症。

A little strange. Hmm? Hmm? Okay? You know, a fine line between madness and genius.

有点奇怪。嗯？嗯？好吧？你知道的，疯子和天才一线之隔。

"I'm not weird. I've read Steven J.'s biography. Oh my goodness -- I'm not that person.

我不是个怪人。我读过Steven J的传记。我的天呐。我不是那种人。

I am nice. I am normal. I'm a nice, normal person, and nice, normal people -- don't have passion."

我是好人。我是正常人。我是正常的好人，而且正常的好人没有梦想。

"Ah, but I still want a great career. I'm not prepared to pursue my passion, so I know what I'm going to do, because I have a solution.

啊。但是我还是想要成就伟业。我还没准备好去追寻梦想，所以我知道我要做什么，因为我有办法。

I have a strategy. It's the one Mommy and Daddy told me about.

我有策略。就是爸爸妈妈告诉过我的那个。

Mommy and Daddy told me that if I worked hard, I'd have a good career.

爸爸妈妈告诉我说如果我努力工作，我会有个不错的事业。

So, if you work hard and have a good career, if you work really, really, really hard, you'll have a great career.

所以，如果你努力工作，而且有个不错的事业，如果你工作特别特别特别努力，你就能成就伟业。

Doesn't that, like, mathematically make sense?"

这在数学上不是也成立么？”

Hmm. Not. But you've managed to talk yourself into that.

嗯...不是的。但是你还是让自己信了这话。

You know what? Here's a little secret: You want to work? You want to work really, really, really hard? You know what? You'll succeed.

你知道么？这有一个小秘密。你想工作？你想工作特别特别特别努力？你知道么？你会成功的。

The world will give you the opportunity to work really, really, really, really hard.

这个世界会给你机会去工作得特别特别特别努力。

But, are you so sure that that's going to give you a great career, when all the evidence is to the contrary?

但是你就那么确信这能让你成就伟业，即使所有的证据都指向另一边？

So let's deal with those of you who are trying to find your passion.

所以咱们假设，咱们来处理一下你们当中想追寻梦想的人。

You actually understand that you really had better do it, never mind the excuses.

你实际上明白你最好这么做，抛开借口。

You're trying to find your passion -- and you're so happy. You found something you're interested in.

你试图找到你的梦想，而且你这么快乐。你找到了你感兴趣的事。

"I have an interest! I have an interest!"

“我有个兴趣！我有个兴趣！”

You tell me. You say, "I have an interest!"

你告诉我。你说，“我有个兴趣！”

I say, "That's wonderful! And what are you trying to tell me?"

我说，“太好了！你想告诉我什么呢？”

"Well, I have an interest." I say, "Do you have passion?" "I have an interest," you say.

“嗯，我有个兴趣。”我说，“你有热忱么？”“我有兴趣，”你说。

"Your interest is compared to what?" "Well, I'm interested in this."

“你的兴趣和什么比较？”“嗯，我对这个感兴趣。”

"And what about the rest of humanity's activities?" "I'm not interested in them."

“那其他一切的人类活动呢？“我对那些没兴趣。”

"You've looked at them all, have you?" "No. Not exactly."

“你把那些都看过一遍了？”“没有。不完全是。”

Passion is your greatest love. Passion is the thing that will help you create the highest expression of your talent.

热忱是你最高程度的热爱。热忱是能帮助你最好地成就自己才华的事情。

Passion, interest -- it's not the same thing.

热忱，兴趣--不是一回事。

Are you really going to go to your sweetie and say, "Marry me! You're interesting."

你真的会去找你的甜心然后说，“嫁给我吧！你很有意思。”

Won't happen. Won't happen, and you will die alone.

不会发生的。不会发生，然后你会孤独终老。

What you want, what you want, what you want, is passion. It is beyond interest.

你想要的，你想要的，你想要的，是热忱。它超越兴趣。

You need 20 interests, and then one of them, one of them might grab you, one of them might engage you more than anything else,

你需要20个兴趣，然后它们其中一个，其中一个会抓住你，让你燃起激情，

and then you may have found your greatest love, in comparison to all the other things that interest you, and that's what passion is.

然后你就找到了与其他事情相比之下你最大的热爱，那就是你的热忱。

I have a friend, proposed to his sweetie. He was an economically rational person.

我有个朋友，向他女友求婚。他是个会过日子的人。

He said to his sweetie, "Let us marry. Let us merge our interests."

他对他女友说，“咱们结婚吧。让咱们融合利益。”

Yes, he did. "I love you truly," he said.

是的，他这么说的。“我真心爱你，”他说，

"I love you deeply. I love you more than any other woman I've ever encountered.

“我深深爱着你。我爱你胜过其他任何女人。

I love you more than Mary, Jane, Susie, Penelope, Ingrid, Gertrude, Gretel -- I was on a German exchange program then.

我爱你胜过Mary，Jane，Susie，Penelope，Ingrid，Gertrude，Gretel--我那时候在一个德国的交换项目里。”

I love you more than --" All right. She left the room halfway through his enumeration of his love for her.

“我爱你胜过...” 好的！她在他列举到一半的时候离开了房间。

After he got over his surprise at being, you know, turned down, he concluded he'd had a narrow escape from marrying an irrational person.

在他从被拒绝的惊讶中缓过来之后，他总结了他刚刚成功逃离和一个不理性的人结婚的厄运。

Although, he did make a note to himself that the next time he proposed,

虽然他也对自己说，下次求婚的时候，

it was perhaps not necessary to enumerate all of the women he had auditioned for the part.

不必要列举所有过往的女朋友。

But the point stands. You must look for alternatives so that you find your destiny, or are you afraid of the word "destiny"?

但是这个论点是成立的。你必须寻找各种选择，才能找到命中注定的那个，或者你害怕“命中注定”这个词么？

Does the word "destiny" scare you? That's what we're talking about.

“命中注定”这个词吓着你么？这就是我们要谈的。

And if you don't find the highest expression of your talent, if you settle for "interesting,"

而且如果你找不到你才能的最高表达，如果你在“有意思”这里止步不前，

what the hell ever that means, do you know what will happen at the end of your long life?

不管这他妈的是什么意思，你知道在你漫长的一生即将结束的时候会发生什么吗？

Your friends and family will be gathered in the cemetery, and there beside your gravesite will be a tombstone,

你的亲友们聚集在墓地里，在这，你的坟边上有个墓碑，

and inscribed on that tombstone it will say, "Here lies a distinguished engineer, who invented Velcro."

这个墓碑上刻着字，写道，“此地长眠着一位发明了Velcro的杰出工程师。”

But what that tombstone should have said, in an alternative lifetime,

但是这个墓碑上也应该刻着，在一个平行时空里，

what it should have said if it was your highest expression of talent, was,

如果这是你才能的最高表达它就应该刻着，

"Here lies the last Nobel Laureate in Physics, who formulated the Grand Unified Field Theory and demonstrated the practicality of warp drive."

“此地长眠着一位诺贝尔物理学奖得主，他规范了大统一场论，并且示范了曲速引擎的实用性。”

Velcro, indeed! One was a great career. One was a missed opportunity.

Velcro，确实！一个是伟业。一个是失掉的机会。

But then, there are some of you who, in spite of all these excuses, you will find, you will find your passion. And you'll still fail.

但是，你们当中有些人，抛开这些借口，你们会找到，你们会找到自己的热忱，然后你们还是失败了。

You're going to fail, because -- because you're not going to do it, because you will have invented a new excuse,

你会失败，因为，因为你不会着手去做，因为你会想出新的借口，

any excuse to fail to take action, and this excuse, I've heard so many times:

任何让你只说不做的借口，而且这个借口我已经听过很多次了。

"Yes, I would pursue a great career, but, I value human relationships -- more than accomplishment.

“是的，我会追求一番伟业，但是相比成就，我更看重人与人之间的关系。

I want to be a great friend. I want to be a great spouse.

我想做一个好朋友。我想做一个好伴侣。

I want to be a great parent, and I will not sacrifice them on the altar of great accomplishment."

我想做一个好父母，而且我不会为了伟大的成就而牺牲这些。”

What do you want me to say?

你们想让我说什么？

Now, do you really want me to say now, tell you, "Really, I swear I don't kick children."

现在，你们真的想让我说，告诉你们，“真的，我发誓我不踢小孩。”

Look at the worldview you've given yourself. You're a hero no matter what.

嗯？看看你给自己定的世界观。无论如何你都是个英雄。

And I, by suggesting ever so delicately that you might want a great career, must hate children.

然而我，通过暗示，这么小心翼翼地，说你可能想要成就伟业，一定痛恨小孩。

I don't hate children. I don't kick them.

我不恨小孩。我不踢他们。

Yes, there was a little kid wandering through this building when I came here, and no, I didn't kick him.

是的，刚才我来的时候有个小孩走过来，我没踢他。

Course, I had to tell him the building was for adults only, and to get out.

当然，我不得不告诉他这个楼是给大人的，他得出去。

He mumbled something about his mother, and I told him she'd probably find him outside anyway.

他含糊地说他妈妈什么的，然后我跟他说他妈估计在外面找他呢。

Last time I saw him, he was on the stairs crying. What a wimp.

我上次看到他的时候他正在台阶上哭呢。真是个懦夫。

But what do you mean? That's what you expect me to say.

但是你是什么意思？这就是你们期待我说的。

Do you really think it's appropriate that you should actually take children and use them as a shield?

你真的认为，你真的认为拿小孩当挡箭牌合适吗？

You know what will happen someday, you ideal parent, you?

你知道有一天会发生什么，你，完美的父母，对吗？

The kid will come to you someday and say, "I know what I want to be. I know what I'm going to do with my life."

你的孩子有一天会跟你说，“我知道我想做什么。我知道我想怎么度过一生。”

You are so happy. It's the conversation a parent wants to hear,

你特别高兴。这种对话父母最爱听了，

because your kid's good in math, and you know you're going to like what comes next.

因为你的孩子数学好，而且你知道你会爱听你孩子接下来的话。

Says your kid, "I have decided I want to be a magician. I want to perform magic tricks on the stage."

你孩子说，“我决定了，我想做个魔术师。我想在舞台上表演魔术。”

And what do you say? You say, you say, "That's risky, kid. Might fail, kid.

然后你说什么？你说，你说，“嗯...那样比较不保险，孩子。有可能会失败，孩子。

Don't make a lot of money at that, kid. I don't know, kid, you should think about that again, kid.

挣不了大钱，孩子。你知道的，我不知道，孩子，你应该再想想，孩子。

You're so good at math, why don't you..."

你数学这么好，为什么不...”

The kid interrupts you and says, "But it is my dream. It is my dream to do this."

然后你孩子打断你，说，“但是那是我的梦想。我梦想就是成为魔术师。”

And what are you going to say? You know what you're going to say?

然后你要说什么？你知道你要说什么吗？

"Look kid. I had a dream once, too, but... But..."

“你看，孩子，我过去也有过梦想。但是...但是...”

So how are you going to finish the sentence with your "but"?

所以你想怎么用“但是”结束你的句子？

"But. I had a dream too, once, kid, but I was afraid to pursue it."

“但是，我过去也有过梦想，孩子，但是我没敢去追随。”

Or are you going to tell him this: "I had a dream once, kid. But then, you were born."

还是，你想告诉他这个：“我过去有梦想，孩子。但是之后你出生了。”

Do you really want to use your family, do you really ever want to look at your spouse and your kid, and see your jailers?

你真的，真的想利用你的家庭，你真的想把你的伴侣和你的孩子当成狱卒吗？

There was something you could have said to your kid, when he or she said, "I have a dream."

你其实可以这么跟你孩子讲，当他/她说“我有个梦想”的时候。

You could have said -- looked the kid in the face and said, "Go for it, kid! Just like I did."

你可以说，面对你的孩子，说，“去追随它吧，孩子，就像我那样。”

But you won't be able to say that, because you didn't. So you can't.

但是你没法那么说，因为你没去追随梦想。所以你不能那么说。

And so the sins of the parents are visited on the poor children.

然后父母的罪恶就在可怜的孩子们身上应验了。

Why will you seek refuge in human relationships as your excuse not to find and pursue your passion? You know why.

你为什么把人际关系当成你不去追随你的热忱的借口？你自己知道为什么。

In your heart of hearts, you know why, and I'm being deadly serious.

在你内心的内心，你知道为什么，而且我现在非常严肃。

You know why you would get all warm and fuzzy and wrap yourself up in human relationships.

你知道你为什么会在人际关系中层层包裹自己。

It is because you are -- you know what you are.

这是因为你是--你知道你是什么。

You're afraid to pursue your passion. You're afraid to look ridiculous.

你不敢去追求梦想。你害怕自己看起来像个疯子。

You're afraid to try. You're afraid you may fail.

你不敢去尝试。你害怕失败。

Great friend, great spouse, great parent, great career.

好朋友，好伴侣，好父母，伟业。

Is that not a package? Is that not who you are? How can you be one without the other? But you're afraid.

不是打包在一起的吗？这难道不是你？你怎么能符合其中一个却不符合另一个？但是你害怕。

And that's why you're not going to have a great career.

这就是为什么你不会成就伟业。

Unless -- "unless," that most evocative of all English words -- "unless."

除非--除非，最引人回忆的词--除非。

But the "unless" word is also attached to that other, most terrifying phrase, "If only I had ..." "If only I had ..."

但是除非这个词和另外一个最可怕的短语是连着的，“如果我当初...”“如果我当初...”

If you ever have that thought ricocheting in your brain, it will hurt a lot.

如果你曾经有过这个想法在你脑海里回旋，它会特别伤人。

So, those are the many reasons why you are going to fail to have a great career. Unless -- Unless. Thank you.

所以，这些就是你为什么不能成就伟业的众多原因。除非...除非。谢谢。