# 個人成長過程
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The Personal Evolutionary Process
個人成長過程
As I mentioned before, I believe that life consists of an enormous number of choices that come at us and that each decision we make has consequences, so **the quality of our lives depends on the quality ofthe decisions we make.**
我提過，人生由大量選擇構成，我們要依次做出抉擇，得到結果，所以**生活質量取決于我們所作抉擇的質量。**
We aren’t born with the ability to make good decisions; we learn it.We all start off as children with others, typically parents, directing us. But, as we get older, we increasingly make our own choices. We choose what we are going after (i.e., our goals), which influences our directions. For example, if you want to be a doctor, you go to med school; if you want to have a family, you find a mate; and so on. As we move toward our goals, we encounter problems, make mistakes, and run into personal weaknesses. Above all else, how we choose to approach these impediments determines how fast we move toward our goals.
我們不是天生就會做出明智的決策，是通過學習才擁有這種能力的。我們從小都是和大人一起成長，尤其是父母，他們指導我們的生活，但日漸長大后我們就要靠自己做選擇了。我們選擇追尋什么樣的目標影響著我們成長的方向。例如，你想成為一名醫生，就會攻讀醫學院校，你想組建家庭，就會先找到伴侶，諸如此類。實現目標的征途中，我們遇到困難，犯錯，發現自己的缺點。選擇何種方式應對這些困難，決定著我們實現夢想的速度。
Of course it is true that people are born with differences in their various innate abilities. However, judgment is primarily learned.
當然，人們各種與生俱來的能力都確實存在差異，但判斷力基本是靠學習獲得的。
I believe that the way we make our dreams into reality is by constantly engaging with reality in pursuit of our dreams and by using these encounters to learn more about reality itself and how to interact with it inorder to get what we want—and that if we do this with determination, we almost certainly will be successful. In short:
要夢想成真，得不斷在現實里歷練，追尋夢想，總結教訓，進而獲得成長，了解現實，明白如何解決現實中的問題，實現自己的目標——下定決心，堅持不懈，定能成功。簡而言之：
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Reality + Dreams + Determination = A Successful Life
現實+夢想+決心=成功的人生
So what is success? I believe that it is nothing more than getting what you want—and that it is up to you to decide what that is for you. I don’t care whether it’s being a master of the universe, a couch potato, or anything else—I really don’t. What is essential is that you are clear about what you want and that you figure out how to get it.
成功是什么?沒什么比實現夢想更重要了，想要什么是自己決定的。做宇宙之主？躺沙發看電視的宅男？還是別的什么？我可不在乎，重要的是清楚自己想要什么，知道怎么去實現這個夢想。
However, there are a few common things that most people want.
然而，有些東西看起來普通，但卻是大多數人都想要的。
As I mentioned, for most people success is evolving as effectively as possible, i.e., learning about oneself and one’s environment and then changing to improve. Personally, I believe that personal evolution is both the greatest accomplishment and the greatest reward.
我說過，對大多數人來說，成功是一個高效的進化過程，即了解自己和周遭環境、做出改變、獲得提高。我認為實現個人進化，即成長是最偉大的成就，也能獲得最豐厚的回報。
Also, for most people happiness is much more determined by how things turn out relative to their expectations rather than the absolute level of their conditions. For example, if a billionaire loses $200 million he will probably be unhappy, while if someone who is worth $10 thousand unexpectedly gets another $2 thousand, he will probably be happy. This basic principle suggests that you can follow one of two paths to happiness: 1) have high expectations and strive to exceed them, or 2) lower your expectations so that they are at or below your conditions. Most of us choose the first path, which means that to be happy we have to keep evolving.
同樣，對大多數人來說，幸福感取決于同自身期望值的關聯度，而非個體條件的絕對水平。例如，一個億萬富翁輸了兩億美金，他可能會不開心，但如果另一個身價一萬美元的人意外獲得了兩千美金，那他可就樂開了花。這條基本原則說明，通往幸福之路有兩條：1）期望值高，努力超越；2）降低期望值，符合或低于自身客觀條件。大家一般都會選第一條路，也意味著想幸福，就得不斷成長。
Another principle to keep in mind is that people need meaningful work and meaningful relationships in order to be fulfilled. I have observed this to be true for virtually everyone, and I know that it’s true for me.
另一條要牢記的原則是，充實的生活需要從事有意義的工作，需要跟值得打交道的人建立人脈。我發現這幾乎是適用于每個人的一條真理，當然，對我更是如此。
> As Freud put it, “Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.”
>
> 弗洛伊德說過：愛情和工作是我們人性的基石。
> The work doesn’t necessarily have to be a job, though I believe it’s generally better if it is a job. It can be any kind of long-term challenge that leads to personal improvement. As you might have guessed, I believe that the need to have meaningful work is connected to man’s innate desire to improve. And relationships are the natural connections to others that make us relevant to society.
>
> 工作不一定是一份職業，當然我覺得最好是一份職業。只要是一項長期挑戰，可以提升自我，就能稱作是工作。我認為必須從事有意義的工作，因為想要提升自己是人類與生俱來的欲望，所以我們在社會中才會自然而然和他人建立關系。
Regardless of others’ principles, you will need to decide for yourself what you want and go after it in the best way for you.
別的原則暫且不談，首先你得決定自己想要追尋的是什么，并通過最適合自己的方式實現它。
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Your Most Important Choices
你最重要的選擇
As I mentioned, as we head toward our goals we encounter an enormous number of choices that come at us, and each decision we make has consequences. So, **the quality of our lives depends on the qualityof the decisions we make**. We literally make millions of decisions that add up to the consequences thatare our lives.
我提過，實現目標的征途中，會遇到大量選擇，而我們所做的每一個決定都產生其結果，**生活質量取決于我們所作的抉擇的質量**。我們大概會做出百萬次抉擇，最終的結果累加構成了我們的人生。
Of these millions, I believe that there are five big types of choices that we continually must make that radically affect the quality of our lives and the rates at which we move toward what we want. Choosing well is not dependent on our innate abilities such as intelligence or creativity, but moare on what I think of as character. For this reason, I believe that most people can make the right choices.
這百萬次選擇中，我們一直在做的深刻影響生活質量與實現目標速度的選擇主要有五大類。選對與否不是取決于我們天生的智慧或創造力，而是取決于我們的性格，所以我認為大多數人都能做出正確的選擇。
The following five decision trees show these choices. I believe that those who don’t move effectively to their goals do the things on the top branches, and those who do move to them most quickly do the things on the bottom branches.
下面五大“決策樹”展現了不同的選擇。實現夢想的征途上，效率低下之人會選上分支的選項，效率高的會選下分支的選項。
First:
第一個選擇：
It is a fundamental law of nature that to evolve one has to push one’s limits, which is painful, in order to gain strength—whether it’s in the form of lifting weights, facing problems head-on, or in any other way. Nature gave us pain as a messaging device to tell us that we are approaching, or that wehave exceeded, our limits in some way. At the same time, nature made the process of getting stronger require us to push our limits. Gaining strength is the adaptation process of the body and the mind to encountering one’s limits, which is painful. In other words, both pain and strength typically result from encountering one’s barriers. When we encounter pain, we are at an important juncture in our decision-making process.
大自然的一條根本定律是，要想進化，就要突破極限，承受痛苦，方能獲得成長，舉重也好，直面難題也好，都不外乎如此。大自然賦予我們痛苦，其實是讓我們感受到離目標越來越近，或已在某方面超越了自己的極限。同時，大自然中物種變得強大的過程也要求突破極限。獲得成長是身心適應環境，了解自身極限的痛苦過程，換句話說，痛苦與成長都是克服自身障礙的過程，當我們感到痛苦之時，我們其實是處于做出抉擇的重要分叉口。
Most people react to pain badly. They have “fight or flight” reactions to it: they either strike out at whatever brought them the pain or they try to run away from it. As a result, they don’t learn to find ways around their barriers, so they encounter them over and over again and make little or no progress toward what they want.
大多數人對疼痛反應激烈，采取“戰斗或逃避”的法子，要么奮起反抗給他們帶來痛苦的東西，要么就想逃之夭夭，結果呢，終究沒能解決這些障礙，這也決定了他們將會一次又一次遇到這些困難，遭受痛苦，無法取得進步，無法達成目標。
> There are literally two different parts of each person’s brain that influence these reactions: the pre-frontal cortex and the amygdala. They work as though they were two different brains that fight for control of decision-making. The pre-frontal cortex is the logical part of the brain that evaluates choices logically and the amygdala is the “animal instinct” part of the brain that triggers emotional reactions like the instinct to fight or flee. When faced with an obstacle or threat, an emotional reaction (e.g. pain) can be triggered that can lead to a fight or flight reaction that “hijacks” decision making away from the pre-frontal cortex, where the rational choices are being made. This can result in our making decisions that produce consequences that we do not want. This typically causes really big problems.
>
> 人體大腦有兩個部分會影響這類反應：前額葉皮層和杏仁體。它們就像兩個不同的大腦，相互斗爭想控制決策行為。前額葉皮層是大腦的邏輯組織，從邏輯上評估各種選項，杏仁體是大腦“動物天性”部分，會引起情緒反應，如戰斗或逃跑。面對障礙或威脅，會產生情緒反應（比如痛苦），導致戰斗或逃跑之類的行為，這種行為會將人做理性決策的行為能力從前額葉皮層那里搶過來，這樣做的決策結果不是我們想要的。
Those who react well to pain that stands in the way of getting to their goals—those who understand what is causing it and how to deal with it so that it can be disposed of as a barrier—gain strength and satisfaction. This is because most learning comes from making mistakes, reflecting on the causes of the mistakes, and learning what to do differently in the future. Believe it or not, you are lucky to feel the pain if you approach it correctly, because it will signal that you need to find solutions and to progress. Since the only way you are going to find solutions to painful problems is by thinking deeply about them—i.e., reflecting — if you can develop a knee-jerk reaction to pain that is to reflect rather than to fight or flee, it will lead to your rapid learning/evolving.
面對困難，有人反應得體，這種人深知根源起因，明白如何應對，清除掉這些人生路障，獲得成長與滿足感。這是因為人是在犯錯中學習、反思根源，并學會如何在未來改變策略。不管你信不信，我覺得遭受痛苦是件幸事，能從中意識到哪兒有什么問題需要解決與提高。要想解決這些令人頭疼的問題，唯一的法子就是深入思考。如果在膝跳反應中，對疼痛的反應是反思，而不是反抗或逃避，即可快速學習，獲得成長。
> Your very unique power of reflectiveness—i.e., your ability to look at yourself, the world around you, and the relationship between you and the world—means that you can think deeply and weigh subtle things to come up with learning and wise choices. Asking other believable people about the root causes of your pain in order to enhance your reflections is also typically very helpful— especially others who have opposing views and who share your interest in finding the truth rather than being proven right.
>
> 因為你擁有一項獨特的能力，即反思的能力，能使你審視自己、周圍的世界和你與世界的關系。因此你能夠深入思考，對細節進行考量，從而獲得知識，做出明智的選擇。讓值得信賴之人告訴你痛苦的根本原因，能提升反思的質量。尤其當對方與你觀點相對立，或與你一樣樂于自己去尋找真相而不是樂于坐等事實被別人證明。
If you can reflect deeply about your problems, they almost always shrink or disappear, because you almost always find a better way of dealing with them than if you don’t face them head on. The more difficult the problem, the more important it is that you think hard about it and deal with it. After seeing how effectively facing reality—especially your problems, mistakes and weaknesses— works, I believe you will become comfortable with it and won’t want to operate any other way.
如果你能深刻反思自己的問題，這些問題基本都會減少或消失。因為比起躲避這些問題，你幾乎總是能找到一種更高的解決方法。問題越嚴重，越需要你認真思考并解決它，當看到有效面對現實，尤其是面對自己的問題，錯誤和缺點。我相信你終會從容應對，到時候都不會想用其他方法解決了。
So, please remember that:
所以，請記住：
#### Pain + Reflection = Progress
痛苦+反思=進步
#### How big of an impediment is psychological pain to your progress?
通往成功之路上，困難阻礙對你的心靈能造成多大的痛苦呢？
Second:
第二個選擇：
People who confuse what they wish were true with what is really true create distorted pictures of reality that make it impossible for them to make the best choices. They typically do this because facing “harsh realities” can be very difficult. However, by not facing these harsh realities, they don’t find ways of properly dealing with them. And because their decisions are not based in reality, they can’t anticipate the consequences of their decisions.
有人會混淆“期望的真相”與“事實真相”，真實情況因而被扭曲，也就無法做出最佳選擇，這可能是因為直面“殘酷的現實”確實很難做到。但不直面這些殘酷的現實，人們就沒法找到從容應對這些現實的辦法。如果決策不是基于真實情況，那么決策的結果就無法預測。
> An example of this is what discussed earlier: wanting to save the wildebeest from the hyenas. When you don’t want to face what’s really happening, you can’t make sound decisions.
>
> 我之前談過有人想從土狼手中救回羚羊的例子就是如此。若你回避現實，是不可能做出明智決定的。
>
> In contrast, **people who know that understanding what is real is the first step toward optimallydealing with it make better decisions.**
>
> **相比之下，人明白實事求是從容應對困難的第一步，這些人會做出更明智的選擇。**
So, remember…
所以，記住。。。
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Ask yourself, “Is it true?”
問問自己：這是真的嗎？
…because knowing what is true is good.
因為了解真實情況是大有好處的。
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How much do you let what you wish to be true stand in the way of seeing what is really true?
你會讓“期望的真實情況”阻礙自己認清事實真相嗎？如果是，程度是怎樣呢？
Third:
第三個選擇：
**People who worry about looking good typically hide what they don’t know and hide their weaknesses, so they never learn how to properly deal with them and these weaknesses remain impediments in the future.** Thesepeople typically try to prove that they have the answers, even whenthey really don’t. Why do they behave in this unproductive way? They typically believe the senseless but common view that great people are those who have the answers in their heads and don’t have weaknesses. Not only does this view not square with reality, but it also stands in the way of progress.
**擔心表面上看起來是否體面的人，一般是在掩蓋自己不清楚的地方或缺點，這種人從來不去學怎么處理自己的無知與缺點，任憑其成為未來的攔路虎。**這類人就算不知道答案是什么，也試圖努力證明自己知道正確答案。為什么他們做如此低效的事情？因為他們持有一個雖可笑但普遍的觀點，認為成功人士腦袋里裝的只有正確答案、沒有缺點。這種觀點本身就與事實不符，也會阻礙前進的步伐。
> For example, if you are dumb or ugly, you are unlikely to acknowledge it, even though doing so would help you better deal with that reality. Recognizing such “harsh realities” is both very painful and very productive.
>
> 例如，假如你是愚蠢或丑陋的，你可能不會承認，盡管這么做會助你更好地面對現實。認識到這種“殘酷的現實”雖痛苦，但很有成效。
I have never met a great person who did not earn and learn their greatness. They have weaknesses like everyone else—they have just learned how to deal with them so that they aren’t impediments to getting what they want. In addition, the amounts of knowledge and the capabilities that anyone does not have, and that could be used to make the best possible decisions, are vastly greater than that which anyone (no matter how great) could have within them.
我所遇到的成功人士沒有一個不是歷經犯錯學習才獲得成功的。他們和大家一樣都有缺點，不過他們懂得如何應對自己的缺點，不會使其阻礙夢想的實現。除此之外，這些成功人士學識淵博，能力超凡，這些都能助我找到最佳的決策方案，這種資源比任何單個成功的人（無論他多成功）所擁有的優勢都大得多。
> I am not saying that we all have the same potential, just that to get the most of your potential—whatever that is—you must learn and earn.
>
> 我不是說大家的潛力是一樣的，無論這種潛力是什么，要想完全開發就得學習然后獲得。
As I mentioned in the first chapter, you don’t have to know everything to get what you want. You just have to be honest with yourself about what you don’t know and know who to ask for help.
我在第一章提過，要想實現夢想不必什么都知道，坦誠面對自己對某些東西不知道的事實，懂得找他人尋求幫助。
This explains why **people who are interested in making the best possible decisions rarely areconfident that they have the best possible answers**. So they seek to learn more (often by exploringthe thinking of other believable people, especially those who disagree with them) and they are eager to identify their weaknesses so that they don’t let these weaknesses stand in the way of them achieving their goals.
這解釋了為什么**樂于做出最佳決策的人極少會對自己的方案表示十足的信心**。他們因此希望學到更多（通過探索其他值得信賴之人，尤其是持異見之人的想法），并渴望發現自身缺點，避免這些缺點阻礙自己實現目標。
So, what are your biggest weaknesses? Think honestly about them because if you can identify them, you are on the first step toward accelerating your movement forward. So think about them, write them down, and look at them frequently.
所以你最大的缺點是什么呢？若你能發現這些缺點，請坦誠思考一下，這是加速自己成功的第一步。想想這些缺點，寫下來，時常看看。
One of my biggest weaknesses is my poor rote memory: I have trouble remembering things that don’t have reasons for being what they are, such as names, phone numbers, spelling, and addresses. Also, I am terrible at doing tasks that require little or no logic, especially if I have to do them repeatedly. On the other hand, I have a great contextual memory and good logic, and I can devote myself to things that interest me for untold hours. I don’t know how much of what I am bad at is just the other side of what I am good at—i.e., how much of what I am good at is due to my brain working in a certain way that, when applied to certain tasks, does well and when applied to others does poorly—and how much of what I am good at was developed in order to help compensate for what I am bad at. But I do know that I have created compensating approaches so that what I am bad at doesn’t hurt me much; e.g., I surround myself with people who have good rote memories who do the things that I am bad at, and I carry around tools like my BlackBerry.
我最大的缺點是識記能力差，特別是沒有上下文推理的東西我就很難記住，比如姓名、電話號碼、單詞拼寫、地址等等。沒什么邏輯的任務我也干不好，如果是機械重復的工作我更是不在行。但從另一方面來看，我情景記憶力和邏輯思維都很強，感興趣的事情我愿投身其中，不眠不休。不知道我不擅長某些事的原因會不會正好就是我擅長另一些事的原因，也就是說，我擅長某些事是因為大腦的某種思維方式應用到某些具體任務上發揮了很好的效果，但應用到別的一些任務時效果就很差。也不知道我擅長的思維方式是不是得到了開發，足以彌補我的缺點。但可以肯定的是我自己想出了補償方法，不會因為這些缺點而吃什么大虧。比方說，我身邊結交很多識記能力很強的人，他們可以做我不擅長的事情，我隨身帶著黑莓手機這種電子設備就足夠了。
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How much do you worry about looking good relative to actually being good?
你有多擔心看起來好不好呢？你又有多擔心實際上好不好呢？
Fourth:
第四個選擇：
People who overweigh the first-order consequences of their decisions and ignore the effects that the second- and subsequent-order consequences will have on their goals rarely reach their goals. Thisis because first-order consequences often have opposite desirabilities from second-orderconsequences, resulting in big mistakes in decision-making. For example, the first-order consequences of exercise (pain and time-sink) are commonly considered undesirable, while the second-order consequences (better health and more attractive appearance) are desirable. Similarly, food that tastes good is often bad for you and vice versa, etc. If your goal is to get physically fit and you don’t ignore the first- order consequences of exercise and good-tasting but unhealthy food and connect your decisions with their second- and third-order consequences, you will not reach your goal.
過于看重決策的一級效應，忽略二、三級效應的人，一般很難實現目標。因為一級效應和二級效應的意愿經常是對立的，容易使人做決策時犯大錯。例如，健身的一級效應為承受痛苦，花費時間，這一般不是人們渴望的。而其二級效應，即更健康，外貌變得更具吸引力，則是人們渴望的。類似的道理，可口的食物一般對健康無益，反之亦然。比如，你的目標是身體健康，但是如果你不忽視運動與美味但不健康的飲食之間的一級效應，不將決策建立在二、三級效應之上，那么你就無法實現目標。
> Sometimes it can be difficult to anticipate the 2nd or 3rd order consequences of a decision, such as one that involves using complex technology like X-Rays or DDT, where either things are not what they seem to be or there are too many unknown variables to make a sound decision. For more on the probabilities of personal decision-making, please refer to the “To Make Decisions Effectively” section at the end of Part 3.
>
> 某項決定的二、三級效應有時是很難預料的，比如某人使用像X光或數字資料發送機這種復雜的科技設備時就是如此，因為這兩樣東西表面上很難預測后果，存在太多未知變數，沒法做出很好的決定。關于個人抉擇的可能性，請參閱第三章末的《有效決策》部分。
Quite often the first- order consequences are the temptations that cost us what we really want, and sometimes they are barriers that stand in our way of getting what we want. It’s almost as though the natural selection process sorts us by throwing us trick choices that have both types of consequences and penalizing the dummies who make their decisions just on the basis of the first-order consequences alone.
大多數時候，一級效應是我們實現目標要克服的誘惑，有時還是阻礙成功的攔路虎。這就像自然中物競天擇的過程，甩給我們具備兩種結果的選項，那些傻乎乎只基于一級效應做選擇的笨蛋就會受到懲罰。
By contrast, people who choose what they really want, and avoid the temptations and get over the pains that drive them away from what they really want, are much more likely to have successful lives.
與之相比，選擇真心所渴望、抵擋住誘惑、克服實現目標所需承受的痛苦，這樣才更可能擁有成功的人生。
####
How much do you respond to 1st order consequences at the expense of 2nd and 3rd order consequences?
做決策時，不考慮二、三級效應，僅就一級效應做出反應，這種情況發生在你身上的頻率高么？
Fifth:
第五個選擇：
People who blame bad outcomes on anyone or anything other than themselves are behaving in a way that is at variance with reality, and subversive to their progress.
有的人，結果不理想就怪罪別人而不從自身找原因，這與事實相矛盾，也會阻礙進步。
Blaming bad outcomes on anyone or anything other than one’s self is essentially wishing that reality is different than it is, which is silly. And it is subversive because it diverts one’s attention away from mustering up the personal strength and other qualities that are required to produce the best possible outcomes.
結果不理想就怪到別人頭上，而不認為自己有問題，實際上是想自欺欺人，這種做法很可笑，還會阻礙進步。因為這樣做無疑是分散精力，而原本是可以集中精力提升個人能力素質，實現最佳結果的。
> Blaming others is NOT the same thing as holding others accountable, which we will discuss in my Management Principles.
>
> 責備他人和實行問責制度不是一回事，我在管理原則章節會進行探討。
**Successful people understand that bad things come at everyone and that it is their responsibility to make their lives what they want them to be by successfully dealing with whatever challenges they face.** Successfulpeople know that nature is testing them, and that it is not sympathetic.
**成功人士明白，不好的結果大家都會受其影響，人人都有責任應對各種挑戰，這樣才能實現夢想。**成功人士明白這是大自然在對他們進行考驗，這沒什么可悲的。
> Luck — both good and bad — is a reality. But it is not a reason for an excuse. In life, we have a large number of choices, and luck can play a dominant role in the outcomes of our choices. But if you have a large enough sample size—if you have large number of decisions (if you are playing a lot of poker hands, for example)—over time, luck will cancel out and skill will have a dominant role in determining outcomes. A superior decision-maker will produce superior outcomes. That does not mean there won’t be certain bad-(or good-) luck events that are life changing: a friend of mine dove into a swimming pool and became a quadriplegic. But he approached his situation well and became as happy as anybody else, because there are many paths to happiness. What happens to a lot of people is that they don’t take personal responsibility for their outcomes, and as a result fail to make the best possible decisions.
>
> 無論是好運氣還是壞運氣，都是事實。但運氣不能作為做不好事的借口。生活中我們面對很多選擇，運氣對選擇的結果起著主導作用，但假如樣本數量足夠大，就是說你的決定特別多，那久而久之，運氣的作用就開始淡化了，能力開始對結果起主導作用了。優秀的決策者會做出優秀的決定。那并不意味著運氣（好的或壞的）不會對人生產生重大改變：我有個朋友在游泳池游泳不慎變成了四肢癱瘓者，但他面對這樣的境遇依然能夠處理地很好，同大家一樣幸福，因為通往幸福的道路不止一條。很多人不為自己所造成的結果擔當起個人責任，結果就是無法做出最佳決定。
As I mentioned earlier, I believe that nature is symbiotic—and that we must give to it for it to give back.
我之前提過，大自然是共生的，我們需要給它它想要的，才得到回報。
####
How much do you let yourself off the hook rather than hold yourself accountable for your success?
為實現成功，你是置身事外呢，還是富有擔當與責任心呢？
**In summary, I believe that you can probably get what you want out of life if you can suspend your ego and take a no-excuses approach to achieving your goals with open -mindedness, determination, and courage, especially if you rely on the help of people who are strong in areas that you are weak.**
**總結一下，我認為要實現夢想，你得清除自我設障，做事不找借口、思維開放、下定決心、富有勇氣，尤其要依靠那些在你不擅長的領域表現優秀之人。**
If I had to pick just one quality that those who make the right choices have, it is character. Character is the ability to get one’s self to do the difficult things that produce the desired results. In other words, I believe that for the most part, achieving success—whatever that is for you—is mostly a matter of personal choice and that, initially, making the right choices can be difficult. However, because of the law of nature that pushing your boundaries will make you stronger, which will lead to improved results that will motivate you, the more you operate in your “stretch zone,” the more you adapt and the less character it takes to operate at the higher level of performance. So, if you don’t let up on yourself, i.e., if you operate with the same level of “pain,” you will naturally evolve at an accelerating pace. Because I believe this, I believe that whether or not I achieve my goals is a test of what I am made of. It is a game that I play, but this game is for real. In the next part I explain how I go about playing it.
若要說做出明智的選擇之人具備什么共同的素質，我想，是意志。意志堅強的人能夠克服困難，獲得想要的結果。換句話說，我認為要實現成功主要靠的是個人選擇，剛開始做正確的選擇會很困難，但根據大自然法則，要變得強大就要突破自己的極限，才能實現進步這一結果，激勵自己繼續前行，在“伸展區”歷練越多，就越能適應環境，高級階段也就不用那么費力了。所以，如果你不放松，保持“疼痛”的程度，就會自然而然加速成長。因為我相信，能否實現目標是對自身品質的檢驗，這是一場自己主導的游戲，但是這是荷槍實彈的游戲。下一章我會談談怎么開始玩這場游戲。
In summary, **I don’t believe that limited abilities are an insurmountable barrier to achieving yourgoals, if you do the other things right.**
總結一下，**我不認為有限的能力是實現目標不可逾越的障礙，能把其他的事情做好，也能彌補自身的缺陷。**
As always, it is up to you to ask yourself if what I am saying is true. As the next part delves into this concept more, you might want to reserve your judgment until after you have read it.
還是老規矩，你自己來判斷我說的是不是真的，下一章會更深入探討這個概念，在那之前，你可以保留自己的判斷。
###
Your Two Yous and Your Machine
兩個“你”和你的“機器”
Those who are most successful are capable of “higher level thinking” —i.e., they are able to step back and design a “machine” consisting of the right people doing the right things to get what they want. They are able to assess and improve how their “machine” works by comparing the outcomes that the machine is producing with the goals. Schematically, the process is as shown in the diagram below. It is a feedback loop:
成功人士具備“高層思維”，即能夠往回看，設計一臺“機器”，由合適的員工做匹配的工作，然后實現目標。他們通過比較這臺“機器”的生產情況與預期目標，能夠評估并改善其運行情況。整個過程如下圖所示，這個過程形成了一個反饋循環：
That schematic is meant to convey that your goals will determine the “machine” that you create to achieve them; that machine will produce outcomes that you should compare with your goals to judge how your machine is working. Your “machine” will consist of the design and people you choose to achieve the goals. For example, if you want to take a hill from an enemy you will need to figure out how to do that— e.g., your design might need two scouts, two snipers, four infantrymen, one person to deliver the food, etc. While having the right design is essential, it is only half the battle. It is equally important to put the right people in each of these positions. They need different qualities to play their positions well—e.g., the scouts must be fast runners, the snipers must be precise shots, etc. If your outcomes are inconsistent with your goals (e.g., if you are having problems), you need to modify your “machine,” which means that you either have to modify your design/culture or modify your people. Do this often and well and your improvement process will look like the one on the left and do it poorly and it will look like the one on the right, or worse:
這個圖表說明，這臺“機器”旨在實現你所設定的目標，“機器”產出的結果與目標進行比較，判斷“機器”的運行情況，你的這臺“機器”由機構設置與員工配備兩塊組成。例如，你想要攻下敵人占領的山頭，就得知道怎么去操作，你的設計方案可能是：需要兩個偵察兵，兩名狙擊手，四名步兵，一名后勤兵并給前方運送食物。做好設計方案很重要，但想打好仗，這只完成了一半，同樣重要的是，你還需要將合適的員工安排在正確的崗位上。每個崗位所要求的素質不同，偵察兵要跑得快，狙擊手要射得準。如果結果和目標不一致，比如出現問題了，你就要調試自己的這臺“機器”，既要調試設計方案，即公司文化，也要調整人員配備。經常這樣進行反饋與調整，進步的過程就會如左圖曲線所示，反之如右圖曲線所示。
**I call it “higher level thinking” because your perspective is of one who is looking down on at your machine and yourself objectively**, using the feedback loop as I previously described. In other words,your most important role is to step back and design, operate and improve your “machine” to get what you want.
**“高層思維”是以俯視的角度客觀審視這臺“機器”與你自己。**要運用我之前描述的反饋回路。換句話說，你最重要的角色是回過頭反思，進行設計、操作，改善“機器”的性能，實現目標。
Think of it as though there are two yous—you as the designer and overseer of the plan to achieve your goals (let’s call that one you(1)) and you as one of the participants in pursuing that mission (which we will call you(2)). You(2) are a resource that you(1) have to get what you(1) want, but by no means your only resource. To be successful you(1) have to be objective about you(2).
想象有兩個你，你（1號）是整個方案的設計者和監督者，你（2號）是履行任務的參與者。你（2號）是你（1號）為了實現目標的一個資源，但絕不是唯一的資源。要想成功，你（1號）要對你（2號）保持客觀評價。
Let’s imagine that your goal is to have a winning basketball team. Wouldn’t it be silly to put yourself in a position that you don’t play well? If you did, you wouldn’t get what you want. Whatever your goals are, achieving them works the same way.
想象一下，我們的目標假設是贏一場籃球比賽，要把你安排在不擅長的位置打這場比賽，是不是聽起來很蠢？若一定要這么安排，也是會輸掉這場比賽的。無論目標是什么，實現目標的原理是一致的。
If you(1) see that you(2) are not capable of doing something, it is only sensible for you(1) to have someone else do it. In other words, you(1) should look down on you(2) and all the other resources at your(1) disposal and create a “machine” to achieve your(1) goals, remembering that you(1) don’t necessarily need to do anything other than to design and manage the machine to get what you(1) want. If you(1) find that you(2) can’t do something well **fire yourself** (2) and get a good replacement! You shouldn’t be upset that you found out that you(2) are bad at that—you(1) should be happy because you(1) have improved your(1) chances of getting what you(1) want. If you(1) are disappointed because you(2) can’t be the best person to do everything, you(1) are terribly na?ve because nobody can do everything well.
如果你（1號）發現你（2號）不擅長做某事，你（1號）安排別人來做，這樣看才是合理的。換句話說，你（1號）要俯視包括你（2號）在內所有可利用的資源，建立一臺“機器”，實現你（1號）的目標。記住，你（1號）可不一定只做為實現你（1號）目標的設計與管理“機器”的工作，當你（1號）發現你（2號）不能很好完成任務時，就**解雇你自己**（2號），換個合適的崗位。不要因為發現你（2號）不擅長那個崗位就感到沮喪，你（1號）應該感到高興，因為你（1號）提升了你（1號）自己實現目標的幾率，如果你（1號）是因為覺得你（2號）無法成為事事都能做得完美之人而感到沮喪，那你（1號）的想法就太幼稚了，因為人無完人。
**The biggest mistake most people make is to not see themselves and others objectively.** If theycould just get around this, they could live up to their potentials.
**很多人最大的錯誤就是沒能客觀看待自己或他人**，克服了這點就能實現自身潛力的發展。
* How much do you intellectually agree with what I just said?
理性來看，你同意我所說的嗎？
* How good are you in approaching life as a “higher level thinker” rather than as a doer?
做生活的“高層思維者”而不是僅作一個辦事的，你這方面做到了嗎?
* How much would you like to get better at this?**
你想在這方面愿意做得更好嗎？
* How much do you think that reading this is a waste of time?
你現在覺得讀這個是浪費時間嗎？
