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| Kevin Kelly, captured by Christopher Michel |
凱文·凱利Kevin Kelly 在 73 歲生日給大家的 101 條人生建議
原文出處: 蕭上農FB
六年前,我慶祝 68 歲生日時,送給孩子們 68 條建議，
這些建議正是我年輕時希望獲得的人生忠告。此後每年生日，我都會為他們增添更多建議，直到集結成一本關於人生箴言的書。
該書一年前以《卓越生活之道》為名出版，許多人告訴我，他們會慢慢細嚼這本書，每天只閱讀一條箴言。
就在數日後，我將年滿 73 歲，因此再次在生日這天，
我獻上另外 101 條我希望自己早些明白的人生建議。這些建議均未收錄在書中，全是嶄新內容。如果你對這些建議有共鳴或感受，我的《卓越生活之道》一書中還有 460 條箴言，全都整齊裝訂成冊,體積便於攜帶,適合當作禮物贈送給比你年輕的人。
Six years ago I celebrated my 68th birthday by gifting my children 68 bits of advice I wished I had gotten when I was their age. Every birthday after that I added more bits of advice for them until I had a whole book of bits. That book was published a year ago as Excellent Advice for Living, which many people tell me they read very slowly, just one bit per day. In a few days I will turn 73, so again on my birthday, I offer an additional set of 101 bits of advice I wished I had known earlier. None of these appear in the book; they are all new. If you enjoy these, or find they resonate with your own experience, there are 460 more bits in my Excellent Advice book, all neatly bound between hard covers, in a handy size, ready to gift to a person younger than yourself. – KK
• The best way to criticize something is to make something better.
• 批評某樣東西最好的方式是做得更好。
• Admitting that “I don’t know” at least once a day will make you a better person.
•每天至少承認"我不知道"一次，會讓你成為一個更好的人。
• Forget trying to decide what your life’s destiny is. That’s too grand. Instead, just figure out what you should do in the next 2 years.
•別試圖決定你一生的命運是什麼。那太宏大了。相反,只要弄清楚你在接下來的 2 年內應該做什麼就行了。
• Aim to be effective, but unpredictable. That is, you want to act in a way that AIs have trouble modeling or imitating. That makes you irreplaceable.
•要有效而難以預測。換句話說，你要以一種 AI 很難模仿或複製的方式行事。這使你無可取代。
• Whenever you hug someone, be the last to let go.
•每當你擁抱某人時，要成為最後一個放手的人。
• Don’t save up the good stuff (fancy wine, or china) for that rare occasion that will never happen; instead use them whenever you can.
•不要為了等待永不會發生的稀有場合才使用好東西(如精美的酒或瓷器),盡可能多地使用它們。
• The best gardening advice: find what you can grow well and grow lots and lots of it.
•園藝的最佳建議:找到你能種植得很好的東西，然後大量種植。
• Never hesitate to invest in yourself—to pay for a class, a course, a new skill. These modest expenditures pay outsized dividends.
• 永遠不要猶豫投資於自己——為了一個課程、一門課程或一項新技能付費。這些適度的支出會帶來巨大的回報。
• Try to define yourself by what you love and embrace, rather than what you hate and refuse.
• 盡量用你熱愛和擁抱的東西來定義自己，而不是你恨和拒絕的東西。
• Read a lot of history so you can understand how weird the past was; that way you will be comfortable with how weird the future will be.
• 多閱讀一些歷史，這樣你就能了解過去是多麼的奇怪，這樣你就會對未來的奇怪感到放鬆。
• To make a room luxurious, remove things, rather than add things.
• 要讓房間豪華，不要添加東西，而是移走東西。
• Interview your parents while they are still alive. Keep asking questions while you record. You’ll learn amazing things. Or hire someone to make their story into an oral history, or documentary, or book. This will be a tremendous gift to them and to your family.
• 在父母還在世時採訪他們。不斷提出問題並錄音。你會發現驚人的事情。或者請人把他們的故事制作成口述歷史、紀錄片或書籍。這將是對他們和你的家人巨大的禮物。
• If you think someone is normal, you don’t know them very well. Normalcy is a fiction. Your job is to discover their weird genius.
• 如果你認為某人很正常，那你就不太了解他們了。正常只是一種虛構。你的工作是發現他們奇怪的天賦。
• When shopping for anything physical (souvenirs, furniture, books, tools, shoes, equipment), ask yourself: where will this go? Don’t buy it unless there is a place it can live. Something may need to leave in order for something else to come in.
• 購買任何實物(紀念品、家具、書籍、工具、鞋子、設備)時，要問自己:這東西將放在哪裡?除非有地方可以放置，否則不要買。
為了讓新東西進來，可能需要讓一些舊東西離開。
• You owe everyone a second chance, but not a third.
• 每個人都應該得到第二次機會，但不是第三次。
• When someone texts you they are running late, double the time they give you. If they say they’ll be there in 5, make that 10; if 10, it’ll be 20; if 20, count on 40.
• 當有人發簡訊告訴你他們遲到時,把他們給你的時間加倍。
如果他們說 5 分鐘就到，那就算 10 分鐘，如果說 10，就是 20，如果說 20，那就算 40。
• Multitasking is a myth. Don’t text while walking, running, biking or driving. Nobody will miss you if you just stop for a minute.
• 多工是一種謬論。走路、跑步、騎車或開車時不要發簡訊。即使你暫時停下來，也沒人會錯過你。
• You can become the world’s best in something primarily by caring more about it than anyone else.
• 你可以透過比任何人都更關心某件事，來成為這方面的世界第一。
• Asking “what-if?” about your past is a waste of time; asking “what-if?” about your future is tremendously productive.
• 追問過去的"如果"是在浪費時間，追問未來的"如果"非常有成效。
• Try to make the kind of art and things that will inspire others to make art and things.
• 努力創作出能激發其他人創作的藝術品和東西。
• Once a month take a different route home, enter your house by a different door, and sit in a different chair at dinner. No ruts.
• 每個月都要改變一次回家的路線，從不同的門進入房子，並在晚餐時坐在不同的椅子上。不要坐穩了腳步。
• Where you live—what city, what country—has more impact on your well being than any other factor. Where you live is one of the few things in your life you can choose and change.
• 你居住的地方—無論是哪個城市、哪個國家—對你的幸福感影響比任何其他因素都大。居住地是你生活中少數幾個可以選擇和改變的事物。
• Every now and then throw a memorable party. The price will be steep, but long afterwards you will remember the party, whereas you won’t remember how much is in your checking account.
• 不時舉辦一次令人難忘的派對。雖然代價昂貴，但很久以後你仍會記得那場派對，而不會記得你的支票帳戶裡有多少錢。
• Most arguments are not really about the argument, so most arguments can’t be won by arguing.
• 大多數爭論實際上並不是針對爭論本身，因此大多數爭論都無法透過爭論來贏得勝利。
• The surest way to be successful is to invent your own definition of success. Shoot your arrows first and then paint a bull’s eye around where they land. You’re the winner!
• 成功的最可靠方法是 自行定義成功的標準。先射出箭，再在箭射中的地方畫一個靶心。你就是贏家!
• When remodeling a home interior use big pieces of cardboard to mock-up your alterations at life size. Seeing things, such as counters, at actual size will change your plans, and it is so much easier to make modifications with duct tape and scissors.
• 在重新裝修室內時，使用大塊硬紙板，以實物大小模擬你的改建計劃。實物大小看到東西，如櫃檯，會改變你的計劃，用膠帶和剪刀修改也更容易。
• There should be at least one thing in your life you enjoy despite being no good at it. This is your play time, which will keep you young. Never apologize for it.
• 在你的生活中，至少應該有一樣東西你雖然不擅長但仍喜歡，這是你的遊戲時間，可以保持年輕心態，永不需為此道歉。
• Changing your mind about important things is not a consequence of stupidity, but a sign of intelligence.
• 改變對重要事物的看法 並不是由於愚蠢，而是智慧的表現。
• You have 5 minutes to act on a new idea before it disappears from your mind.
• 你只有 5 分鐘的時間去實踐一個新想法，否則它會從你的腦海中消失。
• What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important. To get the important stuff done, avoid the demands of the urgent.
• 重要的事情往往不緊急，緊急的事情往往不重要。要完成重要的事情,就要避開緊急事物的要求。
• Three situations where you’ll never regret ordering too much: when you are pouring concrete, when you are choosing a battery, and when you are getting ice for a party.
• 在下列三種情況下，你永遠不會後悔訂購過多 : 澆築混凝土時、選購電池時以及為派對採購冰塊時。
• The patience you need for big things, is developed by your patience with the little things.
• 對大事耐心等待的能力，是由對小事耐心堅持培養而來的。
• Don’t fear failure. Fear average.
• 不要害怕失敗，而要害怕平庸。
• When you are stuck or overwhelmed, focus on the smallest possible thing that moves your project forward.
當你遇到困難或不知所措時，請專注於推進計劃的最小可能的事情。
• In a museum you need to spend at least 10 minutes with an artwork to truly see it. Aim to view 5 pieces at 10 minutes each rather than 100 at 30 seconds each.
• 在博物館中,你需要至少花費 10 分鐘欣賞一件藝術品，才能真正看到它。務必以每件 10 分鐘欣賞 5 件作品,而非每件 30 秒欣賞 100 件作品。
• For steady satisfaction, work on improving your worst days, rather than your best days.
• 為了獲得持久的滿足感，努力改善你最糟糕的日子，而不是你最好的日子。
• Your decisions will become wiser when you consider these three words: “…and then what?” for each choice.
• 當你在考慮每個選擇時，把"...然後呢?"這三個字放在心上，你的決策就會變得更加明智。
• If possible, every room should be constructed to provide light from two sides. Rooms with light from only one side are used less often, so when you have a choice, go with light from two sides.
• 如果可能的話，每個房間都應該能從兩個方向採光。只從一個方向採光的房間使用率較低，所以如果有選擇的話，選擇從兩個方向採光。
• Never accept a work meeting until you’ve seen the agenda and know what decisions need to be made. If no decisions need to be made, skip the meeting.
• 在看到議程並知道需要做出哪些決定之前，永遠不要接受工作會議。如果不需要做出任何決定，請跳過會議。
• You have no obligation to like everyone, and you are free to intensely dislike a person. But you owe everyone—even those you dislike—basic respect.
• 你無義務喜歡所有人，你可以自由地強烈不喜歡某個人。但你應該對所有人，甚至是你不喜歡的人，表示基本的尊重。
• When you find yourself procrastinating, don’t resist. Instead lean into it. Procrastinate 100%. Try to do absolutely nothing for 5 minutes. Make it your job. You’ll fail. After 5 minutes, you’ll be ready and eager to work.
• 當你發現自己在拖延的時候,不要抗拒。相反,要全力以赴地拖延。嘗試在 5 分鐘內絕對什麼也不做。把它當作你的工作。你會失敗。5 分鐘後,你就會做好準備並渴望工作。
• If you want to know how good a surgeon is, don’t ask other doctors. Ask the nurses.
• 如果你想知道一位外科醫生的水平如何，不要問其他醫生，要問護士。
• There is a profound difference between thinking less of yourself (not useful), and thinking of yourself less (better).
• 看低自己(無益)與少思自己(更好)之間存在著深刻的區別。
• Strong opinions, clearly stated, but loosely held is the recipe for an intellectual life. Always ask yourself: what would change my mind?
• 明確陳述強烈的觀點，但也要輕易改變，這是從事智力生活的秘訣。永遠問自己:什麼會改變我的想法?
• You can not truly become yourself, by yourself. Becoming one-of-a-kind is not a solo job. Paradoxically you need everyone else in the world to help make you unique.
• 你不可能完全靠自己成為真正的自己。成為獨一無二的存在不是一個人的工作。矛盾的是，你需要世界上其他所有人的幫助才能使你成為獨特的存在。
• If you need emergency help from a bystander, command them what to do. By giving them an assignment, you transform them from bewildered bystander to a responsible assistant.
• 如果你需要路人的緊急幫助，請命令他們該做什麼。透過給予他們任務，你將他們從困惑的路人變成了負責任的助手。
• The most common mistake we make is to do a great job on an unimportant task.
• 我們最常犯的錯誤是，在一項不重要的任務上做得很出色。
• Don’t work for a company you would not invest money in, because when you are working you are investing the most valuable thing you have: your time.
• 不要為你不會投資的公司工作，因為當你在工作時，你正在投資最寶貴的東西:你的時間。
• Fail fast. Fail often. Fail forward. Failing is not a disgrace if you keep failing better.
• 快速失敗。經常失敗。向前失敗。如果你持續改進，失敗並不可恥。
• Doing good is its own reward. When you do good, people will question your motive, and any good you accomplish will soon be forgotten. Do good anyway.
• 行善自有其回報。當你行善時，人們會質疑你的動機，你所做的任何善事也很快就會被遺忘。但無論如何，還是要去行善。
• Best sleep aid: first, get really tired.
• 最佳助眠法：首先,精力耗盡。
• For every success there is a corresponding non-monetary tax of some kind. To maintain success you have to gladly pay these taxes.
• 每一次成功都會有相應的非金錢性的代價。要維持成功，你必須樂於支付這些代價。
• Do not cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
• 不要僅僅因為花了很多時間而堅持錯誤。
• For small tasks the best way to get ready is to do it immediately.
• 對於小任務來說,最好的準備方式就是立即去做。
• If someone is calling you to alert you to fraud, nine out of ten times they are themselves the fraudster. Hang up. Call the source yourself if concerned.
• 如果有人打電話警告你受騙，九次之中有十次是他們自己才是騙子。掛斷電話，如果有疑慮，自己打給對方查證。
• When you try to accomplish something difficult, surround yourself with friends.
• 當你嘗試完成困難的事情時，應該讓朋友們環繞在你身邊。
• You should be willing to look foolish at first, in order to look like a genius later.
• 你應該願意一開始看起來很愚蠢，從而最終看起來像個天才。
• Think in terms of decades, and act in terms of days.
• 用十年的時間思考，用一天的時間行動。
• The most selfish thing in the world you can do is to be generous. Your generosity will return you ten fold.
• 世界上最自私的事就是大方慷慨。你的慷慨將會帶給你十倍的回報。
• Discover people whom you love doing “nothing” with, and do nothing with them on a regular basis. The longer you can maintain those relationships, the longer you will live.
• 發現你喜歡和誰"無所事事",並經常與他們無所事事。能夠維持這些關係越長久，你的生命就會越長久。
• Forget diamonds; explore the worlds hidden in pebbles. Seek the things that everyone else ignores.
• 忘掉鑽石吧，探索隱藏在石子中的世界。尋找別人忽視的事物。
• Write your own obituary, the one you’d like to have, and then everyday work towards making it true.
• 給自己寫一份你希望得到的訃文，然後每天努力實現它。
• Avoid making any kind of important decision when you are either hungry, angry, lonely, or tired (HALT). Just halt when you are HALT.
當你飢餓、憤怒、孤獨或疲憊(HALT)時,請避免做出任何重要的決定。當你處於 HALT 狀態時，請暫停行動。
• What others want from you is mostly to be seen. Let others know you see them.
• 別人從你這裡要的大多是被看見。讓別人知道你看見了他們。
• Working differently is usually more productive than working harder.
• 不同的工作方式通常比更加努力工作更有成效。
• When you try something new, don’t think of it as a matter of success / failure, but as success / learning to succeed.
• 當你嘗試新事物時，不要把它看作成功/失敗的問題，而是把它看作成功/學習如何成功。
• If you have a good “why” to live for, no “how” will stop you.
• 如果你有一個好的活著的"理由"，沒有任何"方式"能阻止你。
• If you are out of ideas, go for a walk. A good walk empties the mind—and then refills it with new stuff.
• 如果你缺乏靈感，就去散步吧。一次好的散步能讓你的思緒變得清晰,然後再次充滿新的東西。
• The highest form of wealth is deciding you have enough.
• 最高形式的財富是決定你已經擁有足夠的東西。
• Education is overly expensive. Gladly pay for it anyway, because ignorance is even more expensive.
• 教育的費用過於昂貴。不過還是樂意為此付出代價,因為無知的代價更高。
• The cheapest therapy is to spend time with people who make you laugh.
• 最便宜的療程就是花時間和那些能讓你開懷大笑的人在一起。
• Always be radically honest, but use your honesty as a gift not as a weapon. Your honesty should benefit others.
• 永遠要徹底誠實，但要把你的誠實當作一份禮物，而不是武器。你的誠實應該讓別人受益。
• A good sign that you are doing the kind of work you should be doing is that you enjoy the tedious parts that other people find tortuous.
• 一個好的跡象表明你正在做你應該做的工作，那就是你享受別人覺得極其痛苦的瑣碎部分。
• Being envious is a toxin. Instead take joy in the success of others and treat their success as your gain. Celebrating the success of others costs you nothing, and increases the happiness of everyone, including you.
• 嫉妒是一種毒素。相反，你應該為別人的成功感到高興，把別人的成功視為你的收穫。慶祝別人的成功不會給你帶來任何損失，反而會增加包括你在內所有人的快樂。
• The more persistent you are, the more chances you get to be lucky.
• 你越堅持，就越有機會走運。
• To tell a good story, you must reveal a surprise; otherwise it is just a report.
• 要講好一個故事，你必須透露一個驚喜，否則就只是報告而已。
• Small steps matter more when you play a long game because a long horizon allows you to compound small advances into quite large achievements.
• 在長期計劃中，小步伐更為重要，因為長遠來看，你可以將微小的進步累積成相當大的成就。
• If you are more fortunate than others, build a longer table rather than a taller fence.
• 如果你比別人更幸運，就多搭建一張長桌，而不是築起更高的圍牆。
• Many fail to finish, but many more fail to start. The hardest work in any work is to start. You can’t finish until you start, so get good at starting.
• 許多人未能完成,但更多人連開始都沒開始。任何工作中最艱難的是開始。你不開始就無法完成，所以要擅長開始。
• Work on your tone. Often ideas are rejected because of the tone of voice they are wrapped in. Humility covers many blemishes.
• 要注意你的言辭。許多想法之所以被拒絕，往往是因為包裹它們的言辭口吻。謙遜可掩蓋許多瑕疵。
• When you are right, you are learning nothing.
• 當你是對的時候，你就什麼也沒有學到。
• Very small things accumulate until they define your larger life. Carefully choose your everyday things.
• 很小的事物會持續累積，直到定義你更大的生活。要小心選擇你的日常事物。
• It is impossible to be curious and furious at the same time, so avoid furious.
• 好奇心和憤怒是不可能同時存在的，所以要避免憤怒。
• College is not about grades. No one cares what grades you got in college. College is about exploring. Just try stuff.
• 大學不在於成績。沒有人在乎你在大學裡拿了什麼成績。大學是為了探索。就去嘗試各種事物吧。
• Weird but true: If you continually give, you will continually have.
• 奇怪但真實:只要你持續給予，你就會持續擁有。
• To clean up your city, sweep your doorstep first.
• 要打掃你的城市，先從掃你家門口開始。
• Decisions like to present themselves as irreversible, like a one-way door. But most deciding points are two-way. Don’t get bogged down by decisions. You can usually back up if needed.
• 決定往往自我呈現為不可逆轉的,就像一扇單向門。但大多數決策點實際上是雙向的。不要被決定困住。如果需要,你通常可以倒回去。
• Every mistake is an opportunity to improvise.
• 每一個錯誤都是一個即興創作的機會。
• You’ll never meet a very successful pessimistic person. If you want to be remarkable, get better at being optimistic.
• 你永遠不會遇到一個非常成功的悲觀主義者。如果你想要非凡，就要更擅長樂觀。
• You can’t call it charity unless no one is watching.
• 除非沒人在看，否則你不能稱之為慈善。
• When you think of someone easy to despise—a tyrant, a murderer, a torturer—don’t wish them harm. Wish that they welcome orphans into their home, and share their food with the hungry. Wish them goodness, and by this compassion you will increase your own happiness.
當你想到一個容易被人瞧不起的人——一個暴君、殺手或施虐者時，不要希望他們遭受傷害。
要希望他們歡迎孤兒進入家園，並與飢餓者分享食物。要希望他們善良，透過這種同情心，你將增加自己的快樂。
• Get good at being corrected without being offended.
• 要學會在被糾正時不生氣。
• The week between Christmas and New Years was invented to give you the perfect time to sharpen your kitchen knives, vacuum your car, and tidy the folders on your desktop.
• 聖誕節和新年之間的這一周是為了給你一個完美的時間來磨利廚房刀具、吸塵汽車和整理桌面上的資料夾而設計的。
• There is no formula for success, but there are two formulas for failure: not trying and not persisting.
• 成功沒有公式，但有兩個失敗的公式:不嘗試和不堅持。
• We tend to overrate the value of intelligence.You need to pair your IQ with other virtues. The most important things in life can not be attained through logic only.
• 我們往往高估了智力的價值。你需要將智商與其他美德結合起來。生命中最重要的事情不能僅僅透過邏輯來獲得。
• If you are impressed with someone’s work, you should tell them, but even better, tell their boss.
• 如果你對某人的工作印象深刻，你應該告訴他們，更好的是告訴他們的老闆。
• In matters of the heart, one moment of patience can save you years of regret.
• 在感情問題上，一點耐心可以為你省卻多年的遺憾。
• Humility is mostly about being very honest about how much you owe to luck.
• 謙遜主要是對你所欠運氣的程度非常誠實。
• Slow progress is still a million times better than no progress.
• 緩慢的進步仍然比沒有進步好一百萬倍。
• Recipe for greatness: expect much of yourself and little of others.
• 偉大的秘訣:對自己要求很高，對他人要求很低。
• The very best way to win a friend is to be one.
• 贏得朋友的最好方式就是做一個朋友。
