未来十年，你的人生目标在哪里？

Many people set the right goals, but the wrong deadlines. They want to become a professional blogger, but set a deadline of 6 months, instead of 6 years. This short-term thinking detracts from the big picture, where becoming really good at something takes at least a decade, not just 18 months.

一些人设定对了人生奋斗目标，但却设定错了完成它所需的期限。比如一些人想要成为专业博主，但给自己设定的期限却是短短的6个月而非6年。这种短期的思维会影响你整个职业生涯的规划，要想让自己在某一领域做到出类拔萃至少需要十年的时间，而不是18个月。

“Freedom and success isn’t about taking big risks. It’s about becoming good enough at something society values, so you can dictate the terms for how you live your life.” This was something productivity blogger Cal Newport related to me.

“自由和成功与承担巨大风险无关，而是要在能体现自身价值的某一方面做到出类拔萃，所以所你可以决定自己靠什么来谋生。”这句话是关注效率话题的博主Cal Newport告诉我的。

He said that he only knew a few examples of people who had reached success because of unconventional risk-taking. However, he said he knew many people that have tremendous personal freedom because they became exceptionally good at something the world values.

他说，在他认识的人里面只有极少数人是靠冒风险而获得成功的。不过，他还说他认识许许多多的人靠十年磨一剑的努力在自己感兴趣的领域内收获了成功，创造了价值。

Where’s Your Next Decade Going?

下一个十年，何去何从？

Malcolm Gladwell puts the mark at 10,000 hours. That’s a decade of work investing three hours to develop a skill, every day, for almost every week of the year. This is the number of hours it takes to become exceptional at something. Whether it’s writing, programming, music, research or dentistry.

格拉德威尔 (Malcolm Gladwell)说我们需要10，000个小时的时间才可以做到出类拔萃。那是整整十年的时间，假如你每天投入3个小时去提高某项技能的话。而一万个小时正是让你在某个领域内做到出类拔萃所需的最少时间。不论你所感兴趣的是写作、写程序、音乐、研究还是工业，这一法则都适用。

Ten thousand might not be the exact number. For you it might be 8000, or 16,000. What matters isn’t the exact number, but the kind of long-term thinking that goes along with it. Instead of asking yourself how you will reach a goal in 18 months. Figure out where you’re going to spend your next decade.

也许一万个小时并不是一个非常精确的数字。对你来说这可能是八千个小时，也可能是一万六千个小时。最为重要的不是这个数字的精确性与否，而是你得做好长期的打算。与其问自己“我该如何在未来的18个月内实现这个目标”，还不如问自己“我想把下一个十年花在哪些事情上呢？”。

My Next Ten Years 我的下一个十年

For my next decade, I’d like to work on becoming good at two things: writing and online micro-entrepreneurship. Writing, because even if I don’t decide to sustain myself as a full-time writer it is a potent skill. Micro-entrepreneurship, because it’s my biggest passion and I enjoy the challenges of running a small enterprise more than what I’ve seen from friends who’ve built larger ventures.

下一个十年，我想在两件事上做到优秀：一、写作；二、小规模的互联网创业。即便是我没有做出成为一个全职作家的决定，写作对我来说也是一项非常重要的技能。互联网创业是我非常感兴趣的领域，我也非常享受它给我带来的挑战，不过我做的规模会比较小点，不会像我的朋友所做那样大。

So far, I’ve put in a little over three years on each of these skills. But, I fully expect it to take at least another ten to become exceptionally good at them.

到目前为止，我已经用了三年的时间花在这些技能的提高上。不过，我还是希望我自己再花十年的时间在这些方面做到出类拔萃。

That’s why I refuse to get frustrated if I don’t make immediate progress or I don’t start earning six-figures immediately. Because I’m still far back on the curve and have a number of years to invest before I can become exceptional.

这也是为什么我不会在事情没有进展或是没有挣六位数收入时感到沮丧的原因。因为我知道自己还需投入更多的时间才可以在这些方面做得更优秀。

“What if I don’t know where to invest the next decade of my life?”

“假如我不知道该如何规划未来的十年该怎么办？”

I’m lucky because I’ve found something I consider rewarding, and society values enough that I’m able to make a profit off of it. Many people are stuck on one of either sides. Either they know what they love, but society doesn’t value it. Or they know what society values, but they don’t get any joy creating it.

我很幸运，因为我所做的事情的价值得到了社会的认可，而且还能从中获得一些收入。而有些人会面临一下的两个问题：一、知道自己所热爱的是什么，但社会却不认可这件事的价值；二、知道社会的价值取向，但自己却不热爱这些东西。他们不是被第一个问题困扰，就是被第二个问题所羁绊。

First, becoming exceptionally good can allow you to enjoy something more. Some of the dissatisfaction with a pursuit comes from a lack of skill. I enjoy writing far more now than I did when I started, because I’m able to produce something I feel is of a decent quality. Exceptional ability can often produce a passion.

首先，在某一领域做到出类拔萃，可以让你更享受整个过程。比起我刚开始写作的时候，我所享受得到的乐趣比以往时候都要多，因为我觉得自己可以写出一些有价值的东西。专业技能往往会使你产生一种激情。

Second, becoming exceptionally good allows you to dictate the terms of sustaining your life. If you are an exceptionally good accountant, you don’t need to do routine book-keeping. You can work as a consultant, getting paid hundreds of dollars an hour to travel while working infrequently.

其次，做到出类拔萃可以允许你以自己喜欢的方式去生活。如果你是一个非常出色的会计的话，你就没有必要去做惯例的书面工作。你可以去当一个顾问，每小时就能拿到上百美元的顾问费，而且还可以到处旅行。

A lot of work dissatisfaction comes from the things other than work itself. Bosses, staying inside an office, corporate culture, busywork, constant demands placed on your time and stress. Becoming exceptional affords you the opportunity in many cases to dictate the terms of all the other things associated to work.

工作上的郁闷情绪在很多情况下都不是单单来自工作本身。老板、老是呆在封闭的办公室里、文化差异、繁忙的工作任务、压力、冗长的工作时间，这些因素都会成为你职场上的负担。而在某一领域做到出类拔萃，就可以在很大程度上提升你对这些事项的支配权。

Don’t Ask What You’re Passionate About

不要问自己“我的激情在哪里”

Passion, can be a Catch-22. Often you need to have invested the hours to become good at something in order to build a passion. Skill produces the feedback that makes work enjoyable. Basketball isn’t fun if you’re awful at basketball. Writing isn’t fun if you feel self-conscious about every sentence. Programming isn’t fun if every compilation produces bugs.

激情也可以是第二十二条军规 。你所需要去做的就是投入足够的时间，让自己擅长做某事，这样激情就产生了。拥有一些特殊的技能会给自己带来许多愉悦的感受。假如你不会打篮球的话，这项运动对你来说就一点乐趣都没有。假如你不会遣词造句的话，写作对你来说简直就是件枯燥无味的事。假如编程老是出错的话，这项活儿对你来说就真的是厌恶至极。

So, instead of asking what you’re passionate about, ask yourself what you could become exceptionally good at that society values. Then, expect to spend the next decade becoming exceptionally good at it.

所以，不要问自己“我的激情在哪里？”，而是要问自己我可以在哪些方面做到出类拔萃，并能够得到社会的认可。然后，把你未来的十年都投入进去，直到你成为一个专家。