五年之約

People commonly 1）overestimate how far they can get in a year， but grossly underestimate how far they can get in five years.

If you actually want results， make a fiveyear commitment to a particular path， like building an online business， developing your social skills， becoming a world traveler， etc. A lesser commitment is largely pointless.

When I began blogging in 2004， I expected Id still be blogging in 2009. If I didnt have that expectation， I wouldnt have started blogging.

Many other bloggers quit within their first year， which is largely a waste of effort. If they were going to quit within such a short period of time， they were never serious about it to begin with. The best results come well after the first year. If you cant make it at least five years， why bother with it at all？

人們往往對他們努力一年之后所能得到的回報(bào)期望過高，卻又常常低估了他們在五年后所能取得的回報(bào)。

如果你真心想要做出點(diǎn)成績來，那就對你選擇的某條道路定下一個(gè)五年之約吧。比方說，開展線上業(yè)務(wù)，提高你的社交技巧，作環(huán)球旅行等等。短時(shí)間的投入努力是毫無意義的。

我從2004年開始寫博客，那時(shí)我便期望自己2009年時(shí)依舊堅(jiān)持是一名博客寫手。如果沒有這樣的期望，我是不會展開博客生涯的。

許多其他的博客寫手在開始的第一年內(nèi)就放棄了，這真是白白浪費(fèi)了他們的努力。如果他們這么短的時(shí)間內(nèi)就放棄，那當(dāng)初他們就根本沒認(rèn)真將這事放心上。最好的結(jié)果往往會在一年之后到來。如果你不能堅(jiān)持至少五年的時(shí)間，干嘛要費(fèi)神開始呢？

After a single year on a new path， it may look like youre barely getting anywhere. 2）Transformation often looks that way at first. But fast forward five years and look back， and the total transformation can be profound.

In 2004 I also joined 3）Toastmasters to build up my speaking skills and experience. After a year of membership， I had switched to a stronger club， but I was still doing mostly five to seven minute speeches and just beginning to do occasional 20-minute talks. I had done a few speech contests too. To prep for a 20-minute talk would take me a full day. I was gaining skills， but results-wise I didnt have much to show for my efforts.

However， after Id been in Toastmasters for four years， I was doing my first paid speeches， earning $3000 for 90 minutes on stage， and they paid for travel and hotel expenses. Thats a result.

And a little over five years after joining Toastmasters， I was doing my first public workshop， for which I earned over $50，000 for three days of speaking. Thats a result.

Now I can do weekend workshops whenever I desire and earn tens of thousands of dollars for each one. Ive done nine of these so far. Every workshop Ive done has earned more money than I earned in my entire first year of blogging. Thats a result.

It used to take me a month to prepare a new workshop 4）from scratch. Now I can do it in about a week. Today I can also prepare a new one-hour talk in about 15-30 minutes， and the delivery is better than when I used to prep for a full day just for a 20-minute talk.

This isnt the result of luck. Its the result of practice and commitment. Not a six month commitment. Not a year. But five plus years.

在一個(gè)新領(lǐng)域堅(jiān)持一年后，或許看上去毫無進(jìn)展。變化在初期總是以這樣的方式顯現(xiàn)。但若是快進(jìn)五年再回頭看，就會發(fā)現(xiàn)深刻的變化。

2004年，我還加入了國際演講會，想讓我的演講技巧更上一層樓并獲得更多演講經(jīng)驗(yàn)。入會一年后，我轉(zhuǎn)入了一個(gè)實(shí)力更強(qiáng)的俱樂部，但我大多數(shù)時(shí)候仍舊是在做一些5到7分鐘的演講，才剛剛開始偶爾進(jìn)行一些20分鐘的演說。同時(shí)，我也參加了一些演講比賽。為了準(zhǔn)備一場20分鐘的演講，我要花上一整天的時(shí)間。我的演講技巧不斷增強(qiáng)，但從結(jié)果來看，我的努力并沒有換來什么值得炫耀的成就。

然而，在我加入?yún)f(xié)會的第四年，我首次進(jìn)行了個(gè)人的有償演講，在臺上作了90分鐘的演講讓我賺了3000美元，而且所有的旅費(fèi)和酒店住宿費(fèi)均由對方支付。這就是成果。

在我加入國際演講協(xié)會剛過五年時(shí)，我進(jìn)行了個(gè)人的首次公眾演講會，這次歷時(shí)三天的演講為我賺得了超過五萬美元的收入。這就是成果。

如今，只要我愿意，我可以隨時(shí)舉辦周末演講會，每次會議都可讓我進(jìn)賬數(shù)萬美元。至今，我進(jìn)行過九次這樣的演講會。每次演講會所掙得的錢都比我寫博客第一年的全年收入還要多。這就是成果。

過去，從頭開始準(zhǔn)備一個(gè)全新演講會需要花上我一個(gè)月的時(shí)間。而現(xiàn)在，我只要一個(gè)星期左右就夠了。如今，我可以在15到30分鐘內(nèi)備好一個(gè)歷時(shí)一小時(shí)的新演講，而且演講發(fā)揮要比以往準(zhǔn)備一整天的20分鐘演講更加精彩。

這不是幸運(yùn)之果。這是鍛煉和堅(jiān)持之果。不是六個(gè)月的堅(jiān)持。不是一年的堅(jiān)持。而是五年以上的堅(jiān)持。

And this was my commitment all along. I knew Id make it to this point if I stuck with it.

The first year of any new commitment is invariably the most awkward. Your skills are weakest then. You dont know what youre doing. You make a lot of mistakes.

That first year is also the time when you learn the fastest. However， that fifth year of five is typically when you enjoy the best results.

Dont force yourself to commit to something random for the next five years. But do put some thought into decisions that can rack up longterm results if you stick with them. This requires a degree of self-awareness， i.e. knowing what youll stick with and what you wont. If you know you wont still be into something five years from now， dont bother putting six months into it.

Ask yourself what interests and goals of yours are still likely to be very important to you five years from now. Look to your past. What were you interested in five years ago that youre still into today？ What goals and 5）aspirations keep resurfacing year after year？ Can you expect this pattern to continue？ These long-term interests will give you a hint about where to double down and commit bigger.

Even if youre in your 20s or younger， you have patterns that youve established. What are the threads that you keep weaving into your life？ How far could you get if you actually got serious about these threads and made a genuine five-year commitment to generating some real results？

我自始至終都堅(jiān)持著自己的約定。我知道，只要我堅(jiān)定不移，我就可以取得這樣的成果。

遵守任何新的約定的第一年總是最難熬的。那時(shí)候你的能力最薄弱。你不清楚自己到底在做什么。你會犯無數(shù)的錯(cuò)誤。

第一年也總是你學(xué)得最快的一年。然而，第五年通常才是你享用勝利果實(shí)的一年。

不要逼你自己隨隨便便為某些事情作一個(gè)未來五年的約定。而應(yīng)深思熟慮，選擇那些你堅(jiān)持下來最終可以獲得成功的道路。這需要一定程度的自我認(rèn)知，比方說，清楚了解有什么事自己會堅(jiān)持下去而哪些你卻做不到。如果你知道從現(xiàn)在開始的五年后你并不會繼續(xù)做某些事，那就連六個(gè)月也別浪費(fèi)在那事兒上了。

問問你自己，有什么興趣或目標(biāo)是在五年后對你而言很可能依然非常重要的？回望一下你的過去。有什么事是你五年前一直感興趣而現(xiàn)在依然在做的？有什么目標(biāo)和抱負(fù)年復(fù)一年出現(xiàn)在你的腦海中？你希望這樣的模式繼續(xù)下去嗎？這些長期的興趣就是線索，讓你知道有什么是你可以加倍努力，許下重諾的。

就算你現(xiàn)在才二十多歲，或者更年輕些，你也會有一些你已經(jīng)建立好了的模式。有哪幾條線一直在你人生路上交叉穿插呢？如果你能加以認(rèn)真對待并為取得真正的成果而實(shí)實(shí)在在地作出五年之約，你會取得怎樣的成就呢？