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第1-10, 共179篇日记[首页][上页][下页][末页] |
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The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in
want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
耶和华是我的牧者，
我必不至缺乏。
他使我躺卧在青草地上，
领我在可安歇的水边。
他使我的灵魂苏醒，
为自己的名
引导我走义路。
我虽行过
死荫的幽谷，
也不怕遭害，
因为你与我同在；
你的杖，你的竿，
都安慰我。
在我敌人面前，
你为我摆设筵席。
你用油膏了我的头，
使我福杯满溢。
我一生一世
必有恩惠慈爱随着我，
我且要住在耶和华的殿中，
直到永远！
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Progress is impossible without change, and those who
cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
---- George Bernard Shaw
最近在看Dr. Wayne Dyer 的一本新书讲老子的德道经，好像我们自己看原文都看不懂了，人家老外把它当宝贝来研究，很有趣！书名叫“Change Your Thoughts ---- Change Your Life”.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
第一章 Living the Mystery
道可道，非常道。名可名，非常名。
无名天地之始；有名万物之母。
故常无，欲以观其妙；常有，欲以观其徼。
此两者，同出而异名，同谓之玄。玄之又玄，众妙之门。
第二章 Living the Paradoxical Unity
天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已。皆知善之为善，斯不善已。
有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相盈，音声相和，前后相随。恒也。
是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教；万物作而弗始，生而弗有，为而弗恃，功成而不居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。
第三章 Living Contentment
不尚贤，使民不争；不贵难得之货，使民不为盗；不见可欲，使民心不乱。
是以圣人之治，虚其心，实其腹，弱其志，强其骨。常使民无知无欲。使夫智者不敢为也。为无为，则无不治。
第四章 Living Infinitely
道冲，而用之或不盈。渊兮，似万物之宗；湛兮，似或存。吾不知谁之子，象帝之先。
第五章 Living Impartially
天地不仁，以万物为刍狗；圣人不仁，以百姓为刍狗。
天地之间，其犹橐龠乎？虚而不屈，动而愈出。
多言数穷，不如守中。
第六章 Living Creatively
谷神不死，是谓玄牝。玄牝之门，是谓天地根。绵绵若存，用之不勤。
第七章 Living Beyond Ego
天长地久。天地所以能长且久者，以其不自生，故能长生。
是以圣人后其身而身先；外其身而身存。非以其无私邪？故能成其私。
第八章 Living in the Flow
上善若水。水善利万物而不争，处众人之所恶，故几于道。
居善地，心善渊，与善仁，言善信，政善治，事善能，动善时。夫唯不争，故无尤。
第九章 Living Humility
持而盈之，不如其已；
揣而锐之，不可长保。
金玉满堂，莫之能守；
富贵而骄，自遗其咎。
功遂身退，天之道也。
第十章 Living Oneness
载营魄抱一，能无离乎？
专气致柔，能如婴儿乎？
涤除玄鉴，能如疵乎？
爱国治民，能无为乎？
天门开阖，能为雌乎？
明白四达，能无知乎？
第十一章 Living from the Void
三十辐，共一毂，当其无，有车之用。
埏埴以为器，当其无，有器之用。
凿户牖以为室，当其无，有室之用。
故有之以为利，无之以为用。
第十二章 Living with Inner Conviction
五色令人目盲；五音令人耳聋；五味令人口爽；驰骋畋猎，令人心发狂；难得之货，令人行妨。
是以圣人为腹不为目，故去彼取此。
第十三章 Living with an Independent Mind
宠辱若惊，贵大患若身。
何谓宠辱若惊？宠为下，得之若惊，失之若惊，是谓宠辱若惊。
何谓贵大患若身？吾所以有大患者，为吾有身，及吾无身，吾有何患？
故贵以身为天下，若可寄天下；爱以身为天下，若可托天下。
第十四章 Living Beyond Form
视之不见，名曰夷；听之不闻，名曰希；搏之不得，名曰微。此三者不可致诘，故混而为一。其上不皦，其下不昧。绳绳兮不可名，复归于物。是谓无状之状，无物之象，是谓惚恍。迎之不见其首，随之不见其后。
执古之道，以御今之有。能知古始，是谓道纪。
第十五章 Living an Unhurried Life
古之善为道者，微妙玄通，深不可识。夫唯不可识，故强为之容：
豫兮若冬涉川；
犹兮若畏四邻；
俨兮其若客；
涣兮其若凌释；
敦兮其若朴；
旷兮其若谷；
混兮其若浊；
澹兮其若海；
泊兮若无止。
孰能浊以静之徐清？孰能安以动之徐生？
保此道者，不欲盈。夫唯不盈，故能蔽而新成。
第十六章 Living with Constancy
致虚极，守静笃。
万物并作，吾以观复。
夫物芸芸，各复归其根。归根曰静，静曰复命。复命曰常，知常曰明。不知常，妄作凶。
知常容，容乃公，公乃全，全乃天，天乃道，道乃久，没身不殆。
第十七章 Living as an Enlightened Leader
太上，不知有之；其次，亲而誉之；其次，畏之；其次，侮之。
信不足焉，有不信焉。
悠兮其贵言。功成事遂，百姓皆谓：我自然。
第十八章 Living Without Rules
大道废，有仁义；智慧出，有大伪；六亲不和，有孝慈；国家昏乱，有忠臣。
第十九章 Living Without Attachment
绝圣弃智，民利百倍；绝仁弃义，民复孝慈；绝巧弃利，盗贼无有。此三者以为文，不足。故令有所属：见素抱朴，少思寡欲，绝学无忧。
第二十章 Living Without Striving
唯之与阿，相去几何？美之与恶，相去若何？人之所畏，不可不畏。
荒兮，其未央哉！
众人熙熙，如享太牢，如春登台。
我独泊兮，其未兆；
沌沌兮，如婴儿之未孩；
累累兮，若无所归。
众人皆有馀，而我独若遗。我愚人之心也哉！
俗人昭昭，我独昏昏。
俗人察察，我独闷闷。
众人皆有以，而我独顽且鄙。
我独异于人，而贵食母。
第二十一章 Living the Elusive Paradox
孔德之容，惟道是从。
道之为物，惟恍惟惚。惚兮恍兮，其中有象；恍兮惚兮，其中有物。窈兮冥兮，其中有精；其精甚真，其中有信。
自今及古，其名不去，以阅众甫。吾何以知众甫之状哉？以此。
第二十二章 Living with Flexibility
曲则全，枉则直，洼则盈，敝则新，少则多，多则惑。
是以圣人抱一为天下式。不自见，故明；不自是，故彰；不自伐，故有功；不自矜，故长。
夫唯不争，故天下莫能与之争。古之所谓曲则全者，岂虚言哉！诚全而归之。
第二十三章 Living Naturally
希言自然。
故飘风不终朝，骤雨不终日。孰为此者？天地。天地尚不能久，而况于人乎？故从事于道者，同于道；德者，同于德；失者，同于失。同于道者，道亦乐得之；同于德者，德亦乐得之；同于失者，失亦乐得之。
信不足焉，有不信焉。
第二十四章 Living Without Excess
企者不立；跨者不行；自见者不明；自是者不彰；自伐者无功；自矜者不长。
其在道也，曰：馀食赘形。物或恶之，故有道者不处。
第二十五章 Living from Greatness
有物混成，先天地生。寂兮寥兮，独立而不改，周行而不殆，可以为天地母。吾不知其名，强字之曰道，强为之名曰大。大曰逝，逝曰远，远曰反。
故道大，天大，地大，人亦大。域中有四大，而人居其一焉。
人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。
第二十六章 Living Calmly
重为轻根，静为躁君。
是以君子终日行不离辎重。虽有荣观，燕处超然。奈何万乘之主，而以身轻天下？
轻则失根，躁则失君。
第二十七章 Living by Your Inner Light
善行无辙迹，善言无瑕谪；善数不用筹策；善闭无关楗而不可开，善结无绳约而不可解。
是以圣人常善救人，故无弃人；常善救物，故无弃物。是谓袭明。
故善人者，不善人之师；不善人者，善人之资。不贵其师，不爱其资，虽智大迷，是谓要妙。
第二十八章 Living Virtuously
知其雄，守其雌，为天下溪。为天下溪，常德不离，复归于婴儿。
知其白，守其辱，为天下谷。为天下谷，常德乃足，复归于朴。
知其白，守其黑，为天下式。为天下式，常德不忒，复归于无极。
朴散则为器，圣人用之，则为官长，故大智不割。
第二十九章 Living by Natural Law
将欲取天下而为之，吾见其不得已。天下神器，不可为也，不可执也。为者败之，执者失之。是以圣人无为，故无败；无执，故无失。
夫物或行或随；或嘘或吹；或强或羸；或载或隳。
是以圣人去甚，去奢，去泰。
第三十章 Living Without Force
以道佐人主者，不以兵强天下。其事好远。师之所处，荆棘生焉。大军之后，必有凶年。
善有果而已，不以取强。果而勿矜，果而勿伐，果而勿骄。果而不得已，果而勿强。
物壮则老，是谓不道，不道早已。
第三十一章 Living Without Weapons
夫兵者，不祥之器，物或恶之，故有道者不处。
君子居则贵左，用兵则贵右。兵者不祥之器，非君子之器，不得已而用之，恬淡为上。胜而不美，而美之者，是乐杀人。夫乐杀人者，则不可得志于天下矣。
吉事尚左，凶事尚右。偏将军居左，上将军居右，言以丧礼处之。杀人之众，以悲哀泣之，战胜以丧礼处之。
第三十二章 Living the Perfect Goodness of the Tao
道常无名朴。虽小，天下莫能臣。侯王若能守之，万物将自宾。
天地相合，以降甘露，民莫之令而自均。
始制有名，名亦既有，夫亦将知止，知止可以不殆。
譬道之在天下，犹川谷之于江海。
第三十三章 Living Self-Mastery
知人者智，自知者明。
胜人者有力，自胜者强。
知足者富。
强行者有志。
不失其所者久。
死而不亡者寿。
第三十四章 Living the Great Way
大道泛兮，其可左右。万物恃之以生而不辞，功成而不有。衣养万物而不为主，可名于小；万物归焉而不为主，可名为大。以其终不自为大，故能成其大。
第三十五章 Living Beyond Worldly Pleasures
执大象，天下往。往而不害，安平泰。
乐与饵，过客止。道之出口，淡乎其无味，视之不足见，听之不足闻，用之不足既。
第三十六章 Living in Obscurity
将欲歙之，必故张之；将欲弱之，必故强之；将欲废之，必故兴之；将欲取之，必故与之。是谓微明。
柔弱胜刚强。鱼不可脱于渊，国之利器不可以示人。
第三十七章 Living in Simplicity
道常无为而无不为。侯王若能守之，万物将自化。化而欲作，吾将镇之以无名之朴。镇之以无名之朴，夫将不欲。不欲以静，天下将自正。
第三十八章 Living Within Your Own Nature
上德不德，是以有德；下德不失德，是以无德。
上德无为而无以为；下德无为而有以为。
上仁为之而无以为；上义为之而有以为。
上礼为之而莫之应，则攘臂而扔之。
故失道而后德，失德而后仁，失仁而后义，失义而后礼。
夫礼者，忠信之薄，而乱之首。
前识者，道之华，而愚之始。是以大丈夫处其厚，不居其薄；处其实，不居其华。故去彼取此。
第三十九章 Living Wholeness
昔之得一者：天得一以清；地得一以宁；神得一以灵；谷得一以生；侯得一以为天下正。
其致之也，谓天无以清，将恐裂；地无以宁，将恐废；神无以灵，将恐歇；谷无以盈，将恐竭；万物无以生，将恐灭；侯王无以正，将恐蹶。
故贵以贱为本，高以下为基。是以侯王自称孤、寡、不谷。此非以贱为本邪？非乎？故致誉无誉。是故不欲琭琭如玉，珞珞如石。
第四十章 Living by Returning and Yielding
反者道之动；弱者道之用。
天下万物生于有，有生于无。
第四十一章 Living Beyond Appearances
上士闻道，勤而行之；中士闻道，若存若亡；下士闻道，大笑之。不笑不足以为道。故建言有之：
明道若昧；
进道若退；
夷道若颣；
上德若谷；
广德若不足；
建德若偷；
质真若渝；
大白若辱；
大方无隅；
大器晚成；
大音希声；
大象无形；
道隐无名。
夫唯道，善贷且成。
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张伯笠
索尔仁尼琴走了，一代传奇的世界文坛巨擎离开了我们。全世界纪念这位勇敢的巨人，中文网站也有许多精彩的文章，有一篇与信仰有关，引起我的兴趣：中国人对索尔仁尼琴的熟悉，主要来自他对专制主义的反抗，但对他那巨大的道德勇气完全来自一个虔诚的基督徒对上帝的信仰这一点，似乎有待进一步的探讨。二战快结束的时候，索尔仁尼琴因写信批评斯大林被捕，在服役期间被关进他后来称为”古拉格”的苏联集中营。
他在传记中写道，被捕的那天，是认识到悔改并走向神的开始；他的第一间牢房，是他的”情人”，在那里他才开始了解自己的内在生命，倾听灵性的声音，最后找 到上帝。在蹲监禁和做苦力的双重煎熬下，祸不单行，他又得了腹腔癌。但真是“祸兮福所至”，在手术做完的后半夜，他和躺在另一张手术台的一位基督徒囚犯进 行了对他一生来说最关键的交谈。据他回忆，虽然在黑暗中看不清对方的脸，但那位同样反对斯大林专制的基督徒医生，详细讲解了自己的人生，尤其是怎样从犹太 教转成基督徒的心路历程。在那个漆黑的夜晚，索尔仁尼琴不仅听清了那洋溢着福音的声音，而且那些话语，像光，照亮了他心中的黑暗；像盐，给了他后来作为作 家试图治疗人类心灵腐烂的永恒药方。
也许是上帝的旨意，那位基督徒医生和他讲完话后，第二天清晨就死在手术台上，荣归天国。正是由于索尔仁尼琴的宗教情怀，使他的作品继承了俄国伟大的基 督徒作家陀斯妥也夫斯基所高扬的道德传统。索尔仁尼琴在1970年领取诺贝尔文学奖的书面致词中，曾极力赞赏陀斯妥也夫斯基，称他是一个具有”洞见真理能 力的作家，一个很奇妙、充满智慧之光的人。”
陀斯妥也夫斯基之所以能够在十九世纪中叶就预言了二十世纪的血腥暴力，是因为他从欧洲知识分子开始抛弃上帝、走向纯理性和物质主义之中，看到了其背后 的恐怖：“不信神，就什么都信”。随后的历史迅速证明了：斯大林们，希特勒们，尼采们，黑格尔们，弗洛伊德们，马克思们，以纯理性改造社会的乌托邦，把世 界拖入无尽的灾难。而索尔仁尼琴，则由于亲身经历了二十世纪人类的深重苦难。他的作品更是以激愤、控诉的色彩，描绘那个挑战上帝的黑暗时代。
美国作家艾力克森（Edward Ericson）在《索尔仁尼琴道德的形象》一书中说，索尔仁尼琴是”一个燃烧着理想、信仰，具有动人生命史的人。”他在俄国作家中对专制主义最有进攻 性、批判性。但他的反抗，和其它东欧异议作家不同的是，他不是政治和文学层面的反抗，更不是从经济角度控诉共产赤贫，而是在信仰的根基上，进行道德——良 知层面的反抗。
索尔仁尼琴认为，是由于无神论，造成了斯大林的乌托邦和暴政。那是一个以意识形态为中心的世界，没有爱，没有公义，没有信仰；它只要宣传口号，用所谓 阶级平等，改变了外在的社会环境，而根本没有改变人的内心，反而使人心的恶更为泛滥。索尔仁尼琴认为，善和恶的界线并不在于国与国、党与党、阶级与阶级、 或种族、地缘、血缘之中，而在于人的内心。革命可以摧毁承载恶的人的肉体，以及其生存的外在环境，但摧毁不了邪恶本身。因为人的恶（原罪）是与生具来的， 是人类始祖偷吃禁果的后果。不管有没有”革命”，邪恶都会存在。但革命会打开潘多拉的盒子，导致邪恶更大范围地蔓延。
相信上帝的索尔仁尼琴根本无法接受西方启蒙主义、马克思主义等对人类进步的解释，因为邪恶不是经济状况的产物，而是滥用了神所赐给人的自由。索尔仁尼 琴曾提出一个重要的概念，认为“时间没有救赎的能力”，反而会带来更大的不幸和悲剧。也就是说，对于一个人而言，如果没有基督信仰，没有属灵的生活，不论 他有多少“时间”，活多长，经历多复杂，阅历多丰富，其心灵成长、爱的能力都不会随年龄而自然成长。时间本身，寿命长短，并不能自然地带来救赎和人性的提 升。不仅不能，反而还会因为“时间”的延长，也就是经历和阅历的丰富，而使人心负面积淀增多，欲望和原罪更蔓延。
人类整体和世界的发展也是这样，如果没有了神，那么人类不论繁衍几千年，世界不论有多么久的历史，最后社会不仅不会真正进步，反而会爆发更多的灾难， 二十世纪就是典型的例子。因为失去上帝之”光”，世界只能更多阴影，丢掉了耶稣的道德之”盐”，人类会加快腐败。说到底，没有上帝，就没有了绝对的道德标 准，人类就会为所欲为。因此索尔仁尼琴一生都在其作品中传播基督信仰，主张作家要做的，是帮助人明辨是非、善恶；并强调，基督教不是空洞的教条，而是治疗 人心灵的源头活水。”而只有在灵性和道德的基础上，公义和人性的制度才可能建立。”
索尔仁尼琴对文学创作的定义是，小说必须能够符合那些主宰一般人生活的道德准则才行。因为人同时具有行善和做恶的两种能力，而人这两种能力的表现，在《圣经》里被表现的淋漓尽致，所以应是艺术家的永恒主题。
因此从索尔仁尼琴最早期的作品，就渗透着对这些永恒价值的探究。在他初期的剧本《风中之烛》中，就探讨了这种主题。该剧本的原名是《你的心内之光》， 就是引用路加福音中的话，比喻人的良心好比是烛火，而二十世纪启蒙运动后的人生观像是外来的强风，它以人类自由意志的名义将人心中良知的烛火吹灭。剧本的 主角叫”亚力”，和亚历山大．索尔仁尼琴同名；经历也相似，很像是索尔仁尼琴的精神自传。亚力经常说，”上帝祝福你，监狱！”他认为，”苦难是灵魂成长的 杠杆”。
该剧否定了两种价值观：一是科学乌托邦主义——世上所有问题都有理性的解决之道。二是倡导感官享受，及时行乐，毕竟人生苦短，而且只有一次。索尔仁尼 琴认为，这两种观点殊途同归，最后都是肯定现世，而不是信仰的境界。在哲学上都是物质主义，而不是服从上帝、遵从耶稣的灵性世界。这个剧本是所有索尔仁尼 琴的文学作品中唯一没有以苏联为背景的，但却是最早以上帝和信仰为探究中心的作品。
索尔仁尼琴的成名作是描写劳改营生活的《伊凡．丹尼索维奇生命中的一天》，并因此获得诺贝尔文学奖。这部艺术性并不十分强、描写苏联劳改营生活的短篇 小说，之所以能够引起重视，主要在于索尔仁尼琴在这里提出了一个本质性的问题：并不是斯大林对人不人道，而是人对人的不人道；斯大林并不是历史上人性进步 过程中的某个失常状态，人类心灵中的邪恶是一个永恒的世界性主题。小说的主人公伊凡这个形象的闪亮之处，是他那种忍辱负重、坚守最起码的人性尊严底线的努 力，他展示，无论专制的残暴把人贬低到何等地步，都无法把人性彻底泯灭。人虽在原罪驱使下堕落，但上帝的影像依在；本来属灵的人心可以被邪恶败坏，同样也 可以藉上帝的恩典而得到救赎；“良心比生命本身更重要，更有价值。”
后来索尔仁尼琴写的《古拉格群岛》和《癌病房》等作品也是这样，提出”人为什么活着”，也是人类生存的终极问题。在这些作品中，索尔仁尼琴对苏联共产 制度的谴责和批判，不是注重其政治上的罪恶，而是它的道德性的罪恶。索尔仁尼琴认为：人类只有通过对耶稣基督的信仰，才能找回灵性，建立道德的根基，因 为”道德植根于灵性”；人类只有经由它，心灵才可能更新，才会有爱、怜悯、公义、宽恕等神性；只有对上帝的信仰，才能作为人性道德的基础。所以索尔仁尼琴 在领取诺贝尔奖的书面演讲词中清晰而坚定地表示：我绝不相信这个时代没有放之四海而皆准的正义和良善的价值观，它们不仅有，而且不是朝令夕改、流动无常 的，它们是稳定而永恒的。而这个价值观，就是基督信仰，就是《圣经》中的绝对道德标准。
索尔仁尼琴和那些著名的东欧异议作家最大的不同，是他不仅看透了专制的邪恶，也看清了尼采们以”上帝已死”为口号的启蒙主义所带来的灾难性；同时以巨 大的道德勇气，只身挑战庞大的斯大林政权和帝国，因为他坚信：”极权主义社会绝非永久和不可动摇的”，”减弱它们稳定性的因素，就是宗教意识的复苏，它是 极权主义要求全面控制人类精神制度的天敌。”美国作家斯卡梅尔（Michael Scammell）曾说，苏联解体后的克格勃秘密档案揭示的索尔仁尼琴，是”个人与巨石搏斗”的英雄传奇，展示了一个知识分子独力抗争专制的智慧与勇气。 苏联解体后，索尔仁尼琴写的第一本回忆录，书名就是《牛犊顶橡树》，由这个书名可以想象到，一个倔强的老人，一肩抗着人类的道德旗帜，一肩背负着俄罗斯的 苦难，韧性地跋涉，绝不回头，绝不妥协；像一只牛犊，执拗地顶着坚硬的橡树，在历史长河的背景下，定格出永恒的抵抗形象。他之所以坚守在道德层面而不是政 治层面的反抗，就因为他的准则是：永恒的比暂时的伟大，天国的比人间的伟大，灵性的比政治的伟大。
1983年，索尔仁尼琴接受邓普顿奖（Templeton）演讲时说：“超过半世纪以前，我年纪还小的时候，已听过许多老人家解释俄罗斯遭遇大灾难的 原因：‘人们忘记神，所以会这样。’从此以后，我花了差不多整整五十年时间研究我们的革命历史，在这过程中，我读了许多书，收集了许多人的见证，而且自己 著书八册，就是为了整理动乱后破碎的世界。但在今天，若是要我精简地说出是什么主要原因造成那场灾难性的革命，吞噬了六千万同胞的生命，我认为没有什么比 重复这句话更为准确：“‘人们忘记了神，所以会这样。’” |
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The skeptics
Not all researchers are totally onboard with the myth-of-talent hypothesis, though their objections go to its edges rather than its center. For one thing, there are the intangibles. Two athletes might work equally hard, but what explains the ability of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to perform at a higher level in the last two minutes of a game?
Researchers also note, for example, child prodigies who could speak, read or play music at an unusually early age. But on investigation those cases generally include highly involved parents. And many prodigies do not go on to greatness in their early field, while great performers include many who showed no special early aptitude.
Certainly some important traits are partly inherited, such as physical size and particular measures of intelligence, but those influence what a person doesn't do more than what he does; a five-footer will never be an NFL lineman, and a seven-footer will never be an Olympic gymnast. Even those restrictions are less severe than you'd expect: Ericsson notes, "Some international chess masters have IQs in the 90s." The more research that's done, the more solid the deliberate-practice model becomes.
Real-world examples
All this scholarly research is simply evidence for what great performers have been showing us for years. To take a handful of examples: Winston Churchill, one of the 20th century's greatest orators, practiced his speeches compulsively. Vladimir Horowitz supposedly said, "If I don't practice for a day, I know it. If I don't practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I don't practice for three days, the world knows it." He was certainly a demon practicer, but the same quote has been attributed to world-class musicians like Ignace Paderewski and Luciano Pavarotti.
Many great athletes are legendary for the brutal discipline of their practice routines. In basketball, Michael Jordan practiced intensely beyond the already punishing team practices. (Had Jordan possessed some mammoth natural gift specifically for basketball, it seems unlikely he'd have been cut from his high school team.)
In football, all-time-great receiver Jerry Rice - passed up by 15 teams because they considered him too slow - practiced so hard that other players would get sick trying to keep up.
Tiger Woods is a textbook example of what the research shows. Because his father introduced him to golf at an extremely early age - 18 months - and encouraged him to practice intensively, Woods had racked up at least 15 years of practice by the time he became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship, at age 18. Also in line with the findings, he has never stopped trying to improve, devoting many hours a day to conditioning and practice, even remaking his swing twice because that's what it took to get even better.
The business side
The evidence, scientific as well as anecdotal, seems overwhelmingly in favor of deliberate practice as the source of great performance. Just one problem: How do you practice business? Many elements of business, in fact, are directly practicable. Presenting, negotiating, delivering evaluations, deciphering financial statements - you can practice them all.
Still, they aren't the essence of great managerial performance. That requires making judgments and decisions with imperfect information in an uncertain environment, interacting with people, seeking information - can you practice those things too? You can, though not in the way you would practice a Chopin etude.
Instead, it's all about how you do what you're already doing - you create the practice in your work, which requires a few critical changes. The first is going at any task with a new goal: Instead of merely trying to get it done, you aim to get better at it.
Report writing involves finding information, analyzing it and presenting it - each an improvable skill. Chairing a board meeting requires understanding the company's strategy in the deepest way, forming a coherent view of coming market changes and setting a tone for the discussion. Anything that anyone does at work, from the most basic task to the most exalted, is an improvable skill. Adopting a new mindset
Armed with that mindset, people go at a job in a new way. Research shows they process information more deeply and retain it longer. They want more information on what they're doing and seek other perspectives. They adopt a longer-term point of view. In the activity itself, the mindset persists. You aren't just doing the job, you're explicitly trying to get better at it in the larger sense.
Again, research shows that this difference in mental approach is vital. For example, when amateur singers take a singing lesson, they experience it as fun, a release of tension. But for professional singers, it's the opposite: They increase their concentration and focus on improving their performance during the lesson. Same activity, different mindset.
Feedback is crucial, and getting it should be no problem in business. Yet most people don't seek it; they just wait for it, half hoping it won't come. Without it, as Goldman Sachs leadership-development chief Steve Kerr says, "it's as if you're bowling through a curtain that comes down to knee level. If you don't know how successful you are, two things happen: One, you don't get any better, and two, you stop caring." In some companies, like General Electric, frequent feedback is part of the culture. If you aren't lucky enough to get that, seek it out. Be the ball
Through the whole process, one of your goals is to build what the researchers call "mental models of your business" - pictures of how the elements fit together and influence one another. The more you work on it, the larger your mental models will become and the better your performance will grow.
Andy Grove could keep a model of a whole world-changing technology industry in his head and adapt Intel (Charts) as needed. Bill Gates, Microsoft's (Charts) founder, had the same knack: He could see at the dawn of the PC that his goal of a computer on every desk was realistic and would create an unimaginably large market. John D. Rockefeller, too, saw ahead when the world-changing new industry was oil. Napoleon was perhaps the greatest ever. He could not only hold all the elements of a vast battle in his mind but, more important, could also respond quickly when they shifted in unexpected ways.
That's a lot to focus on for the benefits of deliberate practice - and worthless without one more requirement: Do it regularly, not sporadically.
Why?
For most people, work is hard enough without pushing even harder. Those extra steps are so difficult and painful they almost never get done. That's the way it must be. If great performance were easy, it wouldn't be rare. Which leads to possibly the deepest question about greatness. While experts understand an enormous amount about the behavior that produces great performance, they understand very little about where that behavior comes from.
The authors of one study conclude, "We still do not know which factors encourage individuals to engage in deliberate practice." Or as University of Michigan business school professor Noel Tichy puts it after 30 years of working with managers, "Some people are much more motivated than others, and that's the existential question I cannot answer - why."
The critical reality is that we are not hostage to some naturally granted level of talent. We can make ourselves what we will. Strangely, that idea is not popular. People hate abandoning the notion that they would coast to fame and riches if they found their talent. But that view is tragically constraining, because when they hit life's inevitable bumps in the road, they conclude that they just aren't gifted and give up.
Maybe we can't expect most people to achieve greatness. It's just too demanding. But the striking, liberating news is that greatness isn't reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone. |
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Games over, now what?! It seems to be an inevitable question to ask, and here is what I found out. Will you endure the pain?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By Geoffrey Colvin Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success. The secret? Painful and demanding practice and hard work
What makes Tiger Woods great? What made Berkshire Hathaway (Charts) Chairman Warren Buffett the world's premier investor? We think we know: Each was a natural who came into the world with a gift for doing exactly what he ended up doing. As Buffett told Fortune not long ago, he was "wired at birth to allocate capital." It's a one-in-a-million thing. You've got it - or you don't.
Well, folks, it's not so simple. For one thing, you do not possess a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts don't exist. (Sorry, Warren.) You are not a born CEO or investor or chess grandmaster. You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard work, but work of a particular type that's demanding and painful.
Buffett, for instance, is famed for his discipline and the hours he spends studying financial statements of potential investment targets. The good news is that your lack of a natural gift is irrelevant - talent has little or nothing to do with greatness. You can make yourself into any number of things, and you can even make yourself great.
Scientific experts are producing remarkably consistent findings across a wide array of fields. Understand that talent doesn't mean intelligence, motivation or personality traits. It's an innate ability to do some specific activity especially well. British-based researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda conclude in an extensive study, "The evidence we have surveyed ... does not support the [notion that] excelling is a consequence of possessing innate gifts."
To see how the researchers could reach such a conclusion, consider the problem they were trying to solve. In virtually every field of endeavor, most people learn quickly at first, then more slowly and then stop developing completely. Yet a few do improve for years and even decades, and go on to greatness.
The irresistible question - the "fundamental challenge" for researchers in this field, says the most prominent of them, professor K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University - is, Why? How are certain people able to go on improving? The answers begin with consistent observations about great performers in many fields.
Scientists worldwide have conducted scores of studies since the 1993 publication of a landmark paper by Ericsson and two colleagues, many focusing on sports, music and chess, in which performance is relatively easy to measure and plot over time. But plenty of additional studies have also examined other fields, including business.
No substitute for hard work
The first major conclusion is that nobody is great without work. It's nice to believe that if you find the field where you're naturally gifted, you'll be great from day one, but it doesn't happen. There's no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice.
Reinforcing that no-free-lunch finding is vast evidence that even the most accomplished people need around ten years of hard work before becoming world-class, a pattern so well established researchers call it the ten-year rule.
What about Bobby Fischer, who became a chess grandmaster at 16? Turns out the rule holds: He'd had nine years of intensive study. And as John Horn of the University of Southern California and Hiromi Masunaga of California State University observe, "The ten-year rule represents a very rough estimate, and most researchers regard it as a minimum, not an average." In many fields (music, literature) elite performers need 20 or 30 years' experience before hitting their zenith.
So greatness isn't handed to anyone; it requires a lot of hard work. Yet that isn't enough, since many people work hard for decades without approaching greatness or even getting significantly better. What's missing?
Practice makes perfect
The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call "deliberate practice." It's activity that's explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond one's level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition.
For example: Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers don't get better. Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day - that's deliberate practice.
Consistency is crucial. As Ericsson notes, "Elite performers in many diverse domains have been found to practice, on the average, roughly the same amount every day, including weekends."
Evidence crosses a remarkable range of fields. In a study of 20-year-old violinists by Ericsson and colleagues, the best group (judged by conservatory teachers) averaged 10,000 hours of deliberate practice over their lives; the next-best averaged 7,500 hours; and the next, 5,000. It's the same story in surgery, insurance sales, and virtually every sport. More deliberate practice equals better performance. Tons of it equals great performance.
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看完闭幕式，唯一让人印象深刻的大概就是伦敦市长了！正琢磨他是何许人也呢，三联的记者就答疑了。 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
王小峰
闭幕式的时候，我最想看到的一刻就是伦敦市长接过五圈旗，这意味着这事儿就算结束了。一个黄头发的英国人出场了，他叫鲍里斯·约翰逊，他一路东张西望，好像根本不知道参加一个在很多人看来是至关重要的活动，我猜想他在找他那辆自行车。伦敦有两千年的历史，但是只有两任市长，一任任职1000年？其实他们在2000年才开始有市长，事实证明，一个城市没有市长照样可以很和谐的。 约翰逊老师是第二任伦敦市长，他生在纽约，小时候跟父母到了英国，他以前在媒体工作，还老跳槽，写过专栏，出版过小说，人家的处女作就是跟处女有关的，叫《七十二个处女》。我估计这哥们从小自由散漫惯了，或者说伦敦市长其实也就是那么回事，一个整天骑着自行车上班的人，肯定把自己当蓝领。要不是有个全球性大Party，估计他才不会出席这样的活动。 他的出场给紧张窒息端庄肃穆了半个月的北京带来一点点轻松和幽默，也在告诉人们，北京将回来了。这哥们从一出现在镜头，就感觉跟在伦敦的街头闲逛没什么区别，全然没有看到贵国的政界要人以及那个大Party的组织者从来不苟言笑的老罗还有另一座城市一个说起约翰逊的母语让中外人都听不懂的副市长在他身边。我估计约翰逊老师心里肯定在想，赶紧把旗子给我，我得赶紧回伦敦，这次出门太急，走的时候忘了锁车了。约翰逊老师改变了很多人过去对英国人形成的古板、绅士、保守的印象，以后英国大使馆教育处再在中国搞什么“创意英国”，干脆用这哥们作形象代言人算了，多可爱啊。 约翰逊当市长真有点屈才了，他应该从影，说不定英国又出来一个憨豆先生。 在英国的同学，你们打听一下，丫自行车丢没丢？
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其实奥运会我最爱看的还是那些关于运动员的故事。 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 杨澜
当埃蒙斯夫妇决定接受我采访的时候，我已经把故事的主题都设想好了：那就是丈夫如何在决赛中的最后一枪出现重大失误，重演四年前的噩梦，而又是如何在妻子的细心呵护与安慰下，度过了这一艰难时刻……但是当小两口，真正坐在我面前的时候，我才发现故事根本不是这样，他们是如此的快乐，如此的满足，甚至把这次失误当做一个玩笑。
马修•埃蒙斯说：“人们都问我，是不是受到4年前雅典奥运会脱靶事件的影响。其实我一年中要参加很多大赛，往往最后一枪是打得最好的。这次我不知怎么了，还没想扣动扳机，手指却下意识的动了。最后一枪发出去，打出4.4环的低分。这就是比赛不可琢磨的地方吧！”
在一边的卡特琳娜•埃蒙斯更是大笑不止：“我捧着马修的脸，对他说‘这简直就是一个玩笑，很难让人相信这件事再次发生。’但我想任何事情的发生总会有理由的，如果说雅典奥运会成就了我们的爱情，这次上帝肯定要对我们说点什么。”我好奇的问：“你觉得上帝想要说什么呢？”卡特琳娜说：“也许上帝要对我们说我们的技术还不完美，还需要努力刻苦的练习。马修会参加伦敦奥运会的，事不过三吧！”
埃蒙斯夫妇相信，真正的冠军有三层含义。一是比赛的成绩，二是一贯的成绩表现，三是面对胜利和失败的态度。当年就是因为他们相互欣赏彼此在赛场上的冷静、沉着和优雅的风度才心生爱慕的。“一个人在大赛中的表现绝对可以反映出他的人品和个性。”他们是这么说的也是这么做的。中国观众不仅会记得他们在赛后甜蜜的拥抱，还会记得卡特琳娜在获得北京奥运会首金后给杜丽的安慰以及马修在失去奖牌后给邱健的祝贺。真正的体育精神不正是如此吗！
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"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." ---- Michelangelo
She is all over the news, at the age of 41, she teaches us how not to limit your dreams by age! One silver-medalist I will remember for years to come... what an inspiration!
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Great advertising from Visa "Go World" commercial, God bless Morgan Freeman!
Maybe it’s not where an athlete from
that makes us root for them;
Maybe it’s not the flag on their back
or the anthem that we hear when they win
that makes us cheer;
Maybe it’s simply that they are human
and we are human.
And when they succeed,
We succeed!
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