TED | 致无法持久专注同一件事的人

演讲精彩片段（节选）欣赏

Nora Dunn is a full-time traveler and freelance writer. As a child concert pianist, she honed an incredible ability to develop muscle memory. Now, she’s the fastest typist she knows.

诺拉·邓恩是一位全职旅行家和自由作家。作为一名儿童钢琴演奏家，她磨练出了非凡的能力来发展肌肉记忆。因此，她是她所有认识的人中打字最快的。

Before becoming a writer, Nora was a financial planner. She had to learn the finer mechanics of sales when she was starting her practice, and this skill now helps her write compelling pitches to editors. It is rarely a waste of time to pursue something you’re drawn to, even if you end up quitting. You might apply that knowledge in a different field entirely, in a way that you couldn’t have anticipated.

在当作家之前，诺拉是一名理财师。在初入这行的时候，她不得不学习一些高明的销售技巧，如今这项技能被她用来给编辑写精彩的推荐语。追求你感兴趣的东西并不是浪费时间，即使最后你并没有坚持到底。也许将来你会把这些知识用在一个完全不同的领域，用一种你完全预料不到的方式。

The third multipotentialite superpower is adaptability; that is, the ability to morph into whatever you need to be in a given situation. Abe Cajudo is sometimes a video director, sometimes a web designer, sometimes a Kickstarter consultant, sometimes a teacher, and sometimes, apparently, James Bond.

第三种“超能力”是适应性。也就是说，如果有需要，你能变成任何角色，以适应不同的情况。艾比·卡胡多有时候是视频导演，有时候是网站设计师，有时候是众筹顾问，有时候是老师，有时候，很明显，是詹姆斯·邦德。

He’s valuable because he does good work. He’s even more valuable because he can take on various roles,depending on his clients’ needs. Fast Company magazine identified adaptability as the single most important skill to develop in order to thrive in the 21st century. The economic world is changing so quickly and unpredictably that it is the individuals and organizations that can pivot in order to meet the needs of the market that are really going to thrive.

他拥有出色的工作能力。更重要的是他可以随时切换自己的角色，来满足客户的需要。《快公司》杂志认为，要想在21世纪取得成功，适应性是最重要的一项技能。经济界的变化如此迅速且无法预测，那些能够根据市场需要进行调整的个人和公司才有可能取得成功。

Idea synthesis, rapid learning and adaptability: three skills that multipotentialites are very adept at, and three skills that they might lose if pressured to narrow their focus. As a society, we have a vested interest in encouraging multipotentialites to be themselves. We have a lot of complex, multidimensional problems in the world right now, and we need creative, out-of-the-box thinkers to tackle them.

产生创意，快速学习和适应性是多重潜力者非常擅长的三种能力，如果强迫他们缩小自己的关注范围，这三种能力也许就会丧失。作为一个社会，鼓励多重潜力者保持本色对我们有利。我们如今面临许多复杂问题，涉及许多方面， 我们需要有创意的、能破除思维定式的 思想者来解决这些问题。

Now, let’s say that you are, in your heart, a specialist. You came out of the womb knowing you wanted to be a pediatric neurosurgeon. Don’t worry - there’s nothing wrong with you, either.

我们假设，内心深处，你是一名专家。你从打娘胎里出来就知道你想当一名儿童神经外科医生。别担心，即使这样你也挺正常的。

In fact, some of the best teams are comprised of a specialist and multipotentialite paired together. The specialist can dive in deep and implement ideas, while the multipotentialite brings a breadth of knowledge to the project. It’s a beautiful partnership. But we should all be designing lives and careers that are aligned with how we’re wired. And sadly, multipotentialites are largely being encouraged simply to be more like their specialist peers.

事实上，一些顶尖团队就是由专家和多重潜力者搭配组成。专家可以深入研究，实践想法，而多重潜力者可以为项目带来更广泛的知识支持。这是一种美妙的合作。但是我们都应该根据自己的天赋来规划与之相适应的人生和职业。不幸的是，多重潜力者往往被要求成为（刚刚提到的）团队中的那个专家。

So with that said, if there is one thing you take away from this talk, I hope that it is this: embrace your inner wiring, whatever that may be. If you’re a specialist at heart, then by all means, specialize. That is where you’ll do your best work. But to the multipotentialites in the room, including those of you who may have just realized in the last 12 minutes that you are one.

所以，如果你从今天的演讲中学到了一件事的话，我希望会是：接受你内心的真实想法。如果你是专家型的人，那就用尽一切办法，成为专家。你会干得非常不错。但对于在座的多重潜力者们，包括那些在过去的12分钟里 刚刚意识到自己是多重潜力者的人。

To you I say: embrace your many passions. Follow your curiosity down those rabbit holes. Explore your intersections. Embracing our inner wiring leads to a happier, more authentic life. And perhaps more importantly - multipotentialites, the world needs us.

我要对你们说：接受你的众多爱好。保持你的好奇心。探索（不同领域的）交叉地带。让真实的自我引领我们去过更快乐、更真实的人生。也许更重要的是，（我们是）多重潜力者，这个世界需要我们。