为何每个成功的故事总有个失败的开头

 　　Long before the iPhone made him the god of gadgets¹, Steve Jobs launched his tech career by hacking² land lines to make free long-distance calls.

　　史蒂夫·乔布斯（Steve Jobs）通过iPhone成为电子设备教父，不过他很久之前就开始了高科技事业，做的是盗用本地通话线路从而实现免费远程通话。

　　Bob Dylan’s band, the Golden Chords, lost a high-school talent competition to a tap dancing act.

　　鲍勃·迪伦（Bob Dylan）成为金牌音乐家之前，在高中达人秀比赛中输给了一个踢踏舞表演。

　　Behind every success story is an embarrassing first effort, a stumble, a setback³ or a radical⁴ change of direction. It’s these first clumsy steps on the road to fame and fortune that fascinate writer Seth Fiegerman, who edits the blog OpeningLines.org, a collection of case studies on the origins of famous careers.

　　探究每个成功故事，你总能看到起步时的窘迫，蹒跚前进，被失败打击，或是突然决定转向。这些通往名利财富路上的笨拙的起步吸引了作家塞斯·菲格曼（Seth Fiegerman），她收集了关于成功事业起点的众多案例，并编写了博客OpeningLines.org（起步线）。

　　“When you see someone who’s very successful, you almost imagine that it was a foregone conclusion, that they’re a genius, that they were destined⁵ for great things, ” says Fiegerman, who began the blog in 2009, after an early setback in his own career. “I think the big takeaway is failure and setbacks, far from being uncommon⁶, are in many ways essential.”

　　2009年，菲格曼在事业受挫后选择开博。”当你看到某些成功人士时，你总会想象他们的成功是必然的，他们都是天才，注定建立丰功伟业，“她说：”我认为 最重要 的是经历失败与挫折，不甘于平庸。“

　　After Fiegerman, now 26, graduated from New York University in 2008, he landed a coveted⁷ first job as a research editor at Playboy magazine. But he had worked there for just half a year when management announced that most of the staff would soon be laid off.

　　今年26岁的菲格曼于2008年毕业于纽约大学。大学毕业后，他拥有了一个令人艳羡的工作——《花花公子》杂志的研究编辑。但他仅仅在这个工位上工作了半年，公司就开始大规模裁人。

　　As unemployment loomed⁸, Fiegerman felt adrift. He began to explore the Playboy archives, discovering a trove⁹ of interviews with celebrities¹⁰ ranging from Marlon Brando to Malcolm X. Many of these successful people shared tales of their less promising¹¹ early days, and Fiegerman quickly became obsessed¹² with these origin stories.

　　面对裁员的危机，菲格曼感到茫然无措。他开始研究《花花公子》杂志档案，并发行了一系列珍贵的名人访问，包括马龙白兰度（Marlon Brando，美国最棒的男演员），马尔科姆·X（Malcolm X，非裔美国人权利提倡者）等等。这些成功人士都经历了看似前途渺茫的开端，这些成功起源的故事很快吸引了菲格曼。

　　“It kind of paired well with this feeling that I had of, ‘Oh my God, what do I do?’” Fiegerman says. “And I found solace¹³, in some ways, reading about the obstacles that famous figures had to overcome.”

　　”这些故事与我彼时心情契合，我总在想‘老天，我该怎么办？’“菲格曼说：”在某些方面，通过阅读那些名人克服困难的故事，我找到了安慰。“

　　He began devouring¹⁴ biographies and soliciting¹⁵ interviews with writers and musicians he admired, using the blog to document the fits and starts that began the careers of the famous and the infamous¹⁶. Success, he learned, was less a matter of innate¹⁷ talent and more the product of perseverance¹⁸, a willingness to stumble and stand up again and again.

　　他开始大量阅读传记，并恳请自己欣赏的作家和音乐家接受采访，这些人有成名的也有事业低迷的，菲格曼把他们的事业开端的起起伏伏记录进博客。在调查中他发现，成功更多是源于坚持而非天赋。要有勇气屡败屡战。

　　“You kind of assume that great geniuses are like Mozart, ” Fiegerman says. But few successful people were child prodigies¹⁹, and prodigies don’t necessarily find success. “Most people don’t stick to it.”

　　”你可能觉得天才都是像莫扎特那样的，“菲格曼说。但事实是几乎没什么成功人士是神童，神童未必成功。”大多数人不喜欢坚持一件事。“

　　Author Jennifer Egan stuck with it. She told Fiegerman that her first novel was so bad even her mother hated it. But Egan kept writing, and her writing got better—in 2011, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel about growing old in the digital age, A Visit From the Goon Squad²⁰.

　　作家詹妮弗·伊根（Jennifer Egan）做到了坚持。她告诉菲格曼他的第一部小说糟到连她母亲都厌恶。但伊根并未放弃写作，而且有了进步。2011年她的一篇描绘在数字时代老去的小说《打手队的来访》（A Visit From the Goon Squad）赢得了普利策奖（Pulitzer Price，美国新闻界最高荣誉）。

　　Knowing about a hero’s early flops²¹ and foibles might disillusion²² some fans, but Fiegerman finds comfort in rough beginnings. “The only thing that would have disappointed me is if I’d researched all these guys and women and found out that they got it right on the first try, because, OK, I did not, ” Fiegerman says with a laugh.

　　了解一个英雄人物早期的失败和缺点也许会使某些粉丝的幻想破灭，但菲格曼却从中得到慰藉。”如果发现这些人首次尝试就成功我倒要失望了，因为我自己的起步并不是如此。“菲格曼笑着说。

　　Like his subjects, Fieger-man found that his own early setback wasn’t permanent. He landed a new job in journalism²³, and today he works at the tech news website Mashable, covering, appropriately enough, start-up businesses. While he has less time for the blog, he hopes his collection of origin stories will help other young people realize it’s OK to fail.

　　正如他的受访者，菲格曼发现起初的失败并不是永久的。他开始尝试记者工作，如今他在科技新闻网站Mashable工作，可以说还包含很多起步阶段的业务。虽然写博客的时间少了，他希望自己收集的这些成功故事的起源可以帮助其他年轻人，告诉他们要允许失败。

　　“I hope some of them benefit from it, ” he says. “But if nothing else, I feel like I benefited from it a little bit.”

　　”我希望有人能从中受益，“他说：”但就算没什么效果，我觉得自己已经获益良多了。“

1 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

2 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

3 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

4 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

5 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

6 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

7 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 trove   

n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西

参考例句：

• He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。
• The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

10 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

11 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

12 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

13 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

14 devouring   

吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• The hungry boy was devouring his dinner. 那饥饿的孩子狼吞虎咽地吃饭。
• He is devouring novel after novel. 他一味贪看小说。

15 soliciting   

v.恳求( solicit的现在分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• A prostitute was soliciting on the street. 一名妓女正在街上拉客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• China Daily is soliciting subscriptions. 《中国日报》正在征求订户。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

17 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

18 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

19 prodigies   

n.奇才，天才（尤指神童）( prodigy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It'seldom happened that a third party ever witnessed any of these prodigies. 这类壮举发生的时候，难得有第三者在场目睹过。 来自辞典例句
• She is by no means inferior to other prodigies. 她绝不是不如其他神童。 来自互联网

20 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

21 flops   

n.失败( flop的名词复数 )v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的第三人称单数 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• a pair of flip-flops 一双人字拖鞋
• HPC environments are often measured in terms of FLoating point Operations Per Second (FLOPS) . HPC环境通常以每秒浮点运算次数(FLOPS)加以度量。 来自互联网

22 disillusion   

vt.使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭

参考例句：

• Do not say anything to disillusion them.别说什么叫他们泄气的话。
• I'd hate to be the one to disillusion him.我不愿意成为那个让他幻想破灭的人。

23 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。