One of the best pieces of advice I got on this journey was the difference between a linear life and an exponential life.

这一路上我获得的最好的建议之一就是线性生活和指数生活之间的区别

A linear life is: you get an internship; you get a job; you get a promotion;

线性生活是指：去实习 找工作 升职

you save up for a vacation, and you just go step by step slowly and predictively your whole way through.

攒钱去度假 一步一步慢慢发展 一切都在预料之中

And again, there’s nothing wrong with that, but you have to be clear with yourself about what you want.

当然了 这没什么不对的 但你必须要清楚自己想要的是什么

An exponential life is about deciding that you’re not going to wait around,

指数生活是指你不会坐以待毙

you’re not going to hope someone just hands you what you’re hoping for,

不会等着别人把你想要的东西送到你手里

it’s about grabbing onto it for what you want.

而是主动去争取自己想要的东西

So over the course of this seven year journey, whether it was tracking down Bill Gates, which took two years,

所以在这七年的旅途中 不管是用两年时间追踪比尔·盖茨

or Lady Gaga, which took three years, in every industry possible—

还是用三年的时间追踪嘎嘎小姐 我尽量涉猎了更宽泛的领域——

Maya Angelo for poetry, Jane Goodall for science, Pitbull, Quincy Jones, Tim Ferriss, Larry King—

诗歌界的玛雅·安吉洛 科学界的珍·古德 斗牛梗 昆西·琼斯 蒂姆·菲利斯 拉里·金——

they all couldn’t have been more different on the outside.

在外界看来 这些人可能八竿子打不着

But as I heard their stories and started to dissect how they launched their careers,

但当我听说他们的故事 并开始详细分析他们的事业是如何起步的时候

I realized there was this common melody to everyone’s story.

我发现这些人身上有一个共同点

And the analogy that came to me—because I was 21 at the time—was that it’s sort of like getting into a nightclub.

当时我想到的类比是——那时候我才21岁——就像去夜总会一样

So there’s always three ways in: there’s the first door,

有三扇门可以进去：第一扇门

the main entrance where the line curves around the block, where 99 percent of people wait in line hoping to get in.

是主要入口 长长的队伍曲里拐弯地排了好几个街区 99%的人都在这里等着 希望能进去

And then there’s the second door, the VIP entrance where the billionaires or celebrities go through.

还有第二扇门 那就是VIP入口 是亿万富翁和名人们的专属通道

And school has this way of making us feel like those are the only two ways in:

学校把我们塑造成了认为只有这两条通道的人：

you’re either born into it or you wait your turn like everybody else.

你要么生来显贵拥有特权 要么就和大家一样排队等着

What I’ve learned is that there is always, always the third door, and it’s the door where you jump out of line,

我学到的就是 一定会有第三扇门 在这扇门 你不需要排队

run down the alley, bang on the door 100 times, crack open the window, go through the kitchen, there’s always a way in.

你只需要跑过小巷 使劲砸门 敲碎窗户 穿过厨房 就一定会找到一条进去的路

And it doesn’t matter if that’s how Gates sold his first piece of the software or how Lady Gaga got her first record deal, they all took the third door.

盖茨是不是用这种方法卖掉了第一款软件 嘎嘎小姐是不是用这种方法完成了第一次录音交易 这不重要 重要的是他们都选择了第三扇门

So The Third Door isn’t a prescription or a recipe, it’s really a mindset.

所以第三扇门不是处方 也不是食谱 它是一种心态

So if you look at Steven Spielberg, the way he did it was: he was rejected from film school,

我们来看一下斯蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格 他的方法是：他被电影学校拒绝了

so instead of giving up on his dream he decided he would take his education into his own hands.

但他没有放弃梦想 而是决定自己来主宰教育

So the way the story goes, according to Spielberg,

根据斯皮尔伯格所述 当时是这样的

is that one day when he was around 19 years old he jumped onto a tour bus at Universal Studios,

19岁的某一天 他跳上了环球影业的一辆旅游车

rides around the lot on this tour, jumps off the bus, hides in the bathroom,

绕停车场一圈 跳下旅游车 躲在卫生间里

waits for the bus to drive away and starts walking around the lot.

等车开走后 他就在停车场里四处走动

And as he’s walking around he bumps into this man named Chuck Silvers who works at Universal Television.

就在这时候 他撞见了一个名叫查克·西尔弗斯的人 他在环球电视公司上班

And Chuck Silvers sees this kid and says, “What are you doing here?”

查克·西尔弗斯看到了这个孩子 问他“你在这里干什么？”

And Spielberg tells him his dream.

斯皮尔伯格告诉了他自己的梦想

And they end up talking for a while and Silver goes, “Do you want to come back on the lot?”

他们聊了会儿天 西尔弗斯说“你还想来停车场吗？”

And Spielberg goes, “That would be a dream.”

斯皮尔伯格说“那是我梦寐以求的事”

And Chuck Silvers writes a three-day pass.

所以查克·西尔弗斯就给他写了张为期三天的通行证

And Spielberg goes every day back to the lot for the next three days.

接下来的三天 斯皮尔伯格每天都会回到停车场

But on the fourth day Spielberg puts on a suit, gets his dad’s briefcase,

但是第四天 斯皮尔伯格穿上西装 拿上他父亲的公文包

walks up to the security entrance, puts a hand in the air and goes, “Hey Scotty!”

走到安全入口处 举起一只手说“嘿 史考特”

And Scotty just waves back and Spielberg walks right through.

史考特也向他招手 于是斯皮尔伯格就直接进去了

And for the next months Spielberg goes back onto the lot, going into editing rooms,

接下来的一个月 斯皮尔伯格会去停车场 去剪辑室

learning as much as possible, sneaking onto sets and soaking it all in, really creating his own education.

抓住一切机会学习 溜进片场尽情观摩 真的在进行自我教育

He is asking producers out to lunch, talking to actors and actresses,

他请制片人共进取餐 跟男女演员聊天

but eventually Chuck Silvers, who became his mentor, gave him one of the best pieces of advice.

但最后查克·西尔弗斯 也就是他的导师 给了他最好的一条建议

He essentially said, “Stop schmoozing and go make a quality short film that you can have in your hand and show to people.”

他说“别再闲谈拍马屁了 去做一个可以向人们展示的高质量短片”

And it sort of busts that myth of, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

这似乎违背了那个神话“重要的不是你知道什么 而是你认识谁”

It’s really also what you know or what you have to show!

它真的还是你知道什么或你有什么可以展示

So Spielberg takes the advice to heart, makes this incredible short film called Amblin.

所以斯皮尔伯格认真听取了这条建议 做了这个叫做“安培林”的极棒的短片

And when Chuck Silvers sees it he’s so moved that a single teardrop falls down his face.

查克·西尔弗斯看了短片后 感动地流下了一滴泪

And Chuck Silvers reaches for the phone and calls the Vice President of Universal Television, Sid Sheinberg.

然后查克·西尔弗斯拿起电话打给了环球电视公司的副总裁西德·谢恩伯格

And he goes, “Sid, I have something you have to see.”

他说“西德 我这儿有个东西你一定得看看”

And Sid goes, “Look, I have a lot to watch right now.

西德说“听着 我有很多东西要看呢

Is it that important?”

真的有那么重要吗？”

And Chuck Silvers goes, “It’s that goddamn important.

查克·西尔弗斯说“就是有那么重要

If you don’t watch this tonight someone else will.”

如果你今晚不看的话 会有别人愿意看的”

Sheinberg watches the film the next day, says he wants to see Spielberg immediately, and gives him a seven-year contract on the spot.

第二天 谢恩伯格看了那个短片 他说要立马见到斯皮尔伯格 并当场跟他签署了一份七年合约

That’s how he became the youngest director in Hollywood history.

斯皮尔伯格就这样成为了好莱坞史上最年轻的导演

The key to that story though—of course Spielberg had incredible talent, so do a lot of other wonderful young directors—

这个故事的关键在于——当然了 斯皮尔伯格天赋异禀 但这一点其他优秀的年轻导演同样具备——

the difference between that story and every other story that doesn’t work out, to me,

我觉得 这个故事与其他没有成功的故事的不同之处就在于

is Chuck Silvers, who I saw sort of this “inside man”,

查克·西尔弗斯 我觉得是这个故事中的“局内人”

someone inside of the organization who believed in Spielberg enough that he put his reputation on the line.

他是机构内部的人 他相信斯皮尔伯格 愿意为他冒险一试

If Chuck Silvers didn’t write that three day pass, if he didn’t give him that wonderful advice to make that short film,

如果查克·西尔弗斯没有写下那张三天通行证 如果他没有让斯皮尔伯格去做短片

and if he didn’t call Sid Sheinberg and lay it all out for him and say it’s that goddamn important, none of this would have happened.

如果他没有打给西德·谢恩伯格并告诉他这有多重要 那这一切都不会发生

So anyone who is trying to break through, not really in an age in life, it’s not about an age in life it’s about a stage in life.

所以任何想要有所突破的人 不是指年龄 这与年龄无关 而是生活中的阶段

If you’re starting something new, if you’re reaching for a dream,

如果你开始尝试新东西 如果你在追求梦想

find that inside man or woman who’s willing to put their reputation on the line to help you get in.

那就找到那个愿意把赌注押在你身上的局内人 让他们帮你一把

So an exponential life is about very much the concept of The Third Door,

所以指数生活指的就是第三扇门这个观念

which is running down the alley banging on the door finding a way in yourself,

也就是穿过小巷 使劲砸门 自己找到一条进去的路

and it’s about deciding that life isn’t going to slowly and predictively give you what you want.

要认识到生活并不会按部就班地慢慢给你想要的一切