TED演讲:如何发掘热情,并转化成你的事业?
没学历,没文凭,是否就看不到出路,不敢奢望未来?在挣到足够的钱之前,是否就没有资格谈论热情?
社会企业家Noeline Kirado并不这样认为。演讲中,她回顾了她如何帮助乌干达的失学年轻人,把他们的热情变成有收益的生意——并分享了2个实用的问题,帮助我们客观的审视自我,化热情为事业。
演讲者:Noeline Kirado
社会企业家,Noeline通过自学走出了乌干达坎帕拉的贫民窟。现在,她帮助脆弱的年轻人获得技能,将他们的热情转化为有利可图的生意
When you have a job that pays you enough to cover your basic needs, your bills and even some more to spend, the assumption is that you'd be happy, or, even better, fulfilled. And it seems unthinkable when you wake up and say you're going to leave a job like that to pursue a passion.
当你有一份薪资报酬能满足你的基本需求,付清你的账单以及额外的支出的工作,我猜你会感到高兴,或者,甚至可以说你很满足。如果你某天起床说要辞职去追寻你的热情所在,这似乎是不可思议的。
And that was my dilemma six years ago. I had a comfortable job, I lived a comfortable life, and people expected me to be fulfilled, but I wasn't. There was something in me that wanted more. There was a misalignment between the things I did on a daily basis and the things that I deeply cared about.
而那就是我在六年前所陷入的处境。我有一份满意的工作,过着舒适的生活,大家认为我应该很满足,但是我并没有。我的内心中有一部分想得到更多的东西。我日常做的事情和我内心深处最在乎的事情并不一致。
And so I decided to quit and explore the possibility of bringing this passion into my daily routine. And the thing about finding your passion is that it's not straightforward. Even for people with money and degrees, they still struggle to identify their passion.
所以我决定辞职,去探索那些能给我的生活轨迹带来热情的可能。然而探求自己的热情并不容易。甚至对于那些富有的、受过高等教育的人亦是如此,他们也在苦苦探索着自己的热情所在。
And here I was as a 30-year-old, talking about finding my passion and turning it into a career. Literally, people told me, "You don't talk about passion until you've made enough money --
我 30 岁时也是那样,总是谈论着要找到内心的热情,并将它变成自己的事业。说真的,人们总是告诉我,“在你挣到足够的钱之前,没有资格谈论热情——
or at least until you're ready to retire." Because there's a notion that looking inward and finding the things that give us pleasure and fulfillment is a luxury that only the rich can enjoy, or a pleasure that only the retired can indulge in. Which made me wonder: Is passion only for the rich, or an experience only the retired can enjoy?
或者起码等到你准备退休前。”因为很多人认为,反省自己,并且去寻找让我们感到愉悦和满足的事情是有钱人才能享受的“特权”,或者是退休了的人才能体会到的快乐。这不禁让我感到疑惑:难道热情只有富人才能拥有,或是退了休的人才能享受吗?
For many of us, we've been led to believe that life is a race of survival. We've been conditioned to see ourselves as survivors that must do everything in our power to survive. In Africa, we're nurtured to go through school, cram and pass, in the hope that you get a job after. And if you do, stick at it no matter how much it sucks.
对于我们许多人来说,我们被灌输了这样一种观点,即生活是一场生存的比赛。我们习惯于将自己视为幸存者,我们必须竭尽全力来生存。在非洲,我们从小被送去学校,补习班,并被叮嘱要完成学业,以便之后能顺利找到工作。而且你一旦开始工作,就要坚持下去,不管这份工作多么差劲,
Until you get a better offer or you're asked to retire. And as a dropout, I knew that I was not entitled to anything. Every opportunity was a privilege. And so when I thought about quitting, it was a huge risk.
直到你找到了一个更好的工作,或者准备好退休。作为一个辍学的人,我知道我没有资格得到任何东西。所有的机会都是特权。所以当我想到辞职的时候,我冒着一个巨大的冒险。
I was given two alternatives, which are the most popular in Africa. The first one is sign up for any course at a vocational institution and do it. My second option, settle for any job offer you can get, no matter the working conditions, and do it. That probably explains why we have so many of our young people being trafficked in search of greener pastures.
我有两个其他的选择, 也是在非洲最流行的选择。第一个是在职业机构报名学习新技能。另一个选择是,接受你能得到的任何工作机会,不管工作条件如何,然后认真做下去。这或许可以解释为什么,我们有如此多的年轻人为追寻更好的工作而被不断贩卖。
I opted for the first option. I did look at a couple vocational institutions in the hope that I would find a course that resonated with my persona, my dream and my aspiration. I was disappointed to learn that there was no room for misfits like me in these institutions.
我更倾向于第一个选择。我的确研究了几所职业学校,希望能够找到符合我的个性、梦想和志向的课程。然而我却失望地发现,这些机构根本没有我的一席之地。
The education system in many parts of the world has been designed around preselected options that young people are expected to fit in or risk becoming misfits. And so going through school, I was nurtured and conditioned to think in the straight line and stay within the straight line.
世界上许多地方的教育系统都是围绕预选选项设计的,年轻人需要学会适应,或者冒着格格不入的风险。所以在学校里,我被培养和训练得只会线性思考和循规蹈矩。
But when I dropped out, I discovered a world of possibilities. I knew I could be anything, I could study anything, and so I leveraged free online courses. That's how I built my CV, got into employment and worked for eight years. And after eight years, I told myself there must be more to life than just going through the routines of life.
但是当我辍学的时候,我发现了一个充满机会的世界。我知道我可能成为任何人,我可以学习任何东西,所以我充分利用了免费线上课程。这就是我如何写出了让我获得工作的简历,并且工作了八年。在八年之后,我告诉自己,生活一定可以更精彩,而不必每天只是例行公事。
So in 2014, I started an organization called Kyusa where we are working with out-of-school youth and empowering them to turn their passions into profitable, scalable and sustainable businesses.
所以在 2014 年,我创立了一家叫做 Kyusa 的组织,致力于联合社会上的青年,并鼓励他们利用自己的热情来发展可盈利、可推广,并且可持续的业务。
Now, when we talk about passion, one of the most common questions that people ask is, "What is passion? How do I even find it?" And in the simplest definition, passion is a collection of your life experiences that give you the deepest sense of fulfillment.
说到热情,人们最常问的一个问题是,“什么是热情?我怎么才能找到它?”一个最简单的定义就是,热情是你人生经历的收藏品,它能够激发你内心最深切的满足感。
And to identify your passion, you need to look inward. So we use two reflective questions. The first question we ask is, "If you had all the time and the money in the world, what would you spend your time doing?" It sounds like a very simple question, but many people struggle to answer this question because they've just never thought about it.
想要发现你的热情,就需要审视自己的内心。所以我们用了两个反省式的问题。我们问的第一个问题是,“如果你有世界上所有的时间和金钱。你会花时间做什么?”这看起来是个非常简单的问题,但是很多人都不知道怎么回答,因为他们从来没有认真想过这个问题。
The second question we ask is, "What makes you happy or gives you the deepest sense of fulfillment?" Now, you would assume that we all know what makes us happy, but it's also interesting to note that so many people have no idea what makes them happy, because they are so busy going through the routines of life, they've never stopped to look inward.
我们问的第二个问题是,“什么能让你开心,或者能给你最深切的满足感?”你们可能觉得我们都知道这个问题的答案。但是很有趣的一点是,许多人不知道什么能让他们开心。因为他们忙于过着循规蹈矩的生活,从来不会停下看看自己的内心。
And so identifying the things that give us a deep sense of fulfillment and the things that give us deep joy are thoughts that begin to direct us in the direction of our passion. And just in case you're wondering what your answers are to those two questions, I invite you to sit with these questions later and just reflect about it.
因此,识别那些能带给我们强烈的满足感和幸福感的事情,就能引导我们找到自己的热情所在。如果你们还不知道自己的答案是什么,我建议你们花点时间仔细思考一下。
However, I am also aware that passion alone cannot guarantee success in life. And I should note that not every passion can become a career. For passion to become a career, it must be coupled with the right set of skills, conditioning and positioning.
但是,我也意识到单单是热情并不能保证人生的成功。我应该指出,不是所有的热情都能转变成事业。为了让热情成为你的事业,它需要与正确的技能、条件和定位相结合。
So when we get our young people to look inward, we also ask them what skills do you have, what talents do you have, what experience do you have that you can use to build a niche in the marketplace. But more than that, we also look at the market trends, because it doesn't matter how much you love and enjoy it. If nobody wants it or is willing to pay for it, it can't be a career. It's just a hobby.
所以当我们让年轻人反省内心时,我们也会问他们有什么技能,天赋和经历可以让他们在市场里开辟一个利基市场。但是除此之外,我们也会观察市场的走势,因为无论你有多热爱或享受一件事情,如果没有人需要,或者不愿为此掏钱,这就不能成为一个事业,而只是一个兴趣。
And the third thing we look at is how do you position yourself? Who are you targeting? Who do you want to sell to? Why would they want to buy from you? And so the combination of the three is what enables you to move from just a passion to a business.
我们考虑的第三件事情是,你如何给自己定位?你的目标群体是谁?你想把产品卖给谁?为什么他们想从你这里买东西?这三者相结合就能让你把一份热情变成一项事业。
And many of our young people have been able to turn their ideas and burning desires into profitable businesses or social enterprises, and they're not just creating jobs, but they are solving societal challenges.
许多我们的年轻人可以把他们的想法和热切的希望变成可盈利的生意或者社会企业,他们不仅在创造就业机会,还在解决社会难题。
I'll share with you two examples. One of them is Esther. I met Esther two years ago. She had been out of school for two years, and she had been deeply affected by her dropping out. As a result, she had experienced severe depression to a point where she attempted to take her own life several times.
我想和你们分享两个例子。其中一个是伊斯尔(Esther)。我两年前认识了伊斯尔。当时她已经离开学校两年,辍学对她造成了很大的影响。结果,她患上了严重的抑郁症,甚至数次试图自杀。
Her friends and family didn't know what to do for her. They simply prayed for her. When I met Esther and I started to converse with her, I asked her a simple question. I said, "If you had all the time and the money in the world, what would you do?"
她的朋友和家人不知道能为她做点什么。他们只是为她祈祷。当我遇到伊斯尔时,我开始同她交谈,我问了她一个简单的问题。我说:“如果你有世界上所有的时间和金钱,你会做什么?”
Without thinking or hesitation, her eyes lit up and she began to tell me how she wanted to change the lives of young people. She wanted to restore hope and dignity to other teenagers by helping them make informed decisions about life.
几乎就在一瞬间,她的眼睛开始变得有神,她不假思索地告诉我,她多么希望能改变年轻人的命运,通过为他们的人生决定提供建设性意见,来帮助他们重拾希望和尊严。
I was certain of the fact that this burning desire in her was unquenchable. And so we worked with Esther to put a framework around this desire. Today, she runs a social enterprise in her village, raising awareness about substance abuse, mental health, sexual reproductive health
我非常确定,这股燃烧的希望在她心中不可撼动。所以我们和伊斯尔一起,为她的希望绘制了一张蓝图。现在,她在她的村子里经营一个社会企业,以唤起人们对滥用药物、心理健康与生殖健康的意识。
and is helping other school dropouts acquire vocational skills, so they can make a living for themselves. Esther turned 20 this year, and for the last two years, she has organized an annual teen fest that brings together over 500 teenagers.
她还帮助其他的辍学生获得了职业技能,从而维持自己的生活。伊斯尔今年 20 岁了。在过去两年里,她组织了年度青少年节,召集了超过 500 名青少年。
Young people that are able to network and collaborate on different projects, but more importantly to meet professionals they would otherwise never have met.
年轻人可以在不同的项目中互相认识,展开合作;更重要的是,能够遇见他们平时很难接触的专业人士。
This is all engineered by a girl that believed the world had no room for her, that without education she would never amount to anything. But by looking inward and tapping into a burning desire, putting structure around it, it has become a model that not only changed her life but is transforming the lives of hundreds of young people every year.
这一切都由一位自认为世界上并无自己容身之处的女孩策划,一个认为没有了接受教育的机会,她会一事无成的女孩。通过听从内心,并基于一个热切的希望,围绕着它制定计划,这种希望变成了一个模型,不仅改变了她的人生,每年还改变了上百名青少年的人生。
My other example is Musa. Musa is a natural artistic guy. He's the kind that would look at any design and replicate it with ease. And so he seeks to recognize that ability in him.
另一个例子是穆沙(Musa)。穆沙是个有艺术天赋的家伙。他是那种看任何设计一眼就能轻松复制它的人。所以他试图去挖掘自己的长处。
When I met Musa, he was doing all kinds of crafts -- bags, belts, wallets -- but it was more of a part-time thing. Or sometimes, if he was really broke and needed to make quick money, then he would come up with a design and sell it. But he had never thought of it as a business.
当我遇到穆沙的时候,他在做各种各样的手工——袋子,皮带,钱包——但是这更像是一个业余工作。或者有时候,如果他急需用钱,他会想出一个设计然后卖掉。但是他从没想过把这变成生意。
We started working with Musa, helping him shift his mindset from a hobby to a business and beginning to rethink how he can make products that he could sell and even be able to scale.
我们开始和穆沙合作,帮助他把想法从爱好变成生意,并且开始重新构想他应该如何制作可售卖的产品,甚至可以扩大规模。
Musa makes some of the most amazing bags I've ever seen, and over the last one year, Musa's business has grown. He has been recognized in different places. Currently, he's talking about exporting to developed countries.
穆沙做了一些我所见过的最棒的手提包,在过去的一年,穆沙的生意变大了。他的才华越来越广泛的受到认可。最近,他在考虑把产品出口到发达国家。
Musa, like any other dropout, believed that without academic credentials, he wouldn't amount to anything. He thought the talent he had was nothing simply because he did not have an academic paper to define him. But by looking inward and finding that what he had was the greatest asset and supporting him to turn it into a business, he's not just living -- he's thriving.
穆沙,和其他的辍学者一样,曾相信没有学历,他什么也做不了。他曾觉得他的才能毫无用处,就因为没有学术论文去支持。但是通过审视自己的内心,他发现他所拥有的东西是他最大的财富,并想办法把自己的才能变成了生意。除了生存,他还赋予了生命更丰富的意义。
The thing about looking inward is that it can be scary, especially if you're doing it for the first time. But the truth is you never truly start living until you learn to live from the inside out.
审视自身可能会让人害怕,尤其是当你第一次这么做的时候。但事实是,你从未真正的活着,直到你活出自我。
And in unlocking potential, we need to look inward to identify the things that give us a deep sense of fulfillment, the things that give us the deepest joy, and then weave them into the patterns of our daily routines. In so doing, we cease to work and we start to live. And the thing about living is that you never have to retire or to resign.
想要释放潜能,我们就需要审视自我,并找出给我们深切满足感的事情,给我们带来深切喜悦的事情,然后把它们编织进日常生活的蓝图中。在做这件事的时候,我们才能从工作中停下并开始生活,生活的好处在于我们永远不用退休或者辞职。
And so as you think about unlocking potential for ourselves, for our young people, for our children, let's not condition them to look outward but condition them to look inward to tap into who they are and bring that self into what they do every day.
所以,当你想到为了自己,为了年轻人,为了孩子能够发掘自己的无限潜能,我们不要训练他们局限于外部,而是训练他们审视内心,唤醒他们真正的自我,并将这种自我意识融入每日的生活。
When you cease to work and you live, when passion becomes a career, you don't just excel, you become unstoppable.
当你放下工作,开始生活,当热情变成了事业,你不只是卓越,你将势不可挡。
Thank you.
谢谢
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