出世之道:你還在浪費時間讀勵志書?

Walk into any bookstore, and you'll see shelves full of books about personal development. You'll know the titles of some classics, even if you've never read them: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Getting Things Done, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway ... and loads more.
走進任何一家書店，都會看到書架上堆滿了個人發展的書。甚至不用去翻，你都能知道一些耳熟能詳的書名：《高效能人士的七個習慣》，《儘管去做》，《如何戰勝內心的恐懼》...等等諸如此類。

You've probably read some of these books, or at least come across major personal development ideas in magazines or online. If you've been reading Dumb Little Man for any length of time, you'll definitely have soaked up a lot of great personal development advice.
可能你已經讀過其中一些書，或者至少在雜誌或網上瀏覽過主要的勵志個人發展觀點。如果你已經讀過《Dumb Little Man》一些，你肯定了解了許多個人發展的建議。

You might even spend time every day reading personal development blogs and books, or listening to audio.
你可能每天都在花時間讀個人發展方面的博客和書，或者聽錄音。

But ... are you wasting your time?
但...你是在浪費時間嗎？

Just Reading Won't Get You Far
光去讀沒什麼用

When you want something to change in your life, it's tempting to look for a quick fix. And books can promise a lot – with titles like I Will Make You Rich.
如果你想改變生活，肯定想找個捷徑。而書能承諾許多——例如《我會讓你富有》的書名。

Can they really deliver?
他們真的能實現？

Yes – but only with a bit of work from you.
能——但是對你只有一點用。

The problem is, many of us find that simply reading about personal development gives us a little boost. We read 7 Habits and we feel like we've done something productive ... but we might not quite make the leap into actually doing something with what we've read.
問題是，我們大多數都發現簡單讀讀個人發展的書能給我們一點激勵。我們讀了七個習慣，我們會覺得我們某些事做的很有效率...但我們實際上可能不會真的就像書中所言那樣做事。

Have you fallen into this trap? Do you find yourself buying book after book, or reading blog after blog, hoping that this time, you're finally going to find that secret which will help you change your life?
你掉進過這個陷阱嗎？買了一本又一本書，或者讀了一個又一個博客，你是否發現，自己總是希望這次你就會徹底發現那個祕密：那個能幫你改變你一生的祕密？

The problem is, you might never find it. Because unless you're engaging with what you read, nothing is ever going to be any different.
問題是，你可能永遠不會發現它。因爲除非你按照書中所說去做了，不然神馬改變也不會發生。

Do You Really Want to Change?
你真地想要改變？

It's a tough question, but it's an important one to think about. Do you really want to change?
似乎是個幼稚的問題，但確實是一個很重要的問題需要你去想想。你真的想改變嗎？

That might seem like such a no-brainer. Of course you want to get out of your dead-end job. Of course you want to lose weight and get healthier. Of course you want to quit smoking.
似乎是個幼稚的問題，但確實是一個很重要的問題需要你去想想。你真的想改變嗎？

That might seem like such a no-brainer. Of course you want to get out of your dead-end job. Of course you want to lose weight and get healthier. Of course you want to quit smoking.
看起來似乎根本不用想。當然想搞定棘手的工作。當然想減肥健身。當然想戒菸。

The thing is, whenever you change, you're also giving something up. To get out of your dead-end job, you'll be leaving behind your familiar daily routine. To lose weight, you'll have to stop eating so much junk food.
這些事情是你一直想改變，事實上你卻一直放棄改變的事。要想搞定棘手的工作，你就得變更你的日程表。要想減肥，你就不能吃垃圾食品。

Plus, change can take a lot of energy and dedication. You might have to do things which are hard or scary – like going back to college, facing up to someone, or tackling a big issue in your life.
而且，改變是需要許多精力和奉獻的。你可能必須去做那些很難或者很恐怖的事：比如返回大學，直面某些人，或者列出你人生的大清單。

If you're not ready to change your whole life, that's okay. Instead of focusing on far-off dreams, start smaller with your personal development aims. Maybe you'd like to eventually move into a new career – but for now, a good start is tackling your procrastination habit.
如果你還沒準備好改變你的整個人生，那好。不要去想那些遙不可及的夢想，根據個人發展目標從小事開始。可能你最終會換一個新職業——但是現在，一個好的開始就是丟掉拖延的習慣。

Taking Action
開始行動

I'm a firm fan of good personal development books, blogs, audio programs, seminars and so on. A great writer (or speaker) can open your eyes up to new ideas, give you just the advice you need, and genuinely change your life.
我是一個堅定的粉絲——喜歡讀各類個人發展的書，博客，音頻資料，演講等等。一個偉大的作者（或者演講者）能開闊你的視界，給你適中的建議，真誠的助你改變生活。

The problem is, most people don't get as much as they should out of the material they read.
問題是，大多書人並不能從他們所讀的書中獲取很多。

It's very easy to nod along in agreement with a writer or speaker. You might feel inspired or even determined while you're reading – only to end up forgetting all about those insights you had.
很容易點頭贊同一個作者或者演講者。讀的時候，你可能受到鼓舞甚至下定決心——讀完就忘的一乾二淨。

To help yourself take action:
爲了真正有效，你應該採取的行動：

Get clear about what you want to learn or change. You're probably not just reading a book or blog post out of general interest: there's a specific situation in your life where you want to improve something. What's your goal?
弄清楚你想學什麼或者改變什麼。你不應僅僅出於興趣讀一本書或者博客：生活中有一個特殊的東東是你真正想提高或改善的。目標是什麼？

Choose good material. Ask friends to recommend their favorite blogs or books, or check out reviews on Amazon. You want solid content and a style which makes it easy for you to read.
挑選好資料。看朋友推薦的一些喜歡的博客或書，或者看看亞馬遜的書評。你要一個有硬料的書，風格最好有助於你讀。

Read with a notebook in hand. Jot down questions which occur while you're reading, or any new ideas or insights. Make a particular note of anything you want to try out for yourself – a new way of managing your time, for instance.
讀的時候手邊放個記事本。記下閱讀中碰到的問題，或者任何新想法或思考。對任何你想嘗試的東東——例如一種新的時間管理方法——在書上做一個特殊的標記。

Set aside time not just to read but to act. Try writing down one to three steps to take every single week, based on what you've been reading.
讀了之後一定要花時間去執行。根據你所讀的，試着寫下一到三步可以在每週實行。

So – you've just read this post. Don't let it be yet another piece of good advice that you promptly forget: instead, take a minute now to figure out what you're going to do differently next time you pick up a personal development book.
所以——你已經讀了這篇網誌。別讓它又成爲一個你不就就會忘掉的建議：現在就花兩分鐘去找本個人發展的書，你下次肯定會照着嘗試的書。