How to know your life purpose in 5 minutes 

Adam Leipzig

On the last evening of my 25th college reunion, there was a party in a tent with dancing, and music, and noise. So much noise that a lot of us started to drift out of the tent so we could hear each other talk and catch up with classmates that we had not seen in more than 2 decades.

昨天晚上是我25周年大学聚会，我们在帐棚里面举办了一个派对。里面充满着音乐舞蹈与喧闹。因为太吵了，所以我们很多人就到帐篷外面，这样我们就可以听到彼此的声音，我和这些朋友已经二十多年没见了。

As I talked with my friends I made an astounding discovery: 80% of them were unhappy with their lives. "I feel as though I've wasted my life, and I'm half way through it," they said. "I don't know what my life is all about." 

在聊天过程中，我有一个惊人的发现：80%的人并不满意他们目前的生活。他们说：“我的人生已经过了一大半，但总觉得都在浪费我的人生。 ” “我不知道我生命的意义”

I was privileged to go to Yale, and we were standing on a summer evening in the middle of Yale's old campus, and the people that I was speaking with were privileged, and highly educated, and financially well off, and in positions of power. And they had the first house, and the second house, and they had the first spouse, and the second spouse.(Laughter) And 80% of them were unhappy with their lives. Who was happy, the 20%? 

当初我以优异的成绩进入耶鲁大学，在我们站上耶鲁旧校区的夏天晚上，和我说话的人都是受过高等教育，且都很有钱势与地位。他们买了第一间房子、第两间房子，娶了第一个老婆、第二个老婆。（笑声）但80%的人都不满意现在的生活。那么谁满意呢，剩下的20%？

Well, we had studied literature and Renaissance rhetoric, and we were the theater people, and the history geeks. We had studied classes for the joy of learning, not because we thought they were going to put direct us to a specific job. We still got jobs, we were living our lives expansively, with life's ups and downs, and we did not feel that we had wasted a single minute.

我们学过文学以及文艺复兴的修辞学，我们既是戏剧控，又是历史迷。我们读书是因为兴趣，不是为了找到一个特别的工作。虽然我们还是找了工作，过着奢侈的生活，虽然时好时坏，但我们从不觉得自己虚度了光阴。

And as I spoke with the 20%, the happier 20%, I discovered that each of them knew something about their life purpose because they knew five things: who they were, what they did, who they did it for, what those people wanted or needed, and what they got out of it, how they changed as a result.

当我和那20%较快乐的人交谈时，我发现他们每一个人都了解他们的生活目标。因为他们知道五件事：（1）他们是谁，（2）他们做了什么，（3）他们是为谁而做，（4）那些人想要什么、需要什么，（5）他们可以从中得到什么，结果会怎样改变。

Does that sound hard? It's not, it's actually really simple. In fact it's so simple, that you can learn your life purpose now. You're going to know your life purpose now, in the next five minutes. Would you like to know your life purpose in the next five minutes? (Audience) Yes.Can you be a little bit louder? Because they are making a lot of noise in the tent, and there is just a silly little microphone next to my cheek to hear you.

听起来很难吗？一点也不，它真的很简单。事实上，因为很简单，你现在就能知道自己的生活目标。在接下来的五分钟里，你就能得到答案。你们想在接下来的五分钟知道自己的生活目标吗？（观众）想。你们可以再大声点吗？因为我已经习惯帐篷里的噪音，现在只凭脸上的小麦克风来听你们的声音。

Would you like to know your life purpose in the next five minutes? (Audience) Yes!

你们想在接下来的五分钟知道自己的生活目标吗？（观众）想！

Thank you. Actually, it's not even going to take five minutes. So, can I share something else with you? 

谢谢。其实可能连五分钟都不用。好的，我要先分享另一件事。

If you're like a lot of us, you have wondered and worried about your life purpose for a long time, and there are books, and magazines, and workshops, and seminars about it. In fact, Amazon lists 151,928 books that refer to how you can learn your life purpose. (Laughter)

假使你和我们大多数人一样，你常常在想并担忧自己的人生目标，有很多书籍、杂志、演讲、

研讨会都和人生目标有关。事实上，在亚马逊上就有151,928本书是关于你怎么寻找你的人生目标的。（笑声）

Well, I know some people who have spent their entire lives trying to learn their life purpose. Look, we can all agree that the unexamined life is not worth living, but if all you're doing

is examining, you're not living. (Laughter)

好吧，我知道，很多人用尽一生的时间寻找他们的人生目标。当然，我们都同意浑浑噩噩的生活是不值得过的，但如果你只是照着计划表在考核你的人生，那你不算是真正活着。（笑声）

So, let's figure out the life purpose right now together: who you are, what you do, who you do it for, what those people want and need, and how they change as a result. Shall we do it? (Audience) Yes.

那么现在，我们一起来寻找人生目标：你是谁，你在做什么，你为谁而做，他们想要什么需要什么，还有最后他们会变的如何。准备好了吗?（观众）好了。

All right. Everybody, on the count of five, shout out your first name.One, two, three, four, five: (Audience shouts)

好!我数到五，大声喊出你们的名字。一、二、三、四、五：（观众大喊）

Fabulous. That was the first one, only four to go. That's who you are. (Laughter)

很好。这是第一个，还有四个。你已经知道自己是谁了。（笑声）

Now, what do you do? What do you love to do? Do you love to write, cook, design, create iOS apps, write code, crunch numbers, talk, teach? What do you love to do? And if there is a lot of things that come up for you focus it down by asking yourselves this one question: what is the one thing that right now you feel supremely qualified to teach other people? Think about that in one word. Hold it. Don't release it yet. On the count of five. What do you do?

那么现在，你在做什么？你喜欢做什么？你喜欢写作、下厨、设计、创建iOS apps、写代码、算数字、谈话、教书？你喜欢做什么？如果你想到了很多喜欢的事，那就问自己一个问题：现在哪一件事情你自己感觉最有能力可以传授给别人的？想一下，用一个词回答。屏住气，先别说。等我数到五。你喜欢做什么？

One, two, three, four, five: (Audience shouts)

一、二、三、四、五：（观众大喊）

Great. That's what you do. Now, think about who you do it for, picture them in your mind, be ready to say it on the count of five. Hold it, don't release it yet. 

很好，你知道自己喜欢做什么了。现在，想想你是为谁而做，在你脑里想想他们的样子，我数到五，说出你们的答案。等等，先别说出来。

One, two, three, four, five: (Audience murmurs)

一、二、三、四、五：（观众小声回答）

OK, who do you do it for, let's see it one more time. A little bit louder, please, over the people in the tent. Who do you do it for? Together: (Audience shouts)

好，我们再来一次，你为谁而做，请大声点，超过帐篷里的噪音。你为谁而做？一起说：（观众大喊）

Thank you. That is the spirit that we need. OK, now.What do all those people want or need? What do they want or need that you have, that they've come to you so you can give them this thing. What do they want or need? In just one or two words. Hold it, don't release it yet. And on the count of five: one, two, three, four, five...(Audience shouts)

谢谢。这就是我们要的气势。好，现在。那些人想要什么或需要什么？他们想从你身上得到什么，他们来找你是因为你可以给他们东西。他们要的是什么？用一两个词来回答。等等，先别说。我数到五：一、二、三、四、五……（观众大喊）

Fantastic. Now, this is the best one. How do they change? How do they change or transform

as a result of what you give them? On the count of five, how do they change or transform

as a result of what you give them? One, two, three, four, five: (Audience shouts)

太棒了。下面这个最精彩。他们会怎么改变？你的给予会让他们如何改变或转化? 一、二、三、四、五，你的给予会让他们如何改变或转化? 一、二、三、四、五：（观众大喊）

Terrific. Now we're going to put this all together kind of in a sentence, OK? Everyone together,

louder than the people in the tent:

太棒了。现在我们要把刚才的回答组织成一句话。大家一起来，要比帐篷里的人更大声：

who are you? (Audience responds)

What do you do? (Audience responds)

Who do you do it for? (Audience responds)

What do they want or need? (Audience responds)

How do they change as a result? (Audience responds)

你是谁？（观众回答）

你现在在做什么？（观众回答）

你为谁而做？（观众回答）

他们想要什么或需要什么？（观众回答）

结果他们会怎么改变？（观众回答）

Fantastic. You have all just done something that people who went to Yale could not figure out for 25 years. Congratulations. Give yourselves a hand. (Applause)

太棒了。你们刚才所做的是那些上耶鲁的人花了25年都没做到的。恭喜你们，给自己鼓个掌。（鼓掌）

Now, why is that formulation so powerful? Because of all of those five things that you need to know to know what your life purpose is, only two are about yourself. The other three of them are about other people: who they are, what they want or need, and how they change as a result. 

那么，为什么这个公式这么有用？因为这五件事是你必须知道的，就是你的人生目标是什么，只有两个和你自己有关。另外三个与其他人有关：他们是谁，他们想要或需要什么，他们最后会变怎么样。

That formulation forces you to be outward facing. And all the happier people that I met outside the tent on that warm New Haven night they were outward facing, they were not inward facing. They knew very clearly whom they served, what those people needed, and how those people changed as a result.

这个公式会驱使你照顾到除你之外的人们。而我在帐篷外遇到那些较快乐的人，在那天温暖的夜晚，他们都是看到自己以外的人，并非只是看到自己。他们清楚地知道自己为谁而做，那些人要什么，他们最后会如何改变。

And you may have intuited this already that the most successful people in any field always focus most on the people that they serve than on how they are served themselves. Happier people make it a point to make other people happy, and do things that make them feel well taken care of and secure.If you make other people happy, life teaches us, we will be taken care of, too.

你可能已感觉得到，无论哪个领域的成功人士都很注重如何服务他们的对象，而不是他们自己。那些更快乐的人专注在让别人快乐，做些事情使他们感觉倍受关心与照顾。生活告诉我们，如果你让别人开心，我们也会被照顾得很好。

So since you all did so well, we have time for just a little bit of extra credit. (Laughter) 

那么，因为你们表现得太好了，我们有时间再给你们一个小小的奖励。（笑声）

One of the most difficult things that happens when you meet people for the first time is they ask you this question, "So, what do you do?" And, if you're like some of us, that's a really

challenging question sometimes. Particularly, if you're in these moments where you're between things, or you're feeling vulnerable, or it isn't defined. Or, what you seem to do isn't what you really do, or what you paid to do isn't how you define yourself.

与人谈话时，其中最困难的一件事就是当你第一次见一个人，他可能问你这个问题，“你现在在做什么？” 如果你和我们某些人一样，感觉到这个问题有时确实挺有挑战性。特别是当你面对抉择的时候，或是你感到心力憔悴，或事情还未笃定。或是那些看起来你在从事的事情好像跟你说的没有关连性；或是你受雇做的事情无法真正解释你是谁。

So, when people ask you this question, "So, what do you do?" and also, you've got this mental monologue going on, "Why is he asking me? So, what do I do? Is it because..." It's that transactional thing where it's like: "He wants to know if he should really spend time talking to me?" (Laughter) 

所以当人们问你这个问题：“你现在在做什么？” 你心里就会开始想，“他为什么要问我这个问题？是不是因为……这些事务性的交谈他必须知道或是他是真的想要了解？ ”（笑声）

Or, it's that other thing, so he can tell me what he does because he's sure it's, "Oh, really, so much better than what I do?" (Laughter) Right?

或者，他是不是有什么目的，才会告诉我他在做什么，因为他想确定我的回答是：”哦，真的？比我做得好多了？“（笑声）对吧？

So, when somebody asks you that question, here's what you do: you just say the very last thing you called out, how what you do changes the people you do it for. 

所以当有人问你这个问题，你可以这样做：只要说出你目前正在做的事情就行了，你所做的事情是怎么改变别人。

So, for example, you might say, "I give kids awesome dreams." If your life purpose is: "I write books for children, so they can fall asleep at night, so they can have awesome dreams." 

比如，你可以说：”我给了孩子们美好的梦。“如果你的生活目标是：”我为孩子们写书，让他们在深夜也能入睡，让他们在入睡时能做个好梦。 ”

Or you might say: "I help people look and feel their best," if your life purpose is: "I design apparel for men and women who need affordable choices, so they can look and feel their best." 

你也可以说：“我帮助人们找到他们的优点，” 如果你的生活目标是：“我为大众设计出他们付得起的衣服，使他们可以看到及感觉到自己最棒的一面。

Or you might say: "I help people get great work into the world," if your life purpose is: "I train entrepreneurs and creative people to take decisive actions, so they can get their greatest work into the world."

你也可以说：“我帮助人们把最棒的工作带入世界，” 如果你的生活目标是：“我培训企业家和具创造力的人才来做决策，这样他们就能把最棒工作带给世界。”

And then, that little snippet that you just said becomes your personal elevator pitch. And it will always start a conversation because the person that you were just talking to has to ask you a question,

如此，你所说的那段话，将成为你个人的电梯演说。它会开启一个新的对话，因为你刚才谈话的对象一定会问你：

"How do you give kids great dreams?"

"How do you help people look and feel their best?"

"Can people really get their greatest work into the world?"

“你怎么给孩子制造美梦的？”

“你怎么帮助别人看到及感觉到他们自己最棒的一面？”

“人们真的可以把最棒的工作带给世界吗？ ”

And then you get to tell them, and you get to share your life purpose. And you get to share

how they may come to learn theirs, too. (Applause)

然后你接着回答他们，分享你的生活目标。然后你要告诉他们，他们也可以发掘自己的生命目的。(掌声)

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