I need to get it together, he thought.

我需要振作起來，他想。

One day, he stumbled across some videos on Youtube talking about “millionaire morning

有一天，他在Youtube上偶然發現了一些談論 "百萬富翁早晨 "的視頻。

routines”.

常規"。

These people are successful, he thought, let me see how they do it.

這些人很成功，他想，讓我看看他們是怎麼做的。

And each video showed a lot of the same actions: wake up at 5AM, make your bed, exercise, take

而每個視頻都顯示了很多相同的行動：早上5點起床，整理床鋪，鍛鍊身體，服用藥物。

a cold shower, meditate, journal, and make a to-do list for the day.

洗個冷水澡，冥想，寫日記，並列出一天的待辦事項。

Every video said it was important to generate positive momentum early on in the day that

每個視頻都說，在一天的早期產生積極的勢頭是很重要的，因為

would carry forward.

將結轉。

And each video made the subtle implication that the right routines lead to success.

而每段視頻都微妙地暗示，正確的程序會導致成功。

So Jagar began executing a routine each morning, leading him to feel more productive.

是以，賈格爾開始每天早上執行例行公事，導致他感到更有成效。

And after making his to-do list each day, he wrote for an hour.

而在每天列出他的待辦事項清單後，他寫了一個小時。

And subconsciously, because he believed in the power of routines and formulas, Jagar

而在潛意識裡，由於他相信常規和公式的力量，賈格爾

worked on a three-act story which faithfully followed The Hero's Journey—a supposed

忠實於《英雄之旅》的三幕故事--一個所謂的

formula for crafting a great story.

創作一個偉大故事的公式。

After several months of this routine, Jagar finished his book and sent it off to his friend

經過幾個月的例行工作，賈格爾完成了他的書，並把它寄給了他的朋友

Tony, a literary agent.

託尼，一個文學經紀人。

He wanted honest feedback, and a few weeks later, he received an e-mail from Tony.

他希望得到誠實的反饋，幾周後，他收到了託尼的電子郵件。

“Jagar, I'm going to be brutally honest with you because you're my friend.

"Jagar，我將對你殘酷地說實話，因為你是我的朋友。

Sorry to say this, but your story is derivative and painfully mediocre.

很抱歉這麼說，但你的故事是派生的，是痛苦的平庸。

It's nothing I haven't seen before.

這沒有什麼是我以前沒有見過的。

I can tell you worked hard on this.

我可以看出你在這方面很努力。

Your good at the craft, but I think you need to take a break from writing.

你的手藝不錯，但我認為你需要從寫作中休息一下。

Live life.

過日子。

Find something you care for deeply and write about that.

找到你深深關心的東西，並寫下它。

It takes more than craft, routine, and habit to be a great storyteller Jagar.

要成為一個偉大的講故事的人，需要的不僅僅是工藝、常規和習慣，賈格爾。

You need something that feels alive, that resonates, that feels like you and only you

你需要的是有生命力的東西，有共鳴的東西，有你的感覺，只有你的感覺。

could write it.

可以寫出來。

This feels like a mechanical formula, a pale imitation of everything else that exists.

這感覺就像一個機械的公式，是對其他一切存在的蒼白的模仿。

We can talk about it in detail over some drinks.

我們可以在一些飲料中詳細討論。

Your friend, Tony.

你的朋友，託尼。

”

"

Meanwhile, Rubi lived in a multi-generational, 12-person household with only three bed rooms.

同時，魯比住在一個多代同堂的12人家庭，只有三間床位。

Her mom and dad in one, her grandma and grandpa in another, and her and her seven siblings

她的媽媽和爸爸在一個房間裡，她的奶奶和爺爺在另一個房間裡，她和她的七個兄弟姐妹在一起。

in the other.

在另一個。

Her family lived on a farm which was an hour drive from the nearest major city.

她家住在一個農場，離最近的大城市有一個小時的車程。

They had no TV, and so Rubi, the oldest of all her siblings, wrote stories to keep her

他們沒有電視，是以，魯比，她所有兄弟姐妹中最大的一個，寫故事來保持她的健康。

family entertained in the evenings.

在晚上為家人提供娛樂。

There was no room for routine in Rubi's life.

在魯比的生活中，沒有例行公事的空間。

She's constantly cycled between working on the farm, taking her grandparents into

她不斷地在農場工作、帶著她的祖父母進城工作之間循環往復。

the city for medical visits, cooking dinner, doing laundry, playing with her siblings,

在城裡看病，做飯，洗衣服，和她的兄弟姐妹玩。

and resolving family conflicts.

和解決家庭衝突。

Rubi loved taking care of her family, and she felt like telling stories was a good way

魯比喜歡照顧她的家人，她覺得講故事是一種很好的方式。

to help them bond and relax in the evenings.

以幫助他們在晚間建立聯繫和放鬆。

So whenever she heard an interesting exchange between her family members, saw an interesting

是以，每當她聽到她的家庭成員之間有趣的交流，看到一個有趣的

event, or someone told her an interesting story about their day, she found a little

節目，或者有人給她講了一個關於他們一天的有趣故事，她發現了一個小小的

bit of time to capture it in words.

有一點時間可以用文字來捕捉它。

Over time, she built up journals full of material which she decided to condense into a collection

隨著時間的推移，她建立了充滿材料的日記，她決定將這些材料濃縮成一個系列。

of short stories.

的短篇小說。

One day, while hearing some of her newer work, her dad was stunned by their beauty and insightfulness.

有一天，當聽到她的一些新作品時，她的父親被它們的美感和洞察力驚呆了。

Secretly, he took her collection and went to the city to meet a literary agent.

祕密地，他帶著她的收藏品，到城裡去見一個文學經紀人。

The agent turned out to be Tony—Jagar's friend.

這名特工原來是託尼-賈格爾的朋友。

He told Rubi's dad to leave the collection on his desk, and that he'd review it when

他告訴魯比的父親，把收藏品放在他的辦公桌上，他將審查它，當

he had time.

他有時間。

“But to be honest with you,” he said, “don't expect to hear back from me.”

"但老實說，"他說，"別指望會收到我的回信。"

A few days later, a white car pulled up to Rubi's farm.

幾天後，一輛白色汽車停在了魯比的農場。

It was Tony.

是託尼。

He asked to speak with Rubi.

他要求與魯比談話。

“I've never read anything like this.

"我從來沒有讀過這樣的東西。

Your voice is distinctive, your stories are unique, and your insight into the human condition

你的聲音是獨特的，你的故事是獨特的，你對人類狀況的洞察力是獨特的。

is unparalleled.

是無可比擬的。

I even cried a few times.

我甚至哭了好幾次。

Your grammar and sentence structure need some work, but we can help you with that.

你的文法和句子結構需要一些工作，但我們可以幫助你。

Your exactly what the world needs right now.

你正是這個世界現在需要的。

We'd love to offer you a publishing deal.”

我們很願意為你提供一份出版協議。"

The greatest difference between Jagar and Rubi was routine.

賈格爾和魯比之間最大的區別是常規。

Jagar worshipped routines.

賈格爾崇拜的是常規。

Not only were his mornings filled with routines, but his writing was too.

不僅是他的早晨充滿了例行公事，而且他的寫作也是如此。

His life was a mechanical formula.

他的生活是一個機械的公式。

He wanted to paint by numbers his way to excellence, but routine was the quickest way to mediocrity.

他想以數字的方式來描繪他的卓越，但例行公事是通向平庸的最快途徑。

Rubi, on the other hand, was inventive, adaptive, and alive, in real life and in her work.

另一方面，魯比在現實生活和工作中都具有創造性、適應性和活力。

Morning routines, like all routines, are great for solving repetitive, mundane problems,

晨間例行公事，就像所有的例行公事一樣，對於解決重複的、平凡的問題很有幫助。

like pooping, hygiene, eating, drinking coffee, exercising, or taking medications, but they'll

像拉屎、衛生、吃飯、喝咖啡、運動或服藥，但他們會

never lead to the excellence they often promise.

從來沒有導致他們經常承諾的卓越。

People engage in new routines with the hopes of inventing a new life for themselves, but

人們從事新的常規工作，希望為自己發明一種新的生活，但

invention comes from breaking routine.

發明來自於打破常規。

Horse-drawn carriages allowed us to break the routine of walking, cars allowed us to

馬車讓我們打破了步行的常規，汽車讓我們能夠

break the routine of horse-drawn carriages, and e-mail broke the routine of sending physical

突破了馬車的常規，而電子郵件則打破了發送實物的常規。

letters.

信件。

Each invention gave us new freedoms, but each invention simultaneously became a new routine,

每項發明都給了我們新的自由，但每項發明同時也成為一種新的常規。

a new trap.

一個新的陷阱。

Even when working out or dieting, it's the subtle breaking and overcoming of routine

即使在健身或節食時，也是對常規的微妙打破和克服。

that leads to results.

導致結果。

One has to lift a little heavier or eat a littler more to reinvent their body.

人們必須舉起更重的東西或吃更多的東西來重塑自己的身體。

The greatest fighter isn't one who has a routine in the ring, but one who is completely

最偉大的鬥士不是在擂臺上有套路的人，而是一個完全

free of all routines.

擺脫了所有的常規。

One who is completely unpredictable, free, and capable of fighting in any way necessary.

一個完全不可預測的、自由的、能夠以任何必要方式進行戰鬥的人。

The greatest artists haven't mastered a single style of creating, but rather, they've

最偉大的藝術家並沒有掌握單一的創作風格，相反，他們已經

transcended all style, so that they can freely and fully express themselves.

超越了所有的風格，所以他們可以自由和充分地表達自己。

One might look to Picasso or Joyce as examples.

人們可以把畢加索或喬伊斯作為例子。

The greatest lovers don't fall into routine and complacency.

最偉大的戀人不會陷入常規和自滿狀態。

They keep the flame alive in new and interesting ways.

他們以新的和有趣的方式保持火焰的活力。

We put routine breakers on pedestals.

我們把例行公事的破壞者放在基座上。

We worship the inventor who brings us a new way of living, the painter who shows us a

我們崇拜給我們帶來新的生活方式的發明家，崇拜向我們展示了新的生活方式的畫家。

new form, the musician who captures sounds we've never heard, or the writer who tells

新的形式，音樂家捕捉我們從未聽過的聲音，或作家講述

us a new story.

我們有一個新的故事。

We worship the routine breakers, but ironically, we try to be them by imitating their routines.

我們崇拜那些打破常規的人，但具有諷刺意味的是，我們試圖通過模仿他們的常規來成為他們。

But what made them them was the breaking of routines in the first place.

但使他們成為他們的原因是首先打破了常規。

We try to imitate people whose greatest strength is that they don't imitate others.

我們試圖模仿那些最大的優點是不模仿別人的人。

If one is looking to solve repetitive, mundane problems, a routine is helpful.

如果一個人想解決重複的、平凡的問題，那麼常規的做法是有幫助的。

But if one is looking to reinvent one's life, then a routine is the greatest trap.

但是，如果一個人想重塑自己的生活，那麼常規就是最大的陷阱。

They say necessity is the mother of all invention because only when one becomes truly fed up

他們說，必要性是一切發明之母，因為只有當一個人真正厭倦了

with a routine, when one can no longer live with the old way of doing things, when change

當一個人不能再忍受舊的做事方式時，當改變

becomes absolutely necessary, does one have hope of inventing a completely new life

變得絕對必要，人們是否有希望發明一種全新的生活？

for themselves.

為自己。