Not only has he posted record high returns, Buffet has also managed this over a time period of over 60 years.

他不只創下高額的股票收益，他也在超過 60 年間不停創造收益

It's a testament to Buffett's ability to think long term.

遠期目標的思考是對巴菲特的能力的一種證明

But Buffett doesn't just spend his time thinking about securities either.

但巴菲特不只花時間思考有價證券

He spends a great deal of time thinking about how we can live better.

他也花了很多時間思考如何過更好的生活

We see this in an anecdote from one of Buffett's employees. The story goes that Buffett one day approaches

我們從巴菲特的員工身上發生的軼事可以了解這點。故事是這樣的，巴菲特有天

his pilot, Mike Flint, after realising that Flint had worked for him for the past 10 years.

上前與他的飛行員 Mike Flint 交談，在得知 Flint 已經為他工作了 10 年後，

He wants to discuss Flint's career goals and how he can help him achieve them.

他想與 Flint 討論他的職涯目標以及如何幫助他完成目標

“The fact that you're still working for me”, Buffett jokes, “tells me I'm not doing my job.”

「這個你仍替我工作的事實告訴我的是，」巴菲特開玩笑地說：「我並未善盡我的職責。」

To map out his goals, Flint was asked by his

為了勾畫出他的目標，Flint 被他的

employer to conduct a simple exercise. It would change the way he viewed his priorities forever.

雇主要求執行一個簡單的練習。這能永久改變他看待優先處理事項的方式

The first step in this exercise was to

這個練習的第一步是

list down 25 things that Flint wanted to accomplish in the foreseeable future. Nothing was off the table.

列出 25 件 Flint 在可預見的未來想要完成的事情。任何事情都能考慮進去

Secondly, Flint was to rank these items in

第二，Flint 要將這些事情

order of importance and circle the top five. Prioritising his goals was more undoubtedly

依重要性排列並圈出前五項。列出目標的優先順序無疑

challenging than listing them, but Flint managed it.

比僅僅列出目標來的有挑戰性，但 Flint 還是想辦法列出來了

Just when it appears as though the most challenging part of the exercise was over,

當此練習最具挑戰性的部分顯然要完成時，

Buffett asks Flint a seemingly simple question: “what are you going to do with the remaining 20 items?”

巴菲特問 Flint 一個看似簡單的問題：「剩下的這 20 項你要怎麼完成？」

“Well the top five are my primary focus

「前五項是我主要想完成的目標

but the other twenty come in at a close second”, Flint explained.

而其他的 20 項緊接在後。」Flint 如此解釋，

He goes on, “They are still important so I'll work on those intermittently as I see fit as I'm getting through my top five.

他繼續說道：「他們仍然很重要，所以我會在完成首要 5 項目標的適當時機間斷地完成它，

They are not as urgent but I still plan to give them dedicated effort.”

他們並不是很緊急但我仍打算盡力完成這些目標。」

At this point, Buffett's expression changes a little. He responds sternly:

這個時間點，巴菲特的表情有些許變化，他堅定地回覆道：

“No. You've got it wrong. Everything you didn't circle just became your Avoid-At-All-Cost list.

「錯了，你錯了。所有你沒圈到的目標是你需不計一切去避免的事項

No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you've succeeded

無論如何，這些東西都不該讓你去注意直到你成功完成

with your top 5.” Avoid at all cost?

你的首要 5 項目標。」不計一切去避免？

Flint certainly wasn't expecting that. There's more competition for our attention than ever.

Flint 肯定沒料到這個方式。我們的專注力始終有更多的競爭

Choices have never been more abundant than

選擇比起過往歷史上的任何時間從沒像現在這麼多

at any other time in history and it's unlikely we'll be constrained anytime soon. In fact,

且我們不太可能在任何時間點被強迫選擇。事實上，

our options are likely only going to expand as we advance further into our careers.

我們的選擇只會在前進未來職涯時增加

It's the primary reason why most of us will never reach the level of competency needed

這就是為什麼我們從未達到

to reap the rewards of being a superstar. Each time we pursue a new course of action, we incur an opportunity cost.

成為一位巨星獲得獎勵所該有競爭力。每當我們實行一個新的行動，就會產生機會成本。

It takes our time and attention away from the things that

新的行動會從我們需要完成的最重要的事情上

are most important to us. Your odds of success improve when you direct

剝奪時間以及注意力。你成功的機率

your focus into a singular pursuit. You have to double down on a few things and rack up

在你專注於單一目標時變得更高。你必須為某些事花費兩倍的精力並且累計

the hours trying to get really good at that. It's what Cal Newport calls the craftsman

時數去精通它們。這就是卡爾．紐伯所說的

mindset in So Good They Can't Ignore You. Craftsmen often start off as apprentices to

「工匠心態：好到別人無法忽視你。」工匠通常從見習生做到

a master and spend years learning the basics. They then become journeymen, where they add

師父並且花好幾年學習基礎，他們接著變成學徒期滿的職工，

their own style and tastes to create work with little nuances. That's when they finally

加入自己的風格與品味以創造差異

attain mastery. They don't get distracted by the latest

他們在此時才是真正掌握了這項技術，他們不會被

fad or jump from one interest to another. Spending time on a singular focus helps them

一時的流行所分心或轉移興趣。花時間專注單一目標能幫他們

get the important things done. Buffett spoke about the 5/25 rule in relation

完成最重要的事情。巴菲特在談論職涯目標時提到 5/25 法則

to career goals, but I think it extends far beyond that. We can attain the same results

但我認為 5/25 法則可以延伸運用到其他事物。當我們

if we apply it to our health, relationships, and personal goals.

應用到個人健康、人際關係以及個人目標同樣能獲得相同結果

The corollary seems to be that we're forced to lead boring lives without options,

這個推論感覺上是在強迫我們去過無聊的生活而沒有其他選擇，

but that's not true. The 5/25 rule's only requirement is that you finish the top five

但並非如此。 5/25 法則的唯一規則是在你

items before moving on to item 6 and beyond. Think about all the things you have wanted to do.

繼續完成第 6 項或更多目標時確保完成首要做的 5 項目標。想想看所有你想做的事。

You might want to master another language.

你可能想精通其他語言、

Play a musical instrument. Start your own business. Practise a new martial art.

彈奏一種樂器、創業、練習武術、

Travel around the world. But for most of us, we never really make any progress.

環遊世界。但對大部分的我們來說，我們很少真能取得進展

It's a sign that these items on the list aren't really important to us.

可以看出清單上的目標對我們不是真的很重要

Most of us pick these items because they provide some form of benefit.

通常我們挑選這些目標是因為他們能提供某種形式上的好處

And while they are nice, they don't sufficiently motivate us to follow through.

儘管這些都是好的目標，卻無法提供我們足夠的動機去完成他們

For example, it's cool to be able to speak

舉例來說，能夠說 10 種不同語言是很酷的

10 different languages, but spending your weekends learning the rules of grammar is not very exciting.

但利用周末時間學習文法卻不怎麼有趣

Because it's not too high on the list of our priorities  —  

因為這件事並非是清單上需優先處理的事項  —  

work and family are more important than being a polyglot  —  we do this only in our spare time.

工作與家庭比起成為一位精通多國語言的人來的重要  — 

That effectively means a single goal can take months, if not years, to ever accomplish.

事實上這意味著一個單一目標若非數年，也需花上數月去完成它

The result is that we have a list of items that will almost never get completed.

結果就是我們的清單上列了一堆幾乎無法完成的目標

This list only weighs on our mind, and fills us with stress, guilt and overwhelm.

這些目標只會增加我們的煩惱，使我們的腦袋充斥著壓力、罪惡感和打擊

It's a result of the “any benefit” mindset. Pareto's principle  —  better known

這就是「任何好處」心態的結果。帕累托法則 — 更為人所知

as the 80/20 rule  —  tells us that the majority of outcomes are driven by a small number of things that we do.

的是 80/20 法則  —  指出僅有少數的事情操縱著大部分的結果

Chances are that anything that falls outside your top five

任何在首要 5 項目標之外的事情

will have little impact on your life. Rather than add on, take the time to eliminate.

對你的人生來說勢必有很小的影響。與其增加目標，不如花時間減少目標

The 5/25 rule is yet another example of how simplicity makes life better and easier.

而 5/25 法則是另一項使人生變得更好更輕鬆的簡單例子

Time and attention are two of the most finite resources in the world.

時間與注意力是世界上最有限的兩項資源

There will be more good opportunities than we realistically have time for.

好機會比起我們實際有的時間還多

We shouldn't be quick to pounce on every one of them, because not all will be right for us.

我們不該選擇每件事都一股腦兒地去做，因為沒有一項對我們是正確的

It doesn't matter how good an opportunity is if all it does is advance goal number 25 for us.

如果這個目標只是讓第 25 項目標再往上增加，那麼不管是再好的機會也不怎麼重要

If we force ourselves to eliminate our options, we quickly find that only a few things truly matter to us.

如果我們強迫自己刪除一些選項，我們會迅速發現只有一些對我們來說真的重要的事情

We would be best served if we ignore distractions and do more of what really matters.

如果我們忽視這些分心的事物並專注於真正重要的事對我們來說是最好不過了