And hopefully, by listening to this story, you'll get a glimpse of a certain mindset that the majority of the most successful people out there have.

希望呢，聽完這則故事，你能稍微理解世上多數成功人士抱持已久的心態。

For a long, long period of time, the professional British Cycling team, also known as Team Sky, was regarded as one of the worst teams in the world.

英國職業單車隊，天空車隊，曾經被視為世上最差勁的單車隊。

Prior to 2012, in its entire 76 year history of competing in the Olympics, they were only able to win a single gold medal.

2012 年前，他們擁有整整 76 年於奧林匹克參賽的經驗，而卻只贏過一面金牌。

It was so bad that one of the most popular bike manufacturing companies refused to let them ride their bikes for races because they were scared that people would associate Team Sky with their bikes.

他們當時表現非常差勁，導致一間大自行車製造公司拒絕讓他們騎該公司的自行車參賽，因公司害怕人們將天空車隊的差勁表現連結到自行車公司。

So in 2002, the Brits decided to hire a guy named Sir Dave Brailsford to manage the team.

在 2002 年時，他們決定雇用 Sir Dave Brailsford 來管理這支車隊。

Brailsford had an interesting background.

Brailsford 的背景很有趣。

He was a former professional cycler who holds an MBA.

他是個有企業管理碩士學位的前職業車手。

He decided to incorporate a business concept called the theory of marginal gains to the team.

他決定採用一個叫「邊際利得」的商業理論來管理這車隊。

The theory of marginal gains is very simple.

邊際利得的理論相當簡單。

It's the idea that if you simply improve every aspect of the business, every little cog and wheel by the slightest percentage.

就是如果你在每一層面都稍稍進步，每個齒輪與車輪都以最小百分比進步。

If you could speed up manufacturing of products by just 1%.

如果你能加快 1% 的產品製造速度。

If you could improve the quality of products by just 1%.

提升 1% 產品品質。

If you could cut costs by just 1%.

降低 1% 成本。

There would be a tremendous amount of improvement, a whole lot more than just 3%.

那麼成果將會巨大的進展，而非只有 3%。

But just how effective was this concept in the world of cycling?

但這個理論運用在單車隊有什麼效嗎？

Well, Team Sky started improving on a variety of things.

天空車隊開始改良許多不同事情。

They found tires that were a tiny bit lighter.

他們稍微減輕車輪重量。

They found bike seats that were slightly more comfortable.

讓座位稍微更舒服一些。

They learned how to clean hard-to-reach places on their bikes and reduce the amount of dust in the parts.

他們學習如何清理單車上難以清理的地方，減少那些部位的灰塵。

They hired a surgeon to teach their team how to wash hands properly, and they even decided not to shake any hands prior to the Olympics to reduce the chances of getting sick.

雇用了醫療顧問來教他們如何正確洗手，甚至決定在奧林匹克賽之前不和任何人握手，以降低生病的機會。

They bought mattresses and pillows that were slightly better to sleep on.

他們買了些微更好睡的床墊與枕頭。

They optimized the nutrition for the riders, so it was slightly better for racing.

讓騎士攝取的營養更均衡，讓身體狀況些微更好迎接比賽。

They even split tested massage oils and found out which one was most effective for recovery time.

他們甚至分析按摩油，找出哪款對體力復原最有效。

These changes on their own were by no means a lot.

這些單獨的改變一點也不大。

The tires were only a percent or two lighter; the pillows were only a percent or two more comfortable.

輪子只有變輕 1% 到 2%，枕頭也只有變好睡 1、2%。

But they made hundreds of little changes just like this to random things that no other team was even paying attention to.

但他們做了上百件別的隊伍完全沒注意到的小改變。

So, did any of this even work?

那，他們成功了嗎？

Well, in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Team Sky won 7 out of the 10 gold medals available for track cycling.

在 2008 年北京奧運，天空車隊拿下場地自行車賽中總數十面中的七面金牌。

They repeated this achievement and won 7 more gold medals in the following London Olympics.

他們延續這項成就，在接下來的倫敦奧運再拿下七面金牌。

They've won four out of the last five Tour de France which is something a British person has never won before.

他們在五次環法自由車賽中贏了四次，這也是英國車手從未達成過的成就。

It was a phenomenal success.

這是個不得了的成就。

What does this story have to do with how incredibly successful people think?

這個故事與成功人士的想法有什麼關係？

Well, the most successful people on this planet believe in the theory of marginal gains.

這個嘛，世上最成功的人都相信「邊際利得」理論。

I would say the most common habit you'll notice about successful people is the fact that they are avid learners.

對於成功者最容易注意到的，就是他們都是渴望求知者。

They are always seeking more information.

他們總是在尋求更多資訊。

Many of them read; many of them attend seminars.

他們會閱讀或參與研討班。

And if you think about what this accomplishes...

且若你想想這樣會成就什麼？

You'll realize by learning every single day, you are technically improving your knowledge by a small, small percent.

你會發覺每天學習的話，你基本上就是每天小部分不斷增進自己的知識。

This small improvement in knowledge sparks many other small changes that they can make to improve their lives.

這些知識的小增進，會促使生活中許多小改善。

They figure out little things they can do to improve their business, their mental health, their fitness, their craft, and all of these one percents, they add up.

他們能想出如何讓生意更上一層樓，如何增進心理健康、身材、手藝，這些都是日積月累而來。

So for those of you that want to become successful, this is something that you must internalize.

所以，想成功的人必定得內化這個概念。

This is one of the goals I have for this channel.

這也是我成立這頻道的目標之一。

Because almost all of my videos have information that you can use to improve your life ever so slightly.

幾乎所有我的影片，都有一些能讓生活有微小進步的資訊。

And if you keep improving just a little bit every single day, you can pass most people around you.

若你每天都增進一些，就能超越身旁的人。

Because most people are either not improving, or they're actually doing the opposite, they're deteriorating.

因為，許多人要不是沒在進步，就是在退化。

So remember guys, to take that improvement pill every single day.

所以，大夥們記得，每天都要看 Improvement Pill。