Leon Ho is the Founder and CEO of Lifehack, which he started in 2005 as a way to share his personal productivity hacks to make life easier.
利昂?豪(Leon Ho)是Lifehack的创始人兼首席执行官，他于2005年创立了Lifehack，以分享个人生产力的方式来简化生活。
Have you ever watched an awards show and wondered how the judges reached their decision? Specifically, is it really the most talented artists who receive accolades, or is it just about popularity? Some argue that it doesn’t matter how accomplished you are – if your work is not popular, it will never be perceived as “good.”
你有没有看过颁奖典礼，想知道评委如何做出决定？具体来说，它真的是最具天赋的艺术家，他们获得了荣誉，还是仅仅是受欢迎? 有些人认为你的成就并不重要——如果你的工作不受欢迎，它就永远不会被视为“好”。
Let’s take the Grammys as an example. The Best New Artist, Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and Album Of The Year categories could theoretically be won by an artist of any musical genre. However, no classical work has ever won one of these awards. Year after year, the Grammy judges seem to reward musicians who are popular, as opposed to those who are “good.”
让我们以格莱美为例。最佳新人奖、年度最佳歌曲、年度最佳唱片和年度最佳专辑理论上都可以由任何音乐流派的艺术家获得。然而，没有任何一部经典作品获得过这样的奖项。年复一年，格莱美评委似乎奖励那些受欢迎的音乐人，而不是那些“好”的音乐人。
Looking at the numbers, Taylor Swift’s “1989” won the 2016 Best Album award, whereas Adele’s “25” has been nominated for the 2017 prize. Both these albums have sold in their millions – “1989” sold five million copies by July 2015, and “25” sold over nine million copies in 2016. It would appear that there’s a clear split between “good” and “popular.”
看这些数据，泰勒·斯威夫特的“1989”获得了2016年最佳专辑奖，而阿黛尔的“25”获得了2017年的提名。这两张专辑的销量已经达到了数百万 - “1989年”到2015年7月销量达到500万张，2016年“25”销量超过900万张。看起来“好”与“大众”之间存在明显的分歧。
How does this split come about?
这种分歧是如何产生的呢?
At the beginning of an artist’s career, they use their creativity as a means of expressing their feelings. When they make music or create a painting, their aim is to work through difficult emotions and restore a state of contentment and calm. If the result isn’t to their liking, they work hard to make it as good as possible – perfection is the end goal for beginner artists. Popularity isn’t their first priority.
在艺术家的职业生涯开始时，他们利用自己的创造力作为表达自己感情的一种手段。当他们创作音乐或创作一幅画时，他们的目的是通过艰难的情绪，恢复一种满足和平静的状态。如果结果不符合他们的喜好，他们会努力做到最好——完美是初学者的最终目标。人气不是他们的第一要务。
However, as someone learns their craft, they start to crave more attention, and to let others share in their work. Unfortunately, because art is subjective, their audience might not understand what they are trying to achieve, which can be disheartening. At this point, they have an epiphany – if they want to gain popularity and a wider audience, they need to tailor their art to the masses.
然而，当有人学习他们的手艺时，他们开始渴望更多的关注，并让别人分享他们的工作。不幸的是，因为艺术是主观的，观众可能不理解他们所想实现的，这可能是令人沮丧的。在这一点上，他们有了顿悟——如果他们想获得更多的人气和更广泛的观众，他们就需要为大众量身定做他们的艺术。
The typical artist will then work around other people’s tastes. Their first priority is no longer excellence. Instead, their focus has shifted to increasing their personal popularity.
典型的艺术家会围绕着别人的品味工作。他们的首要任务不再是卓越。相反，他们的关注点转向了提高个人声望。
Good vs Popular
好vs流行
People who focus on producing good work instead of popular end to strive for excellence. They do not care what other people think, and they know that it isn’t always a good idea to follow the crowd. In fact, the masses may not actually care what is best for them, and simply want them to churn out popular works. People who place “good” over “popular” are also free to be more creative.
专注于创造优秀作品而不是追求卓越的人。他们不关心别人怎么想，他们知道跟随人群并不总是一个好主意。事实上，大众可能并不关心什么对他们来说是最好的，他们只是想让他们生产出流行的作品。把“好”放在“流行”之上的人也可以更有创造力。
At the same time, people who do not care whether their work is popular runs the risk of ignoring constructive criticism. They can become too single-minded, and may also become depressed if only a small minority of the population enjoy their work.
与此同时，不关心自己的工作是否受欢迎的人有忽视建设性批评的风险。他们会变得过于单一，如果只有一小部分人喜欢他们的工作，他们也会变得抑郁。
On the other hand, people who cater for a wide audience create pieces of work that take into account multiple perspectives, because they are concerned with the opinions of other people. Popular works are more commercially successful, and these people can gain a lot of satisfaction when they achieve a wide audience.
另一方面，那些为广大受众提供服务的人会创造出一些需要考虑多种视角的作品，因为他们关心他人的观点。受欢迎的作品在商业上更成功，当这些人获得广泛的观众时，他们会得到很多的满足。
The downside is that people who try to appeal to the majority will lose their personal creativity. They might even develop a reputation as a predictable, “boring” person who produces a string of similar works. When you create things primarily for others, rather than yourself, it can become impersonal and bland.
缺点是，那些试图吸引大多数人的人将失去他们的个人创造力。他们甚至可能会发展成一个“无聊”的人，他们会产生一系列类似的作品。当你主要为别人而不是你自己创造事物时，它可能会变得无关个人和乏味。
Those who strive to be popular turn into people-pleasers. When your identity is tied up with your reputation, it’s a constant battle to keep up with the latest fashions. People who try to live up to others’ expectations will run into problems, because the whims and tastes of the public will change over time. A popular person may succeed in changing themselves to suit the majority of their fans, but this could come at a cost of their personal development. They might shift over time, but perhaps not for the better.
那些努力成为大众的人变成取悦别人的人。当你的身份与你的名声联系在一起的时候，要跟上最新的时尚潮流是一场持久战。那些试图达到别人的期望的人会遇到问题，因为公众的想法和口味会随着时间的推移而改变。一个受欢迎的人可能会成功地改变自己，以适应他们大多数的粉丝，但这可能会以他们的个人发展为代价。他们可能会随着时间的推移而改变，但也许不是更好。
However, people who strive to simply produce good work and be the best of themselves can also stall in their development. They may stubbornly refuse to listen to others, and might never evolve beyond the present state.
然而，那些努力工作并做到最好的人也会在他们的发展中停滞不前。他们可能固执地拒绝听取别人的意见，而且可能永远不会超越目前的状态。
Why not have both?
为什么不都有？
When you aim to be either good or popular, you will run into trouble. The answer is to make great stuff, but also takes the perspective of others into account. You need to remain true to your vision, yet remain open to comments and criticism from outsiders. When you combine your vision with the needs of your audience, you have a winning combination.
当你想成为一个好或受欢迎的人，你就会遇到麻烦。答案是要做出伟大的事情，但也要考虑到别人的观点。你需要坚持自己的观点，但要对外界的评论和批评保持开放的态度。当你把你的观点与听众的需求结合起来时，你就有了一个成功的组合。
Let’s look at how this can work in practice. The Japanese lifestyle brand MUJI upholds the principle of minimalism. They take pride in producing high-quality products that come with few features. However, they also cater to a wide market by offering shoppers functionality. For example, they strive to create items that fit with their minimalist aesthetic, but they also take the average person’s needs into account, offering everyday items such as pens and notebooks that fit their philosophy.
让我们来看看这在实践中是如何工作的。日本生活方式品牌MUJI奉行极简主义的原则。他们为生产高质量的产品而自豪，这些产品几乎没有什么特色。然而，他们也通过提供购物者的功能来迎合广阔的市场。例如，他们努力创造符合他们的极简主义美学的物品，但他们也将普通人的需求考虑在内，，提供符合他们理念的日常用品，如笔和笔记本。
Just because our culture tends to divide us into these two categories doesn’t mean that you can’t balance both in you. The trick is to get clear about what you are trying to achieve, and stick to your principles – yet at the same time remaining open to new influences.
仅仅因为我们的文化倾向于将我们分为这两类并不意味着你不能在你的身上找到平衡。关键是要弄清楚你想要达到的目标，并坚持你的原则——但同时要保持对新事物的关注。
The next time you create something, work until it’s the best you can make it, be the best self you can be. Once you are satisfied, ask others for their opinion. Listen carefully, but don’t automatically assume they are right! Keep your integrity intact, and be what makes you happy. It’s great to bring joy to other people’s lives, but your self-respect is important too.
下次你创造一些东西的时候，要一直工作到你能做到最好的时候，做最好的自己。一旦你满意了，就问问别人的意见。仔细听，但不要想当然地认为他们是对的! 保持你的完整，让你快乐。给别人的生活带来快乐是很好的，但是你的自尊也很重要。
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