成功者要訣：打群架

Have you ever wondered why geniuses are geniuses? Do their mothers dream of a star falling into their womb during pregnancy? Or their brightness is just (1) bred-in-the-bone? What makes a genius may simply lie in one word - teamwork.
你曾好奇過天才為什麼是天才嗎？難道他們母親懷孕時曾夢見星星落入腹中？或他們的聰穎純粹是與生俱來的特質？原因可能只有四個字－團隊合作。

We (2) cling to this notion that a genius’ groundbreaking creative works are made in isolation, whereas many well-known geniuses need helpers to accomplish their works. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis both constantly discussed their work in the informal Oxford literary group known as the Inklings before their success. Michelangelo relied on almost 140 employees to help him with his work. Thomas Edison worked with dozens of researchers who are reportedly responsible for some of Edison’s greatest achievements, such as the light bulb and the x-ray machine.
我們一向認為曠世巨作是獨立完成的，其實許多著名的天才們都會向外尋求幫助，《魔戒》作者托爾金和《納尼亞傳奇》作者C.S. 路易斯成名前常常在牛津一個名為Inklings的業餘讀書會討論作品，米開朗基羅曾雇用約140個助手完成他的藝術創作，愛迪生最偉大的發明：燈泡和X光機，其實是和很多研究人員共同開發的。

According to Keith Sawyer, one of the world’s leading scientific experts on creativity, "Isolated individuals are not creative." Sawyer claims that creativity is more about relationships than any sudden (A) epiphany. If anything, our success is (B) contingent on working well with others, who compose a group of like-minded people. Nor does this just apply to the arts; it's true across business, science and nearly every other field. Of course, we need to spend significant amounts of time alone with our craft. But we also need significant amounts of time with people who can guide us in doing better work.
研究創造力的專家Keith Sawyer說「獨自一人不會激發創意。」他宣稱創意並非靈光乍現，而是由人與人間的相處中獲得，成功是和團隊合作下的產物，團隊必須是一群擁有同性質想法的人。這道理不僅適用於藝術創作，也適用在科學、商業等各個領域。當然我們會需要大量能獨自作業的時間，但為了有更好的表現，過程中我們也需要大量的指引。

Geniuses have never (C) toiled alone; here are steps to start your own creative community.
天才們從來不是一人埋頭苦幹，建立你的創意團隊只需要幾個步驟。

(1) Find a mentor and study every last detail of their work.
尋找能夠學習的導師，和他對話、仔細研究他所有作品。

(2) Copy their work. Borrow what you like most about their style. This stage will strengthen your skills.
模仿，臨摹作品裡你認為最好的部分，這個階段會加強你的基本技法。

(3) Forge your own approach. You can begin experimenting with more originality. Embrace your mentors’ criticism. (3) Before long, you will find you are creative, skilled and have advanced interpersonal skills.
建立風格，這時你可以開始試著加入自己的原創，虛心接受導師的指教。不久後會發現你不但擁有了自己的風格和深厚的底子，也有很好的人際溝通技能。

1) bred-in-the-bone 根深蒂固
起源自諺語“What is bred in the bone will not come out of the flesh” 長在骨頭裡的東西絕不會從肉裡出來，意思是根深蒂固、本性難移。
The integrity of a school’s headmaster is bred-in-the-bone.
校長的正直性格根深蒂固。

2) cling to堅持
Cling是黏住、緊握不放的意思，如果cling to+想法/行為，指堅持其信念，cling to+人，則指對他忠實。
They know scholars reject their legend, but they still cling to their belief.
他們知道學者否定了傳說，但他們仍堅持信念。

3) before long 不久後
Before long可以很簡單地從字面上理解，在長(long)之前(before)是短，即是不久之後，可用soon替代。
We should have news of her whereabouts before long.
不久後我們應該會知道她的行蹤。

本文收錄於英語島English Island 2017年4月號
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