知道代價後 還想成爲"世界級精英"嗎?

Do you want to be world-class?

您想不想成爲世界級的精英？

This is where we all nod and say, "Well of course."

通常我們都會點點頭回答:“當然想。”

But are you sure?

真是這樣嗎？

At a recent gathering of major-company CFOs, I spent some time onstage interviewing three genuine world-class performers: Gabby Douglas, 17, who won two gold medals in gymnastics at the 2012 summer Olympics in London; Apolo Anton Ohno, 31, who won gold medals in speed skating at the 2002 and 2006 winter Olympics and silver at the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver; and Mallory Weggemann, 24, paralyzed below the waist, who won a gold medal in swimming at the 2012 Paralympics in London.

最近某次各大公司首席財務官的集會上，我抽出一點時間，在臺上採訪了三位貨真價實的世界級運動員：奪得2012年倫敦夏季奧運會兩枚體操金牌、17歲的嘉比?道格拉斯；奪得2002年和2006年冬季奧運會兩枚金牌及2010溫哥華冬季奧運會一枚銀牌、31歲的阿波羅?安頓?奧赫諾；和奪得2012年倫敦殘奧會游泳金牌、腰部以下癱瘓的馬洛裏?魏格曼，現年24歲。

As they told their stories, the overwhelmingly powerful lesson that came through was the weight of the sacrifices they were required to make in order to win at the highest levels of their fields. All of them moved far from home in their teens to work with better coaches. All spent eight to 12 hours a day training, seven days a week, never taking a day off.

聽過他們的故事，一個震撼人心的教訓也呼之欲出：他們爲了登上所在領域的巔峯付出了巨大犧牲。他們三人爲了跟隨教練好好訓練，十幾歲就開始遠離家人生活，每天訓練8到12個小時，每週7天，從未間斷。

All followed regimens that the word "strict" does not begin to describe. Ohno's diet caused his body to enter a catabolic state in which it was consuming its own muscle while he intensified his training so that he lost weight while gaining strength; he felt awful for a year, at the end of which he weighed 145 pounds and could leg press nearly 2,000 pounds. For reference, 300-pound NFL linemen leg press about 1,300 pounds.

他們遵循的飲食方案已不能單單用“嚴苛”來概括了。奧赫諾節食導致身體開始分解肌肉，同時又不斷加大訓練量，在體重減輕的同時增加力量；整整一年他感受都很糟糕，體重最終控制在145磅（約爲65公斤），而腿部推舉力卻高達2000磅（約爲907公斤）。相比之下，體重300磅（約爲136公斤）的美國國家足球聯盟前鋒，腿部推舉力只有1300磅（約590公斤）。

Douglas broke training for about 10 minutes and permitted herself a single Egg McMuffin -- the day after she won her gold medals. Now she's focused on 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

道格拉斯贏得奧運金牌後第二天，爲了犒勞自己，她在訓練間隙休息了10分鐘，享用了一塊加一隻蛋的麥當勞鬆餅。現在，她已經將目標鎖定2016年裏約奧運會。

Weggemann lost use of her legs five years ago after an epidural injection (for relief of pain following a case of shingles) went wrong. An enthusiastic swimmer before the mishap, she became obsessed after it and now spends hours a day not just swimming but also doing pull-ups and lifting weights to build her upper body. She's also focused on Rio.

5年前一次（緩解帶狀皰疹疼痛的）硬膜注射失敗讓魏格曼的雙腿喪失了運動功能。這場不幸發生之前，她是一位滿腔熱情的游泳選手。不幸發生後，她在游泳方面投入了更多精力，每天花數小時，不光訓練游泳，還要做大量的引體向上和舉重，增強上半身力量。她同樣也將目標鎖定里約奧運會。

This is the reality of world-class performance. Next time you see the phrase "world-class," which may well be part of your company's mission statement or vision statement, pause to consider what it really means. Very, very few people are willing to pay the price of becoming truly world-class.

這就是世界級水平的真相。下次再看到“世界級”這個詞時，也許是在貴公司的使命或願景宣言中，請不妨冷靜考慮一下這到底意味着什麼。只有很少很少的人願意去承擔成爲真正世界級的代價。

Are you? Any answer is okay, as long as it's honest.

你是否也是這樣的人？不管答案如何，只要是發自真心就好。

The Olympians' message was sobering to the CFOs. As one of them vowed to me afterward: "I will never feel sorry for myself again."

奧林匹克選手的故事讓各位首席財務官恍然大悟。會後，其中一位對我發誓說：“我再也不會顧影自憐了。”