10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
Edited by Ben. Turn to ContentPage
Get the knowledge flowing and circulating! :)
目录
Be Nice. (The World Is a Small Town.)Make friends, ignore enemies.Stand next to the talent."Quit picking fights and go make something."Write fan letters.Validation is for parking.Keep a praise file.
There’s only one reason I’m here: I’m here to make friends.
The golden rule is even more golden in our hyperconnected world. An important lesson to learn: If you talk about someone on the Internet, they will find out. Everybody has a Google alert on their name. The best way to vanquish your enemies on the Internet? Ignore them. The best way to make friends on the Internet? Say nice things about them.
Words & phrases
hyperconnected: 超连通的
This research reveals the downside of our hyperconnected lives.
这项研究揭示了我们彼此超级联系的生活的不利方面。
alert: n.警报，警示；警戒，警惕；（电子设备的）提示信号；警戒期
The bank is alert to the danger.
该银行对这种危险有警觉。
vanquish: vt.征服；击败；克服；抑制（感情等）
The best way to vanquish your enemies on the Internet?
在网上战胜敌人的法宝？
感受
ignore the people who say bad things about you.
say nice things, 其实是非常好的一个习惯。不仅仅在网络上，在生活中，去赞美别人，你会得到很多意想不到的收获！
“There’s only one rule I know of: You’ve got to be kind.”
—Kurt Vonnegut
“The only mofos in my circle are people that I can learn from.”
—Questlove
Harold Ramis, the actor and director most famous to people of my generation for his role as Egon in the movie Ghostbusters, once laid out his rule for success: “Find the most talented person in the room, and if it’s not you, go stand next to him. Hang out with him. Try to be helpful.” Ramis was lucky: The most talented person in the room was his friend Bill Murray.
If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.
Words & phrases
mofo: n.<美，粗俚>混账东西，杂种；<美>极令人讨厌的事物（motherfucker 的简称）
lay out
1、摆放，布置：将物品或元素按照一定的顺序或方式排列。
2、设计，规划：详细说明或描述某事物的结构、功能或操作方式。
I'd like to lay out my reasoning.
我想陈述一下我的理由。
感受
在你所在的空间中，找那个最优秀的人：
如果不是你，你就站在他旁边，和他hang out, 表现的更helpful. 干什么？靠近优秀，你就会变得优秀！
如果是你，你就到另一个房间！
You’re going to see a lot of stupid stuff out there and you’re going to feel like you need to correct it. One time I was up late on my laptop and my wife yelled at me, “Quit picking fights on Twitter and go make something!”
She was right. But anger is one of my favorite creative resources. Henry Rollins has said he is both angry and curious, and that’s what keeps him moving.
Some mornings, when I can’t wake up, I lie in bed and read e-mail and Twitter until my blood starts boiling and I get fired up enough to spring out of bed. But instead of wasting my anger on complaining or lashing out at people, I try to channel it into my writing and my drawing.
So go on, get angry. But keep your mouth shut and go do your work.
Words & phrases
quit: 离开（工作职位等）；离任；离校；停止；搬离（住处）；退出（计算机程序等）；表现
Quit acting like you didn't know.
别装得像你不知道似的。
pick fight: 选择战斗
Pick a fight: 向对手挑战 ; 寻衅打架
Would not pick a fight unless the odds of winning were heavily in his favor.
不轻易战斗，除非他的胜算很大。
be up late: 熬夜：指晚上很晚才睡觉，通常是因为工作、学习或娱乐等原因。
I was up late last night so I had a cat nap at my desk today.
我昨夜很晚才睡，所以今天趴在桌子上偷偷打了个小盹儿。
yell at: 对......大喊大叫：对某人发火，用高声音责骂或抱怨。
He yelled at the other driver.
他冲着另一位司机大叫。
spring out: 突然跳出：指某人或某物突然从某个地方跳出或冒出。
As soon as the people opened it to answer, we would all spring out and roar.
一旦人们开了门，我们就立马跳出来，对着他们乱吼一通。
lash: v.猛击，狠打；鞭打，抽打；怒斥，抨击；捆绑，捆扎；煽动，激励；（动物）用力甩动（尾巴）
She went quiet for a moment while she summoned up the words to lash him.
她沉默了一会儿，想了些话来怒斥他。
lash out: 猛击，猛踢；严厉斥责
They could lash out.
他们可以猛烈抨击。
感受
别生气，保持你的那股热烈，放在make sth.上。
“Complain about the way other people make software by making software.”
—Andre Torrez
When I was younger, I wrote a lot of fan letters and had the good fortune to hear back from several of my heroes. But I’ve realized that the trouble with fan letters is that there’s built-in pressure for the recipient to respond. A lot of times when we write fan letters we’re looking for a blessing or an affirmation. As my friend Hugh MacLeod says, “The best way to get approval is to not need it.”
Words & phrases
recipient:
/ rɪˈsɪpiənt /n.<正式>接受者，领受者；接收器，容器If you are submitting your resume in English, find out if the recipient uses British English or American English because there are variations between the twoversions.
如果你是用英语提交简历的，要弄清楚收件人用的是英式英语还是美式英语，因为英式英语和美式英语是有区别的。
blessing: n.幸事，福祉；支持，赞同；上帝的恩宠，祝福；祷告，祈祷
Rivers are a blessing for an agricultural country.
河流是农业国的福祉。
affirmation: n.肯定，维护；情感上的支持（或鼓励）；（因良心原因不愿宣誓而作的正式）确认
She nodded in affirmation.
她肯定地点了点头。
感受
获得认可的最好方法就是不需要它。
If you truly love somebody’s work, you shouldn’t need a response from them. (And if the person you want to write to has been dead for a hundred years, you’re really out of luck.) So, I recommend public fan letters. The Internet is really good for this. Write a blog post about someone’s work that you admire and link to their site. Make something and dedicate it to your hero. Answer a question they’ve asked, solve a problem for them, or improve on their work and share it online.
Maybe your hero will see your work, maybe he or she won’t. Maybe they’ll respond to you, maybe not. The important thing is that you show your appreciation without expecting anything in return, and that you get new work out of the appreciation.
感受
a blog post: 一种public fan letter. 非常值得！
我怎么读着读着有一种邪恶的念头：这本书的作者确实是在鼓励我们去分享，但是同时好像也是在让我们为类似他这样的作者做宣传，或者贡献更多的好东西出去让类似他这样的作者去steal！哈哈，不过这是双赢的，值得！
不要渴望有回馈~ 好像很适合今天我的心境呢！发了一封邮件，别渴望有回馈了！做好自己的事吧！
“Modern art = I could do that + Yeah, but you didn’t.”
—Craig Damrauer
The trouble with creative work: Sometimes by the time people catch on to what’s valuable about what you do, you’re either a) bored to death with it, or b) dead. You can’t go looking for validation from external sources. Once you put your work into the world, you have no control over the way people will react to it.
Ironically, really good work often appears to be effortless. People will say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” They won’t see the years of toil and sweat that went into it.
Not everybody will get it. People will misinterpret you and what you do. They might even call you names. So get comfortable with being misunderstood, disparaged, or ignored—the trick is to be too busy doing your work to care.
Words & phrases
validation: n.验证；确认，批准，生效；肯定，认可
When we want validation for our decisions we often turn to friends for advice and approval.
当我们想要获得对我们的决定的确认时，我们经常向朋友们求得建议和认可。
ironically: adv.具有讽刺意味的是；反讽地，讽刺地
Ironically, for a man who hated war, he would have made a superb war cameraman.
具有讽刺意味的是，他这样一个憎恨战争的人曾经可能成为一名优秀的战地摄影师。
effortless: adj.不需费力的，容易的；（品质）自然的，天生具有的
She liked him above all for his effortless charm.
她尤其喜欢他天生的魅力。
toil and sweat: 辛劳与汗水，艰辛和汗水
This story tells us that behind each successful is the toil and sweat of countless efforts to pay and keep the results.
这个故事告诉我们，每次成功都是背后无数次血汗的付出和不断的努力的结果。
misinterpret: v.曲解，误解
My biggest problem is that people always misinterpret me as being aggressive.
我最大的问题是人们总是误解我，认为我很有攻击性。
call one names: 辱骂某人：用侮辱性的词语或者称呼来攻击、贬低某人。
I was one of those kids, and I remember rather vividly walking through the hall way of my high school having people split me, call me names, threaten to beat me up.
我还清楚地记得有这么一个孩子，穿过我所在的高中的大厅，让周围的人朝我吐痰，骂脏话，威胁着要把我狠狠打一顿。
disparaged:
/ dɪˈspærɪdʒd /v.轻视；蔑视；毁谤；贬低（disparage 的过去式和过去分词）I don't mean to disparage your achievements.
我并不想贬低你的成就。
感受
不要渴望从外界获得validation。validation is for parking, 会让你停滞不前的。让自己忙于自己的事，让自己习惯于误解和贬低。
the trick is to be too busy doing your work to care. 翻译: 诀窍就是忙于工作而无暇顾及。
Life is a lonely business, often filled with discouragement and rejection. Yes, validation is for parking, but it’s still a tremendous boost when people say nice things about our work.
Words & phrases
praise:
v.（尤指公开地）赞美，表扬；（用语言或音乐）赞美（上帝）
n.表扬，赞美；（对上帝的）感谢，崇拜
He heaped praise on his team.
他高度赞扬了他的队。
tremendous: adj.巨大的，极大的；极好的，精彩的；令人望而生畏的，可怕的
I felt a tremendous pressure on my chest.
我感到胸口有股巨大的压力。
boost: n.推动，促进；广告，宣扬
The tax cuts will give a much needed boost to the economy.
减税将给经济带来迫切需要的推动力。
感受
validation is for parking, but 当别人说一些关于你作品的好话的时候，你会觉得很有动力！
Occasionally, I have the good fortune to have something take off online, and for a week or two, I’ll be swimming in Tweets and nice e-mails from people discovering my work. It’s pretty wonderful. And disorienting. And a major high. But I always know that high will taper off, and a few weeks down the road I will have a dark day when I want to quit, when I wonder why the heck I even bother with this stuff.
Words & phrases
occasionally: adv.偶然，偶尔
We all overindulge occasionally.
我们都偶尔放纵一下。
fortune: n.时运，命运；好运，机遇；财富，巨款；未来，前途
She inherited a fortune from her father.
她从她父亲那里继承了一大笔财富。
disorient: vt.使……迷惑；使……失去方向感
But the monotonous black space can bore, tire and disorient the visitor.
但单调的黑色空间会让人厌倦，疲劳和迷惑访客。
taper: v.（使）一端逐渐变细，（使）变锥形；逐渐变小，逐步减弱；（中央银行）缩减资产购买
Unlike other trees, it doesn't taper very much. It stays fat all the way up.
不像其他树，它不是越往上越细，而是自下往上一样粗。
taper off: 逐渐减少：指某事物逐渐减少、减弱或减缓。
The sleet began to taper off, and silence returned like a lost friend.
冰雹开始减弱，寂静像失去的朋友再度归来。
down the road: 在将来：表示在未来的某个时候，通常指不久的将来。
There are certain to be more job losses further down the road.
往后肯定会有更多人失业。
heck: n.该死，见鬼
Who the heck are you?
你究竟是谁？
That’s why I put every really nice e-mail I get in a special folder. (Nasty e-mails get deleted immediately.) When those dark days roll around and I need a boost, I open that folder and read through a couple e-mails. Then I get back to work. Try it: Instead of keeping a rejection file, keep a praise file. Use it sparingly—don’t get lost in past glory—but keep it around for when you need the lift.
Words & phrases
nasty: adj.恶毒的，凶相的；令人不快的，令人厌恶的；（伤口、疾病等）严重的，恶性的；污秽的，下流的；（外表）丑陋的，（气味等）难闻的；造成很大伤害的；令人担忧的，难对付的；有威胁性的，吓人的
He had a temper and could be nasty.
他脾气暴躁，会令人讨厌。
roll around: 滚来滚去：指一个人或物体在地面上不断地翻滚。
As the time roll around, if your dream which is still in your life is waiting for you?
当日子一天天的流逝，你曾经的梦想是否还呆在你的生活里，安安静静的等你？
rejection: n.（对提议、建议或请求的）拒绝接受；（对求职者、求学等者的）拒绝；拒聘函，拒绝录取函；嫌弃，厌弃；（对移植器官的）排斥；被抛弃的东西
Jane still nurses the pain of rejection.
简依然怀着被拒绝的痛苦。
sparingly: adv.一点点，俭省地
Use colors sparingly; two to three at most.
少用颜色；最多2到3种。
glory: n.光荣，荣誉；（对上帝的）赞颂；壮丽，辉煌；值得称赞的事，引以为豪的成就；欣喜；天堂的荣耀（或福祉）；（尤指耶稣基督或圣人头顶的）光环，光轮
She wanted to enjoy her moment of glory.
她希望尽情享受自己的光荣时刻。
感受
虽然不能指望别人的validation，但是有时候也不一定都是一些不好的言论。可是这个时候，你不要被这些好的言论迷失了，你可以建立一个praise file, 为那些nice e-mail建立一个特殊的文件夹，当你需要boost的时候，可以从这些文件夹中取一个，要记得省着点花！这些都是鼓励源泉！
有点像：worthy story.