Larry Smith: Why you will fail to have a great career

Translator: Thu-Huong Ha Reviewer: Morton Bast

Prevoditelj: Ivan Stamenković Recezent: Mislav Ante Omazić - EFZG

Želim danas popodne s vama raspraviti

I want to discuss with you this afternoon

why you're going to fail to have a great career.

zašto nećete imati uspješnu karijeru. (Smijeh)

(Laughter)

I'm an economist.

Ja sam ekonomist. Ja sam tužan.

I do dismal.

End of the day, it's ready for dismal remarks.

Na kraju dana, spremno je za nesretne primjedbe.

I only want to talk to those of you who want a great career.

Želim pričati samo s onima koji žele imati veliku karijeru.

Znam da su neki od vas već odlučili

I know some of you have already decided you want a good career.

imati dobru karijeru.

You're going to fail, too.

Ni vi nećete uspjeti — (Smijeh) —

(Laughter)

jer — Bože, vi ste radosni zbog neuspjeha. (Smijeh)

Because -- goodness, you're all cheery about failing.

(Laughter)

Kanadska grupa, nesumnjivo. (Smijeh)

Canadian group, undoubtedly.

(Laughter)

Oni koji pokušavaju imati dobru karijeru neće uspjeti

Those trying to have good careers are going to fail,

because, really, good jobs are now disappearing.

jer, zaista, sada dobri poslovi nestaju.

There are great jobs and great careers,

Postoje veliki poslovi i velike karijere,

and then there are the high-workload,

a tu su i naporni, visoko-stresni,

high-stress, bloodsucking, soul-destroying kinds of jobs,

poslovi koji ispijaju krv i uništavaju dušu,

i praktično ništa između.

and practically nothing in-between.

Tako da ljudi koji traže dobre poslove neće uspjeti.

So people looking for good jobs are going to fail.

Pričat ću o onima koji traže sjajne poslove,

I want to talk about those looking for great jobs, great careers,

velike karijere, i zašto nećete uspjeti.

and why you're going to fail.

First reason is that no matter how many times people tell you,

Prvi razlog je da koliko god puta vam ljudi rekli:

"If you want a great career, you have to pursue your passion,

"Ako želite veliku karijeru, morate ganjati svoju strast,

you have to pursue your dreams, you have to pursue

morate ganjati vaše snove, morate ganjati

the greatest fascination in your life,"

vašu najveću fascinaciju u životu."

you hear it again and again, and then you decide not to do it.

čujete to opet iznova i onda odlučite

to ne učiniti. Nema veze koliko puta skinete

It doesn't matter how many times you download

govor Stevea Jobsa s promocije na Stanfordu,

Steven J.'s Stanford commencement address,

you still look at it and decide not to do it.

još uvijek ćete ga pogledati i onda nećete to učiniti.

Nisam siguran zašto to odlučite ne učiniti.

I'm not quite sure why you decide not to do it.

You're too lazy to do it. It's too hard.

Prelijeni ste to učiniti. To je preteško.

You're afraid if you look for your passion and don't find it,

Bojite se potražiti vašu strast i ne naći ju,

you'll feel like you're an idiot, so then you make excuses

osjećat ćete se kao idiot, tako da ćete tražiti izlike

about why you're not going to look for your passion.

zašto nećete tražiti strast.

I to su izlike dame i gospodo.

They are excuses, ladies and gentlemen.

Proći ćemo kroz dugu listu vaše kreativnosti,

We're going to go through a whole long list --

your creativity in thinking of excuses not to do what you really need to do

ili smišljanja izgovora da ne radite što zapravo

trebate raditi ako želite imati veliku karijeru.

if you want to have a great career.

So, for example, one of your great excuses is:

Tako, na primjer, jedan od vaših velikih izgovora je,

(Sigh)

"Pa velike karijere su zapravo i iskreno, za većinu ljudi,

"Well, great careers are really and truly, for most people,

just a matter of luck.

samo stvar sreće, tako da ću stajati,

So I'm going to stand around, I'm going to try to be lucky,

i pokušat ću biti sretan, i ako sam sretan,

and if I'm lucky, I'll have a great career.

imat ću veliku karijeru Ako ne, imat ću dobru karijeru."

If not, I'll have a good career."

But a good career is an impossibility, so that's not going to work.

Ali dobra karijera je nemoguća, tako da to neće raditi.

Then, your other excuse is,

Druga izlika je, "Da, postoje posebni ljudi

"Yes, there are special people who pursue their passions,

koji ganjaju svoju strast, ali oni su geniji.

but they are geniuses.

They are Steven J.

Oni su Steven J. Ja nisam genij.

I'm not a genius.

When I was five, I thought I was a genius,

Kada sam imao pet, mislio sam da sam genij

but my professors have beaten that idea out of my head long since."

ali moji profesori su istjerali tu ideju

iz moje glave prije puno vremena." (Smijeh) Mm?

(Laughter)

"And now I know I am completely competent."

"I sada znam da sam potpuno kompetentan."

Now, you see, if this was 1950,

Sad, vidite, da je ovo bila 1950.,

being completely competent --

biti potpuno kompetentan,

that would have given you a great career.

to bi vam dalo veliku karijeru.

But guess what?

Ali znate što? Skoro je 2012., i reći

This is almost 2012, and saying to the world,

svijetu: "Ja sam potpuno kompetentan,"

"I am totally, completely competent,"

is damning yourself with the faintest of praise.

je prokleti se na mlaku hvalu.

I onda, naravno, još jedna izlika:

And then, of course, another excuse:

"Well, I would do this, I would do this, but, but --

"Pa, radio bih ovo, radio bih, ali, ali,

well, after all, I'm not weird.

pa, napokon, nisam čudan.

Everybody knows that people who pursue their passions

Svi znaju da ljudi koji ganjaju strast

are somewhat obsessive.

su pomalo obsesivni. Čudni. Mm? Mm? U redu?

A little strange.

Hmm? Hmm? Okay?

You know, a fine line between madness and genius.

Znate, tanka linija između ludosti i genija.

"I'm not weird. I've read Steven J.'s biography.

Nisam čudan. Pročitao sam Steven J. biografiju.

Oh my goodness -- I'm not that person. I am nice.

O moj bože. Nisam ta osoba. Ja sam dobar.

I am normal.

Normalan. Ja sam dobra, normalna osoba,

I'm a nice, normal person, and nice, normal people --

i dobri, normalni ljudi

nemaju strasti.

don't have passion."

(Laughter)

"Ah, but I still want a great career.

Ah. Ali još uvijek želim veliku karijeru.

I'm not prepared to pursue my passion,

Nisam spreman ganjati strast, tako da znam

so I know what I'm going to do,

što ću raditi, jer imam, imam rješenje,

because I have a solution.

I have a strategy.

imam strategiju.

It's the one Mommy and Daddy told me about.

To je ono što su mi mamica i tatica rekli.

Mommy and Daddy told me that if I worked hard,

Mamica i tatica rekli su mi da ako radim puno,

I'd have a good career.

imat ću dobru karijeru. Ako radite puno

So, if you work hard and have a good career,

i imate dobru karijeru, ako radite jako, jako, jako puno,

if you work really, really, really hard,

imat ćete veliku karijeru. Ne čini li se to

you'll have a great career.

Doesn't that, like, mathematically make sense?"

matematički točno?"

Hmm. Not.

Hmm. Ne. (Smijeh)

But you've managed to talk yourself into that.

Ali ste se uspjeli nagovoriti na to.

You know what? Here's a little secret:

Znate što? Evo jedne male tajne.

You want to work? You want to work really, really, really hard?

Želite raditi? Želite raditi jako, jako, jako puno?

You know what? You'll succeed.

Znate što? Uspjet ćete. Svijet će vam dati

The world will give you the opportunity

priliku da radite jako, jako, jako, jako puno,

to work really, really, really, really hard.

But, are you so sure

ali jeste li sigurni da će vam dati

that that's going to give you a great career,

veliku karijeru kad svi dokazi ukazuju na suprotno?

when all the evidence is to the contrary?

So let's deal with those of you who are trying to find your passion.

Pa, pretpostavimo, pozabavimo se onima

koji pokušavaju naći svoju strast.

You actually understand that you really had better do it,

Vi razumijete da je bolje da to učinite,

never mind the excuses.

bez obzira na izlike. Pokušavate naći strast,

You're trying to find your passion --

(Sigh)

and you're so happy.

i tako ste sretni.

You found something you're interested in.

Našli ste nešto što vas zanima.

"I have an interest! I have an interest!"

Imam interes! Ja imam interes! Recite mi.

You tell me.

Recite: "Imam interes!" Ja kažem: "To je divno"

You say, "I have an interest!" I say, "That's wonderful!

I što, što mi pokušavate reći? Da vi — "

And what are you trying to tell me?"

"Well, I have an interest."

"Pa, imam interes."

I say, "Do you have passion?"

Ja kažem: "Imate li strast?"

"I have an interest," you say.

"Imam interes", kažete vi.

"Your interest is compared to what?"

Vaš interes se može usporediti s čim?

"Well, I'm interested in this."

"Pa, zanima me ovo."

"And what about the rest of humanity's activities?"

I što sa ostatkom aktivnosti čovječanstva?

"One me ne zanimaju."

"I'm not interested in them."

"You've looked at them all, have you?"

Sve ste ih pogledali, niste li?

"No. Not exactly."

"Ne. Ne zapravo."

Passion is your greatest love.

Strast je vaša najveća ljubav.

Passion is the thing

Strast je stvar koja će vam pomoći da stvorite

that will help you create the highest expression of your talent.

najveći izražaj vašeg talenta.

Passion, interest -- it's not the same thing.

Strast, interes -- to nisu iste stvari.

Are you really going to go to your sweetie and say,

Hoćete li doći vašem/oj dragom/oj i reći,

"Marry me! You're interesting."

"Udaj se za mene! Zanimljiv/a si." (Smijeh)

(Laughter)

Won't happen.

Neće se dogoditi. Neće se dogoditi i umrijet ćete sami. (Smijeh)

Won't happen, and you will die alone.

(Laughter)

What you want,

Ono što želite, što želite, što želite,

what you want, what you want,

je strast. To je iznad interesa.

is passion.

It is beyond interest.

You need 20 interests, and then one of them,

Trebate 20 interesa, i onda jedan od njih,

one of them might grab you,

jedan od njih vas možda obuzme, jedan od njih vas preuzme

one of them might engage you more than anything else,

više nego bilo što drugo, i onda ste možda našli

and then you may have found your greatest love,

vašu najveću ljubav u odnosu na sve druge stvari

in comparison to all the other things that interest you,

koje vaz zanimaju, i to je ono što je strast.

and that's what passion is.

I have a friend, proposed to his sweetie.

Imam prijatelja, zaprosio je svoju dragu.

He was an economically rational person.

Bio je ekonomski racionalna osoba.

Rekao je svojoj dragoj, "Stupimo u brak.

He said to his sweetie, "Let us marry.

Spojimo naše interese."

Let us merge our interests."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Yes, he did.

Da, učinio je to.

"I love you truly," he said. "I love you deeply.

"Volim te iskreno." rekao je. "Volim te snažno. Volim te

I love you more than any other woman I've ever encountered.

više od bilo koje druge žene koju sam susreo.

I love you more than Mary, Jane, Susie, Penelope,

Volim te više od Mary, Jane, Susie, Penelope,

Ingrid, Gertrude, Gretel --

Ingrid, Gertrude, Gretel --

I was on a German exchange program then.

Bio sam na razmjeni u Njemačkoj tada." (Smijeh)

I love you more than --"

"Volim te više od — "

All right.

U redu! Otišla je iz sobe u pola tog nabrajanja

She left the room

halfway through his enumeration of his love for her.

njegove ljubavi prema njoj,

After he got over his surprise at being, you know, turned down,

Kada ga je prošlo iznenađenje jer su ga, znate,

odbili, zaključio je da je za dlaku izbjegao

he concluded he'd had a narrow escape

from marrying an irrational person.

da oženi iracionalnu osobu,

Although, he did make a note to himself that the next time he proposed,

iako je zapamtio da sljedeći put

kada bude prosio, možda nije nužno nabrojati

it was perhaps not necessary

to enumerate all of the women he had auditioned for the part.

sve žene koje su bile na audiciji za tu ulogu. (Smijeh)

(Laughter)

But the point stands.

Ali poanta stoji. Morate tražiti opcije

You must look for alternatives so that you find your destiny,

tako da pronađete svoju sudbinu,

ili se bojite riječi "sudbina"?

or are you afraid of the word "destiny"?

Does the word "destiny" scare you?

Plaši li vas riječ "sudbina"?

That's what we're talking about.

O tome pričamo, i ako ne nađete

And if you don't find the highest expression of your talent,

najviši izražaj svog talenta, ako se zadovoljite

if you settle for "interesting," what the hell ever that means,

sa "zanimljivim" što god to značilo,

do you know what will happen at the end of your long life?

znate što će se dogoditi na kraju vašeg dugog života?

Your friends and family will be gathered in the cemetery,

Vaša obitelj i prijatelji okupit će se na groblju,

and there beside your gravesite will be a tombstone,

i ondje, pored vašeg groba bit će nadgrobna ploča,

i napisano ondje biti će:

and inscribed on that tombstone

it will say, "Here lies a distinguished engineer,

"Ovdje leži cijenjeni inžinjer koji je izmislio čičak."

who invented Velcro."

But what that tombstone should have said,

Ali što bi trebalo pisati,

in an alternative lifetime,

u alternativnom životu,

what it should have said if it was your highest expression of talent,

što bi pisalo da je to bio najviši izražaj

vašeg talenta: "Ovdje leži posljednji primatelj Nobelove nagrade za fiziku

was, "Here lies the last Nobel Laureate in Physics,

who formulated the Grand Unified Field Theory

koji je formulirao Veliku objedinjenu teoriju polja

and demonstrated the practicality of warp drive."

i demonstrirao praktičnost warp pogona."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Velcro, indeed!

Čičak, zaista. (Smijeh)

(Laughter)

Jedno je bila velika karijera.

One was a great career.

One was a missed opportunity.

Jedno je bila propuštena prilika.

But then, there are some of you who,

Ali onda, tu su neki od vas,

koji unatoč izlikama, pronađu,

in spite of all these excuses, you will find,

you will find your passion.

pronađu svoju strast,

And you'll still fail.

a ni vi nećete uspjeti.

You're going to fail, because --

Nećete uspjeti, jer,

jer nećete to učiniti,

because you're not going to do it,

because you will have invented a new excuse,

jer ćete izmisliti novu izliku,

any excuse to fail to take action,

bilo koju izliku da ne poduzmete ništa, i ta izlika

and this excuse, I've heard so many times:

je jedna koju sam čuo puno puta.

"Yes, I would pursue a great career,

"Da, ganjao bih veliku karijeru, ali cijenim

but, I value human relationships --

ljudske odnose više nego postignuća.

(Laughter)

more than accomplishment.

I want to be a great friend.

Hoću biti odličan prijatelj. Divan supružnik.

I want to be a great spouse.

I want to be a great parent,

Želim biti odličan roditelj, i neću to žrtvovati

and I will not sacrifice them

na oltaru velikih postignuća."

on the altar of great accomplishment."

(Smijeh)

(Laughter)

What do you want me to say?

Što želite da vam kažem?

Now, do you really want me to say now, tell you,

Sad, želite li da vam sada kažem,

"Really, I swear I don't kick children."

"Stvarno, kunem se da ne udaram djecu." (Smijeh)

(Laughter)

Hmm? Pogledajte kakav ste si pogled na svijet dali.

Look at the worldview you've given yourself.

Vi ste heroj, bez obzira na sve, i ja, predlažući

You're a hero no matter what.

And I, by suggesting ever so delicately

vrlo oprezno, da možda želite veliku karijeru,

that you might want a great career, must hate children.

morate mrziti djecu. Ja ne mrzim djecu. Ne udaram ih.

I don't hate children. I don't kick them.

Yes, there was a little kid wandering through this building

Da, tu je bio mali klinac koji je lutao kroz zgradu

when I came here, and no, I didn't kick him.

kada sam došao ovdje, i ne, nisam ga udario. (Smijeh)

(Laughter)

Course, I had to tell him the building was for adults only,

Naravno, morao sam mu reći da je zgrada samo za odrasle

and to get out.

i da izađe van.

Promrmljao je nešto o svojoj majci,

He mumbled something about his mother,

and I told him she'd probably find him outside anyway.

i rekao sam mu da će ju vjerojatno naći vani.

Last time I saw him, he was on the stairs crying.

Posljednji put kad sam ga vidio, plakao je na stepenicama. (Smijeh)

(Laughter)

What a wimp.

Kakav slabić. (Smijeh)

(Laughter)

But what do you mean? That's what you expect me to say.

Ali što mislite? To očekujete da ću reći.

Do you really think it's appropriate

Zaista mislite, mislite da je prikladno

that you should actually take children and use them as a shield?

uzeti djecu

i koristiti ih kao štit?

You know what will happen someday,

Znate što će se dogoditi jednog dana

vi, vi savršeni roditelji vi?

you ideal parent, you?

Dijete će vam doći jednog dana i reći,

The kid will come to you someday and say,

"I know what I want to be.

"Znam što želim biti.

I know what I'm going to do with my life."

Znam što ću činiti sa svojim životom."

You are so happy.

Tako ste sretni, to je razgovor

It's the conversation a parent wants to hear,

koji roditelji žele čuti, jer dijete vam je dobro u matematici,

because your kid's good in math,

and you know you're going to like what comes next.

i znate da će vam se svidjeti što dolazi sljedeće.

Says your kid,

Kaže vaše dijete: "Odlučio sam

"I have decided I want to be a magician.

da želim biti mađioničar.

I want to perform magic tricks on the stage."

Želim raditi trikove na pozornici."

(Smijeh)

(Laughter)

And what do you say?

I što vi kažete?

You say, you say,

Vi kažete, vi kažete,

"That's risky, kid.

"Hmmm, to je riskantno mali.

Možda nećeš uspjeti mali. Nema tu novca mali.

Might fail, kid. Don't make a lot of money at that, kid.

Znaš, ne znam mali,

I don't know, kid, you should think about that again, kid.

trebao bi o tome razmisliti još jednom mali,

You're so good at math, why don't you --"

tako si dobar u matematici, zašto ti ne bi --"

The kid interrupts you and says,

I dijete vas prekine, i kaže,

"Ali to je moj san, Moj san je to činiti."

"But it is my dream. It is my dream to do this."

And what are you going to say?

I što ćete vi reći na to?

You know what you're going to say?

Znate što ćete reći?

"Gledaj mali. I ja sam nekad imao san -- ali."

"Look kid. I had a dream once, too, but --

But --"

So how are you going to finish the sentence with your "but"?

Kako ćete završiti rečenicu s vašim "ali"?

"But. I had a dream too, once, kid, but I was afraid to pursue it."

"...Ali, i ja sam imao san jednom, mali, ali me bilo strah slijediti ga."

Or are you going to tell him this:

Ili ćete mu reći ovo?

"I ja sam jednom imao san mali.

"I had a dream once, kid.

Ali onda si se ti rodio." (Smijeh)

But then, you were born."

(Laughter)

(Applause)

(Smijeh) (Pljesak)

Do you really want to use your family,

Da li, da li zaista želite koristiti obitelj,

do you really ever want to look at your spouse and your kid,

želite li ikad gledati supružnika

i dijete i vidjeti tamničare?

and see your jailers?

There was something you could have said to your kid,

Postoji nešto što ste mogli reći djetetu

when he or she said, "I have a dream."

kada su on ili ona rekli "Imam san."

You could have said --

Mogli ste reći, pogledati ga u lice, i reći,

looked the kid in the face and said,

"Pokušaj mali,

"Go for it, kid!

kao što sam i ja."

Just like I did."

But you won't be able to say that,

Ali to nećete moći reći

because you didn't.

jer niste. Tako da ne možete. (Smijeh)

So you can't.

(Laughter)

Tako da se grijesi roditelja

And so the sins of the parents

prenose na jadnu djecu.

are visited on the poor children.

Why will you seek refuge in human relationships

Zašto ćete tražiti utočište u ljudskim odnosima

as your excuse not to find and pursue your passion?

kao vašu izlku da ne tražite i ne ganjate strast?

You know why.

Znate zašto.

U svom srcu znate zašto,

In your heart of hearts, you know why,

and I'm being deadly serious.

i ja sam smrtno ozbiljan.

You know why you would get all warm and fuzzy

Znate zašto ćete se razniježiti

and wrap yourself up in human relationships.

i umotati u ljudske odnose.

It is because you are --

Zato što ste --

you know what you are.

Znate vi što ste.

You're afraid to pursue your passion.

Bojite se ganjati strast.

You're afraid to look ridiculous.

Bojite se izgledati smiješno.

You're afraid to try.

Bojite se pokušati. Bojite se da nećete uspjeti.

You're afraid you may fail.

Odličan prijatelj, supružnik, roditelj, dobra karijera.

Great friend, great spouse, great parent, great career.

Nije li to paket? Nije li to ono što jeste?

Is that not a package? Is that not who you are?

How can you be one without the other?

Kako možete biti jedno bez drugoga?

But you're afraid.

Ali bojite se.

And that's why you're not going to have a great career.

I zato nećete imati veliku karijeru, osim ako --

Unless --

"unless," that most evocative of all English words --

osim ako, ona naj prizivanija riječ engleskog jezika --

"unless."

osim ako.

Ali riječ osim ako je također pričvršćena

But the "unless" word is also attached

to that other, most terrifying phrase,

na onu drugu, zastrašujuću frazu,

"If only I had ..."

"da sam barem..."

"If only I had ..."

"da sam barem..."

If you ever have that thought ricocheting in your brain,

Ako vam se ikad ta misao bude vrzmala po mozgu,

it will hurt a lot.

boljet će jako.

So, those are the many reasons

To su mnogi razlozi

why you are going to fail

zašto nećete uspjeti

to have a great career.

imati veliku karijeru.

Unless --

osim ako ...

Unless.

Osim ako.

Thank you.

Hvala vam (Pljesak)

(Applause)