Mile Wide, Mile Deep
December 27, 2016 by Steve Pavlina
Have you ever heard the phrase “inch wide, mile deep” with respect to picking an area of focus for your education, career, website, business, etc? The idea here is that you should narrow your focus and concentrate on becoming highly skilled in one particular subfield. Then you’ll be able to carve out a space within your industry where you’re competent enough to compete… and hopefully make a good living.
你是否有聽過一個(gè)叫做“英寸寬，英里深”的詞組是己，旨在尋找一個(gè)為了你的教育又兵，職業(yè)，網(wǎng)站，商業(yè)等等方面而專注的領(lǐng)域沛厨？此處的理念是你應(yīng)當(dāng)專注于成為某個(gè)特定領(lǐng)域的高水平人才宙地。那么你將會(huì)在所處的行業(yè)中開辟出一塊自己具有足夠競爭力的區(qū)域，并且很可能過上很好的生活逆皮。

You can do that. It does work to a certain extent. But this article is about why you may not want to do that.你可以這么做宅粥，這也在某種程度上的確奏效。但是這本篇文章是關(guān)于為什么你不會(huì)想要這么做电谣。
You don’t have to use the inch wide, mile deep approach to niche down if it bothers you to do so. Many people have mixed feelings about it, and rightly so. There are some big consequences to consider.你不需要用這個(gè)方法來找到適合你的位置秽梅，如果這使得你產(chǎn)生困擾。許多人對(duì)于這個(gè)方法這件事情有著復(fù)雜的感覺剿牺，的確如此企垦。有許多大的后果是需要去考慮的。
I don’t use this approach for my work because I don’t like the lifestyle consequences of sticking to one niche for so long. I’d be bored within a few years no matter what I picked, even if I picked something I love. I like variety too much. This life is precious to me, and while I love doing deep dives, I don’t want to be so myopically focused on any one aspect of life or business for so long that I miss out on exploring the other aspects that also interest me.
我并不將這個(gè)方法運(yùn)用在我的工作上因?yàn)槲也幌矚g過久專注于使自己契合于一件事情而帶來的生活風(fēng)格上的后果牢贸。無論我選擇的是什么竹观，即使是我所熱愛的，數(shù)年之后我也會(huì)感到厭倦潜索。我太喜歡多樣性了臭增，生活對(duì)于我而言是非常珍貴的，并且盡管我喜歡深度潛水竹习，我也不想如此短視且長久地專注于生活或是商業(yè)上的任何一個(gè)方面誊抛，這最終會(huì)使得我錯(cuò)失探尋其他使我感興趣的方面。
You could say that my niche is personal growth, but that isn’t really a niche at all because anything fits into that huge space: productivity, relationships, career, finances, health, lifestyle, values, spirituality, social skills, and more. Name any topic you can think of, and I can link it to personal growth.
你可以說我的生態(tài)位是關(guān)乎我個(gè)人的成長整陌，但是這可能根本并不是一個(gè)真正合適的位置因?yàn)槿魏问挛锒伎梢再N合到一個(gè)巨大的空間中去：生產(chǎn)力拗窃，人際關(guān)系，職位泌辫，經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況随夸，健康狀態(tài)，生活方式震放，價(jià)值觀念宾毒，精神狀態(tài)，社交技能等等殿遂。隨意說出一個(gè)你能想到的主題诈铛，我都能夠把它同個(gè)人成長聯(lián)系起來。

Mile Wide, Mile Deep

I prefer the mile wide, mile deep approach. It works well too, but the mindset and framework are different if you want to succeed with it. There are some consequences to accept, but you may actually like those consequences.
我更喜歡“英里寬墨礁，英里深”的方法幢竹，它同樣也很有效，但是如果你想要通過它來獲得成功恩静，它的思維方式和架構(gòu)是不相同的焕毫。有一些可能的后果是你需要接受的，但是你可能實(shí)際上會(huì)喜歡那些后果。
To make this work in business, it’s important to focus on the long-term relationship with your audience instead of deliberately trying to nichify or brand yourself into a corner. You want to connect with them as human beings with lots of interests, problems, challenges, and desires – i.e. people just like you – not as monodimensional prospects who care about your niche.
要使這個(gè)方法在商場上見效咬荷，關(guān)注與和你的受眾的長期關(guān)系而不是刻意的想要把自己標(biāo)榜到某個(gè)角落中更為重要冠句。你會(huì)想要和他們建立起關(guān)于興趣，問題幸乒，挑戰(zhàn)和渴求方面的種種聯(lián)系懦底，同和你一樣的普通人建立聯(lián)系，而不是同單一方面的關(guān)注你所處生態(tài)位置的人罕扎。
It’s important not to brand yourself in the typical branding sense if you want your audience members to relate to you as a real, multidimensional person. If I brand myself as anything, I prefer to just call myself an explorer. It turns out that many people like being able to maintain our relationship across a wide variety of interests – I like it too! – and branding myself into a singular niche would only get in the way of that.
如果你想要你的聽眾真實(shí)的向你展現(xiàn)多樣化的自我聚唐，不要把自己標(biāo)榜在一個(gè)特定的領(lǐng)域中是非常重要的。如果要我給自己貼上標(biāo)簽腔召，我愿意稱自己為一個(gè)探索者杆查。結(jié)果證明是許多人喜歡通過廣泛的興趣愛好來維持我們之間的聯(lián)系——我也喜歡！——可把自己限制在一個(gè)特定的角色上僅僅會(huì)阻礙這條路臀蛛。
Doesn’t it kinda suck when you discover a guru you really like, but all they do is speak and write about the same narrow topic over and over again? Wouldn’t it be nice to connect on some other dimensions too, especially if you like and respect the person? How many emails or blog posts can you read about the same thing until you’re drowning in boredom and looking for the unsubscribe button?難道當(dāng)你好不容易發(fā)現(xiàn)了自己真正喜歡的一群人亲桦，結(jié)果他們反復(fù)的就那一個(gè)話題討論來寫作去，不是很掃興嗎浊仆？加入一些其他的方面客峭，尤其是如果你喜歡并且尊重這個(gè)人的時(shí)候，不是很棒的一件事嗎抡柿？在你把進(jìn)度條拖到底部點(diǎn)擊退訂之前舔琅，你又能忍受多少關(guān)于同一件事情的郵件和博客推送呢？

The 50-Year Audience

Ask yourself this: What kind of audience could you keep for 50 years? Who’d stay with you that long? In which niche could you expect to still be working in 50 years after you start, assuming you lived that long?
你試問自己一下：你能夠保留什么樣的觀眾長達(dá)50年之久洲劣？誰會(huì)同你待那么久备蚓？又在哪個(gè)位置上你能指望工作50年之久，就算你能活那么長的話囱稽。
I’ll bet a lot of people in your audience would love to connect with you based on other interests beyond your main niche, and you’re probably not inviting them to do so. So they can’t bond with you as closely as they would with a real life friend with whom they may share multiple interests. But what if they could bond with you that closely?
我敢肯定你受眾中的許多人會(huì)想要在除了你主要領(lǐng)域方向之外的其他興趣方面郊尝，同你建立聯(lián)系，可你同樣也很有可能并沒有邀請(qǐng)他們這么做战惊。所以他們不能夠像同生活之中的一個(gè)真實(shí)的朋友分享多重愛好一樣和你聯(lián)系地那般緊密虚循。但是如果他們能夠達(dá)到這種程度呢？
Motivation can be a lot harder in a nichified business after the first few years. Eventually the repetitiveness and lack of variety start to grind you down. I see this happening in so many friends. The passion just drains out of them after a while. And it shows up in procrastination, lifeless work, and frequent fantasizing about doing something else. What once seemed like a great niche is now stunting their growth as human beings, providing them with too little stimulation and variety.
在度過了進(jìn)入一個(gè)領(lǐng)域后的最初幾年后样傍，動(dòng)力將變得越來越不足，最終工作的反復(fù)重復(fù)和多樣性的缺乏會(huì)開始把你拖垮铺遂。我在許多朋友的身上看見過這樣的事情發(fā)生衫哥，沒有過太久激情就從他們身上消退了，接著表現(xiàn)在拖延襟锐，沒有生機(jī)的工作以及頻繁的幻想著做其他事情等方面上撤逢。曾經(jīng)看起來是極好的一個(gè)領(lǐng)域位置現(xiàn)在看來卻是阻礙他們作為普通人發(fā)展的一個(gè)因素，因?yàn)檫@能給他們提供的刺激和多樣性實(shí)在是太少了。
Eventually they begin to think there’s something wrong with them for being experts in their field and not feeling driven anymore.
最終他們開始思考自己在這個(gè)領(lǐng)域中成為一個(gè)專家存在什么問題蚊荣，以及為什么再也感覺不到被驅(qū)動(dòng)著向前了初狰。
My business is a lot of fun to run because on any given day, week, or month, I can tackle any topic that interests me. I can switch topics seemingly at random, and I often do. This year I did three-day workshops on abundance, mental development, lifestyle design, and entrepreneurship. I spoke about relationships in Mexico and character development in the UK. I love, love, love that kind of variety.我的事業(yè)在任何一天，一周互例，一月奢入，運(yùn)營起來都很有趣，我可以應(yīng)付任何使我感興趣的主題媳叨。我可以看上去隨心所欲的切換主題腥光，并且我也經(jīng)常這么做。今年我開了一個(gè)為期三天的關(guān)于充分性糊秆，精神發(fā)展武福，生活方式設(shè)計(jì)以及企業(yè)方面的訓(xùn)練營。我談到了在墨西哥的關(guān)系和在英國的性格發(fā)展痘番。我非常喜愛這種多樣性捉片。
Even after 12+ years on this path, I’m more in love with the work now than during the first 5 years. Whichever direction my current interests twist and turn, a sizable audience has proven they’re willing to come along for the ride. Of course I lose some people now and then, but in the long run, the narrow-minded, mono-focused people get filtered out as they smash into walls at every zig and zag and can’t keep up with the course changes. Meanwhile the ones who make it through multiple years with me are the ones who, like me, love the variety and enjoy connecting with and learning from someone who’s very much like them – a multidimensional human being.
即使在這條路上已經(jīng)走了十二年多了，我卻比剛開始的五年還要更為熱愛這項(xiàng)事業(yè)汞舱。無論我現(xiàn)在的興趣導(dǎo)向哪個(gè)方向伍纫，總有一部分成規(guī)模的受眾被證明了他們?cè)敢飧乙煌靶小．?dāng)然我也時(shí)不時(shí)的會(huì)失去一部分人兵拢，但是從長遠(yuǎn)的角度來說翻斟，狹隘的思維，注意力單一的人們會(huì)在每一次蜿蜒崎嶇最終撞墻的經(jīng)歷之后被淘汰并且他們也不能夠跟得上課程的變更说铃。同時(shí)那些成功做到應(yīng)對(duì)這么多年的變更的人访惜，跟我一樣喜歡多樣性并且享受同他們類似的人建立聯(lián)系并從他們身上學(xué)習(xí)，這些人都是多維度的腻扇。

Breadth AND Depth 寬度與深度

You might be thinking that you can’t possibly go a mile wide and a mile deep. You have to go for breadth OR depth, don’t you? It’s an either-or decision. I think Leonardo da Vinci would call B.S. on that, and so would I. Breadth and depth enhance each other. You can have both. In fact, I think it’s a lot easier – and way more fun – to go for both.
你可能會(huì)認(rèn)為自己不可能同時(shí)既走一英里寬又鑿一英里深债热，在深度與廣度之間只能選擇一個(gè)，你是這么想的嗎幼苛？這是一個(gè)要么這個(gè)要么那個(gè)的選擇窒篱。我認(rèn)為達(dá)芬奇會(huì)稱這個(gè)為BS，并且我認(rèn)為深度與廣度是會(huì)互相提升的舶沿，你可以同時(shí)擁有它們墙杯。實(shí)際上，我認(rèn)為同時(shí)追求兩方面更簡單也更有趣。
If you explore a lot, you’ll become a better explorer. You’ll be able to go deep faster and more efficiently by building skills across multiple areas.
如果你探索了很多妈候，你將成為一個(gè)更好的探索者目养。你將能夠更快更有效地通過建立跨領(lǐng)域的技能來深入你的研究。
Most importantly, your mile deep will not be in the same spot as someone else’s mile deep. You’ll do your deep dives differently than nichified deep divers.
最重要的是嫉髓，你的廣度不會(huì)和他人的廣度重合在一點(diǎn)观腊，你會(huì)同專注于一個(gè)領(lǐng)域的研究者探索出不同的廣度。
Your deep dives will also be more holistic because you’ll be able to connect the dots with other deep dives you’ve done. You’ll be better than most people at seeing the big picture and understanding each niche within the context of the others. And that’s going to allow you to offer up some really unique insights, the kinds of insights that even the so-called experts within a field aren’t commonly sharing.
你的深入研究同樣會(huì)更為全面化因?yàn)槟隳軌驅(qū)⑵渌I(lǐng)域中得到的點(diǎn)連接起來算行。你能夠比絕大多數(shù)人更好的看到大局梧油，理解他人所研究的領(lǐng)域。這將給與你一些著實(shí)獨(dú)特的洞見州邢，這種洞見即使是某些領(lǐng)域所謂的專家也不能夠普遍領(lǐng)悟儡陨。
There’s a huge advantage to being unattached to niches as well. You can be ridiculously disloyal to all of your niches and yet still be considered something of an expert within them. You can step into the role of expert within one niche and fire a shot at another niche, then switch sides and fire back. You can explore some really interesting paradoxes this way and find new truths beyond them. I’ll just have to let you chew on that one for a while. This one is hard to describe unless you’ve already experienced it.
不拘泥于一個(gè)特定的領(lǐng)域同樣還有一個(gè)巨大的好處：你能夠變得近乎荒唐的對(duì)所有你研究的領(lǐng)域都不專一，但仍然被視作其中一些領(lǐng)域的專家偷霉。你可以扮演一個(gè)領(lǐng)域中專家的角色同時(shí)向另一個(gè)領(lǐng)域開火迄委，發(fā)表抨擊，然后換一邊之后再反擊回來类少。你可以探索出一些的確非常有趣的矛盾現(xiàn)象并找到他們背后的真理叙身。關(guān)于這條我會(huì)讓你好好理解一會(huì)兒，因?yàn)檫@一點(diǎn)的確非常難以形容硫狞，除非你已經(jīng)這么實(shí)踐過了信轿。

Is Your Niche Draining Your Motivation? 你的領(lǐng)域正在使你的動(dòng)力枯竭嗎？

Motivation is another key factor. You can dig more and deeper wells if you keep your motivation high. Do you think your depth is really going to be all that deep if your motivation is falling below a 6 out of 10? What if you’re constantly at a 9 or 10 for your motivation, but you jump around a lot? Can you imagine some situations where the 9+ will likely outperform the sub-6?
動(dòng)力是另一個(gè)重要因素残吩。你可以挖出更多更深的井如果你將自己的動(dòng)力保持的很高财忽。你認(rèn)為如果你的動(dòng)力丟掉了6成，那你還能夠真正深挖的那么深嗎泣侮？那么如果你持續(xù)保持著動(dòng)力的9成甚至10成即彪，可你卻僅僅在周圍瞎晃悠呢？你能夠想象這些9成的動(dòng)力卻僅僅發(fā)揮出6成不到的效果的情形嗎活尊？
I’ll readily admit that there are some problems better suited to the stubborn sub-6 who can chip away for years. But there are other problems where the 9+ will win hands down. You can choose to tackle either class of problems. Do you have a preference?
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You can actually solve many of the same problems with either approach. You’ll just use different strategies. For instance, a sub-6 might make money with a regular job or with stable self-employment, doing the similar work day after day. A 9+ might earn income by working in bursts, such as by setting up passive income streams (also called evergreen) or by doing income-generating projects.
你實(shí)際上可以用二者之中任意一種方法解決許多同樣的問題隶校，你所用的不過是不同的策略罷了。舉例來說蛹锰，一個(gè)有六成動(dòng)力的人通過常規(guī)的工作或穩(wěn)定的自由職業(yè)來掙錢深胳，日復(fù)一日；而一個(gè)有九成以上動(dòng)力的人則可能以一種熱切的態(tài)度來工作铜犬，比如通過建立被動(dòng)的收入來源（同樣被稱為常青樹）舞终，或者是通過做一些能夠產(chǎn)生收入的項(xiàng)目。
Also, when you get burned out on some particular niche, you can always take a pause, switch to something else, and come back to it with a fresh perspective. You can go surprisingly deep when you’re able to stave off burnout indefinitely. And every now and then you’ll get lucky just by trying lots of different approaches to many different areas of life. Sometimes gold isn’t buried that deep; it may be buried where no one has bothered to look yet.
同樣癣猾，當(dāng)你在某些特定的領(lǐng)域里感到焦慮到極點(diǎn)時(shí)敛劝，你總是可以停下來歇一歇的，轉(zhuǎn)移到其他的一些事情上纷宇，然后再帶著一個(gè)全新的觀點(diǎn)視角轉(zhuǎn)換回來夸盟。當(dāng)你能夠毫無疑問地趕走焦慮時(shí)，你能夠驚人地鉆研進(jìn)去呐粘。并且有時(shí)你會(huì)僅僅通過嘗試不同的方法接觸生活中的不同領(lǐng)域满俗，就能夠變得足夠幸運(yùn)。有時(shí)候金子并沒有被埋藏的那么深作岖，它只是被埋在一個(gè)還沒有人有空去看的地方唆垃。

The Social Consequences of Nichification 固定領(lǐng)域的社會(huì)結(jié)果

There’s the social aspect too. If you niche down, you’re going to take a lot of your social life into that inch-wide pit with you. By resisting your own nichification, you could enjoy a more varied and arguably richer social life vs. one that’s overstuffed with the same types of people. Partly this is because you can offer up dozens of different interests that people may share with you. Some people will notice that they have a LOT in common with you, and they’ll often reach out to you. If you present more facets for people to connect with, you can attract a great variety of connections as well as more compatible connections.
同樣有社交方面的因素。如果你深入鉆研痘儡，你會(huì)把許多你的社交生活一并帶入那個(gè)英尺寬的坑里辕万；而通過拒絕你自己的領(lǐng)域定型，你可以享受一個(gè)更為多樣以及可論證的更為豐富的社交生活沉删，而不是被同類型人群塞滿的那種渐尿。部分是因?yàn)槟隳軌蛱峁?shù)十種人們能夠跟你共享的興趣點(diǎn)。有些人們會(huì)注意到你因?yàn)樗麄兒湍阌性S多共同點(diǎn)矾瑰，繼而他們也會(huì)經(jīng)常和你交流溝通砖茸。如果你提供了更多的方面供人們產(chǎn)生聯(lián)系，你就可以吸引不光是許多種聯(lián)系殴穴，同樣還有更多相契合相匹配的聯(lián)系凉夯。
Also, who really wants to be friends with a mono-focused person? If you go the niche route, there’s a good chance you’ll attract a lot of people who want to connect with you mainly because you’re an expert on that one particular thing. That can be cool for status and income, but it can also lead to a feeling of being used by other people and by society. Do you only want people to relate to you as a tool for their own advancement? That gets lonely after a while. It can also lead to a love-hate relationship with your work.
同樣，誰又真正想和單一興趣的人做朋友呢采幌？如果你走領(lǐng)域鉆研的路線劲够，很有可能你會(huì)吸引許多想和你建立聯(lián)系可僅僅是因?yàn)槟闶沁@方面專家的人。這對(duì)于收入和地位而言的確很棒休傍，但是這同樣可能導(dǎo)致一種被其他人和社會(huì)所使用的感覺征绎。你僅僅想要人們把你看做一件工具或者是他們的進(jìn)階方向嗎？這過不了多久就會(huì)使你感到孤獨(dú)磨取。這也同樣會(huì)導(dǎo)致你在工作上的愛恨分明的同事關(guān)系人柿。

Give some careful thought to the lifestyle consequences of nichification first, and decide whether it’s truly the right path for you.
先對(duì)固定領(lǐng)域帶來的生活方式上的改變進(jìn)行一個(gè)仔細(xì)的思考，然后再?zèng)Q定這是否對(duì)你而言是一條正確的路徑寝衫。
If you don’t pick a niche, you’ll probably have to build more skills, face more fears, and build a stronger social support network. For people like me, those are powerful reasons not to niche down.
如果你不選擇鉆研一個(gè)領(lǐng)域顷扩，那么你有可能建立起更多的技能，面臨更多的恐懼同時(shí)也建立起一個(gè)更強(qiáng)的社交支持網(wǎng)絡(luò)慰毅。對(duì)于和我類似的人而言隘截，這些都是不固定一個(gè)領(lǐng)域的有力理由。

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