Minerva 的第一課：專心致志遠勝聰明才智
這四年來，我最大的領悟是專心致志 (Commitment & Consistency) 比聰明才智更為重要多了。專心致志，指的不只是很認真專注的做某一件事情，更在於你願意比別人做得更久，即使初學時的高速成長和新鮮都不復存在。
剛來 Minerva 的時候，其實很快就可以看出哪些同學是更優秀的。但是，這些人四年後有比大家更傑出嗎？那可不一定了。古早的諺語是真的，騏驥一躍，不能十步，駑馬十駕，功在不舍。四年後真正令我感到驚艷的同學，反而大一時感覺表現平平，但是他們像是牛一樣，好幾年都在同一件事情上用心，最後的成就都比聰明的同學更出色。
為什麼呢？聰明的同學或許學什麼都比大家來的快，以能力而論，或許都比在某個領域有就傑出的同學還更有知識和技術，但是社會本身是一場遊戲，意思是所有社會經驗（實習或是工作）社會的認可（社群平台的追蹤人數，人脈網路）都和能力一樣重要。聰明的同學故有實力，可惜三心二意，百里衝刺跑得快，而不願意越野長跑，沒有積累足夠的社會經驗和認可。反而持之以恆、眼光看得遠，不怕在短線上落後其他人的他們，在後來的幾年終於開花結果。
全校最專心致志的三個同學，一個是有名的學習 Youtuber，一個是越南創業家，和詹雨安的 Heptabase。詹雨安的 Heptabase 台灣人應該都知道了就不贅述，因此來說其他同學的故事。Youtuber 同學擁有將近九十萬粉絲，高中就上電視、踩紅毯。即便他已經如此之名，他每支影片依舊花二十小時剪輯，每週貫徹始終的發片，苦心經營五年以上，每天回覆他的粉絲。我問他：「那你都不會想休息的嗎？」他回答：「不行，光是休息一週粉絲人數就掉了下來。」記得大二的時候，因為 Minerva 在 COVID 下的旅行，讓他遭遇嚴重的黑特事件，甚至有人特別拍影片罵他，影片下面全部都是黑特留言，說他是婊子。當時我見他天天掉淚，但是他堅持不放棄，那學期甚至還出的一本如何學習的書。做一支和他一樣相同水平的影片是容易的，但是這個世界上有多少人能夠五年來每週都至少二十小時做影片，在期許改變世界卻被人唾棄的的時候還能堅持下去呢？
越南創業家同學亦是如此。他的新創已經經營了兩年，不論要繳交畢業論文、期末報告，他都從來沒有離開過他的工作。記得柏林住在一起的時候，時差不佳，他居然每天早上五點起床開會。甚至有一天，當草創團隊的重要成員驟然離職，他心情非常不好，我問他你還好嗎？他說沒事，我先睡覺吧。隔天一早起床看到他，又已經在工作了，彷彿昨天什麼事都沒有發生過一樣。我嚇了一大跳，緊張的問他：「今天還好嗎？要不要休息一天呢？」他說：「不行的，不管如何我都得繼續做下去。」
但是專注在一個問題或是一種理想是非常困難的，因為短線上的勝利、錢、名聲、害怕、社會期待都會把人帶離方向。就像是 YC 創辦人 Paul Graham 在 How to do great work 所說：
There are a lot of forces that will lead you astray when you’re trying to figure out what to work on. Pretentiousness, fashion, fear, money, politics, other people’s wishes, eminent frauds. But if you stick to what you find genuinely interesting, you’ll be proof against all of them. If you’re interested, you’re not astray.
即使如此，我從這些人身上學到，想要把一件事做好，重點不在於爬得快，而在於走得遠。專注，就是一種強大的競爭優勢。而走得遠需要強大的信念，不畏颳風下雨的前進。今天的我，依舊像他們看齊，期許自己可以向他們一樣，成為一個貫徹始終的人。
Minerva 畢業系列
• Minerva 畢業
• Minerva 的第一課：專心致志遠勝聰明才智
• Minerva 的第二課：環境的重要
• Minerva 的第三課：科學下的謙卑
• Minerva 的第四課：何謂視野
First Lesson from Minerva: Intelligence is overrated
In the past four years, my biggest realization is that commitment and consistency are more important than intelligence and talent. Commitment and consistency not only refer to being serious and focused on a particular task, but also to being willing to persist longer than others, even when the initial growth and enthusiasm are no longer present.
When I first arrived at Minerva, it was easy to identify which classmates were more outstanding. However, after four years, are these individuals more exceptional than everyone else? That’s not necessarily the case. A swift horse can leap, but it cannot travel ten steps; a weak horse can make ten trips, but it requires perseverance. The classmates who truly amazed me after four years were those who seemed average in their first year, but they were like diligent oxen, wholeheartedly dedicating themselves to the same endeavor for several years, and their final achievements surpassed those of their intelligent classmates.
Why is that? Intelligent students may learn things faster than others and possess more knowledge and skills in a specific field based on their abilities. However, society itself is a game, meaning that all social experiences (internships or jobs) and social recognition (followers on social platforms, networking) are equally important as abilities. Intelligent students may have the potential, but unfortunately, they lack focus and determination. They can sprint a hundred miles, but they are unwilling to engage in the long-distance run, resulting in a lack of accumulated social experiences and recognition. On the other hand, those who persevere, have a long-term vision and are not afraid to fall behind in the short term finally blossom and bear fruit in the following years.
The three most committed and focused students in the whole school include a renowned learning YouTuber, a Vietnamese entrepreneur, and Heptabase, associated with Alan Chan. Heptabase, associated with Alan, is well-known among Taiwanese people, so I won’t go into detail about it. Instead, let me share the stories of the other students. The YouTuber classmate has nearly 900,000 subscribers and gained fame in high school, appearing on television and walking on the red carpet. Despite her fame, she still spends around 20 hours editing each video and consistently releases videos every week. She has dedicated himself to this for over five years and responds to his fans every day. I asked her, “Don’t you ever feel like taking a break?” He replied, “No, even just taking a week off would cause a drop in the number of fans.” I remember in my sophomore year, during Minerva’s travel under COVID, she faced severe online bullying incidents, with people making videos specifically to insult her, and the comments section was filled with hate messages, calling her a whole. I saw her shedding tears every day, but she persisted and didn’t give up. That semester, she even released a book on how to learn. It’s easy to make a video of the same quality as hers, but how many people in this world can consistently spend at least 20 hours per week making videos for five years, persevering even when others scorn their aspirations to change the world?
The Vietnamese entrepreneur classmate is also similar. Her startup has been running for two years, and she has never left his work, even when she had to submit his thesis or final reports. I remember when we lived together in Berlin, the time difference was challenging, yet she would wake up at 5 a.m. every day for meetings. One day, when an important member of her startup suddenly resigned, she was in a bad mood. I asked him if she was okay, and she said, “I’m fine. I’ll go to sleep first.” The next morning, I saw her already working as if nothing happened yesterday. I was taken aback and nervously asked her, “Are you okay today? Do you want to take a day off?” She replied, “No, no matter what, I have to keep going.”
However, focusing on one problem or one ideal is extremely difficult because short-term victories, money, fame, fear, and societal expectations can all lead people astray from their direction. Just like what Paul Graham said in “How to do great work”:
There are a lot of forces that will lead you astray when you’re trying to figure out what to work on. Pretentiousness, fashion, fear, money, politics, other people’s wishes, eminent frauds. But if you stick to what you find genuinely interesting, you’ll be proof against all of them. If you’re interested, you’re not astray.
From these people, I have learned that to excel in something, it’s not about climbing fast but about going far. Focus is a powerful competitive advantage. Going far requires a strong belief and moving forward regardless of the challenges. Today, I still look up to them and aspire to become someone who is consistent and committed.
