Success Is a Journey， Not a Destination

泰勒·布林克曼/Tyler Brinkmann

生活中有“人生法则”做基础是极其重要的，给我带来极大影响的一条“人生法则”就是：成功是过程，不是终点。它意味着重要的不是你最终到达哪里，而是你在这一旅程中努力做了些什么；意味着不管你做了什么，只要努力了，就一定不会失败；还意味着你能从错误中吸取经验教训，以便更好地继续下一段旅程。

我相信一定会有一个人同意我的“人生法则”，那就是马克·麦戈维尔。在1998年的赛季中，他虽然没有打完全场，但每一场球赛他都竭尽全力了，并且大多数时间他都在帮助队友们。他并非一心为了取胜才去参加比赛，只是因为他希望这个赛季能够成为自己和队友们的一个好的赛季。

与此同时，我认为在1999—2000年比赛期间，圣路易·拉姆斯在整体上也遵循了我的“人生法则”。他们在每一场比赛中都充分发挥，而不是赢了几场比赛就被胜利冲昏了头脑。他们在超级杯比赛时全力以赴。他们明白即使不能走完全程，他们也是成功的，因为他们经历了一个精彩的过程。尽管输了几场球赛，但他们从未放弃。

假如你最终没能登上成功的峰顶，取得胜利的桂冠，那又何妨，重要的是你一直都在努力。世界上只有极少数人懂得这个道理——成功是过程，不是终点。假如所有人都明白这个道理，大家都意识到有人会成功，也有人会失败，最为重要的是两者都尽了他们最大的努力，那么我们的世界将会是多么美好啊！毕竟，重要的不是输或赢，而是我们在比赛中努力了。我希望在生活中，我就是这样做的。

It is very important to have a law of life to base your life on. A law of life that means a lot to me is： Success is a journey， not a destination. It means that what matters is not necessarily where you are at the end， but what you accomplish while you are trying along the way. It means that no matter what， as long as you try， you can never fail. It means you can learn from your mistakes and continue on the next journey a little wiser.

One person I believe that shares my law of life is Mark McGwire. He didn't get caught up in the home-run chase in the 1998 season， but instead played every game in the best way he could. And， most of the time， he helped his team. He didn't just go out there and hit home runs because he wanted to be ahead in the end， but because he wanted to make it a good season for his teammates and him.

I also think the 1999—2000 St. Louis Rams as a whole are utilizing my law of life. They play every game with their full potential instead of letting a few winning games go to their heads. They stay focused on playing in the Super Bowl. They know that even if they don't go all the way， they still will be successful because they have had a good journey. Even though they lost some games， they didn't give up.

It does not matter if you do not have the ability to be on top in the end， to win the championship； all that matters is that you worked hard the whole time. There are a few people in the world who already understand what it means. They understand that success is a journey， not a destination. But wouldn't it be a much better world if everyone did， if everyone would realize that someone will win and someone will lose， but what's important is that both sides need to try their best？ After all， it's not who wins or loses， but how well you play the game， and I hope I have applied this in my own life.