10年：10个人的成功传奇

而立之年：理查德•布兰森

出生日期：1950年7月8日

    早在创建航空公司或者对移动技术产生兴趣之前，理查德•布兰森就凭借与他人合办的维珍唱片公司（Virgin Records）取得了成功。这家公司在上世纪七八十年代推出了性手枪（Sex Pistols）和文化俱乐部（Culture Club）等乐队组合。他起初是杂志发行人和音乐唱片邮购分销商，现在则执掌一家拥有数百个不同业务的公司。

    “我不想过得太舒适。我喜欢努力地去争取，看看我到底能做到些什么。我认为，这种生活更加令人快乐，”布兰森对作者理查德•约翰说。他把成功分为内在和外在两种。

    内在成功或许就是你缩短了自己完成马拉松的时间。外在成功或许就是（以布兰森为例）执掌大型风险投资公司，成为英国第四大富豪，同时还被女王伊丽莎白二世授予爵士头衔。

    作者塔尔干说，虽然金钱奖励可能是推动力，但金钱和权力其实只是达到目的的手段。这些东西使成功人士可以自由地决定如何支配自己的时间、住在哪里、过怎样的生活和与谁共坠爱河。

    “成功对不同的人意味着不同的东西，”花费15年时间就成功问题进行采访的理查德•约翰说。“向他们提出有关金钱的问题时，他们不是那么感兴趣。但谈到爱好时，他们就会容光焕发……我交谈过的所有真正成功人士都热爱他们所做的事情。”

30-something: Richard Branson

Born: July 8, 1950

    Long before he launched an airline or grew interested in mobile technology, Richard Branson made his mark with the music label he co-founded, Virgin Records, introducing groups like the Sex Pistols and Culture Club in the 1970s and 1980s. He began as a magazine publisher and mail order distributor of music records, and now heads a company with hundreds of different business lines.

    "I don't like to get too comfortable. I like to push and see what I'm capable of, and I think people get more satisfaction if they live their lives in that way," Branson told author St. John, who divides success into inward and outward categories.

    Inward success might be beating your personal time in a marathon. Outward success might be -- in Branson's case -- overseeing a venture capital conglomerate, being the fourth-richest U.K. citizen, and receiving a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.

    While financial rewards may seem to be a driving motivation, money and power are actually just a means to an end. Such things buy successful people the freedom to decide how they spend their time, where and how they live, and with whom to build relationships, says author Tulgan.

    "Success means different things to different people," says St. John, who spent 15 years interviewing people on success. "When you ask them about money, they're not that interested. The minute they talk about the passion, they light up ... I haven't talked to any really successful person who doesn't love what they do."