书城成功励志感谢折磨你的人
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第41章 一生最大的收获 (12)

业务的规范化和信息的规范化是城市规划管理信息系统的基础性工作。

但是,每个人都要面对挑战。你需要用一种良好的态度去面对它们。

正是由于我这种看问题的态度,我才能做任何正常人能够做的事情。

这个世界上没有谁和别人是一模一样的。

Keep staring! I might do a trick!

do a trick:玩把戏;变戏法

For instance, everyone uses stoves. Little people just have to figure out how to use them in different ways.

figure out:想出;算出

不要害怕失败

Don' t Fear Failure

佚名 / Anonymous

Many career experts tout failure as the castor oil of success. The idea isn' t to fling yourself into certain disaster in order to be mystically rewarded with triumph. Rather, it' s a simple recognition that people who willingly risk failure and learn from loss have the best chance of succeeding at whatever they try.

Oh, you' ve had minor reverses in school or love, but you haven' t failed meaningfully. Never fear, says Amitai Etzioni, professor of socioeconomics at George Washington University: "Everyone gets a chance. No one lives a failure-proof life forever."

Failure is easy to recognize. "It usually involves loss of money, self-esteem or status," says Carole Hyatt, co-author of When Smart People Fail. At the very least, it is simply not getting what you want.

Not that rational people should wish for calamity, says Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, But a stiff dose of misfortune is often a painfully effective tutor. It "teaches you something about your strength and acquaints you with your limitations." notes Kushner. "That' s an important part of maturity."

People who profit from loss are the kind of foot soldiers business leaders seek, "Continuous success builds arrogance and complacency," says multibillionaire industrialist H. Ross Perot. "I want people who love the battlefield, people willing to go to the war". That includes making honest mistakes. Unsuccessful people, he adds, instinctively avoid risks even when a smart gamble might pay off. "You learn a great deal more from what doesn' t work than from what does." Failure, he says, is merely the cost of seeking new challenge.

If the thought of fouling up paralyzes you, here are several helpful suggestions:

1. Stop using the "F" word.

High achievers, rarely refer to "failure," a loaded word suggesting a personal dead end. They prefer "glitch" "bollix" or "course correction."

2. Don' t take it personally.

When things go sour, do you instinctively label yourself a loser? The language you use to describe yourself can become a powerful reality. Repeatedly calling yourself an unemployed salesperson not only labels you as out of work—synonymous with failure in our society—it considers yourself someone "with options".Those opinions include taking classes to develop new skills or bravely striking out on another career.

3. Be prepared.

Help insulate yourself by mapping a catastrophe plan. Ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Imagining loss of job or spouse can force you to clearly consider practical alternatives. Do you have enough insurance and cash reserves to carry you through a difficult period? Do you have talents that could bring in an income if your employer handed you a pink slip? Keep in mind that the Chinese ideogram for "crisis" consists of the characters for both "danger" and "opportunity."

4. Learn to fail intelligently.

Jack Matson, a University of Houston professor, developed a course his students dubbed "Failure 101". Matson had his class build ice-cream-stick mock-ups of products no one would buy. "They designed hamster hot tubs and kites to fly in hurricanes," says Matson.

The ideas were ridiculous, but once Matson' s students equated failure with innovation instead of defeat, they felt free to try anything. Since most students had at least five failures before finding their business niche, they learned not to take failure as the last word, says Matson. "They learned to reload and get ready to shoot again."

5. Never say die.

Early' s Harrisonburg, construction company went belly up in 1975. Then only 25, Early borrowed on his home rather than declare bankruptcy. He continued to work in construction, trying to master the intricacies of management. In 1982, he "got nervy enough" to borrow more to start his own business again, having built a solid reputation with banks for getting through difficult times.

Early expanded his new construction business cautiously. He took college courses in business administration. By 1988, Early' s company made Inc. magazine' s list of the 500 fastest-growing privately owned companies.

Early is not complacent. Memories of hard times haunt him. "I can' t afford to get arrogant about success," he says, "So I' m always trying to improve my business."

许多职业专家将失败鼓吹为“成功的润滑油”。这种说法并不是让你为了获得神秘的胜利,而先将自己推向某个灾难的边缘。这仅仅是那些成功人士对失败的一种认识。他们能够欣然接受失败,并从失败中懂得:无论尝试什么,都是成功的最好机会。

噢,你在学校或爱情上也许遇到过一些小的挫折,但是这样的失败是毫无意义的。乔治·华盛顿大学的社会经济学教授阿米塔伊·埃茨奥尼说:“永远不要害怕,人人都有一次机会,没有谁会一生都失败。”

意识到失败是很容易的事。《当聪明的人失败时》一书的合著者卡罗莱·海厄特说:“通常,失败会伴随着金钱、自尊或身份地位的损失而出现。”至少,失败的结果是不能得到你想要的。

《当不幸降临在好人身上时》的作者罗比·哈罗德·库沙尔说,并不是说理智的人应该盼望灾难的降临,但是巨大的挫折往往是痛苦的深刻教训。它“能让你知道自己的长处,了解自己的短处”。库沙尔写道:“经历挫折是成长过程中的重要一课。”

从失败中汲取教训的人才是企业领导青睐的对象。拥有亿万资产的实业家H. 罗斯·佩罗特说:“不断的成功会助长自大、自满之情。我想要那些喜欢战场,愿意斗争的人才。”这其中包括犯诚实的错误。H.罗斯·佩罗特又补充说:“失败者本能地避开冒险,即使是面对形势较好的投机机会时也是如此。你从失败中学到的东西,要比从成功中学到的东西多得多。”他说:“失败仅仅是在寻找新的挑战时所付出的代价。”

如果害怕失败而让你举步维艰,这里有几条有益的建议:

1. 停止使用“失败”一词

有较高成就的人很少提到“失败”二字,因为使用这个沉重的词说明这个人无法再继续发展。他们更喜欢“小麻烦”“改正方针”等词。

2. 不要因失败而沮丧