【勇敢地失敗吧！】
今天台大財金系的Penny和同學做職涯規劃報告採訪我，最後問我有什麼建言，讓我用最近看的電影《她其實沒那麼壞》the Last Word裡頭女主角的話跟大家分享：「（勇敢地）去失敗吧！你不會創造失敗，而是失敗創造你！(You don’t make mistakes; mistakes made you!) 因為當你失敗，你學習；當你失敗，你活在當下。」
我來美國十年，其中一件學到的事情就是跟台灣人比起來，美國教育普遍比較鼓勵接受風險，有冒險犯難精神。這或許跟美國是移民國家有關係，這些祖先從歐洲來的「大老粗」能到新的國度開墾，就是有著「賭一把」的精神。甚至美國國歌裡頭有「這個自由的國土，勇敢（勇士）的家鄉。」(land of the free and the home of the brave!)
人生抉擇不是投資報酬率可以解答的
記得我來美國西北大學念整合行銷傳播研究所以前，在台灣是蘋果日報記者，當年怎麼算，留學都不划算，當記者不用有國外學位，也不用學行銷傳播，花兩年青春歲月，留學又要花錢，回來如果又回去當記者，好不容易經營的人脈都冷掉了。
但心裡就是覺得沒到世界看一看有遺憾。我告訴自己：就申請那些最好的學校，如果上了，就去吧！關於投資報酬率的問題，之後再來煩惱。
現在回頭看，其實即使當年算了投資報酬率，根本也不準，因為知道的太少，根本沒辦法想像畢業之後人生會變得如何「你不知道你還不知道的是什麼」(You don’t know what you don’t know)。但，決定出國留學，是我人生最重要也最正確的決定之一，如果我算了投資報酬率，或許不會有今天的我。
我可以接受最糟的情況嗎？
但人生也不是真的可以「賭一把」，那怎麼做抉擇呢？你網路搜尋可以發現企業管理上有很多關於「決定科學」的公式模板。不過我通常用比較簡單的方法：問自己最糟的情況是怎樣？我能不能接受？如果最糟的情況真的發生，我要怎麼處理？
比如說，當初出國留學，我就想，最糟就是回台灣欠了學生貸款要還很多年，浪費兩年，然後回去要再當記者而且重頭經營人脈。我問我自己，可以接受嗎？如果可以，那就去做吧！
我驚訝的是，大部分問我這個問題的都是年輕人。大家還年輕，有很多學習的機會，不要害怕，放手勇敢地去失敗吧！
好讀版
https://medium.com/@anyacheng/%E5%8B%87%E6%95%A2%E5%9C%B0%E5%A4%B1%E6%95%97%E5%90%A7-daf0e50ed8c1
Be Brave! Go Fail!
Today there were few Taiwan University students interviewed me for a school project about career development. They asked what advices I have for college students. I think I would use the conversation from movie The Last Word, “(Be brave) Fail Spectacularly. You don’t make mistakes; mistakes made you! When you fail, you learn; when you fail, you live.”
I have been lived in the U.S. for ten years, and one key thing I learned is that most Americans seems a bit more risk-taking than Taiwanese. The education here encourages people to take risk and make mistakes. This may be related to the immigration culture – you take risk as an immigrant. Even the national anthem of the United States of America “The Star-Spangled Banner” says “O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!”
Life Choice is Not Just ROI
When I decided to come to the U.S. for my master degree in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) in Northwestern University, I was a reporter in Taiwan. Being a reporter, ROI of getting a master degrees sounds horrible – reporter doesn’t need a master degree in IMC, especially from an expensive American private school and takes two years.
However, I felt that I may regret it if I don’t travel around the world and see something different. I told myself, “apply for the best schools and if I get in, I will go. I will figure out the ROI later.” End up studying abroad was one of the best decisions in my life. Without that, I may not have what I have today.
Can I Accept The Worst Scenario?
Yes, life is not gamble, so still need to think through decisions. There are many decision-making frameworks online such as Decision Tree, but I used the simply framework – “what’s the worst scenario? Can I accept it? What would I do if that happens?”
For example, I asked myself when I studied abroad, “what will be the worst scenario?” ok, I can accept that chance that I would go back to do my old job, waste two years, and have to pay back student loan. So, I did it!
Surprisingly, most people who asked me this question are young people. You guys are young and have lots of chances to fail and to learn. Go ahead; don’t be afraid. Be brave and go fail!
#失敗精神 #Fail #RiskTaking #冒險精神 #勇敢 #Brave #Career #職涯規劃 #矽谷精神 #SiliconValleyCulture #她其實沒那麼壞 #TheLastWord
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