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
当事情进展不顺利时，你是否本能地为自己贴上了“失败者”的标签？你评价自己的语言可以变成一种有力的现实。一次又一次地称自己是位尚未被雇用的售货员，而不应说自己失业了——也就是你在社会生活中的失败——这样说，你就可以认为自己是“拥有选择权”的人。你可以选择参加学习班来培养新的技能，或者勇敢地选择从事另一个行业。
3.作好准备
规划一个灾难计划来帮助你自己在灾难降临时不会受到影响。问问你自己，会发生的最糟糕的事情是什么？设想一下失去工作或配偶的情形，会让你清晰地考虑现实的选择。你有足够的保险或存款来使你渡过困难时期吗？如果你的老板解雇了你，你的才能会为你带来收入吗？请记住，汉字中“危机”一词的词义包含两方面：“危险”与“机遇”。
4.学会聪明地失败
休斯敦某大学教授杰克·马斯顿开设了一门课程，该课程被学生们叫做“失败101”。他让他的学生制造没人会买的冰激凌棒模型。马斯顿说：“他们设计成像仓鼠似的热容器和在飓风中放的风筝。”
尽管这些想法都很可笑，可是一旦学生们把失败看做创新而不是失败时，他们会很勇敢地去尝试做任何事情。马斯顿说，在获得成功之前，大多数学生都至少失败了五次，他们学会了不把失败当做最后的结局。“学生们学会了整装待发，再次准备尝试。”
5.永不言弃
1975年，厄尔利的Harrisonburg建筑公司破产了。那时25岁的他向家人借钱维持经营，而并没有宣布破产。他继续做建筑工作，努力掌握管理上的复杂关系。1982年，他厚着脸皮又借了更多的钱来重新开办自己的公司，并于困难时期在银行中留下了良好的口碑。
厄尔利谨慎地扩大了自己新建筑公司的规模。他还去学校学习商业管理课程。1988年，厄尔利的公司被《Inc.》杂志评为世界发展最快的500家企业之一。
厄尔利没有自满，他时常会想起那段艰难的日子。他说：“我不因成功而自满，所以我总在努力发展我的事业。”
失败并不可怕，从某种意义上说失败意味着进步。尽管原地踏步永远不会失败，但是也永远不会有任何惊喜，失败说明你正在尝试新事物，每一次的失败都表明你距离成功又近了一步。所以只要换个角度看，失败并不是什么坏事情，关键在于人们看待它的心态。
tout [ta?t] v.标榜；吹捧；吹嘘
It is not so serious as you say actually, you tout its virtue too much!
明明不像你说得那么严重，你也太夸大其词了！
castor ['k?st?] n.蓖麻
This kind of mixture is made up of petrol, castor oil and vinegar.
这种混合物是由汽油、麻油和醋组成的。
reverse [ri'v?:s] n.失败，挫败
The failure and reverse which await men and one after another sadden the brow of youth add the dignity to the prospect of human life, which no arcadian success would do.
尽管失败和挫折等待着人们，一次次地夺走青春的容颜，但给人生的前途增添了一份尊严，这是任何顺利的成功都不能做到的。
calamity [k?'l?miti] n.灾祸；灾难；不幸之事
An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.
乐观者在每一次灾难中看到机会，悲观者在每一次机会中看到灾难。
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。
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永远不要害怕，人人都有一次机会，没有谁会一生都失败。
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失败仅仅是在寻找新的挑战时所付出的代价。
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People who profit from loss are the kind of foot soldiers business leaders seek.
profit from：得益于；利用
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Those opinions include taking classes to develop new skills or bravely striking out on another career.
strike out：想出；删去
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