I learned about risk mitigation while studying financial planning and economics in university. In the business world as in life, it is generally conceded that you can't avoid risk entirely, but you can manage or minimize it by measuring the depth of the muck before you wade in—no matter what sort of muck you are wading into.
生命中有兩種風險:嘗試的風險和不去嘗試的風險。也就是說,不論你怎樣試著避免或保護自己,風險總是存在的。比方說,你想追求某個人,光是打電話約她出來就是一場賭博。你可能會被拒絕,但如果連試都不試,又會得到什么呢?說不定對方有可能會答應,然后你們就這樣走下去,從此過著幸??鞓返纳畎?。請記住,如果不去嘗試,就沒有“從此過著幸??鞓返纳?rdquo;這回事。吃點苦頭算什么,是吧?
There are two types of risk in life: the danger of trying and the danger of not trying. That is to say, there is always risk, no matter how you may try to avoid it or protect yourself. Let's say you are interested in dating someone. It's a gamble just to call and ask the person out. You might be turned down. But what if you don't try? After all, this wonderful person might say yes. You might hit it off and live happily ever after. Remember that you have virtually no chance of living "happily ever after" unless you put yourself out there. Isn't that worth a tumble, mate?
有時你會輸、會失敗,但是榮耀就出現(xiàn)在你一次又一次地爬起來,直到勝利出現(xiàn)的時刻!
You will lose now and then. You will fail. But the glory lies in getting back up again and again until you succeed!
要活著,你就必須向外伸展。要過得好,你就必須學會在行動前弄清楚利弊得失,然后掌握機會。你不能控制每一件事,所以就把焦點放在你能掌握的事情上,盡可能周延地評估每個可能性,然后下決定。
To live, you must be willing to reach and stretch. To live well, you must learn to control the odds by knowing the upside and downside before you make a move. You can't control everything that happens to you or around you, so focus on what you can control, assess every possibility you can assess, and then make a decision.
有時在評估過后,發(fā)現(xiàn)成功的可能性不高,但你的心或直覺會告訴你應該去試一試。也許你會輸,也許你會贏,但回首人生,我不認為你會因為曾經(jīng)試過而后悔。過去幾年來,我開過幾家商業(yè)公司和地產(chǎn)公司,讀了許多跟企業(yè)家相關(guān)的書,書中總會談到風險這個主題。盡管企業(yè)家給人的印象是“承受風險的人”,但成功的企業(yè)家并不是很會承受風險,他們是善于控管和降低風險,然后往前邁進——即使知道某些風險依然存在。
Sometimes your heart and your gut will tell you to take a chance even when the odds of success look bad on paper. You may fail. You may win. But I doubt that you will ever look back with regret that you tried. I consider myself a business entrepreneur as well as a public speaker and evangelist. I've had several business and real estate ventures over the years. I've read many books about entrepreneurs, and there is always a section on risk. Despite the image of entrepreneurs as "risk takers," successful entrepreneurs aren't really good at taking risks; they are good at controlling and minimizing risks and then moving forward, even when they know some risk remains.