勇敢地失敗吧！
文圖/矽谷阿雅 Anya Cheng
今天幾個台大財金系的同學做職涯規劃報告採訪我，最後問我對他們人生有什麼建言，我就用最近看的電影《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！ 因為當你失敗，你學習;當你失敗，你活在當下。」
You don’t make mistakes; mistakes made you!
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，兩年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總覺得會有遺憾。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和「你不知道你不知道的東西」(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」的公式模板像是「決定樹」。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栽培人脈。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！
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.”
You don’t make mistakes; mistakes made you!
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 encouraged people to take risk and make mistakes. This may be related to the immigration culture — typically 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 Choices 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 (Return On Investment) 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.
Actually, when I looked back, even if I tried to calculate ROI, I couldn’t do it. I don’t know what I don’t know. I couldn’t even imagine what I will be doing after I graduate!
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!
Surprising, most people asked me this question are young people. You guys are young, lots of chances to fail and learn. Go ahead, don’t be afraid. Be brave and go fail!
關於矽谷阿雅
「矽谷阿雅」 鄭雅慈Anya Cheng曾拿下人稱「數位奧斯卡獎」的Webby Award年度最佳App等11個美國數位大獎，曾擔任麥當勞全球數位產品資深總監、美國第二大零售集團Target百貨平板電腦產品長，現在則是知名電商eBay的行動拍賣新興市場部產品長，主管南非、墨西哥、新加坡等六國。除了數位產品領域，她還曾被提名美國年度最佳行銷人。
台灣土生土長的她從政大畢業後在蘋果日報擔任記者、在台灣的廣告公司工作。到美國西北大學取得整合行銷碩士後，一路在美國芝加哥及矽谷闖出名號。
追蹤臉書頁以獲得矽谷的新知及工作職缺https://m.facebook.com/AnyaChengSanFrancisco/
