职场双语:像企业家一样乐观

一位金融记者最近跟我解释他为何喜欢写有关企业家的文章："与和我共事的所有愤世嫉俗的记者相比，他们要乐观得多。"我非常明白他的意思。

All human existence has been a struggle between those who believe in a bright future, and those who can see only decline. At present the pessimists might appear in the ascendance. But history demonstrates irrefutably that in the longer run they are always wrong about the really big issues that matter most. Of course there are cycles but the relentless accumulation of knowledge means that progress is unstoppable. Yet the inclination towards apocalyptic visions persists.

所有的人类存在一直是那些相信灿烂未来以及眼中只有衰落的人之间的斗争。目前，悲观主义者可能看上去占了上风。但历史无可辩驳地证明，从更长的时期看，他们对于什么才是真正最重要的大问题的看法总是错误的。当然，周期是存在的，但知识的不断积累意味着，进步是无法阻挡的。然而，人们总是倾向于看到灾难性前景。

Perhaps we should see pessimism as a sort of pathological condition. Like many diseases it can be contagious, and I suspect it often contributes to sicknesses such as clinical depression. Yet bad news, gloomy headlines and miserable predictions usually dominate mainstream communications. Scientific advances and globalisation seem to encourage doom-laden imaginings – environmental collapse, overpopulation, global warming, resource exhaustion, pandemics, terrorism, nuclear disaster and – most recently – the eurozone crisis. I suppose such fears reflect instincts that emerged to protect us against predators and starvation. Now they induce pointless anxiety and paralysis.

或许，我们应该把悲观主义视为一种病理状态。与很多疾病一样，它可能具有传染性，而且我怀疑，它会经常导致临床抑郁等疾病。然而，坏消息、悲观的新闻标题以及悲惨的预测通常主宰着主流媒体。科学进步和全球化似乎会带来充满厄运的想象——环境灾难、人口过剩、全球变暖、资源枯竭、流行病、恐怖主义、核灾难以及最新的欧元区危机。我想，这些担忧反映出了为保护我们自己不受掠夺者和饥饿威胁而出现的本能。现在它们带来了毫无意义的焦虑和麻痹。

By contrast, two weeks ago I enjoyed the Founders Forum, an annual boost of positive thinking as powerful as a huge jolt of adrenalin. Roughly 300 entrepreneurs gathered to talk about cutting edge technology, the agony and the ecstasy of building a start-up, and the wonders of free enterprise.

相比之下，两周前，我心情愉悦地参加了"创业家论坛"(Founders Forum)，这个一年一度的论坛对人们的积极思维是一大提振，就像给人们打了一针强心剂。约300名企业家齐聚一堂，讨论领先科技、创建初创企业的痛苦和欢愉以及自由企业的种种奇迹。

The place is bursting with confidence. I invariably leave with an overwhelming sense that mankind's combined ingenuity can solve any challenge, if sufficient brainpower and the right incentives are applied. The occasion was all about invention and action, unlike political conferences, which tend to be dominated by complaint, dispute and an obsession with legislation.

这里信心爆棚。我总是带着一种强烈的感觉离开：如果我们运用足够多的智慧和合理的激励，人类的聪明才智加在一起可以应对任何挑战。这一论坛讨论的全都是创新和行动，与政治会议不同，后者往往充斥着抱怨、争论和对立法的痴迷。

I find that those who doubt capitalism's potential tend to see the worst in society. They disregard improvements and focus on downsides rather than possibilities. Their belief in redistribution and central planning reveals an urge to stifle opportunity and a mistrust of individual empowerment. The liberal left's dominance of certain media outlets emboldens their negative outlook. They revel in national setbacks because it confirms their prejudices. Yet they also embrace an ideology of utopian nonsense, fantasising that our chief motivation is a mass desire for equality.

我发现，那些质疑资本主义潜力的人往往看到的是社会中最糟糕的部分。他们漠视进步，关注负面因素，而非事物的各种可能性。他们对于再分配和中央计划的信念，暴露了一种扼杀机会的冲动和对个人赋权的怀疑。自由主义左派在某些媒体的主导地位更强化了他们的负面展望。他们沉湎于受到的挫折，因为这证实了他们的偏见。然而，他们还支持荒谬的乌托邦学说，幻想着我们的主要推动力是对平等的普遍愿望。

We take for granted the countless incremental developments which make life safer, longer, healthier and generally more enjoyable. We see greater productivity, new medicines and materials and brilliant machines invented quietly every week. These innovations are the products of the private sector and free markets. Meanwhile, bitter old academics and hacks predict that we are facing a depression like the 1930s, more riots and intergenerational warfare. One new volume by a pair of professional defeatists is laughably titled Going South: Why Britain Will Have a Third World Economy By 2014.

我们把数不清的渐进发展视为理所当然，而正是它们让生活变得更安全、更长久、更健康、（普遍来说）也更快乐。我们看到了更高的生产率、新的药品和材料以及每周都静悄悄地被发明出来的了不起的机器。这些创新是私营部门和自由市场的产物。同时，愤愤不平的老学者和雇佣文人预测，我们正面临一场类似上世纪30年代的萧条、更多的骚乱以及代间战争。一对职业失败主义者为他们撰写的一本新书取了这样一个可笑的名字：《加入南方：为什么英国会在2014年成为第三世界经济体》(Going South: Why Britain Will Have a Third World Economy By 2014)。

Confidence is a self-fulfilling emotion. We all know winners who have achieved much through willpower, meritocracy and practice rather than innate talent or advantages of birth. Everyone respects a leader who thrives under fire, cheerleading and encouraging even in the darkest moments. Entrepreneurs learn to inspire because they have stared failure in the face and know it to be, as Rudyard Kipling said, an "imposter". They have realised first-hand that free enterprise is the best system for advancing human welfare and freedom. Of course it proceeds through cyclical episodes of creative destruction, but these stimulate further gains over time.

信心是一种自我实现的情绪。我们都知道，一些成功者凭借毅力、让能者居于管理地位的体制和身体力行的实践取得成功，而非靠天分或家庭出身方面的优势。所有人都敬仰那些在逆境中仍然生机勃勃、在最黑暗的时刻还能鼓舞和调动人们激情的领袖。企业家能够鼓舞他人，是因为他们曾直面失败，知道它将只不过是"纸老虎"，就像鲁德亚德•吉卜林(Rudyard Kipling)说过的那样。他们通过亲身经历认识到，自由企业是推进人类福祉和自由的最佳体制。当然，它会经历一次次周期性的创造性毁灭，但随着时间的流逝，这些会带来更多的好处。

My suggested solutions are straightforward: ignore the delusional prophets of doom; laugh; reinvent; exercise; treasure friendships; keep learning; surround yourself with younger people; and pursue whatever creative endeavours are available. Those with a positive outlook make the best companions and tend to do well in life. I recommend their company rather than listening to the exaggerated paranoia of the media misanthropes.

我提出的解决方案直截了当：不要理会那些患有幻想症的厄运预言家；笑；进行再创造；锻炼；珍视友情；坚持学习；进入年轻人当中；从事所有能从事的创造性活动。那些对未来抱乐观态度的人会是最好的伙伴，他们往往在生活上很成功。我建议你与他们为伴，而不要去听媒体上的厌世者那些夸张的悲观妄想。

The writer runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and is chairman of StartUp Britain.

本文作者管理着私人股本公司Risk Capital Partners，并担任StartUp Britain主席。