开发者：我们真正害怕的是什么

导读：本文是从《What We’re Really Afraid Of》这篇文章翻译而来。


我最近和一位朋友进行了一次有趣的谈话，他最近做了一个网站卖他的产品，让我吃惊的是，原来我们害怕的事情并不是我们想象的那些。
对话大概是这样的：
B：我需要你的帮助。我几个月前做了个网站卖产品，但没有卖出一个。
我： 网站有访问量吗？
B：不多，一个月只有100多个人访问。
我： 那你需要更多的访问量。你至少需要100倍这样的访问量才能卖出产品。
B：我怎么能吸引到这么多的人？
我： 这不是短期的事，你需要找到谁喜欢你的产品，或要买类似产品的人，告诉他们你的产品。从你认识的人开始，让他们帮你宣传出去。
B：我本打算给我的通讯录里的人群发邮件，告诉他们这个网站，但我担心他们访问了网站后什么都不愿意买。
我： 但这样至少你知道了有些方面需要修改和改进。这种情况中，你最好联系他们，问问为什么他们不买，他们希望你哪方面需要改进。
B：哦…。
短暂的沉默…
B：老天！我突然发现，我并不是担心我的想法不能成功，我害怕的是人们会认为我的创意不够好。我不害怕失败，我害怕的是被拒绝。
这是我见过的最快的商业领悟，他也让我反省我自己的畏惧。
也许我们通常所认为的对失败的害怕，其实是对被拒绝的害怕。这是一个更直觉更具体的恐惧。也许正是这道坎，让如此多的人不敢坚持他们的想法：成为旁观者，看别人的脸色，被人们遗忘。
另一方面，不坚持自己的想法，这对于那些从来没有坚持过的大众是很自然的事，这样会让人停留在自己安逸的环境里，没有任何危险。
失败不好玩。被拒绝也一样。
所以，你如何面对它们？
我坚持和我的创意或产品保持一定的距离。我喜欢我所做的事，但我不等同于它们。事实是，它们的成功或失败并不会导致我的成功或失败，它只是意味着我要不断的改进它，或去尝试别的东西。
就是这样。你真正害怕的是什么？
文章出自：外刊IT评论

What We’re Really Afraid Of

I recently had a very interesting conversation with a friend who recently launched an online business, and it surprised me how our fears are never what they seem to be
It went something like this:

B.: I need your help. I launched my product a few months ago, but I am not getting any sales.
Me: Do you have traffic?
B.: Not much, about 100 visitors a month
Me: Then you need to get more traffic. You probably need at least 100x that amount in your market to start seeing any sales.
B.: And how do I get that many people?
Me: It might take a while, but find out people who would love to have your product, or who are buying similar products and tell them about it. Start with people you already know, then ask them to spread the word.
B.: I thought about sending a blast email to my contact list telling them about the site, but I am afraid they’d visit it and never buy anything.
Me: Then at least you know that there is something that needs to be fixed or changed. In that case, you contact them and ask them why they didn’t buy and what you can do better for them to buy next time.
B.: hmmmm….
Short silence…
B.: OMG! I just realized that I am not really afraid that my idea would fail, I am afraid that people would think my idea isn’t good enough. I am not afraid of failure, I am afraid of rejection.
That was one of the fastest entrepreneurial epiphanies I’ve witnessed, and it made me reflect on my own fears as well.
Maybe what we’ve always believed to be a fear of failure is really a fear of rejection, which is a much more instinctive and concrete form of fear. Maybe that is the threshold that is keeping too many people from following their ideas: becoming outsiders, and being judged or ignored by others.
The other option is not to follow our ideas, which makes us automatically accepted among the multitude who never followed theirs, and that’s a very comfortable and safe place to be.
Because failing isn’t fun. And being rejected isn’t that fun either.
So how do I deal with it?
I keep some distance from my ideas and products. I love what I am working on, but I don’t identify myself with it. The fact that it fails or succeeds doesn’t make me a failure or success, it just means that I gotta keep improving it, or try something different.
So. What are you *really* afraid of?