徐小平致2018级学子：进入职场的每一个人，本质上都是一家“初创公司”

谢谢！谢谢大家。俞校长，雷蒙副校长，汉密尔顿校长，伯克利主席，全体教职员工，家长们，朋友们，以及全体毕业生们：能够参与并见证上海纽约大学 2018 届毕业典礼，我倍感荣幸。请允许我对每一位毕业生说：祝贺你们！毕业快乐！

 Thank you – you are very kind. Chancellor Yu, Vice Chancellor  Lehman, President Hamilton, Chairman Berkley...members of the faculty...families, friends, and all of you in the graduating class: What a privilege to join in this wonderful occasion, and to  celebrate your great achievement. May I say to each one of you graduates: well done, and congratulations. 

 几年前，我在曼哈顿的纽约大学参加了我儿子的毕业典礼。在座的各位家长一定能理解我当时的心情：那是我人生中最自豪的一天……那一天也是我最快乐时刻——我终于不用再替我儿子交学费啦！（笑）子女的成长离不开父母的培育，在座毕业生取得的成绩，也有家长一份的功劳——在此，我想同样对家长们说：祝贺你们！

A few years ago, at NYU in Manhattan, I watched my son receive his diploma. In a way every mother and father here will understand, I count that day as among the proudest and happiest in my life as I’ m finally done with paying his tuition ! And this moment here at NYU Shanghai would not feel complete without recognizing all the parents who made this day possible: You, too, have done well. Congratulations.  

俞校长授予了我“校长荣誉奖章”，我十分感激。但说句实话，你们听到的关于我所取得的事业成就，让我感到有点惶恐不安。我庆幸关于我的介绍只包括了我职业生涯的亮点，但我必须诚实地告诉大家，真实的情况并不如大家听到的那么辉煌。

Chancellor Yu has honored me today with this Medal, and I am deeply grateful. The complimentary words you have heard about my professional attainments leave me, I confess, a little embarrassed. Happily for me, the introduction focused on my career high points. Honesty requires me to note that the story is not quite as impressive as it might sound.

 和你们在座许多人一样，我年轻时对出国留学也充满向往。 在加拿大求学期间，我的理想是成为一位著名音乐家。虽然这个理想并没有足够的才华来支撑，但我当年的鸿鹄之志还是值得肯定的。整整七年，我沉浸在音乐学的知识海洋里，挣到了两个学位。小提琴和吉他成为我度过闲暇时光的最佳伴侣，我写歌、练琴……我几乎拥有成功音乐家需要的一切东西——除了观众和收入。

Like many of you, I dreamed of studying abroad, only my journey took me all the way to Canada. My great ambition at the time was to become a famous musician. It was not to be, but you have to give me credit for aiming high. For seven years, I immersed myself in the study of musicology, earning two degrees. I played my violin and guitar at every spare moment. I wrote my own songs, and practiced my performances. I had everything a hugely successful musician needs – everything except an audience and an income.  

 一边等待着世界发现我的音乐才华，一边我不得不到处打工补贴家用。当我快到 40 岁的时候，我无法再回避内心的质疑：如果我的理想是创作风靡华夏大地的音乐，那我此刻在异国他乡当个外卖小哥又算怎么一回事呢？

While waiting for the world to discover me, I worked in different jobs to support my patient wife and two young sons. At a certain point, as I neared the age of 40, there was no escaping the question: If the whole plan was to become a music sensation in China, what was I doing delivering pizzas in Canada? 

1996 年，我回到中国，加入了处在发展早期的新东方。我的新工作是帮助新东方学生申请出国留学。我干得不错，但我总是觉得我是一个从事着无关行业失败的音乐家。

By 1996 I was back in China, in the early stages of New Oriental. My new job was to help Chinese students go abroad for higher education. I was doing fine, but I kept thinking that I was a failed musician doing an irrelevant job. 

 这个念头挥之不去、令人沮丧。直到有一天，一则新闻让我眼前一亮：这是一个关于两位美国律师的故事，他们因为赢得了一个轰动全美的官司成了家喻户晓名人：而这两位律师在成为律师之前都追逐过跟法律风马牛不相及的梦想：其中一位想当演员，另一位要做爵士音乐家！尽管二人出师不利，但他们却在第二职场上取得了巨大成功。

It was a depressing thought. But I remember one day reading a little news item that caught my attention. The story was about two American lawyers who became famous by winning a very high-profile court case. It turned out that both of these men had set out on other careers before studying law. One had planned to be an actor, the other a jazz musician. And yet here they were, flourishing in their second choice of a career. 

我从这则新闻里获得极大的启发：顷刻间，我都所有自我怀疑烟消云散。我开始以一个全新的角度看待我在新东方的工作：这是我的人生使命。我不再是一个失败的音乐家，而是一个听到了上帝召唤的命运宠儿。我之前在音乐领域的困顿挫折不再是虚度的年华——恰恰因为那些日子，我能够设身处地为寻求我帮助的学生着想，帮他们避免不必要的挫折和失望。

Somehow, for me, this moment was like a revelation. Suddenly my mind was at ease. I began to see my situation differently. I saw this work for what it was – my vocation. I was not a failed musician accepting my fate in another line of work. I was a man drawing close to his true calling. My disappointments in music no longer felt like wasted years. On the contrary: because of these, I was able to help others avoid disappointments of their own.   

也许你的职业与你在上海纽约大学的专业完全对口——因为“你们的课堂就是整个世界”。也许相反。我的建议是：不管你的职业规划与新的机遇相距多远，对于新的机遇，你还是应该保持尽可能开放的心态。本科四年教育已经为你打下了扎实的人文功底。无论从事什么工作，你的独立思考能力和综合素质都是你应对挑战的强大实力。无论在多么陌生的领域，你们都能够迅速学会、融入并取得成功。

Maybe your career will be in exactly the field you have majored in at NYU Shanghai, because “the world is your major”. Or maybe not. My advice is to stay open to new possibilities, however far they might be from the original plan. You can always be confident that your time here has set you on a very solid foundation. To any pursuit, you will bring the irreplaceable asset of a well-trained mind. Even in fields far beyond what you have studied, you have what it takes to learn, to adapt, to thrive.

我发现命运有着自身的逻辑。有时候，我们渴求的快速通道不一定是最好的人生之路。那些不如人意的事态虽然会给我们带来失望，但它们是人生中无法回避的一部分。那些洒落在人生路上失败的眼泪，同时也播下了成功的种子。虽然我也希望自己的事业一帆风顺，但回看来路，所有挫折都不是绝境，它们只是通往成功的必由之路。

I have found that life has its own logic, and the straightest path is not always the best path. Even with all the disappointments they can involve, the unexpected turns are sometimes just what we need. Disappointments, in fact, have been my true teachers. As unwelcome as they were in my career, I see now that they did not postpone success, rather, they prepared the way. 

 锦瑟无端五十弦，一弦一柱思华年。看到你们，我想自己青春年少时另外一段野心勃勃的时光。

It was much the same with an ambition I cherished when I was your age. I remember the very moment when the idea first came to me.

当我还是中央音乐学院的大一学生时，有一段时间我十分焦虑和迷茫。我不知道自己将来拿着音乐学的文凭能找到一份什么工作。有一天，一位老师跟我们谈起音乐系学生的职业选择。40 年过去，他说的每字每句依旧令我记忆犹新：“音乐学毕业生可以在高校任教或从事音乐研究，也可以做音乐编辑、制作人、经纪人，对了……”，老师漫不经心地补充了一句：“你们也可以去文化部工作。”

Early in my studies at the Central Conservatory of Music, I was feeling anxious about my future and a little bit lost. I wondered what I could ever do with the degree I was seeking in musicology. One day in class, a teacher spoke of our career options. What he said is still as vivid as it was almost 40 years ago: As a musicology graduate, you could become a teaching fellow or pursue a Ph.D. in that field. Or you could become a music editor, producer, or manager. “Or , by the way,” the teacher added, “you could also work in China’ s ministry of culture”. 

电光火石间，我仿佛看到了自己的归宿：我要去文化部工作，我会平步青云，最终成为文化部部长！

In a flash, I saw my destiny: I would work in China’ s ministry of culture. I would rise in the ranks. I would become the minister of culture myself!   

 

我想象：在这个令人敬畏的职位上，我能做的事情太多了：我能复兴中华文化艺术，我能弘扬中国伟大传统……或者，退一万步讲，至少我能叫贾斯汀比伯别再唱歌了（笑）。长话短说，我的部长梦也没有实现。所幸的是，这个梦想背后的精神一直伴随我至今。这种精神直接影响了我的一生。

In such an august position, there was no end to the good I could do. I would lead a renaissance in Chinese culture and revive China' s finest traditions, or at the very least ask Justin Bieber to stop singing. In the short version of the story, however, this, too, did not work out. And yet something of the idea always stayed with me. It has shaped my life to this day. 

 从那时起，“成为部长”，就成了我的某种人生指引。“部长”一词，在我心中从一个具体的职务，变成了一个广泛的隐喻——他代表着我想要成为的那种人。我意识到，我们不需要一个很高的头衔来对自己提出一个很高的要求，在任何位置上，你都能够改变世界。

At every turn in those early years, “becoming the minister” was a kind of guiding star.  It was a metaphor representing the kind of person I wanted to be. In every job or pursuit, I began to realize, we didn’ t need to be in a high position to have high standards and capacity for doing good.

 即便是在我从事体力劳动的日子里，我每天都会带着使命感起床。我真的享受在必胜客送披萨吗？说实话并不。尽管如此，我每次外送，都似乎有关世界的未来（当然也包括我的小费）；在美国一家叫“春卷先生”的餐馆洗碗打工时，我会尽心尽力把每个盘子擦得锃光闪亮——在“春卷先生”，我成了“春卷部长”；在新东方，我为学生提供出国规划，每次都要求自己的建议经得起岁月的考验；在真格基金，我跟创业新手们对话，对他们的敬畏犹如面对未来商业巨头。

Even when I held lowly positions, I woke up and went to work with a sense of purpose, treating every job as my mission. Did I love that job at Pizza Hut? To be honest, I didn’ t. Even so, I made my deliveries as if the world depended on it, not just my tips! Working at a restaurant in the U.S. called Mister Egg Roll, I washed dishes with extra care, giving each the shine of a job done with pride. At Mister Egg Roll, I became Minister Egg Roll. At New Oriental, when I spoke with students, I gave each my utmost attention, as if a word from me could make or break their future. At ZhenFund, I meet with start up entrepreneurs as if I were having meetings with top business leaders. 

态度决定习惯，习惯决定成败。我要求自己做一个有价值的人。如果你给自己设立一个高远的自我期许，这种自我期许一定能让你走得更远。不要奢求工作完美无缺，而要鞭策自身追求卓越。如果你能这样要求自己，我保证，机会迟早就会降临。

Attitudes settle into habits. I wanted mine to be the habits of a person of consequence. If you have a vision of yourself as the kind of man or woman you aspire to be, that alone will carry you far. Think less about finding the ideal job, and more about making yourself the ideal person. When that is your outlook, opportunity, I promise, has a way of finding you. 

十来年的天使投资生涯能够改变一个人的思维方式，这也是为什么当我看着毕业班的同学，仿佛看到了 300 个潜在的创业者。说到这里，我想给你们最后一个建议。

Twelve years as an angel investor can change your way of thinking. So you will understand why, looking out on this graduating class, I see 300 or so potential startups. And this brings to mind one last suggestion before you collect your degree and go your way.

在真格基金投资的那些公司里，有些经过努力并失败，有些则长成了独角兽。创业活动充满了不确定性，但初创企业的发展速率和成长体量令人眼花缭乱。风险投资百花齐放，创业生态日趋完善成熟，公共政策也积极助力着创业创新。

In our ZhenFund portfolio, we have seen some companies try and fail, and other companies attain valuations in the billions. Nothing is certain except the incredible volume and pace of startup activity. Venture capital is so abundant, the start-up ecosystems so well developed, with public policy working in its favor. 

听上去挺激动人心的。但另一方面，创业潮的兴起让我们的职业选择变得更加难以取舍。你可以走一条传统的职业大道，在大公司一步步等待着加薪提职；但你也可以冲进充满风险但更加刺激的创业丛林。

Sound exciting? Actually, it can add stress and complexity to each choice we make. Do you take the traditional path of going to a corporation with a big, well-established name and begin moving up the ladder? Or do you make your way in the far less certain but more adventurous world of fledgling companies? 

敢问路在何方？只有你自己知道答案。我承认，创业并不适合每一个人。但是，我愿意给大家提供一个看问题的崭新视角：其实，进入职场的每一个人，本质上加入的都是一家“初创公司”——唯一的不同是：有人是在这家“初创公司”成长壮大之后中途上车；有人是则是在未来巨头呱呱落地之际就陪伴它一起变大变强。

You alone will know the answer. It’ s true that startups are not for everyone. But may I recommend one way of looking at it. In a sense , every last one of you – indeed, each and every person entering the workforce – will be joining a startup company. The only question is whether you join years afterward, when that startup company has already seen its great rise to prominence...or whether you will be present at the creation, and rise along with something new. 

有时候，对我们事业发展最大的桎梏就来自于我们自身。要对新机会保持敏感和警醒，让你的精神和想象力引导你前进。在今日这个瞬息万变、无数商业模式带来无数发展机会的时代，“喜新厌旧”能让你比“循规蹈矩”走得更远。保持对新事物的敏感与好奇，你一定会找到你心所属的事业平台。

Sometimes the only real limitations on how far we go are those we impose on ourselves. In a period of so much change, with so many new business models and the opportunities they bring, don’ t limit yourself. Stay alert to all your options, especially to new ones, and go where your mind and imagination lead you. In today ’ s dynamic environment, curiosity can be a better career guide than caution. You will always find something, somewhere, that answers your inner calling. 

保持强大的自信心。从上海纽约大学这所优秀学校学成毕业，你们的才华会获得万千雇主们青睐。 我此刻就想到有 500 家会欢迎你们的企业：我说的不是财富 500 强，虽然这些大公司一定会期待你们的加入——我心里想的是“真格 500 强”，即这些年来真格投资的那些创业公司。每个真格的创业公司，都需要你们。而真格投资的企业，只不过是中国机会海洋中的一小部分。彼岸迷人的景色，呼唤着你扬帆远航。

Be confident, too, in the asset you have acquired today – a degree from this excellent university. It will command the respect of companies everywhere, and offhand I can think of some 500 such enterprises, I’ m not talking about the Fortune 500- though of course you have fine prospects with them. I’ m referring to the ZhenFund 500, the companies we’ ve invested over the years. They all need young men and women exactly like you. And here is even better news: these are just drops of water in the ocean of opportunity that is yours to navigate.

许多人摒弃传统思维，勇于尝试全新的、独特的与更大的挑战。他们遵从内心召唤，离开自己熟悉的天地，去新的世界开疆拓土。有些人成功了，有些人失败了。但不管结果如何，我都可以信心百倍地告诉大家：机会属于敢于离开旧世界、渴望新大陆的探险者。最快乐的人，是为使命感而工作的人。我从没有见过任何人后悔 following their heart（随心而行） ！

I have met so many people who have turned away from conventional thinking and dared to try something original, different, and difficult. Some of them abandoned one career to go in another direction, led by an inner light. Sometimes they have succeeded, sometimes they have failed. But no matter the result, I can tell you this: The future belongs to those who leave safe paths and embrace the new. And the happiest people are those who strive in doing what they are called to do. I have never met anyone who regretted following their heart.

说到幸福，这才是我们事业与人生的终极追求。这也是我们在场的每一位亲友师长，对你们每一位毕业生的衷心祝福。愿你们在上海纽约大学的时光仅仅是你们人生冒险和收获的开始；愿你们在追求理想的路上收获一切美好；愿你们无论去往何处，都给世界带来正义与善良。带着对你们的无比骄傲，上海纽约大学 2018 届毕业班同学们，我祝各位前途畅达，幸福快乐！

Happiness, after all, is the return we are all really seeking in a career, and in a life. And speaking for everyone in this audience, that is our great wish for each of you. May your time here mark only the beginning of adventure and fulfillment. May good things always come your way, and may you always be a force for good, wherever you go. With enormous pride in the NYU Shanghai class of 2018, we send you off today, and in all things we wish you well. 

谢谢！

Thank you. 

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