????《財富》雜志從今天起正式推出“40位40歲以下商業(yè)精英內(nèi)部網(wǎng)絡(luò)”(Fortune 40 Under 40 Insider Network)，最有影響力的商界人士將通過該網(wǎng)絡(luò)及時解答職業(yè)與領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力問題。本周，我們的問題是：你最大的冒險是什么？第一位給出回答的是AirbnbCEO布萊恩?切斯基。

????從羅德島設(shè)計學(xué)院（Rhode Island School of Design）畢業(yè)后，我在洛杉磯一家小型工業(yè)設(shè)計公司找到了工作。最初，我很喜歡那份工作——工資優(yōu)厚，而且我的一些設(shè)計還登上了商店貨架。

????但僅僅設(shè)計一些最終進(jìn)入垃圾填埋場的產(chǎn)品，讓我感覺不到成就感，我希望創(chuàng)造一些更有生命力的商品。在洛杉磯，我曾接觸過許多創(chuàng)業(yè)者，令我吃驚的是，雖然我是一名設(shè)計師，但他們才是在創(chuàng)造有意義的事物。我問自己：‘他們與我有什么區(qū)別？我為什么不能做同樣的事情？’也就是在那一刻，我終于意識到，他們選擇了冒險，而我卻沒有。

????有一天，我接到大學(xué)好友喬?杰比亞的電話。他從大學(xué)畢業(yè)后就一直勸說我搬到舊金山，但這一通電話卻觸動了我，我最終決定冒險。人總會在某個時刻做出一兩個決定，進(jìn)而徹底改變自己的一生。我后來的一系列決定，都是前往舊金山這個決定的連鎖反應(yīng)。

????于是，我將所有財產(chǎn)裝進(jìn)了我那輛破舊的本田思域轎車(Honda Civic)，然后出發(fā)前往舊金山，結(jié)果到了那里才發(fā)現(xiàn)，我甚至承擔(dān)不起第一個月的房租。這是一個有風(fēng)險的決定，但為了想辦法支付房租，我們最后吹起了一些充氣床，并且把起居室租給了三位陌生人，他們周末住在這里。我們將這種辦法稱為“充氣床與早餐”（AirBed and Breakfast），Airbnb這一名稱就來源于此。

????在當(dāng)今社會，我們習(xí)慣了在所有不適當(dāng)?shù)臅r刻避免冒險。大學(xué)畢業(yè)后，人們告訴我們要做有保障的事情，要做出正確的選擇，要保持低調(diào)。人們以為，我們要站穩(wěn)腳跟或找到一份穩(wěn)定的工作，然后才可以嘗試孤注一擲。

????但生活并非如此，這樣理解風(fēng)險是錯誤的。隨著年齡的增長，事情不可避免地會發(fā)生變化。你可能成立了家庭。你可能遇到了意想不到的障礙。隨著時間的流逝，冒險會讓人感覺更加可怕，看起來更加艱難。

????所以，我的建議是不要等待。我們總能找到各種安穩(wěn)過日子的理由。但通常情況下，人一生中最令人激動的時刻，始終是你選擇冒險的時候——你決定跟隨內(nèi)心那種痛苦的感覺，而不是選擇別人建議的安全、謹(jǐn)慎的道路。

????對我而言，那次冒險改變了一切。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????本文作者布萊恩?切斯基是房屋租賃服務(wù)商Airbnb公司CEO。

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

????Today Fortune launched the Fortune 40 Under 40 Insider Network, one of several online communities where the biggest names in business answer timely career and leadership questions. This week, we ask: What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? Our first answer comes from Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky.

????When I graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, I got a job at a small industrial design firm in LA. I loved it at first – I had a job that paid well, and some of my designs even ended up on store shelves.

????But I felt unfulfilled designing products that would eventually end up in landfills, and wanted to build something that would last. I worked with a few entrepreneurs in LA, and it struck me that even though I was the designer, they were the ones that were creating something meaningful. I asked myself, ‘what’s the difference between them and me? Why can’t I do the same thing?’ That’s when I realized — they had taken a risk, and I hadn’t.

????Then one day, I got a call from my college friend, Joe Gebbia. He had been telling me that I should move to San Francisco ever since we graduated, but this call triggered something for me, and I finally decided to take the risk. Everyone has one or two moments in their life when they make a decision and it changes their life forever. Almost every decision in my life I’ve now made is a chain reaction from the moment I decided to move to San Francisco.

????So I packed all of my possessions into the back of my old Honda Civic, and set off for to a city where it turned out I couldn’t even afford my first month’s rent. It was a risky decision, but finding a way to pay the rent is what ultimately led us to blow up a few air mattresses and rent out our living room to three strangers who needed a place to stay for the weekend. We called it the AirBed and Breakfast, an idea that eventually became Airbnb.

????In our society, we’re conditioned to avoid taking risks at all the wrong times. Right after college, we’re told to do the safe thing, check all the right boxes, and keep our heads down. It’s assumed that once we find our footing or get a stable job, then we can try to swing for the fences.

????But that’s not how life works, and it’s the wrong way to think about risk. Inevitably, things change as you get older. You might start a family. You might run into unexpected obstacles along the way. And with each day that passes, taking risks will feel scarier, and seem harder, than ever before.

????So my advice is, don’t wait. There will always be plenty of reasons to play it safe. But more often than not, the most exciting times in your life will be the times when you take a risk – when you follow that gnawing feeling in your gut instead of the safe, cautious path suggested by others.

????For me, it’s made all the difference.

????Brian Chesky is CEO of Airbnb.