Nvidia's Jensen Huang: Is Fear of Failure the Secret Ingredient to a 3.4 Trillion Dollar Success Story? Barbie Investigates!

Come On Barbie Let's Go Party...and Analyze Nvidia!

Hi Dreamhouse Dwellers! Barbie here diving into the fascinating world of tech titans! You know running a Dreamhouse is a BIG job but running a $3.4 trillion company like Nvidia? That's like a whole other level of sparkle! I stumbled upon this article about Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang and let me tell you it's got me thinking! Apparently this guy is powered by FEAR. Yes you heard that right. Not glitter not sunshine but the very thing that makes me triple check my closet before a beach day: the fear of things going wrong!

Anxiety as Fuel? That's So Not What I Learned in Charm School!

According to his biographer Stephen Witt Jensen's secret sauce isn't some super positive 'you go girl' attitude. Nope! It's anxiety paranoia and guilt! I mean seriously? I always thought the key to success was a killer outfit and a can do attitude! Witt spent six hours interviewing Huang and spoke to his colleagues for his book 'The Thinking Machine.' Six hours? That's like six fashion shows I could have attended! But hey knowledge is power right?

Work Life Balance? More Like Work Life...What's Balance?

Apparently Jensen isn't a fan of the whole 'work life balance' thing. In a fireside chat with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison he said 'I work as much as I can.' Yikes! That's more commitment than I put into coordinating my accessories! Witt was surprised by how much Huang's motivation stems from negative emotions. As Witt said 'I think the most surprising thing about Jensen is that he's almost totally driven by negative emotions,' Honestly that's a whole different approach than how Barbie would do it! I try to stay positive!

Demanding Boss? More Like a Diamond in the Rough!

Jensen admits he's a 'demanding' boss and believes stress is the best motivator. He told CBS' '60 Minutes' that 'If you want to do extraordinary things it shouldn't be easy.' Okay I get it. Like getting Ken to commit to a beach day? NOT EASY! But is stress really the answer? I always thought a little sparkle and some positive affirmations did the trick! His own success is a reflection of his resilience overcoming setbacks like Nvidia's near collapse just three years after it first launched he told students at Stanford University.

Low Expectations? Groundbreaking!

Jensen says his resilience comes from having 'low expectations' and always preparing for potential failure. He believes you can't let anxiety prevent you from taking calculated risks. 'Unless you have a tolerance for failure you will never experiment and if you don't ever experiment you will never innovate,' he said. 'If you don't innovate you don't succeed.' It's true! I've had some major fashion fails (remember that neon green jumpsuit?) but I always bounce back with a new fabulous look!

Anxiety as a Superpower? Maybe!

Psychologists say that the ability to tolerate and learn from failures is a common trait among successful people. Psychologist Lisa Damour told CNBC Make It that productive anxiety can spur you to be more productive and signal potential problems. 'The way psychologists see anxiety is as a protective emotion,' Damour said. 'It's there to keep us on our toes and help us course correct.' Who knew anxiety could be a girl's best friend? Maybe I should start worrying more about my shoe collection! Witt says that Huang is most comfortable when he's 'reminding himself it's like that first day that they need to have a startup's energy and that they're on the brink of failure at all times.' I guess that explains the energy!