失业后，转角遇见成功

2016-09-05杨瑞

新东方英语 2016年9期

杨瑞

The global financial crisis destroyed me in 2008. The years immediately after were some of the worst years of my life. I lost everything， or at least I thought I did.

I was in Vegas when Lehman Brothers folded1）. It was my birthday， and it was the first time Id ever lost big there. I should have known something wicked was coming， but I didnt. So when my consulting contract didnt get renewed， I didnt panic. I kept doing business as usual. When my tenants defaulted2） on rent， I kept paying mortgages. A year later， I still had $50，000 plus in the bank， enough of a cushion.

I suppose at this time I should make you aware that I was not exactly a low-profile person. I was （and am） in luxury goods and hospitality， and I consulted with companies catering to high net worth individuals. I helped them design sales and business strategies to keep their clients happy in the short and long term. Needless to say， the luxury sector was massacred3）， and is still clawing its way out of the muck and mire， at least in the United States.

So， with enough money to float for six to 10 months， I kept looking for work in my field.

And looking， and looking. Nothing.

Any kind of business consulting， nothing. Six more months go by. Any kind of sales， nothing. Six more months. This was where it got scary. I was up for waiting tables， bartending， limo driving， grocery bagging， anything. But nope. Bear in mind that up until this point， I had never even gone a month without a job since I was 12 years old.

My confidence was shot. I mean decimated4）. I was a shell of the man I had been only two years previously. I had the stink of failure all over me.

A friend of mine owned a couple of car washes. He offered me a job. It was outside work， taking orders when people drove in to the wash. “Would you like the undercarriage5） done？” It was winter in Colorado. I declined.

My buddy with the car wash called again a few weeks later. I said no again. Not just because of the embarrassment. Not just because of the cold weather and the elements6）， or standing on my feet for 10 hours a day on concrete without wi-fi.

It was because of my father.

Almost every good father has a catch phrase that he uses to motivate his sons to do better than he did. Typically， its the threat of being stuck doing any minimum-wage job that no teenager from the Gekko7） era would ever aspire to. For some reason， the example that my father chose was “car wash.” Wed go through Towne Auto Wash after Little League8） and hed always point to that guy who asks， “Do you want a regular wash or deluxe9）？” and then hands you that little piece of paper.

“Mickey10），” hed say. “You have to save some money/get better grades/quit chasing girls/do your homework. You dont want to end up like that guy， working in a car wash， do you？” The last time I heard the speech was around 1996. The words， however， hung in the air for years to come.

So， you can see my quandary11）. To me， working in a car wash was the ultimate admission of failure. Not losing all my assets. Not selling my watches and cars. Not letting go of a few rugs and some art.

I was living with friends， driving a 17-year-old car， had less than $200 in the bank with no idea where the next $200 was coming from， and I was worried about being seen as a failure.

A little deluded？ Perhaps， but reality kicked in12） when I didnt have money for a nieces birthday present.

So I called my friend back and asked if I could still have the job at the car wash. My utter failure as a human being was complete， my humiliation final—or so I thought.

On my third day of dragging myself in to work， the raven-haired stunner13） that Id hired as my assistant five years previous pulled in—driving a brand new Lexus.

Now my humiliation was complete. There was nowhere to run， no place to hide.

And yet， just as I was about to die from shame， something happened that literally changed my life. She smiled， jumped out of her car， pointed her Louboutins14） right at me， ran over and gave me a hug. We chatted for about 10 minutes while her car was getting done. She said she was happy to see me， that Id been a great boss， and that she was glad I was working. “So many” of her friends （able-bodied twenty-somethings） were unemployed， and at least I wasnt trapped behind a desk.

I realized that Id been beating myself up15） needlessly and saw how lucky I truly was.

In that instant， I decided that instead of just showing up until I could find something better， I would use all my skills to increase my friends business， and I did. Over the next few months， something amazing happened to me. Something I never saw coming， and something that impacted my life and made me a better man.

I saw hundreds of people every day， and none of them thought I was a failure， and it energized me. I smiled. They smiled back. I was happy and engaging， and I sold about a gazillion16） deluxe washes. But also， my worst fear morphed into something I started to look forward to. I got my confidence back， and it was obvious. I saw dozens of people I knew—clients， old customers， friends Id lost touch with， and every single one of them said something positive.

They respected me.

They held me in higher esteem for seeing me in the cold， wearing a red nylon jacket with a car wash logo on it. Nobody made fun of me or called me names17）. Nobody laughed. There was even an article in a local lifestyle magazine about me.

Then， about six months later， one of my old clients called. He needed some help setting up a new luxury club. We put a deal together and when I resigned from the car wash， my friend was genuinely sad， saying I was the best employee hed ever had.

I approached that new consulting contract with a vigor and zest I hadnt felt for years！ A few months after that， another contract took me to Asia， and Ive been consulting over here ever since.

So， my worst fear turned out to be my salvation18）.

It gave me confidence， paid my bills for a while and put me in a position to move my company to Asia and have access to an abundance of new cultures and growing markets.

Sure， Im not quite back to where I was that day nine years ago in Vegas， but I have a red nylon jacket with a car wash logo on it that reminds me that for my version of success， I dont have to be.

. New Oriental English

What Does It Feel Like

to Go from Being

Wealthy to Poor？

Good Reading

人生跌宕起伏在所难免，但是你却可以决定自己的态度。面对挫折，是选择彷徨恐惧、一蹶不起，还是选择重振旗鼓、重新来过，决定权完全在于自己。当你由富变穷、陷入困境时，不妨抓住身边哪怕极为卑微的机会，重新开始，借此也许你能重拾自信，找到更好的自己。

读有所悟

2008年那场全球金融危机击垮了我。紧接下来的那几年是我这一生中最糟糕的几年。我失去了一切，至少我自己是这么认为的。

雷曼兄弟垮台时我还在拉斯维加斯，那天是我生日，也是我人生中第一次损失惨重。我本应该察觉到要有坏事来临，但是我没有。所以当我的咨询合同没有续签时，我并不慌张，继续像以前一样开展业务。当我的租户们拖欠房租时，我还正常交按揭。一年以后，我还有五万多美元的银行存款，够给我一个缓冲了。

此时此刻，我觉得我该让你们知道，我可不是一个低调的人。我以前与奢侈品和餐饮服务业打交道，现在仍然如此。我曾为那些面向高资产净值人群的公司提供咨询，帮助他们设计营销经营策略，以让他们的客户无论在短期和长期都满意。不用说，奢侈品行业遭受了惨败，现在仍然在为逃出泥潭而挣扎奋斗，至少在美国是如此。

所以，手握足够周转六到十个月的钱，我一直在自己的领域找工作。

我找啊找啊找，都一无所获。

我寻找任何商业咨询的工作，结果没有一丁点儿机会。六个月过去了。我寻找任何销售岗位，仍然没有一丁点儿机会。又是六个月一晃而过。这时我心里开始没底了。服务生、酒保、豪车司机、杂货包装员或其他任何工作我都愿意干，但都没有机会。我可记得在此之前，从12岁开始，我就没有哪个月是在无工作的状态中度过的。

我的自信心受到致命打击，我的意思是彻底击溃。我还是两年前的我，但只剩躯壳了，浑身弥漫着失败的恶臭。

我的一个朋友有几家洗车店。他给了我一份工作。那是户外工作，就是在汽车开进店的时候接单：“您想清洗一下汽车底盘吗？”那时正值科罗拉多的冬天，我拒绝了。

洗车店的哥们儿过了几个星期又打来电话，我再次拒绝。不仅仅是因为尴尬，也不仅仅是因为寒冷的天气或风吹日晒，也不是因为一天要在水泥地上站上十个小时且没有WiFi。

拒绝这份工作是因为我的父亲。

几乎每一个好父亲都有一个激励自己儿子做到青出于蓝胜于蓝的口头禅。典型的口头禅是威胁说将来不得不干最低工资标准的工作。在盖柯式贪婪分子横行的时代，任何一位青年都不愿意做那样的工作。由于某种原因，我父亲选择的例子就是“洗车”。我们每次看过少年联盟棒球赛后经过唐恩洗车店时，都会有伙计过来问：“你是要普通洗车服务还是豪华洗车服务？”然后递给你一张小纸片。

父亲会指着那个伙计说：“米基，你要存点钱/取得更好的成绩/放弃追女生/做你的作业。你不想最后像他这样做个洗车工，是吧？”我最后一次听这样的话是1996年前后。然而，这些话在之后的岁月里却一直萦绕在我脑海中。

所以，你可以看出我有多为难了。对于我来说，做洗车工就意味着最终承认失败。失去所有财产、卖掉手表和汽车、放弃一些小地毯和艺术品都不会这样失败。

我和朋友住在一起，开着17年车龄的旧车，只有不到200美元的银行存款，并且不知道下一个200美元从何而来。我担心被看成一个失败者。

有一些自欺欺人？或许吧，然而，当我没有钱给侄女买一份生日礼物的时候，我认清了现实。

所以我回电话给我的朋友，问他我是否还能得到在洗车店的这份工作。作为人类，我算是彻头彻尾的失败，并且颜面尽失——或者说我自己这么认为。

在我不情不愿地投入工作的第三天，那个一头乌发的美女开着全新的雷克萨斯进了店，五年以前我曾雇她做助理。

那一刻我羞耻到了极点，无处可逃，无地方可藏。

但是，就在我快要羞愧而死的时候，一件真的改变了我一生的事情发生了。她笑着跳下车来，鲁布托鞋头正对着我，跑了过来，给了我一个拥抱。我们聊了十分钟，她的车也洗好了。她说她很高兴看到我，说我以前是个不错的老板，还说很高兴看到我工作。她的朋友中，“太多人”（四肢健全、20来岁的年轻人）失业了，至少我没有困在那一方办公桌后面。

我意识到我一直在杞人忧天，才明白自己真的有多么幸运。

那一刻，我决定不再像以前那样只是去露面，期待着找到更好的工作，而是尽我的所有才能壮大我朋友的生意。我确实这样做了。之后的几个月，惊人的事情在我身上发生了。那是我从未预见到要发生的事情，是影响我一生、让我变得更好的事情。

我每天看到好几百人，没有一个人觉得我是一个失败者。这使我充满活力。我微笑，他们也给我微笑。我很开心，主动与人打交道。我卖出了超多的豪华洗车服务。之前我最恐惧的工作变成了我开始渴望要做的工作。我又恢复了自信，这很明显。我见了好几十个认识的人，包括客户、老顾客和一些失去联系的朋友，他们每个人都说了积极的话。

他们尊重我。

看到我站在寒风中，穿着一件印有洗车店标识的红色尼龙夹克，他们更加尊敬我了。没有人嘲笑我或诋毁我。没有人取笑我。当地一本生活杂志上甚至发表了一篇关于我的文章。

大概六个月以后，我的一个老客户打来电话。他要开一个新的奢侈品俱乐部，需要帮助。我们一起谈成了一份合约。当我从洗车店辞职时，我的朋友真的觉得伤心，他说我是他有史以来最好的员工。

对于这份新的咨询合同，我投入的精力和热情是我多年来都没有体验过的。几个月之后，我又签了一份合同，来到亚洲工作，自那之后一直在这里做咨询。

所以，我最恐惧的工作成了我的救星。

它给了我自信，让我那段时间的开支有了着落，让我有条件把公司搬到了亚洲，有机会接触大量的新文化和不断增长的市场。

当然，我没有完全回到九年前那天在拉斯维加斯的样子。不过，我有了一件印着洗车店标识的红色尼龙夹克。这件夹克提醒我，我的成功不需要回到那时的样子。

1.fold [f??ld] vi. 倒闭，歇业

2.default [d??f??lt] vi. 拖欠

3.massacre [?m?s?k?（r）] vt.〈口〉使彻底击败，使惨败

4.decimate [?des?me?t] vt. 大批杀死；大量毁灭

5.undercarriage [??nd?（r）?k?r?d?] n. （汽车等的）底盘