马云如何化解人生中的危机与失败

Jack Ma is currently worth about $40 billion. Yet Ma once made $12 per month as an English teacher， though he was still happy.

如今，马云身价高达400億美元左右。但昔日马云在担任英语老师时每个月薪水只有12美元（约合80元人民币）。尽管如此，他却仍旧很开心。

His achievements are practically unbelievable considering his meager， humble beginnings. Along the way， he failed more times than most of us could stomach in a lifetime.

考虑到马云毫无背景、白手起家的开始，他的成就确实很令人不可置信。在通往成功的路上，马云承受的失败远比我们中的大多数这一生承受的要多得多。

Here are five soul-crushing failures Ma once experienced， but managed to keep his optimism， just like his hero， Forrest Gump.

这里是马云曾经遇到的五次近乎痛及灵魂的失败，但他还是像他心目中的英雄阿甘一样保持乐观心态，克服了这些困难。

1. Didnt give up after failing many exams at school.

1. 即使在学校里多次考试不及格也没有放弃自己。

Ma was not a good student. In fact， he almost didnt get into middle school.

马云曾经并不是名好学生。事实上，他差点都没能上得了初中。

“I failed a key primary school test two times， I failed the middle school test three times， I failed the college entrance exam two times…” Ma said. These are things most of us are lucky enough to have never said to our parents.

马云说道：“小学的主要考试我有两次不及格，中学有三次不及格，高考的时候又两次名落孙山。”而我们当中大多数都足够幸运而没有这种须向父母坦白的惨痛经历。

But surprisingly， Mas not alone. Theres a tradition of other great minds， including Albert Einstein， Winston Churchill， and Abraham Lincoln struggled early in life with academics but going on to do great things.

但令人惊奇的是，马云并不是唯一的“孤独的怪才”。诸如阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦、温斯顿·丘吉尔和亚伯拉罕·林肯等伟人都有一个惯例，那就是在年少时期都曾在学业方面遭遇过滑铁卢，但这之后并未影响他们成就伟业。

2. Scored 1 out of 120 points on the math portion of his college entrance exam.

2. 在满分为120分的数学高考中只考了1分。

Failing is one thing. Getting a score of less than 1 percent on your college entrance exam is something else completely. And it wasnt because he didnt have time to prepare. To quote Ma， “I am not good at math， have never studied management， and still cannot read accounting reports.”

不及格是一回事，但在高考中数学一科连百分之一的分数都没考到就是另外一回事了。并且这并不是因为他没有时间来准备考试。引用马云的话来说：“我数学一点儿也不好，也从来没有学过什么管理学，甚至连财务报告都还是看不懂。”

But as it turns out， he never needed to be good at math to become a billionaire. Perhaps even more impressive is that he never heard the word “computer” in his childhood.

但照目前看来，马云也根本不需要靠数学来成为亿万富翁。也许更令人意想不到的是，他在童年时从来没有听过“计算机”这个词。

3. Wasnt deterred after being rejected from Harvard 10 times.

3. 被哈佛拒绝10次也并未却步。

Its not so much that being rejected from Harvard 10 times is surprising， its that he bothered applying that many times in the first place. What this shows us is that Ma is the paradigm of persistence. “The very important thing you should have is patience，” once he said.

被哈佛拒绝了十次没什么值得惊讶的，令人意外的是纵使被拒绝这么多次他还是一直坚持申请，没有放弃。这一点告诉我们，马云是坚持和耐力的典范人物。他曾经说过：“最重要的品质之一就是要有足够的耐心。”

Later， he went to Hangzhou Normal University， where he went on to become an English major.

后来，马云进入了杭州师范大学，主修英语专业。

4. Was the only interviewee （out of 24） rejected by KFC.

4. 24人应聘肯德基，只有他是未被录取的那一个。

Out of 24 KFC applicants in his pool， 23 were hired. Ma was the only one to be rejected. He attributes this largely to his lack of good looks and short stature.

在24名应聘肯德基岗位的求职者中，有23名都被录取了。只有马云是被拒绝的。他将失败的原因归结于自己并不出众的外貌和矮小的身材。

His wife， Zhang Ying （who married him before he became wealthy）， doesnt mind his appearance. “Ma Yun is not a handsome man， but I fell for him because he can do a lot of things handsome men cannot do.”

馬云的妻子张瑛（在其发家致富之前就已经与其结婚），并没有嫌弃过丈夫的外貌。“马云长得不帅，但我之所以倾心于他，是因为他能做许多英俊男子做不了的事情。”

5. Stayed optimistic after being turned down for 30 jobs.

5. 纵使被工作拒绝了30次也要选择保持乐观。

After graduating from college， he applied to 30 different jobs and was subsequently rejected by all of them.

大学毕业之后，马云先后申请了30份不同的工作，但随之都被应聘单位拒绝了。

He even applied to be a police officer. But they didnt even give him the time of day， rejecting him with three simple words， “Youre no good.”

马云甚至申请过去当警察。可对方甚至连让他开口交流的机会都不给，直截了当地甩出了一句话：“你不符合要求。”

Fortunately， just like his favorite movie hero， Forrest Gump， Ma kept on running.

幸运的是，就像他崇拜的电影英雄阿甘一样，马云坚持不懈地在人生的跑道上继续奔跑着。

Just as Ma said， “Today is cruel. Tomorrow is crueler. And the day after tomorrow is beautiful.”

正如马云曾经所说：“今天很残酷，明天更残酷，后天很美好。”

Jack Ma is a classic rags-to-riches story， but even more impressive than his fabulous wealth is his uncanny level of persistence. He is proof that no series of failures can keep someone from achieving their dreams.

马云可谓是白手起家最后成功的经典人物，但相对他的身价来说，最让人印象深刻的还是他多年如一日的坚持和耐力。他用自身经历告诉我们，不管失败多少次，都不能阻止一个人实现自己的梦想。

As Ma says， “If you dont give up， you still have a chance. Giving up is the greatest failure.”

正如马云所讲：“如果你不放弃，你就还有机会。放弃就是最大的失败。”

Word Study

meager /'mi?g?/ adj. 粗劣的；贫乏的

humble /'h?mbl/ adj. （级别或地位）低下的，

卑微的

optimism /'?pt?m?z?m/ n. 乐观；乐观主义

We may now look forward with optimism.

portion /'p???n/ n. 部分

deter /d?'t??（r）/ v. 制止；阻止；威慑；使不敢

reject /r?'d?ekt/ v. 拒收；不录用；拒绝接纳

Ive been rejected by all the universities I applied to.

paradigm /'p?r?da?m/ n. 典范；范例；样式

attribute /?'tr?bju?t/ v. 把……归因于；认为……

是由于

She attributes her success to hard work and a little luck.

stature /'st?t??（r）/ n. 身高；个子