失業(yè)后，轉(zhuǎn)角遇見(jiàn)成功

楊瑞

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

人生跌宕起伏在所難免，但是你卻可以決定自己的態(tài)度。面對(duì)挫折，是選擇彷徨恐懼、一蹶不起，還是選擇重振旗鼓、重新來(lái)過(guò)，決定權(quán)完全在于自己。當(dāng)你由富變窮、陷入困境時(shí)，不妨抓住身邊哪怕極為卑微的機(jī)會(huì)，重新開(kāi)始，借此也許你能重拾自信，找到更好的自己。

讀有所悟

2008年那場(chǎng)全球金融危機(jī)擊垮了我。緊接下來(lái)的那幾年是我這一生中最糟糕的幾年。我失去了一切，至少我自己是這么認(rèn)為的。

雷曼兄弟垮臺(tái)時(shí)我還在拉斯維加斯，那天是我生日，也是我人生中第一次損失慘重。我本應(yīng)該察覺(jué)到要有壞事來(lái)臨，但是我沒(méi)有。所以當(dāng)我的咨詢合同沒(méi)有續(xù)簽時(shí)，我并不慌張，繼續(xù)像以前一樣開(kāi)展業(yè)務(wù)。當(dāng)我的租戶們拖欠房租時(shí)，我還正常交按揭。一年以后，我還有五萬(wàn)多美元的銀行存款，夠給我一個(gè)緩沖了。

此時(shí)此刻，我覺(jué)得我該讓你們知道，我可不是一個(gè)低調(diào)的人。我以前與奢侈品和餐飲服務(wù)業(yè)打交道，現(xiàn)在仍然如此。我曾為那些面向高資產(chǎn)凈值人群的公司提供咨詢，幫助他們?cè)O(shè)計(jì)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)經(jīng)營(yíng)策略，以讓他們的客戶無(wú)論在短期和長(zhǎng)期都滿意。不用說(shuō)，奢侈品行業(yè)遭受了慘敗，現(xiàn)在仍然在為逃出泥潭而掙扎奮斗，至少在美國(guó)是如此。

所以，手握足夠周轉(zhuǎn)六到十個(gè)月的錢(qián)，我一直在自己的領(lǐng)域找工作。

我找啊找啊找，都一無(wú)所獲。

我尋找任何商業(yè)咨詢的工作，結(jié)果沒(méi)有一丁點(diǎn)兒機(jī)會(huì)。六個(gè)月過(guò)去了。我尋找任何銷(xiāo)售崗位，仍然沒(méi)有一丁點(diǎn)兒機(jī)會(huì)。又是六個(gè)月一晃而過(guò)。這時(shí)我心里開(kāi)始沒(méi)底了。服務(wù)生、酒保、豪車(chē)司機(jī)、雜貨包裝員或其他任何工作我都愿意干，但都沒(méi)有機(jī)會(huì)。我可記得在此之前，從12歲開(kāi)始，我就沒(méi)有哪個(gè)月是在無(wú)工作的狀態(tài)中度過(guò)的。

我的自信心受到致命打擊，我的意思是徹底擊潰。我還是兩年前的我，但只剩軀殼了，渾身彌漫著失敗的惡臭。

我的一個(gè)朋友有幾家洗車(chē)店。他給了我一份工作。那是戶外工作，就是在汽車(chē)開(kāi)進(jìn)店的時(shí)候接單：“您想清洗一下汽車(chē)底盤(pán)嗎？”那時(shí)正值科羅拉多的冬天，我拒絕了。

洗車(chē)店的哥們兒過(guò)了幾個(gè)星期又打來(lái)電話，我再次拒絕。不僅僅是因?yàn)閷擂危膊粌H僅是因?yàn)楹涞奶鞖饣蝻L(fēng)吹日曬，也不是因?yàn)橐惶煲谒嗟厣险旧鲜畟€(gè)小時(shí)且沒(méi)有WiFi。

拒絕這份工作是因?yàn)槲业母赣H。

幾乎每一個(gè)好父親都有一個(gè)激勵(lì)自己兒子做到青出于藍(lán)勝于藍(lán)的口頭禪。典型的口頭禪是威脅說(shuō)將來(lái)不得不干最低工資標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的工作。在蓋柯式貪婪分子橫行的時(shí)代，任何一位青年都不愿意做那樣的工作。由于某種原因，我父親選擇的例子就是“洗車(chē)”。我們每次看過(guò)少年聯(lián)盟棒球賽后經(jīng)過(guò)唐恩洗車(chē)店時(shí)，都會(huì)有伙計(jì)過(guò)來(lái)問(wèn)：“你是要普通洗車(chē)服務(wù)還是豪華洗車(chē)服務(wù)？”然后遞給你一張小紙片。

父親會(huì)指著那個(gè)伙計(jì)說(shuō)：“米基，你要存點(diǎn)錢(qián)/取得更好的成績(jī)/放棄追女生/做你的作業(yè)。你不想最后像他這樣做個(gè)洗車(chē)工，是吧？”我最后一次聽(tīng)這樣的話是1996年前后。然而，這些話在之后的歲月里卻一直縈繞在我腦海中。

所以，你可以看出我有多為難了。對(duì)于我來(lái)說(shuō)，做洗車(chē)工就意味著最終承認(rèn)失敗。失去所有財(cái)產(chǎn)、賣(mài)掉手表和汽車(chē)、放棄一些小地毯和藝術(shù)品都不會(huì)這樣失敗。

我和朋友住在一起，開(kāi)著17年車(chē)齡的舊車(chē)，只有不到200美元的銀行存款，并且不知道下一個(gè)200美元從何而來(lái)。我擔(dān)心被看成一個(gè)失敗者。

有一些自欺欺人？或許吧，然而，當(dāng)我沒(méi)有錢(qián)給侄女買(mǎi)一份生日禮物的時(shí)候，我認(rèn)清了現(xiàn)實(shí)。

所以我回電話給我的朋友，問(wèn)他我是否還能得到在洗車(chē)店的這份工作。作為人類(lèi)，我算是徹頭徹尾的失敗，并且顏面盡失——或者說(shuō)我自己這么認(rèn)為。

在我不情不愿地投入工作的第三天，那個(gè)一頭烏發(fā)的美女開(kāi)著全新的雷克薩斯進(jìn)了店，五年以前我曾雇她做助理。

那一刻我羞恥到了極點(diǎn)，無(wú)處可逃，無(wú)地方可藏。

但是，就在我快要羞愧而死的時(shí)候，一件真的改變了我一生的事情發(fā)生了。她笑著跳下車(chē)來(lái)，魯布托鞋頭正對(duì)著我，跑了過(guò)來(lái)，給了我一個(gè)擁抱。我們聊了十分鐘，她的車(chē)也洗好了。她說(shuō)她很高興看到我，說(shuō)我以前是個(gè)不錯(cuò)的老板，還說(shuō)很高興看到我工作。她的朋友中，“太多人”（四肢健全、20來(lái)歲的年輕人）失業(yè)了，至少我沒(méi)有困在那一方辦公桌后面。

我意識(shí)到我一直在杞人憂天，才明白自己真的有多么幸運(yùn)。

那一刻，我決定不再像以前那樣只是去露面，期待著找到更好的工作，而是盡我的所有才能壯大我朋友的生意。我確實(shí)這樣做了。之后的幾個(gè)月，驚人的事情在我身上發(fā)生了。那是我從未預(yù)見(jiàn)到要發(fā)生的事情，是影響我一生、讓我變得更好的事情。

我每天看到好幾百人，沒(méi)有一個(gè)人覺(jué)得我是一個(gè)失敗者。這使我充滿活力。我微笑，他們也給我微笑。我很開(kāi)心，主動(dòng)與人打交道。我賣(mài)出了超多的豪華洗車(chē)服務(wù)。之前我最恐懼的工作變成了我開(kāi)始渴望要做的工作。我又恢復(fù)了自信，這很明顯。我見(jiàn)了好幾十個(gè)認(rèn)識(shí)的人，包括客戶、老顧客和一些失去聯(lián)系的朋友，他們每個(gè)人都說(shuō)了積極的話。

他們尊重我。

看到我站在寒風(fēng)中，穿著一件印有洗車(chē)店標(biāo)識(shí)的紅色尼龍夾克，他們更加尊敬我了。沒(méi)有人嘲笑我或詆毀我。沒(méi)有人取笑我。當(dāng)?shù)匾槐旧铍s志上甚至發(fā)表了一篇關(guān)于我的文章。

大概六個(gè)月以后，我的一個(gè)老客戶打來(lái)電話。他要開(kāi)一個(gè)新的奢侈品俱樂(lè)部，需要幫助。我們一起談成了一份合約。當(dāng)我從洗車(chē)店辭職時(shí)，我的朋友真的覺(jué)得傷心，他說(shuō)我是他有史以來(lái)最好的員工。

對(duì)于這份新的咨詢合同，我投入的精力和熱情是我多年來(lái)都沒(méi)有體驗(yàn)過(guò)的。幾個(gè)月之后，我又簽了一份合同，來(lái)到亞洲工作，自那之后一直在這里做咨詢。

所以，我最恐懼的工作成了我的救星。

它給了我自信，讓我那段時(shí)間的開(kāi)支有了著落，讓我有條件把公司搬到了亞洲，有機(jī)會(huì)接觸大量的新文化和不斷增長(zhǎng)的市場(chǎng)。

當(dāng)然，我沒(méi)有完全回到九年前那天在拉斯維加斯的樣子。不過(guò)，我有了一件印著洗車(chē)店標(biāo)識(shí)的紅色尼龍夾克。這件夾克提醒我，我的成功不需要回到那時(shí)的樣子。

1.fold [f??ld] vi. 倒閉，歇業(yè)

2.default [d??f??lt] vi. 拖欠

3.massacre [?m?s?k?（r）] vt.〈口〉使徹底擊敗，使慘敗

4.decimate [?des?me?t] vt. 大批殺死；大量毀滅

5.undercarriage [??nd?（r）?k?r?d?] n. （汽車(chē)等的）底盤(pán)

6.the elements：天氣（尤指惡劣天氣）

7.Gekko：此處喻指貪婪，源自經(jīng)典電影《華爾街》（Wall Street）里的主人公戈登·蓋柯（Gordon Gekko）的名字。在影片中，他貪婪成性，操縱股票，其在電影中的經(jīng)典名言為：“Greed is good， greed is right， greed works.”

8.Little League：（美國(guó)）少年棒球聯(lián)盟

9.deluxe [d??l?ks] adj. 高級(jí)的；豪華的；奢華的

10.Mickey：米基，Michael的昵稱(chēng)

11.quandary [?kw?nd?ri] n. 無(wú)所適從的窘境

12.kick in：開(kāi)始奏效，開(kāi)始發(fā)揮作用

13.stunner [?st?n?（r）] n. 極有魅力的女人；大美人

14.Louboutin：即克里斯提·魯布托（Christian Louboutin），源自法國(guó)的著名高跟鞋品牌

15.beat oneself up：對(duì)……憂心忡忡；因?yàn)椤载?zé)

16.gazillion [ɡ??z?li?n] adj. 大量，許多

17.call sb. names：詆毀某人，謾罵某人

18.salvation [s?l?ve??（?）n] n. 拯救者，救星