书城成功励志把信送给加西亚
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第11章 附录(1)

§§§1.原出版者手记

阿尔伯特·哈伯德,美国纽约东奥罗拉的罗依科罗斯特出版社的创始人。他坚强刚毅,毕生不懈努力地工作。不幸的是,在1915年,他乘坐的路西塔尼亚号轮船被德国水雷击中沉入海底,这过早地结束了他辉煌的事业。

1856年,哈伯德出生在伊利诺伊州的布鲁明顿,后来因罗依科罗斯特出版社创办的高质量出版物而闻名于世。在经营这家出版社的同时,阿尔伯特·哈伯德还创办了两本杂志:《菲士利人》和《兄弟》。实际上,杂志中的许多文章都是出自他一人之手。在写作、出版的同时,哈伯德还致力于公众演讲,他在演讲台上所取得的成就不亚于在写作和出版上取得的成绩。

《把信送给加西亚》一经问世就赢得了极高的赞誉,这出乎作者意料。

故事中的那个英勇的送信人叫安德鲁·罗文,是一位年轻的美国陆军中尉。在美西战争爆发时,美国第25任总统麦金莱急需一名信使,去完成一项极为重要的任务——将一封密信交给古巴的加西亚将军。军事情报局向总统推荐了这名中尉。

在孤身一人没有任何护卫的情况下,罗文中尉立刻出发了,一直到他秘密登陆古巴岛,古巴的爱国者们为他派了几名当地的向导。那次冒险经历,用他自己谦虚的话来说,仅仅受到了几名敌人的包围,然后设法从中逃出来并把信送给了加西亚将军——一个掌握着决定性力量的人。

期间自然避免不了许多促使其成功的偶然因素,但是,个人的努力以及这位迫切希望完成任务的年轻中尉的勇气和不屈不挠的精神是成功的必然因素。为了表彰他所作的贡献,美军陆军司令曾为他颁发了奖章,并给他以极高的评价:“罗文出色的成绩,是军事史、战争史上最具冒险性和最勇敢的事迹。”

这一点当然毫无疑问,但人们更应该意识到,取得成功最重要的因素并不是因为他杰出的军事才能,而是他崇高的道德品质。正是这种品质,才使得罗文中尉永远为历史、为世人所铭记。

§§§2.阿尔伯特·哈伯德简介

阿尔伯特·哈伯德(1856~1915年),美国著名出版家、作家,《菲士利人》、《兄弟》杂志的总编辑,罗依科罗斯特出版社创始人。

1856年7月19日,哈伯德出生于美国伊利诺伊州的布鲁明顿,父亲既是农场主又是乡村医生。哈伯德在塔福学院获得了学士学位,在芝加哥大学获得了法学博士学位。他做过教师、出版商、编辑和演说家。1895年,他在纽约东奥罗拉创立了罗依科罗斯特公司,制造和销售各种手工工艺品,随后又开设了一家印刷装订厂。1899年,他根据安德鲁·萨默斯·罗文的事迹,写出了《把信送给加西亚》一书。该书被译成多种文字,广为流传。

哈伯德终生致力于出版与写作,除了为创立的两份杂志撰稿外,其主要著作有《把信送给加西亚》、《短暂的旅行》、《现在的力量》、《自己是最大的敌人》、《一天》等,其中《把信送给加西亚》在经济管理学领域最为著名。

1915年5月7日,哈伯德和他的妻子在爱尔兰海的路西塔尼亚号上不幸遇难。

§§§3.阿尔伯特·哈伯德的人生理念

我相信是上帝创造了人类。

我相信上帝保佑父亲、母亲和子女组成的三位一体的家庭组合。

我相信上帝就在我们的身边,我们和上帝是如此的近。

我相信上帝创造了这个世界之后,不会置之不理,任其运转。

我相信灵魂的暂居之所——人类身体的神圣,因此我认为通过正确思考和生活以保持形体的美感是每一个男人和女人的义务。

我相信男人对女人的爱和女人对男人的爱是神圣的,在这种爱推动下的灵魂和人类对上帝的爱或是思想的最深处同样神圣崇高。

我相信经济、社会和精神上的自由可以使人类获得救赎。我相信约翰·拉斯金、威廉·莫里斯、亨利·索罗、沃尔特·惠特曼和托尔斯泰是上帝的先知,他们思想的造诣和灵魂的境界应当与伊利亚、何西阿、以西结和以塞亚齐名。

我相信人类像以前一样并将永远被激励和鼓舞着。

我相信人类将生活在永恒之中,而这正是我们所希望的。

我相信为未来生活准备的最佳方法是心存善良,在某个时候尽全力做好工作,使它尽善尽美。

我相信我们应当记得每一个做礼拜的日子,因为它是神圣的。

我相信魔鬼是不存在的,存在的只是恐惧和懦弱。

我相信除了你自己没有人可以打败你。

我相信我们所具有的神性是一样的。

我相信我们都是上帝的子女,除此之外,我们什么都不是。

我相信到达天堂的唯一途径是心存天堂。

§§§4.阿尔伯特·哈伯德的商业理念

我相信我自己。

我相信我们出售的商品。

我相信我们所在的公司。

我相信我的同事和伙伴。

我相信美国的商业模式。

我相信生产者,发明者,制造者,发行者,以及所有拥有一份工作、并为之努力的人。

我相信真理是有价值的。

我相信人应该有愉快的心情和健康的身体,而且我相信,成功的首要任务是创造价值,而不是赚取金钱,报酬总会自动到来,通常只是时间的问题。

我相信阳光、新鲜空气、蔬菜、苹果酱、笑声、婴儿、丝绸和雪纺绸以及世界上一切美好的东西,我始终记得:英语中最伟大的单词就是“自信”。

我相信我每销售一件产品就会交上一个朋友。

我相信当我和一个人分别的时候,我一定会做到:当我们再次见面的时候,他看到我会很高兴,我看到他也会感到很高兴。

我相信工作的双手、思考的大脑和友爱的心灵。

阿门,阿门!

§§§5.《把信送给加西亚》英文原文

A Message To Garcia

In all this Cuban business there is one man stands out on the horizon of my memory like Mars at perihelion.

When war broke out between Spain and the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents. Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastness of Cuba-no one knew where.No mail nor telegraph message could reach him.The President must secure his cooperation, and quickly.What to do!

Someone said to the President,“There"s a fellow by the name of Rowan will find Garcia for you, if anybodycan.”

Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia. How“the fellow by the name of Rowan”took the letter, sealed it up in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, and in three weeks came out on the other side of the island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia-are things I have no special desire now to tell in detail.The point that I wish to make is this:McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia;Rowan took the letter and did not ask,“Where is he?”

By the Eternal!There is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college of the land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies:do the thing-“Carry a message to Garcia!”

General Garcia is dead now, but there are other Garcias. No man who has endeavored to carry out an enterprise where many hands were needed, but has been well-nigh appalled at times by the imbecility of the average man-the inability or unwillingness to concentrate on a thing and do it.

Slipshod assistance, foolish inattention, dowdy indifference, and half-hearted work seem the rule;and no man succeeds, unless by hook or crook or threat he forces or bribes other men to assist him;or mayhap, God in His goodness performs a miracle, and sends him an Angel of Light for an assistant.

You, reader, put this matter to a test:You are sitting now in your office-six clerks are within call. Summon anyone and make this request,“Please look in the encyclopedia and make a brief memorandum for me concerning the life of Correggio.”Will the clerk quietly say,“Yes, sir,”and go do the task?

On your life, he will not. He will look at you out of a fishy eye and ask one or more of the followingquestions:Who was he?Which encyclopedia?Where is the encyclopedia?Was I hired for that?Don"t you mean Bismarck?What"s the matter with Charlie doing it?Is he dead?Is there any hurry?Shan"t I bring you the book and let you look it up yourself?What do you want to know for?

And I will lay you ten to one that after you have answered the questions, and explained how to find the information, and why you want it, the clerk will go off and get one of the other clerks to help him try to find Garcia—and then come back and tell you there is no such man. Of course I may lose my bet, but according to the Law of Average, I will not.

Now, if you are wise, you will not bother to explain to your“assistant”that Correggio is indexed under the C"s, not in the K"s, but you will smile very sweetly and say,“Never mind,”and go look it up yourself. And this incapacity for independent action, this moral stupidity, this infirmity of the will, this unwillingness to cheerfully catch hold and lift-these are the things that;put pure Socialism so far into the future.If men will not act for themselves, what will they do when the benefit of their effort is for all?

A first mate with knotted club seems necessary;and the dread of getting“the bounce”Saturday night holds many a worker to his place. Advertise for a stenographer, and nine out of ten who apply can neither spell nor punctuate—and do not think it necessary to.

Can such a one write a letter to Garcia?