书城成功励志呵护你的梦想(上)
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第14章 成功在你手中(6)

可是我们终究会认识到人生的旅途中并没有车站, 也没有能够"一到永逸"的地方!生活的真正乐趣在于旅行的过程, 而车站不过是个梦, 它始终遥遥领先于我们!

"享受现在"是句很好的箴言, 尤其是当它与《圣经·诗篇》中第118页24行的一段话相映衬的时候, 更是如此:"今日乃主所创造;生活在今日我们将欢欣、高兴! "真正令人发疯的不是今日的负担, 而是对昨日的悔恨及对明日的恐惧! 悔恨与恐惧是一对孪生窃贼, 将今天从你我身边偷走!

那么就不要在过道里徘徊吧, 别老惦记着你离车站还有多远! 何不换一种活法, 将更多的高山攀爬, 多吃点儿冰淇淋甜甜嘴巴, 经常光着脚板儿溜达溜达, 在更多的河流里畅游, 多看看夕阳西下, 多点欢笑哈哈, 少让泪水滴答! 生活得一边过一边瞧! 车站就会很快到达!

A Million Dollar Lesson

千金一课

A cab driver taught me a million dollar lesson in customer satisfaction and expectation. Motivational speakers charge thousands of dollars to impart this kind of training to corporate executives and staff. It cost me a 12 taxi ride.

I had flown into Dallas for the sole purpose of calling on a client. Time was of the essence and my plan included a quick turnaround trip from and back to the airport. A spotless cab pulled up. The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As he got in the driver"s seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me was for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy. Well! I looked around for a "Candid Camera!" Wouldn"t you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, "Obviously you take great pride in your work. You must have a story to tell."

"You bet," he replied, "I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my niche in life where I could feel proud of being the best I could be. I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day"s work and done it well. I evaluate my personal assets and… wham! I became a cab driver. One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I could simply just meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be great in my business, I have to exceed the customer"s expectations! I like both the sound and the return of being ‘great" better than just getting by on ‘average""

Did I tip him big time? You bet! Corporate America"s loss is the travelling folk"s friend!

怎样令顾客满意,达到他们的期望,一个出租车司机给我上了宝贵的一课。换了是一些给公司行政人员和员工作培训的讲师,可能要收取上万的课酬才会传授这等经验。而我呢,只花了12美元的出租车费就学到了。

之前我为了见一个客户飞了一趟达拉斯,时间就是生命,按照行程计划,我马上又折返回到了机场。一辆一尘不染的出租车停在面前。司机随即替我开车门,确定我稳稳妥妥地坐好后才把门关上。坐进驾驶室时,他不忘提醒我,旁边叠得整整齐齐的《华尔街日报》是给我看的。接着,他拿了几盘带子出来,问我喜欢什么类型的音乐。哇塞!我到处张望,看偷拍镜头究竟藏在哪里。碰到这样的情形,你也会有这个反应吧?我简直不敢相信会享受到这般服务!我趁机和他聊了起来:“看得出你很以自己的工作为豪,这里头一定有什么故事吧。”

“你说中了,”他答道,“我以前也是美国商界一员,但是我已经厌倦了怎么努力也达不到别人定下的目标这种生活。我决定要为我的人生创造属于自己的新天地,在那里我可以为自己的最佳表现而感到自豪。我知道我永远也不会成为一个火箭科学家,但是喜欢开车,喜欢为别人服务,喜欢感觉到完成了一整天的工作而且把事情做好。算了一下手头的资产后,我就当起出租车司机了。我很清楚要干好这一行,需要做的仅仅就是满足乘客的期望。但是我要做出不一般的成绩,我的服务就要超出顾客的期望!我不要以一般服务混日子,我喜欢听到顾客对我优良服务的赞赏和为此得到的回报。”

我有没有爽快给他小费?当然有!奔波各地的我就这样和这个美国商界流失的一大人才成了朋友。

决心助我成功

Determined to help me succeed

Cows have to be milked twice a day, so work on a farm never stops. But every Christmas, we nine Gardner children let Dad sleep in. We woke before dawn in the Wyoming cold to do the chores. My brother and I would argue—and sometimes wrestle—over who had to do what. One year he fed the calves—a ten-minute job. I got stuck herding the cows into their stalls to be milked. They can knock you over, and while you’re down 20 of them will escape. That morning I decided I wasn’t going to run from work that had to be done. I wanted to say I did my best. By myself, I pushed them all into the milking pens.

The same determination helped me win a gold medal in Sydney, and kept me alive when I drove my snowmobile into a frozen Wyoming creek in February 2002. I was lost outside in sub-zero weather from 4:30 in the afternoon until the next morning. When the rescuers found me, they had to saw my boots off. I should have died that night but willed myself to stay alive by focusing like I did on herding the cows, like I did on facing an opponent. Even if I didn’t make it, I wanted to know I had done my best.

I did make it. Doctors amputated a toe and I had several skin grafts, but I can still wrestle. That first Christmas after the accident meant a lot to me. My nieces and nephews did the farm chores, so I got to sleep in. I woke up viewing the day, and any that followed, as a bonus.

母牛一天要挤两次奶,所以农场上的活儿总也干不完。但在每个圣诞节那天,我们加德纳家的9个孩子都会让父亲美美地睡个懒觉。我们冒着怀俄明州的严寒,天不亮就起床干活。我和我兄弟常会为谁得去干什么而争吵不休——有时还会摔起跤来。有一年圣诞节,他只负责给小牛喂食——一项用10分钟就能完成的工作。而我却得费力地将待挤奶的母牛赶进牛棚。他们能把你撞翻,其中20只便会趁机脱逃。那天上午,我决定忠于职守,完成必须要做的事。我想在事后说我尽力了。最后,我自己把它们全都赶进了挤奶围栏里。

同样的决心帮我在悉尼赢得了一块金牌,并使我在2002年2月误将雪地车驶入怀俄明州一条冰冷刺骨的小河里后幸存下来。当时的气温在零度以下,我在野外迷了路,从那天下午四点半一直撑到第二天早晨。当救护人员发现我时,我已经冻僵了,他们不得不把我的靴子从脚上锯下来。那夜,我原本可能会被冻死,但通过集中注意力坚定信念,就像我在赶牛和面对对手时做的那样,我挺了过来。即使我没能成功,我也想确定自己已经尽力了。

我的确成功了。医生们截断了我的一根脚趾,我有几块皮肤也是移植的,但我仍能摔跤。这次事故后的第一个圣诞节对我来说意义重大。我的侄子侄女们包揽了农场上的活,所以我只管美美睡个懒觉。醒来后,我把这一天和之后的每一天都看做是一份意外的礼物。