《穷爸爸富爸爸》第2章（中）

"Mike says you want to learn to make money? Is that correct, Robert?"
“迈克说你们想学赚钱，对吗，罗伯特？”

I nodded my head quickly, but with a little intimidation. He had a lot of power behind his words and smile.
我快速地点点头，心里有点儿忐忑，在他的微笑和话语后面似乎隐藏着一股很强的力量。

"OK, here's my offer. I'll teach you, but I won't do it classroom-style. You work for me, I'll teach you. You don't work for me, I won't teach you. I can teach you faster if you work, and I'm wasting my time if you just want to sit and listen, like you do in school. That's my offer. Take it or leave it."
“好，这就是我的建议：由我来教你们赚钱，但我不会像在教室里教学生那样教你们，你们得为我工作，否则我就不教。因为通过工作我可以更快地教会你们，如果你们只想坐着听讲，就像在学校里那样的话，那我就是在浪费时间了。怎么样？小伙子们，这就是我的建议，你们可以接受也可以拒绝”。

"Ah... may I ask a question first?" I asked.
“嗯……我可以先问个问题吗？”我问。

"No. Take it or leave it. I've got too much work to do to waste my time. If you can't make up you mind decisively, then you'll never learn to make money anyway. Opportunities come and go. Being able to know when to make quick decisions is an important skill. You have an opportunity that you asked for. School is beginning or it's over in ten seconds," Mike's dad said with a teasing smile.
“不能，你只能告诉我是接受还是拒绝。因为我有太多的事要做，不能浪费时间。如果你不能下定决心，就永远也学不会如何赚钱。要知道，机会总是转瞬即逝，要想成功必须迅速作出决定。你看，现在你有一个你想要的机会，但这个赚钱学校可以在10秒钟内开学或者关门，那么你……。”迈克的爸爸微笑着看着我们，却并没有说下去。

"Take it," I said.
“接受。”我说。

"Take it," said Mike.
“接受。”迈克也说。

"Good," said Mike's dad. "Mrs. Martin will be by in ten minutes. After I'm through with her, you ride with her to my superette and you can begin working. I'll pay you 10 cents an hour and you will work for three hours every Saturday."
“好！”迈克的爸爸说道，“马丁夫人会在几分钟内到达。等我和她办完事后，你们跟她去我的杂货店，你们可以在那儿开始工作了。我每小时付给你们10美分，你们每周六来工作3个小时。”

"But I have a softball game today," I said.
“但我今天有一场棒球比赛！”我说。

Mike's dad lowered his voice to a stern tone. "Take it or leave it," he said.
迈克的爸爸降低声调严厉地说：“接受或者拒绝。”

"I'll take it," I replied, choosing to work and learn instead of playing softball.
“我接受。”我赶忙回答，我决定去工作和学习而不去打棒球了。

************************************

My educated poor dad told me to demand what I deserve. At least 25 cents an hour. My poor dad told me that if I did not get a raise, I was to quit immediately.
我那受过高等教育的穷爸爸要我去争取应有的待遇，每小时至少25美分。爸爸说如果我得不到加薪，就应该立即退出。

"You don't need that damned job anyway," said my poor dad with indignity.
爸爸气愤地说：“你根本不需要那份该死的工作。”

At 8 o'clock Saturday morning, I was going through the same rickety door of Mike's house.
星期六早上8点，我又穿过了迈克家那扇摇晃着的大门。

"Take a seat and wait in line," Mike's dad said as I entered. He turned and disappeared into his little office next to a bedroom.
“坐下等着。”迈克的爸爸在我进门时对我说，说完便转身消失在他那卧室边的小办公室里。

I looked around the room and did not see Mike anywhere. Feeling awkward, I cautiously sat down next to the same two women who where there four weeks earlier. They smiled and slid across the couch to make room for me.
我四下看看，没发现迈克，我感到有些局促，小心地坐到了沙发上，四个星期前见过的那两个女人笑着给我挪出了点地方。

Forty-five minutes went by, and I was steaming. The two women had met with him and left thirty minutes earlier. An older gentleman was in there for twenty minutes and was also gone.
45分钟过去了，我开始冒火，那两个女人已经在30分钟前会见完毕离开了。那个老绅士在呆了20分钟后，也办完事走了。

The house was empty, and I sat out in his musty dark living room on a beautiful sunny Hawaiian day, waiting to talk to a cheapskate who exploited children. I could hear him rustling around the office, talking on the phone, and ignoring me. I was now ready to walk out, but for some reason I stayed.
那天夏威夷阳光灿烂，外边时不时地传来大人、孩子嬉戏的笑声，而我却仍在那幢陈旧黑暗的屋子里坐着，等候一个剥削童工的小商人的召见。我能听见他在办公室里沙沙地走动、打电话，但就是不理我。我真的想出去了，但不知为什么我没有走。

Finally, fifteen minutes later, at exactly 9 o'clock, rich dad walked out of his office, said nothing, and signaled with his hand for me to enter his dingy office.
又过了15分钟，正好9点，富爸爸终于走出了他的办公室。他什么也没说，用手示意要我跟着他去那间小办公室。

"I understand you want a raise or you're going to quit," rich dad said as he swiveled in his office chair.
“你要求加薪，否则你就不干了，是吗？”他边说边在椅子里摇来摇去。

"Well, you're not keeping your end of the bargain," I blurted out nearly in tears. It was really frightening for a 9-year-old boy to confront a grownup.
“你不讲信用！”我脱口而出，眼泪差点掉下来。这样的事对一个9岁的小男孩来说是觉得挺委屈的。

"You said that you would teach me if I worked for you. Well, I've worked for you. I've worked hard. I've given up my baseball games to work for you. And you don't keep your word. You haven't taught me anything. You are a crook like everyone in town thinks you are. You're greedy. You want all the money and don't take care of your employees. You make me wait and don't show me any respect. I'm only a little boy, and I deserve to be treated better."
“你说过如果我为你工作，你就会教我。好，我给你干活，我工作努力，我甚至放弃了棒球比赛来为你工作，而你却说话不算数，你什么也没教我！就像镇上每个人说的那样，你言而无信，还贪心。你想要所有的钱而毫不关心你的雇员。此外，你一点儿也不尊重我，让我等了这么久。我只是个小孩，我应该得到优待！”

Rich dad rocked back in his swivel chair, hands up to his chin, somewhat staring at me. It was like he was studying me.
富爸爸在摇椅里向后一靠，手摸着下巴盯着我，好像在研究我。

"Not bad," he said. "In less than a month, you sound like most of my employees."
“不错，”他说，“还不到1个月，你已经有点像我的其他雇员了。”

"What?" I asked. Not understanding what he was saying, I continued with my grievance. "I thought you were going to keep your end of the bargain and teach me. Instead you want to torture me? That's cruel. That's really cruel."
“什么？”我问。我并未听明白他的话，心里更加气愤不已。“我想你会如约教我，然而你却想折磨我？这太残忍了，真的太残忍了！”

"I am teaching you," rich dad said quietly.
“我正在教你。”富爸爸平静地说。

"What have you taught me? Nothing!" I said angrily. "You haven't even talked to me once since I agreed to work for peanuts. Ten cents an hour. Hah! I should notify the government about you. We have child labor laws, you know. My dad works for the government, you know."
“你教我什么了？什么也没有！”我生气极了，“自从我为那几个小钱干活以来，你甚至没和我说过话！10美分1小时！哈，我应该到政府那儿告你！你知道，我们有《童工法》，我爸可是为政府工作的。”

"Wow!" said rich dad. "Now you sound just like most of the people who used to work for me. People I've either fired or they've quit."
“哇！”富爸爸叫道：“现在你看上去就像大多数给我干过活的人了，他们要么被解雇要么辞职不干了。‘”

"So what do you have to say?" I demanded, feeling pretty brave for a little kid. "You lied to me. I've worked for you, and you have not kept your word. You haven't taught me anything."
“你还有什么要说的？”我说道。作为一个小孩，我觉得自己很有勇气。“你骗了我，我为你工作，而你却不守信用，你什么也没教我”。

"How do you know that I've not taught you anything?" asked rich dad calmly.
“你怎么知道我什么都没教你？”富爸爸仍然平静地问我。

"Well, you've never talked to me. I've worked for three weeks, and you have not taught me anything," I said with a pout.
“你从不和我说话，我给你干了三个星期，而你什么也没教给我。”我撅着嘴说。

"Does teaching mean talking or a lecture?" rich dad asked.
“教东西一定要说或讲吗？”富爸爸问。

"Well, yes," I replied.
“是呀。”我回答道。

"That's how they teach you in school," he said smiling. "But that is not how life teaches you, and I would say that life is the best teacher of all. Most of the time, life does not talk to you. It just sort of pushes you around. Each push is life saying, Wake up. There's something I want you to learn.' "
“那是学校教你们的法子，”他笑着说，“但生活可不是这样的教法。你知道吗，生活才是最好的老师，大多数时候，生活并不对你说些什么，它只是推着你转，每一次推，它都像是在说‘喂，醒一醒，有些东西我想让你学学’”。

"What is this man talking about?" I asked myself silently. "Life pushing me around was life talking to me?" Now I knew I had to quit my job. I was talking to someone who needed to be locked up.
“这家伙在说些什么？”我暗自问自己。“生活推着我转就是生活在对我说话？”现在我知道我必须辞职了，我正在和一个应该被关进精神病院的家伙说话。

"If you learn life's lessons, you will do well. If not, life will just continue to push you around. People do two things. Some just let life push them around. Others get angry and push back. But they push back against their boss, or their job, or their husband or wife. They do not know it's life that's pushing."
但富爸爸仍在说：“假如你弄懂了生活这门大课，做任何事情你都会游刃有余。但就算你学不会，生活照样会推着你转。所以生活中，人们通常会做两件事。一些人在生活推着他转的同时，抓住生活赐予的每个机会；而另一些人则听任生活的摆布，不去与生活抗争。他们埋怨生活的不公平，因此就去讨厌老板，讨厌工作，讨厌家人，他们不知道生活也赐予了他们机会。”

I had no idea what he was talking about.
当时我还是不太明白富爸爸的话。

"Life pushes all of us around. Some give up. Others fight. A few learn the lesson and move on. They welcome life pushing them around. To these few people, it means they need and want to learn something. They learn and move on. Most quit, and a few like you fight."
“生活推着我们所有的人，有些人放弃了，有些人在抗争。学会了这一课的少数人会进步，他们欢迎生活来积极地推动他们，对他们来说，这种推动意味着他们又可以去学习一些新的东西，然后再进步。当然，大多数人还是放弃了，一部分人像你一样还在抗争。”

Rich dad stood and shut the creaky old wooden window that needed repair. "If you learn this lesson, you will grow into a wise, wealthy and happy young man. If you don't, you will spend your life blaming a job, low pay or your boss for your problems. You'll live life hoping for that big break that will solve all your money problems."
富爸爸站起来，推开那扇破旧失修的窗子，“如果你学会了这一课，你就会成为一个智慧、快乐而富有的人。如果你没有学会，你就只会终生抱怨工作、报怨低报酬和难以相处的老板，你会生活在一劳永逸地把你所有的钱的问题都解决的幻想中。”

Rich dad looked over at me to see if I was still listening. His eyes met mine. We stared at each other, streams of communication going between us through our eyes. Finally, I pulled away once I had absorbed his last message. I knew he was right. I was blaming him, and I did ask to learn. I was fighting.
富爸爸抬眼看我是否在听。他的眼光与我相遇，我们互相对视着，通过眼睛互相交流着，最后，当我接收了他全部的信息后，我将眼睛转开了。我知道他是对的，我需要向他学习。

Rich dad continued. "Or if you're the kind of person who has no guts, you just give up every time life pushes you. If you're that kind of person, you'll live all your life playing it safe, doing the right things, saving yourself for some event that never happens. Then, you die a boring old man. You'll have lots of friends who really like you because you were such a nice hard-working guy. You spent a life playing it safe, doing the right things. But the truth is, you let life push you into submission. Deep down you were terrified of taking risks. You really wanted to win, but the fear of losing was greater than the excitement of winning. Deep inside, you and only you will know you didn't go for it. You chose to play it safe."
富爸爸继续说：“如果你是那种没有毅力的人，你将放弃生活对你的每一次推动。这样的话，你的一生会过得稳稳当当，不做错事、随时准备着当永远不会发生的事情发生时解救自己，然后，在无聊中老死。你会有许多像你一样的朋友，希望生活稳定、处世无误。但事实是，你对生活屈服了，不敢承担风险。你的确想赢，但失去的恐惧超过了成功的兴奋，事实是从内心深处，你就始终认为你不可能赢，所以你选择了稳定。”

Our eyes met again. For ten seconds, we looked at each other, only pulling away once the message was received.
我们的眼光又相遇了。十秒钟之久，我们互相注视着，直到相互明白了对方的心意。