Suze Orman 一 The Waitress
苏茜欧曼——女服务员
In 1973, when I was 22, three friends and I piled into a Ford Econoline van in my Hometown of Chicago and started out across America. We ended up in Berkeley, Calif., where I got a job cutting down eucalyptus5 trees with a chain saw for $3.50 an hour.
1973年，我22岁的时候，我和3个朋友在我的家乡芝加哥市,挤进一辆福特伊克 诺莱货车里，开始了横穿美国之旅。我们的旅程是在加州的伯克利市结束的，我在 那里得到了一份工作——用链锯伐桉树’报酬是每小时3.5美元。
But my first real long -term job was at a local diner called the Buttercup Bakery. I worked there for seven years and learned so many lessons, especially from a fellow waitress.
然而，我的第一份真正的长期工作，是在一家名叫金凤花面包房的餐馆里。我 在那里工作了 7年,学到了许多东西，尤其是从一位女服务员身上。
Helen was in her 60s and had red hair and incredible self-respect, something I was sorely lacking. I looked up to Helen because she was doing what she loved ——serving people ——and nobody did it better. She made everyone smile and feel good, customers and co-workers alike.
海伦已经60多岁了，她有着一头红发和令人难以置信的自尊心，而那正是我极 为缺乏的。我尊敬海伦，因为她热爱她的工作——为他人服劣——并且没有人比她 做得更好。她使每个人都笑逐颜开，感觉良好,无论对顾客还是同事，她都一视同
I also learned how important it is to take pride in life’s little accomplishments. When I helped out in the kitchen, nothing made me feel better than putting two eggs on the grill, flipping them over easy, and serving them just the way the customer wanted.
我也学会了以生活中微不足道的成就为傲,是一件多么重要的事。当我在厨房 里帮忙的时候，没有什么能比打两个鸡蛋在煎炉上、两面翻转、按顾客的要求送上 去，更令我感觉良好的了。
Being a waitress changed my life. One of my regular customers was Fred Hasbrook, an electronics salesman. He always ate a ham -and -Monterey -Jack omelet, and when I saw him walking toward the diner, I tried to have it on his table as soon as he sat down.
女服务员工作改变了我的一生。我的一个老主顾名叫弗雷德?海斯布鲁克，是 一位电子器件销售员。他总是吃一种火腿夹干酪蛋卷;每当我看到他向餐馆走来的 时候,我就尽量做到他刚一坐下，我就把蛋卷端到他的桌子上。
Thanks to the newfound confidence I picked up from Helen, 1 dreamed of having my own restaurant. But when I called my parents to ask for a loan, they said, “We just don’t have the money.”
由于在海伦那里获得的新发现的信心，我开始梦想拥有属于自己的餐厅;但当 我给父母打电话借钱时’他们却说:“我们没有钱。”
The next day, Fred saw me and asked, “what’s wrong, sunshine? you’re not smiling today.” I shared my dream with him and said, “Fred, I know I can do more if somebody would just have faith in me.”
第二天，弗雷德看到我，并问我:“怎么了，我的阳光?你今天没有笑容。”我把我的梦告诉了他，并对他说：“弗雷德，我知道，只要有人对我有信心，我能做更多的事。”
He walked over to some of the other diner regulars and the next day handed me checks totaling $50,000 — along with a note that I have to this day. It reads, “The only collateral on this loan is my trust in your honesty as a person. Good people with a dream should have the opportunity to make that dream come true.”
弗雷德向其他一些餐馆的常客走去;第二天，他给了我几张总额5万美元的支 票，以及一张我至今仍珍藏着的便笺。便笺上写着：“这笔借款唯一的担保，就是我 对你诚实做人的信任。有梦想的好人应该拥有美梦成真的机会。”
I took the checks to Merrill Lynch — the first time I had ever entered a brokerage house — where the money was invested for me. I continued working at the Buttercup, making plans for the restaurant I would open. My investments soured, though, and I lost the money.
我拿着这几张支票去了美林证券公司一那是我第一次走进一家代理公 司——我用那笔钱进行了投资。我一边继续在金凤花餐馆工作,一边为我将要开办 的餐厅进行着计划。然而,我的投资失败了，我失去了那笔钱。
I found myself thinking about what it would be like to be a stockbroker. After great deliberation I decided to apply for a job at Merrill Lynch. Even though I had no experience, I was hired and ended up becoming a pretty good broker. Eventually I paid back Fred and my customers the $50,000, plus 14—percent annual interest. Five years later, I was able to open my own firm.
我开始考虑成为一名股票经纪人会怎么样。深思熟虑之后，我决定去美林证券 公司求职。虽然我没有任何经验，但我还是被录用了，并最终成为了一名出色的经 纪人。终于,我以14%的年息还清了弗雷德和我那些餐馆顾客的5万美元。5年之后， 我开办了自己的公司。
I got a thank-you note from Fred, which will be imprinted on my heart forever. He had been sick and wrote that my check had helped cover his mounting medical bills. His letter read, “That loan may have been one of the best investments that I will ever make. Who else could have invested in a counter ‘girl, with a million -dollar personality and watch that investment mature into a very successful career woman. How few investors have that opportunity?”
弗雷德给我写了一封感谢信，这封信将永远烙印在我的心上。他一直都有病在 身;他说我的支票帮他支付了日益增多的医药费。他在信中写道那笔借款可能是 我的一次最佳的投资。没有人会给一个有着价值百万美元人品的餐馆女孩儿投资, 并且能够看着这个女孩成长为一名非常成功的职业女性。有几个‘投资者’有这样 的机会呢？”