商業往事

每月分享幾則有趣的商業小故事（中英雙語），邀請大家和我們一起透過歷史故事，看存儲商業。

?

困難的環境是最好的老師

本文總計1943字

預計閱讀7分鐘

（英文文章在中文文章之后）

許多人看過威爾·史密斯2006年的電影《當幸福來敲門》，這部影片是根據一個真實的故事改編的。在片中，史密斯飾演克里斯?加德納，他是一個無家可歸的人，想辦法要撫養他的兒子，同時他也想成為一名證券分析師。在電影的最后一幕中，他和兒子背對著鏡頭走在街上，他的兒子（碰巧是史密斯的親生兒子扮演）給他講了個笑話。朝相反的方向走的是一個高大個子的男人，似乎只是一個路過的陌生人。但是那個高大的男人，正是威爾史密斯在電影里演的克里斯?加德納。

這部電影是根據克里斯?加德納的自傳《當幸福來敲門》改編的。加德納的成功之路甚至比電影呈現的更長、更艱辛。加德納把幸福這個英文字的「Happiness 」的「i」改用「Happyness 」「y」來取代。因為他曾經在兒子托兒所的墻上看到小朋友「Happiness 」寫錯為「Happyness 」。但是他很喜歡。所以他用那個拼寫來區分他的書名。加德納認為，「y」可以代表「你或你的」(You, 或yours)，這可以鼓勵人們追求自己的幸福。

想要成為美國的證券分析師并不容易，尤其是對于一個沒有大學學位的有色人種。但是，加德納一旦決定追求這個目標，他就真的全心投入了。

加德納1954年出生于米爾沃基。他一生中從來沒有真正的男性榜樣可以學習。他是在一個充滿暴力的家庭里長大。他的繼父經常虐待他的母親和姐妹。加德納兩次被送進寄養中心，因為有一次，加德納的繼父指控他的母親有詐領社會福利金的行為，還有一次，他的母親試圖燒毀繼父的家，他的繼父在裡面。

加德納永遠不會忘記一事件；有一次他的繼父拿著獵槍沖進在浴室里，當時他正在洗澡，他繼父命令他立即離開家。加德納當時還只是個十幾歲的孩子，他擔心自己的被繼父殺了。就赤身裸體地跑出了家門，就渾身濕透跑在威斯康星州的冬天街頭里。那時，加德納的母親已經被他的繼父趕出了家門。

在電影《當幸福來敲門》中，加德納被描繪成一個醫療器械推銷員，試圖銷售骨質密度掃描儀（因為真正的加德納曾經擔任過醫療設備推銷員）。在電影中令人難忘的一幕中，加德納追趕一個偷了他掃描儀的人。在穿過一條繁忙的街道時，他差點被車撞，情緒激動。加德納說，這起事件實際上并沒有發生。但作為一名醫療設備推銷員，他確實在經濟上舉步維艱。

但電影中的接下來的事確實都是真實的發生了。特別是；他在街上看到一個穿著考究的男子開著紅色的法拉利，他問他，「你是做什么的？」那人告訴他，他是一個股票經紀人。加德納對這個人的成功印象極為深刻，他決定嘗試進入這個領域。最后，他在股票經紀培訓計劃中獲得了一個職位，在那里他學習如何向客戶出售股票。雖然那段實習期間，他沒有報酬。但課程結束時，表現最好的學生將得到一個帶薪職位。

加德納辭去了醫療器械推銷員的工作，全身心地投入到這項培訓計劃中。但由于收入不足，他失去了公寓，最后和兒子一起上街。晚上，他們睡在不同的地方。有時他們能呆在教堂里。有一次，他們睡在奧克蘭麥克阿瑟巴特車站的浴室地板上。同時，他每天還得在兒子上學期間參加培訓計劃。課程結束時，他得到了班上最好的成績，并得到了一份工作，而且成了一個更好的人。

從此之后，他走到了向上的路上。在從事證券領域工作五年后，加德納創辦自己的公司，名為「加德納財富管理公司」。到1988年，加德納公司的收入達到創紀錄的高點，加德納當年的收入為100萬美元。當時加德納34歲時，他決定買一輛法拉利作為禮物犒賞自己。這輛法拉利并不像那位曾經激勵他成為股票經紀人的法拉利那樣紅。相反，他買了一輛曾經屬于籃球傳奇人物邁克爾·喬丹的法拉利。他得到了一個定制的車牌， 上面寫著 「NOT MJ」， 意思是 「我不是邁克爾 · 喬丹」。

加德納現在身價超過6000萬美元。他賣掉了「加德納財富管理公司」的股份，然后于2006年開了一家名為「加德納國際控股公司」的新公司。從那時起，他就以勵志演說家的身份周游世界，把大部分時間都投入到慈善事業上。他的故事鼓舞了許多人。與此同時，他也繼續分享他的奮斗故事，鼓勵其他人一起成功。

加德納認為，我們從哪里來并不能決定我們成為什么樣的人。如果出生環境決定一切的話，那么他就會成為另一個失敗者。但他沒有，他超越了這一切。但是，為了改變一個人的命運，人們往往不得不努力克服各種限制。例如，當加德納從醫療相關領域轉向證券經紀領域時，除了與人互動的能力之外，他沒有在新領域的任何技能。用加德納的話說；「我從絕對最基層開始，我掙扎、奮斗，并努力以我的方式到達了絕對上層社會。我喜歡我正在做的事情，我有機會向業內最好的人學習。我有機會了解它是如何在最高水平上完成的」。

環境，尤其是困難的環境，通常是最好的老師。我們可以從學校學到一些東西，甚至向成功的人學習：然而，這種學習只會幫助我們模仿別人的成功。它并沒有給我們一個偉大的心靈。只有征服一個具有挑戰性的環境，我們才能擁有真正偉大的心靈，能夠在自己的領域開辟新的天地。艱困的環境是最好的學校。

The Best Way to Learn is the Hardest

Many people have watched the 2006 Will Smith movie The Pursuit of Happyness, which is based on a true story. In it, Smith portrays Chris Gardner, a homeless man trying to raise his son while trying to become a securities analyst. In the final scene of the movie, he and son are walking down the street with their backs to the camera as his son (who happens to be played by Smith’s real son) tells him a joke. Headed in the opposite direction is a tall man, seemingly just a stranger passing by. But that tall man who passes the actor portraying Chris Gardner (Smith) is the real Chris Gardner.

The movie was based on the Chris Gardner’s autobiography “The Pursuit of Happyness.” Gardner’s road to success was even longer and more difficult than the movie presented. Gardner changed the word “Happiness” with an ‘i’ to “ Happyness” with a ‘y’ because he once saw it written incorrectly on a wall at his son’s school and he liked it. So he used that spelling to distinguish his book title. Gardner considered that the ‘y’ could represent “you or yours,” which might encourage people in the pursuit of their own happiness.

Trying to become a securities analyst in America is not easy, especially for a person of color without a university degree. But once Gardner decided to pursue this goal, he really put his heart into it.

Gardner was born in Milwaukee in 1954. He never really had a good male role model in his life. He grew up in a family that was full of violence. His stepfather often abused his mother and sisters. Gardner was placed in foster care twice because, one time, Gardner’s stepfather accused his mother of welfare fraud, and, another time, his mother tried to burn down his stepfather’s home with his stepfather in it.

One incident that Gardner will never forget was his stepfather bursting in on him in the bathroom with a shotgun and ordering him to immediately leave the house. Gardner, who was still a teenager, feared for his life and ran out of the house naked and soaking wet into the Wisconsin winter. By that time, Gardner’s mother had already been kicked out of the house by his stepfather.

In the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness,” Gardner is depicted as a medical device salesman trying to sell bone density scanners (as the real Gardner once took a job as a medical equipment salesman). In a memorable scene from the film, Gardner chases a man who had stolen one of his scanners. While running across a busy street, he is nearly hit by a car and becomes quite emotional. Gardner said that this incident did not actually happen. But it is true that he really struggled financially as a medical equipment salesman.

But the next few things in the film did actually happen. In particular, he is shown approaching a well-dressed man in a red Ferrari on the street, and he asks him what he does for a living. The man tells him that he’s a stockbroker. Gardner is so impressed by the man’s success that he decides to try to get into that field. Eventually, he secures a seat in a stock brokerage training program, where the students sell stocks to customers. Although they are not paid for their time, the student with the best performance at the end of the program will be offered a paid position.

Garner quits his job as a medical device salesman to dedicate himself to this training program. But due to a lack of income, he loses his apartment and ends up on the street with his son. At night, they sleep in various places. Sometimes they are able to stay at a church. One time they slept on the bathroom floor of the MacArthur BART station in Oakland. Meanwhile, he attends the training program every day while his son is at school. And at the conclusion of the training program, he has the best performance in the class and is offered a job, so the sacrifices were worth it.

From then on, it’s onwards and upwards. And after being in the securities field for five years, Gardner was able to start his own firm, called Gardner Rich ＆ Company. By 1988, the revenue of Gardner’s company reached a record high and Gardner earned one million for that year. When Gardner turned 34 years old, he decided to buy himself a Ferrari as a reward for himself. This Ferrari was not red like the one that had inspired him to become a stockbroker. Instead, he bought a Ferrari that had once belonged to basketball legend Michael Jordan. And he got a customized license plate for it that read “NOT MJ,” meaning “I’m not Michael Jordan,” of course.

Gardner is now worth over US$60 million. He sold his shares in Gardner Rich ＆ Company, and then opened a new company called Gardner International Holdings in 2006. Since then, he travels around the world as a motivational speaker and devotes much of his time to philanthropic causes. His story is an inspiration to many people. Meanwhile, he continues to share his story about how his struggles helped him become a success and, hopefully, a better person.

Gardner believes that where we came from doesn’t determine what we become. If it did, then he would “have become another alcoholic, wife-beating, child-abusing, illiterate loser,” to use his words. But he didn’t. He was able to rise above all of that. But in order to change one’s fate, one often has to struggle to overcome various limitations. For example, when Gardner switched from a medical-related field to the securities brokerage field, he brought no skills to the new field other than his ability to interact with people. In Gardner’s words, “I started at the absolute bottom, I scratched, fought, and worked my way up to the absolute top. I loved what I was doing, and I had an opportunity to learn from the best in the business. I had an opportunity to learn how it’s done at its highest levels.”

Environment, especially a difficult environment, is usually the best teacher. We can learn something from school and even learn from successful people; however, such learning only helps us to mimic the success of others. It doesn’t give us a great mind. Only conquering a challenging environment can allow us to have a truly great mind that can break new ground in one’s field. In life, the school of hard knocks is usually the best school.