雙語(yǔ) ● Great Expectations　最高期望值

Great Expectations　最高期望值

◎ Barry Spilchuk

Pete Rose, the famous baseball player, whom I have never met, taught me something so valuable that changed my life. Pete was being interviewed in spring training the year he was about to break Ty Cobb’s all time hits record. One reporter blurted out, “Pete, you only need 78 hits to break the record. How many at-bats do you think you’ll need to get the 78 hits?” Without hesitation, Pete just stared at the reporter and very matter-of-factly said, “78.” The reporter yelled back, “Ah, come on Pete, you don’t expect to get 78 hits in 78 at-bats, do you?”

我雖然沒(méi)有機(jī)會(huì)和著名的棒球運(yùn)動(dòng)員皮特·羅斯見(jiàn)上一面，但是卻從他那里學(xué)到了有意義、有價(jià)值的東西，這些改變了我的人生。在一次春季訓(xùn)練期間，皮特接受記者采訪，那年他接近打破棒球老前輩泰·柯布的總擊球記錄。一個(gè)記者脫口說(shuō)道：“皮特，你只差78個(gè)擊球就能打破記錄，那么你認(rèn)為你需要多少次擊球機(jī)會(huì)才能得到78個(gè)擊中球？”皮特直視著那個(gè)記者，毫不猶豫且信誓旦旦地回答：“78次?！蹦莻€(gè)記者叫道：“??？拜托！皮特！你指望在78次揮棒就擊中78次球，不會(huì)吧？”

Mr. Rose calmly shared his philosophy with the throngs of reporters who were anxiously awaiting his reply to this seemingly boastful claim. “Every time I step up to the plate, I expect to get a hit! If I don’t expect to get a hit, I have no right to step in the batter’s box in the first place!” “If I go up hoping to get a hit,” he continued, “then I probably don’t have a prayer of getting a hit. It is positive expectation that has gotten me all of the hits in the first place.”

一大群記者迫不及待地想看看皮特·羅斯先生究竟如何解釋剛才自己夸下的海口。他泰然自若地向記者們闡述他的觀點(diǎn)：“我每一次上壘，都指望擊中球！如果我不指望擊中，我就沒(méi)有資格第一個(gè)上擊球位。”他接著說(shuō)：“如果我一上前就希望擊中球，我可能就不用指望獲得成功了。就是這種積極的期望使我能夠在這么多的第一擊中就擊中球?！?

When I thought about Pete Rose’s philosophy and how it applied to everyday life, I felt a little embarrassed. As a business person, I was hoping to make my sales quotas. As a father, I was hoping to be a good dad. As a married man, I was hoping to be a good husband. The truth was that I was an adequate salesperson, I was not so bad of a father, and I was an okay husband. I immediately decided that being okay was not enough! I wanted to be a great salesperson, a great father and a great husband. I changed my attitude to one of positive expectation, and the results were amazing. I was fortunate enough to win a few sales trips, I won Coach of the Year in my son’s baseball league, and I share a loving relationship with my wife, Karen, with whom I expect to be married to for the rest of my life! Thanks, Mr. Rose!

當(dāng)我思考了一番皮特·羅斯的人生觀，看看這種人生觀又何嘗不適于人們每天的生活，我感到有些慚愧。一直以來(lái)，作為一個(gè)商人，我希望提高銷售額。作為一個(gè)父親，我希望自己是個(gè)好爸爸；作為一個(gè)已婚的男人，我希望自己是個(gè)好丈夫。實(shí)際上，我的工作干得勉勉強(qiáng)強(qiáng)，父親當(dāng)?shù)民R馬虎虎，丈夫做得差強(qiáng)人意。想到這，我立即意識(shí)到僅僅做到“還湊合”是不夠的。我要成為一個(gè)成功的銷售員，一個(gè)偉大的父親、一個(gè)完美的丈夫。于是我改變了自己的人生態(tài)度，我的期望變得更加積極了，其結(jié)果自然十分神奇。我有幸贏得了幾次銷售旅行，在我兒子所在的棒球聯(lián)隊(duì)中獲得“賽季最佳教練”稱號(hào)，我也和妻子卡倫更加和睦，我想我們必將相伴一生！謝謝你，羅斯先生！

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