雙語故事:爲自己選件紅襯衫
“要想出人頭地，除了努力工作之外，沒有任何捷徑，更沒有任何替代品。
If you want to stand out among people, there is no shortcut or alternatives for you but hard work.
曾經有一個衣衫襤褸，滿身補丁的男孩，跑到摩天大樓的工地向一位衣着華麗，口叼菸斗的建築承包商請教：＂我該怎麼做，長大後會跟你一樣有錢？＂
There was once a boy in ragged clothes full of patches running to ask a building contractor who wore the finery with a tobacco pipe in his mouth in a construction site of a skyscraper, "how could I become as rich as you when I grow up ?"
這位高大強壯的建軍築承包商看了小傢伙一眼，回答說：“我先給你講一個三個掘溝人的故事．一個拄着鏟子說，他將來一定要做老闆．第二個抱怨工作時間長，報酬低．第三個只是低頭挖溝．過了若干年，第一個仍在拄着鏟子．第二個虛報工傷，找到藉口退休．第三個呢？他成了那家公司的老闆．你明白這個故事的寓意嗎?小夥子，去買件紅襯衫，然後埋頭苦幹,”
With a glance at the boy, the tall and strong-build contractor replied, "I would like to tell you a story first about three diggers. The first digger liked holding a spade without doing anything but saying that he wanted to be a boss in the future. The second digger always liked complaining about the long-time work and his low salary. The third digger liked quietly devoting himself to digging without making any claims. Several years later, the first digger was still holding his spade in the original place and the second took an excuse of work injury for early retirement. Only the third digger became the boss of the building company. Do you understand the moral of this story? Just go to buy a red shirt and work hard."
小男孩滿臉困惑，百思不解其中的道理，只好再請他說明．承包商指着那批正在腳手架上工作的建築工人，對男孩說：＂看到那些人了嗎？他們全都是我的工人．我無法記得他們每一個的名字，甚至有些人，根本連臉孔都沒印象．但是，你仔細瞧他們之中，只有那邊那個曬得紅紅的傢伙．穿一件紅色衣服．我很快就注意到，他似乎比別人更賣力，做得更起勁．他每天總是比其他的人早一點上工．工作時也比較拼命．而下工的時候，他總是最後一個下班．就因爲他那件紅襯衫，使他在這羣工人中間特別突出．我現在就要過去找他，派他當我的監工．從今天開始我相信他會更賣命，說不定很快就會成爲我的副手．“
The little boy was puzzled and could not figure out the implication of the story. So he asked the contractor to explain further. Pointing to the builders who were working on scaffold, the contractor talked to the little boy, "Look at those people! They are all my workers. I can not remember all of their names, and even I have no impression of some of them. But if you look carefully, you will notice a sunburned man in red among them. I notice him very early. He seems to be working harder with higher spirits than others. He is always the first one to work every day while the last one to leave. It is exactly his red shirt that makes him stand out among all the workers. Now I am about to ask him to be my taskmaster and I believe he will work even much harder from now on. Maybe he will soon be promoted to my assistant.
”小夥子，我也是這樣爬上來的．我非常賣力工作，表現得比所有人更好．如果當初我跟大家一樣穿上藍色的工人服，那麼就很可能沒有人會注意我的表現了．所以，我天天穿條紋襯衫，同時加倍努力．不久，我就出頭了．老闆注意我，升我當工頭．後來我存夠了錢，終於自己當了老闆．”
"You know, that is also how I got where I am now. I once worked harder and outperformed others. However, if I had worn a blue shirt as other workers did at that time, I would not have been noticed by my boss. So I wore striped shirt every day and worked arduously. Soon my day came, and my boss noticed me and promoted me as taskmaster. After I earned enough money, I also became a boss eventually.
成功只能在行動中產生．付諸行動，這是成功者的共同經驗，也是開發生命的必然要求，你越多地開發生命的寶藏你就會越明顯地感到行動的重要性，開發生命必須落實到實踐行動，瞄準你的生命目標，從現在起就開始行動吧．
Success can only be born in action. Working hard is all winners' shared and indispensable experience for achieving their dreams in their lives. The more you achieve from your hard work, the greater significance of hard work you will perceive. Life needs action to fulfill and I hope you can set up your goal and start your journey right now.
