吸取一個教訓，贏得一份禮物

LEARN A LESSON, FIND THE GIFT

Tom Peterson worked for many years to build a solid business selling television sets, stereo systems, and home appliances. He gave people good value, a full satisfaction guarantee, and friendly service. With the help of his wife Gloria, who handled the books, Tom developed an excellent reputation. He was proud of his high percentage of repeat customers.

About five years ago, Tom was approached by the owners of a competing company. They wanted him to buy them out. The price was very attractive. Everything looked good. Before making his final decision Tom asked Gloria what she thought about the purchase. She told him that even though the numbers looked good it didn’t feel right to her. However, Tom was so self-confident and so convinced that this was a rare opportunity, he went ahead and made the purchase. Within months he discovered that he had made a big mistake. He had paid too much for a dying company. He tried as hard as he could to make it work out, but he couldn’t turn things around. He was forced into bankruptcy. He was about to lose everything, including his original business.

Tom was embarrassed, but he is a survivor. He looked at his situation. He decided to openly admit his mistake and, rather than getting bogged down in lawsuits, he would focus his energies on saving and rebuilding his original business. He saw also that he had made a mistake by not listening to his wife, and that he needed to learn from this experience. He dealt with the crisis in a way that delighted many people and increased their respect for him. Old customers flocked into his store. He and Gloria adapted to changes in retailing and have built an even better business than before.

In the business world, it is natural for businessmen to gain and lose. Only those who regard their mistakes as gifts and learn from them attract endless profits.

【助讀詞匯】

◇home appliance n. 家電

◇guarantee n. 擔保，保證書

◇reputation n. 名譽，名聲

◇be bogged down in sth 陷入

◇retailing n. 零售業

【參考譯文】

吸取一個教訓，贏得一份禮物

湯姆·彼特森辛勞了很多年才建立起自己牢固的公司，銷售電視機、立體聲裝置和其他家電。他向人們提供高質量的產品、包滿意的售后保障和友好的服務。他妻子歌利亞管理賬務，在她的幫助下，湯姆建立起了良好的聲譽。他為擁有高比例的回頭客感到自豪。

5年前，與湯姆競爭的一家股東與湯姆進行了接洽，并希望他能全部買下他們公司的股份。價格很誘人。一切都很合適。在做最后決定前，他問歌利亞對這筆買賣的看法。她說雖然價錢很公道，但是老覺得有什么地方不對勁。盡管如此，湯姆過于自信，深信這是個難得的機遇，所以他出手買下了那家公司。幾個月后他發現自己犯了個大錯。他在一個奄奄一息的公司身上花費了太多的錢。他竭盡全力希望能力挽狂瀾，但是沒能扭轉局面。他被迫申請破產。他就要失去一切了，包括原來的公司。

湯姆窘迫不已，但是他熬了過來。他分析自己的處境，并決定公開承認自己所犯的錯誤，而不是陷入沒完沒了的訴訟中，他集中精力對原來的公司進行挽救和重建。他也認識到沒聽妻子的忠告也是一大失誤，他得從中吸取教訓。他處理這次危機的方式得到了人們的認同，也贏得了更多的尊敬。老顧客又涌進了他的店鋪。他和歌利亞適應了零售業里的變化，生意做得以前還要紅火。

商場上，勝敗乃商家常事。只有把錯誤看做是禮物并從中吸取教訓的人能贏得源源不斷的收益。

【人生啟迪】

不管做什么事情，都會有風險，都有犯錯的可能。對待錯誤的態度決定你的最終成敗。犯了錯誤因為怕丟面子而不愿承認，一輩子都會活在這個錯誤的陰影中。相反，如果從錯誤中吸取教訓，頑強地重新站起來，你就又邁上了踏向成功的征程。