奧裏森·馬登/Orison Marden
"But I'm good for something," pleaded a young man whom a merchant was about to discharge for his bluntness.
"You are good for nothing as a salesman," said his employer.
"I am sure I can be useful." said the youth.
"How? Tell me how."
"I don't know, sir, I don't know."
"Nor do I," said the merchant, laughing at the earnestness of his clerk.
"Only don't put me away, sir, don't put me away. Try me at something besides selling. I cannot sell; I know I cannot sell."
"I know that, too," said the principal; "that is what is wrong."
"But I can make myself useful somehow," persisted the young man; "I know I can."
He was placed in the counting-house, where his aptitude for figures soon showed itself, and in a few years he became not only chief cashier in the large store, but an eminent accountant.
"Rue it as he may, repent it as he often does," says Robert Waters, "the man of genius is drawn by an irresistible impulse to the occupation for which he was created. No matter by what difficulties surrounded, no matter how unpromising the prospect, this occupation is the only one which he will pursue with interest and pleasure. When his efforts fail to procure means of subsistence, and he finds himself poor and neglected, he may, like Burns, often look back with a sigh and think how much better off he would be had he pursued some other occupation, but he will stick to his favorite pursuit, nevertheless."
“可我並非一點用處也沒有啊！”一個即將被老板解雇的年輕人苦苦哀求道。
雇主冷冷地說：“你根本沒有做推銷員的潛質！”
“我肯定自己是有價值的！”年輕人答道。
“什麽價值？證明給我看啊！”
“我不知道，先生，我不知道。”
“那我就更不知道了。”雇主嘲笑著這個雄心勃勃的雇員。
“先生，我隻求您不要把我開除，不要把我開除。除了銷售，我做什麽都可以。我不擅長銷售，我知道我根本不會銷售。”
“我也知道你不會，而這恰恰就是問題所在。”
“但是我知道我能在別的方麵證明自己，我知道我能行。”年輕人堅持著。
最後，雇主把年輕人安排到了會計室。不久，年輕人的數學天賦得到了充分發揮。短短幾年之後，這個年輕人不僅成了一家大商店的出納主任，而且還是一名傑出的會計師。
羅伯特·韋特斯曾經說過：“也許我們會為自己的所作所為感到後悔，一個人為了自己追求的事業點燃了**的烈焰時，他才能發揮自己的天賦。不管遭受了多少艱難困苦，不管前途多麽渺茫，唯有這樣的事業我們才會充滿興趣，滿懷熱情地去追求。當我們的努力沒有達到預期目標時，也許會像彭斯那樣歎息，如果選擇其他職業就不會落得今天這步田地了！然而，毫無疑問的是，我們不會停下追尋夢想的腳步！”
Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning.
—Newman
不要害怕你的生活將要結束，應該擔心你的生活永遠不曾真正開始。
——紐曼
discharge[dis?t?ɑ:d?]v.卸下；放出；解雇；放電；解除
The judge discharged the prisoner.
法官把囚犯釋放了。
bluntness[?bl?ntnis]n.鈍；率直；遲鈍
Such bluntness is characteristic of him.
他就是這麽遲鈍。
aptitude[??ptitju:d]n.才能；資質
Edison had a remarkable aptitude for inventing new things.
愛迪生具有發明創造的非凡才能。
eminent[?emin?nt]adj.著名的；卓越的
He is eminent among scientists.
他在科學家中是聞名的。
但是我知道我能在別的方麵證明自己，我知道我能行。
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不管遭受了多少艱難困苦，不管前途多麽渺茫，唯有這樣的事業我們才會充滿興趣，滿懷熱情地去追求。
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然而，毫無疑問的是，我們不會停下追尋夢想的腳步！
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"But I'm good for something," pleaded a young man whom a merchant was about to discharge for his bluntness.
be about to：剛要；即將.
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..but he will stick to his favorite pursuit, nevertheless.
stick to：堅持
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