"Mike says you want to learn to make money? Is that correct, Robert?"
“邁克說你們想學賺錢，對嗎，羅伯特？”

I nodded my head quickly, but with a little intimidation. He had a lot of power behind his words and smile.
我快速地點點頭，心里有點兒忐忑，在他的微笑和話語后面似乎隱藏著一股很強的力量。

"OK, here's my offer. I'll teach you, but I won't do it classroom-style. You work for me, I'll teach you. You don't work for me, I won't teach you. I can teach you faster if you work, and I'm wasting my time if you just want to sit and listen, like you do in school. That's my offer. Take it or leave it."
“好，這就是我的建議：由我來教你們賺錢，但我不會像在教室里教學生那樣教你們，你們得為我工作，否則我就不教。因為通過工作我可以更快地教會你們，如果你們只想坐著聽講，就像在學校里那樣的話，那我就是在浪費時間了。怎么樣？小伙子們，這就是我的建議，你們可以接受也可以拒絕”。

"Ah... may I ask a question first?" I asked.
“嗯……我可以先問個問題嗎？”我問。

"No. Take it or leave it. I've got too much work to do to waste my time. If you can't make up you mind decisively, then you'll never learn to make money anyway. Opportunities come and go. Being able to know when to make quick decisions is an important skill. You have an opportunity that you asked for. School is beginning or it's over in ten seconds," Mike's dad said with a teasing smile.
“不能，你只能告訴我是接受還是拒絕。因為我有太多的事要做，不能浪費時間。如果你不能下定決心，就永遠也學不會如何賺錢。要知道，機會總是轉瞬即逝，要想成功必須迅速作出決定。你看，現在你有一個你想要的機會，但這個賺錢學校可以在10秒鐘內開學或者關門，那么你……。”邁克的爸爸微笑著看著我們，卻并沒有說下去。

"Take it," I said.
“接受。”我說。

"Take it," said Mike.
“接受。”邁克也說。

"Good," said Mike's dad. "Mrs. Martin will be by in ten minutes. After I'm through with her, you ride with her to my superette and you can begin working. I'll pay you 10 cents an hour and you will work for three hours every Saturday."
“好！”邁克的爸爸說道，“馬丁夫人會在幾分鐘內到達。等我和她辦完事后，你們跟她去我的雜貨店，你們可以在那兒開始工作了。我每小時付給你們10美分，你們每周六來工作3個小時。”

"But I have a softball game today," I said.
“但我今天有一場棒球比賽！”我說。

Mike's dad lowered his voice to a stern tone. "Take it or leave it," he said.
邁克的爸爸降低聲調嚴厲地說：“接受或者拒絕。”

"I'll take it," I replied, choosing to work and learn instead of playing softball.
“我接受。”我趕忙回答，我決定去工作和學習而不去打棒球了。

************************************

My educated poor dad told me to demand what I deserve. At least 25 cents an hour. My poor dad told me that if I did not get a raise, I was to quit immediately.
我那受過高等教育的窮爸爸要我去爭取應有的待遇，每小時至少25美分。爸爸說如果我得不到加薪，就應該立即退出。

"You don't need that damned job anyway," said my poor dad with indignity.
爸爸氣憤地說：“你根本不需要那份該死的工作。”

At 8 o'clock Saturday morning, I was going through the same rickety door of Mike's house.
星期六早上8點，我又穿過了邁克家那扇搖晃著的大門。

"Take a seat and wait in line," Mike's dad said as I entered. He turned and disappeared into his little office next to a bedroom.
“坐下等著。”邁克的爸爸在我進門時對我說，說完便轉身消失在他那臥室邊的小辦公室里。

I looked around the room and did not see Mike anywhere. Feeling awkward, I cautiously sat down next to the same two women who where there four weeks earlier. They smiled and slid across the couch to make room for me.
我四下看看，沒發現邁克，我感到有些局促，小心地坐到了沙發上，四個星期前見過的那兩個女人笑著給我挪出了點地方。

Forty-five minutes went by, and I was steaming. The two women had met with him and left thirty minutes earlier. An older gentleman was in there for twenty minutes and was also gone.
45分鐘過去了，我開始冒火，那兩個女人已經在30分鐘前會見完畢離開了。那個老紳士在呆了20分鐘后，也辦完事走了。

The house was empty, and I sat out in his musty dark living room on a beautiful sunny Hawaiian day, waiting to talk to a cheapskate who exploited children. I could hear him rustling around the office, talking on the phone, and ignoring me. I was now ready to walk out, but for some reason I stayed.
那天夏威夷陽光燦爛，外邊時不時地傳來大人、孩子嬉戲的笑聲，而我卻仍在那幢陳舊黑暗的屋子里坐著，等候一個剝削童工的小商人的召見。我能聽見他在辦公室里沙沙地走動、打電話，但就是不理我。我真的想出去了，但不知為什么我沒有走。

Finally, fifteen minutes later, at exactly 9 o'clock, rich dad walked out of his office, said nothing, and signaled with his hand for me to enter his dingy office.
又過了15分鐘，正好9點，富爸爸終于走出了他的辦公室。他什么也沒說，用手示意要我跟著他去那間小辦公室。

"I understand you want a raise or you're going to quit," rich dad said as he swiveled in his office chair.
“你要求加薪，否則你就不干了，是嗎？”他邊說邊在椅子里搖來搖去。

"Well, you're not keeping your end of the bargain," I blurted out nearly in tears. It was really frightening for a 9-year-old boy to confront a grownup.
“你不講信用！”我脫口而出，眼淚差點掉下來。這樣的事對一個9歲的小男孩來說是覺得挺委屈的。

"You said that you would teach me if I worked for you. Well, I've worked for you. I've worked hard. I've given up my baseball games to work for you. And you don't keep your word. You haven't taught me anything. You are a crook like everyone in town thinks you are. You're greedy. You want all the money and don't take care of your employees. You make me wait and don't show me any respect. I'm only a little boy, and I deserve to be treated better."
“你說過如果我為你工作，你就會教我。好，我給你干活，我工作努力，我甚至放棄了棒球比賽來為你工作，而你卻說話不算數，你什么也沒教我！就像鎮上每個人說的那樣，你言而無信，還貪心。你想要所有的錢而毫不關心你的雇員。此外，你一點兒也不尊重我，讓我等了這么久。我只是個小孩，我應該得到優待！”

Rich dad rocked back in his swivel chair, hands up to his chin, somewhat staring at me. It was like he was studying me.
富爸爸在搖椅里向后一靠，手摸著下巴盯著我，好像在研究我。

"Not bad," he said. "In less than a month, you sound like most of my employees."
“不錯，”他說，“還不到1個月，你已經有點像我的其他雇員了。”

"What?" I asked. Not understanding what he was saying, I continued with my grievance. "I thought you were going to keep your end of the bargain and teach me. Instead you want to torture me? That's cruel. That's really cruel."
“什么？”我問。我并未聽明白他的話，心里更加氣憤不已。“我想你會如約教我，然而你卻想折磨我？這太殘忍了，真的太殘忍了！”

"I am teaching you," rich dad said quietly.
“我正在教你。”富爸爸平靜地說。

"What have you taught me? Nothing!" I said angrily. "You haven't even talked to me once since I agreed to work for peanuts. Ten cents an hour. Hah! I should notify the government about you. We have child labor laws, you know. My dad works for the government, you know."
“你教我什么了？什么也沒有！”我生氣極了，“自從我為那幾個小錢干活以來，你甚至沒和我說過話！10美分1小時！哈，我應該到政府那兒告你！你知道，我們有《童工法》，我爸可是為政府工作的。”

"Wow!" said rich dad. "Now you sound just like most of the people who used to work for me. People I've either fired or they've quit."
“哇！”富爸爸叫道：“現在你看上去就像大多數給我干過活的人了，他們要么被解雇要么辭職不干了。‘”

"So what do you have to say?" I demanded, feeling pretty brave for a little kid. "You lied to me. I've worked for you, and you have not kept your word. You haven't taught me anything."
“你還有什么要說的？”我說道。作為一個小孩，我覺得自己很有勇氣。“你騙了我，我為你工作，而你卻不守信用，你什么也沒教我”。

"How do you know that I've not taught you anything?" asked rich dad calmly.
“你怎么知道我什么都沒教你？”富爸爸仍然平靜地問我。

"Well, you've never talked to me. I've worked for three weeks, and you have not taught me anything," I said with a pout.
“你從不和我說話，我給你干了三個星期，而你什么也沒教給我。”我撅著嘴說。

"Does teaching mean talking or a lecture?" rich dad asked.
“教東西一定要說或講嗎？”富爸爸問。

"Well, yes," I replied.
“是呀。”我回答道。

"That's how they teach you in school," he said smiling. "But that is not how life teaches you, and I would say that life is the best teacher of all. Most of the time, life does not talk to you. It just sort of pushes you around. Each push is life saying, Wake up. There's something I want you to learn.' "
“那是學校教你們的法子，”他笑著說，“但生活可不是這樣的教法。你知道嗎，生活才是最好的老師，大多數時候，生活并不對你說些什么，它只是推著你轉，每一次推，它都像是在說‘喂，醒一醒，有些東西我想讓你學學’”。

"What is this man talking about?" I asked myself silently. "Life pushing me around was life talking to me?" Now I knew I had to quit my job. I was talking to someone who needed to be locked up.
“這家伙在說些什么？”我暗自問自己。“生活推著我轉就是生活在對我說話？”現在我知道我必須辭職了，我正在和一個應該被關進精神病院的家伙說話。

"If you learn life's lessons, you will do well. If not, life will just continue to push you around. People do two things. Some just let life push them around. Others get angry and push back. But they push back against their boss, or their job, or their husband or wife. They do not know it's life that's pushing."
但富爸爸仍在說：“假如你弄懂了生活這門大課，做任何事情你都會游刃有余。但就算你學不會，生活照樣會推著你轉。所以生活中，人們通常會做兩件事。一些人在生活推著他轉的同時，抓住生活賜予的每個機會；而另一些人則聽任生活的擺布，不去與生活抗爭。他們埋怨生活的不公平，因此就去討厭老板，討厭工作，討厭家人，他們不知道生活也賜予了他們機會。”

I had no idea what he was talking about.
當時我還是不太明白富爸爸的話。

"Life pushes all of us around. Some give up. Others fight. A few learn the lesson and move on. They welcome life pushing them around. To these few people, it means they need and want to learn something. They learn and move on. Most quit, and a few like you fight."
“生活推著我們所有的人，有些人放棄了，有些人在抗爭。學會了這一課的少數人會進步，他們歡迎生活來積極地推動他們，對他們來說，這種推動意味著他們又可以去學習一些新的東西，然后再進步。當然，大多數人還是放棄了，一部分人像你一樣還在抗爭。”

Rich dad stood and shut the creaky old wooden window that needed repair. "If you learn this lesson, you will grow into a wise, wealthy and happy young man. If you don't, you will spend your life blaming a job, low pay or your boss for your problems. You'll live life hoping for that big break that will solve all your money problems."
富爸爸站起來，推開那扇破舊失修的窗子，“如果你學會了這一課，你就會成為一個智慧、快樂而富有的人。如果你沒有學會，你就只會終生抱怨工作、報怨低報酬和難以相處的老板，你會生活在一勞永逸地把你所有的錢的問題都解決的幻想中。”

Rich dad looked over at me to see if I was still listening. His eyes met mine. We stared at each other, streams of communication going between us through our eyes. Finally, I pulled away once I had absorbed his last message. I knew he was right. I was blaming him, and I did ask to learn. I was fighting.
富爸爸抬眼看我是否在聽。他的眼光與我相遇，我們互相對視著，通過眼睛互相交流著，最后，當我接收了他全部的信息后，我將眼睛轉開了。我知道他是對的，我需要向他學習。

Rich dad continued. "Or if you're the kind of person who has no guts, you just give up every time life pushes you. If you're that kind of person, you'll live all your life playing it safe, doing the right things, saving yourself for some event that never happens. Then, you die a boring old man. You'll have lots of friends who really like you because you were such a nice hard-working guy. You spent a life playing it safe, doing the right things. But the truth is, you let life push you into submission. Deep down you were terrified of taking risks. You really wanted to win, but the fear of losing was greater than the excitement of winning. Deep inside, you and only you will know you didn't go for it. You chose to play it safe."
富爸爸繼續說：“如果你是那種沒有毅力的人，你將放棄生活對你的每一次推動。這樣的話，你的一生會過得穩穩當當，不做錯事、隨時準備著當永遠不會發生的事情發生時解救自己，然后，在無聊中老死。你會有許多像你一樣的朋友，希望生活穩定、處世無誤。但事實是，你對生活屈服了，不敢承擔風險。你的確想贏，但失去的恐懼超過了成功的興奮，事實是從內心深處，你就始終認為你不可能贏，所以你選擇了穩定。”

Our eyes met again. For ten seconds, we looked at each other, only pulling away once the message was received.
我們的眼光又相遇了。十秒鐘之久，我們互相注視著，直到相互明白了對方的心意。