堅持是成功的一半

                                                            謝玉筠

人，倘若逢事都一帆風順的話，也許體會不到成果來之不易的道理，還會因之而缺乏處理事物的能力和經驗。我認為，一個在事業上成功的人，背後定有無數艱難的時刻、汗珠及淚水。但做人必須有理想，有個追求的目標，不畏困難，不怕摔跟頭。在我走過的路途中，我正是不斷地為追尋目標、理想而不懈努力的。幾十年的艱辛曆程，錘煉了我的意誌，使我在無數次失敗之後，學到了在學堂裏永遠學不到的處世道理。

  　我是上世紀六十年代初從香港到英國的，初來時兩手空空，身無長物。經過幾十年的拚搏，今天總算有自己的家園，還拿了大學學位的證書。回想往事，艱辛的腳印曆曆在目。俗語說：“苦盡甘來”。若說我在事業上稍有所成的話，那麽這與艱苦奮鬥是分不開的，而我所受過的艱難挫折更是一言難盡。

記得剛抵埠時，我麵臨的困難非常多，而身邊的親人朋友屈卻指可數，自己的英語掌握得又不算很好，手頭又不寬裕，再說身邊還帶著一個年僅六歲的女兒。一方麵，要尋找生計，另一方麵，又得照顧孩子。該怎樣去麵對這一切，怎樣在這陌生的土地上站穩腳步呢？當時我常為這個問題而苦悶、失落。但我知道，要達成願望，必須做出犧牲，多下苦功。我決定強化英語，在起點線上從頭起步。我把每天的時間一分為三：三分之一的時間上班，三分之一的時間用來學習英文，另外的三分之一用來伴陪和照顧女兒及打理家務。我每天工作十二個小時，晚上要先哄女兒去睡覺後才能作片刻的休息，然後待到夜深人靜時再起來看書、學習。上班時，我踏踏實實地工作；讀書時，我用功賣力，從來很少馬虎了事。就這樣，我用了一年的時間在英語語音方麵攻關；然後又花了四年的時間進修各種課程、考取證書。我付出的一切總算還有收獲。

 抵英後不久我開始著手房産業生意，這是我創業的開始。萬事開頭難，由於資金有限，而對市場又不熟悉，我碰了很多釘子。七十年代初期，英國的房價開始漲價，很多人不敢置購物業，但我還是某著風險購入一棟連建築商都不敢要的房子。這棟房子可算破爛極了：屋外下大雨時，屋裏就下小雨；房子裏邊木料腐朽，潮濕陰暗。購入後我開始想辦法貸款分層改建。那時候，改建計劃的申請一般得等三年。如此漫長的時間，再加上這麽大規模的裝拆、這麽大數目的貸款，其風險可想而知的；換了意誌不夠堅定的人，也許就此半途而廢了。經過一番周折，銀行終於同意貸款。改建計劃總算得到了落實，而我也在房產生意的園地裏邁走出了第一步，初步嘗到了的果實，更練就了意誌。

 我邊工作邊學習，漸漸感覺好像找到學英語竅門，從而學習的進步更快，辦事也慢慢的可以自行應付了。說實在，我學英語還是靠自學的多，自個兒摸索著前進，沒有人指導，也沒有像許多人那樣，身邊總有經常可以答複問題的老師。較早時由於工作繁忙，我沒有時間進大學；退休後，我報名入讀大學，並在一九九二年拿取了學士學位。要不是眼力比前差，我還想拿個碩士學位來過把穩呢。這麽多年來，除了做生意外，我還參加社區的建設工作。一九八三年，我加入華人社區義工的行列，後來獲選為社區協會主席。近年來我還為華人社區籌款、捐款。我把幫助人當作是一種神聖的義務，又把這種義務當作人生的中樂趣。我覺得我活得很充實，很有意義。

“有誌者事竟成”。幾十年來，這一句名言不斷激勵著我、鼓舞著我，在我遇到困難時為我增添力量。由於性格堅強，我往往能從困境中解脫出來；由於自強不息，我才有我的今天，盡管我所有的一切還算微不足道。我想，一個人，隻要能樹立正確的人生觀，明確進取的方向，就可以在人生的道路上穩步前進。我誠懇地希望，年輕的華人子弟們，無論在求學或工作中，都要兢兢業業，埋頭苦幹，這樣他們的青春才會放射出燦爛豔麗的花朵。

 

A  Journey to Success                                                                            

 If everything can be reached without hard work, one may not realize the true value of what one has got. Without going through difficulties, one may forever be unable to acquire the skills and experience needed in life. I think however little one has achieved, he or she would have made tremendous efforts for it. A life has meaning only when it’s filled with ambitions, objectives and a desire to succeed. Along the path I have taken, I can proudly say that I have never abandoned my ambitions to succeed, even in the most difficult times. For decades I have continued to work very hard along a difficult journey. Time and again I fell, and time and again I rose and moved on. I have become stronger, and have learned a great of things which otherwise I would never be able to learn in the classroom.

          I arrived in the UK in the late1960s, having lived in Hong Kong for a long time after leaving Mainland China. I came with basically nothing. After decades of hard work, I now have my own house, and have gained a university degree. Looking back, those difficult steps that I had left behind are still fresh in mind. There is a Chinese saying that goes like this, ‘after suffering comes happiness’. If what I have now can be regarded as some kind of achievement, then this achievement has not come without a price. It is the result of many tiring working days and sleepless nights. Actually, what I have suffered in the past is really a long story to tell.

I remember when I first came, I had basically very few people whom I could rely on. My English was rather poor then and I had very limited financial resource, not to mention that I also had a daughter who was only six years old. So I urgently needed to find work. But will I ever be able to face all the problems and survive in this unfamiliar world? I kept wondering this question and often felt stuck and helpless. I realized that in order to survive I had to make sacrifice and huge efforts. I decided to start from anew, first to improve my English. I divided my daily duties into three parts: one third for work, one third for studying English, and one third to be with my little girl and doing the chores. I worked twelve hours a day. Often I would take a little rest after sending my little girl to bed early in the evening, then got up again to study English. I took my work and studies very seriously and worked very hard on my homework. After a year or so, I made some improvement in my English pronunciation. Then I carried on working on other subjects for another four years. I then took examinations for these subjects and passed them all. I was very glad that I did make good progress in my studies.

 Not long after arriving in the UK I began to look at the possibility of engaging in real estate business. This was the beginning of my career here. In the beginning I really faced quite a few problems.  Property prices in the UK began to rise in the early 1970s. But even then I made a risky decision to buy a property which even the professional dealers were not too keen to possess. The house was really bad indeed. There were leaks here and there in the ceiling. Inside it was rather wet and dark; much of the woodworks were rotted. I decided to borrow money from the bank to carry out the repairs. At that time obtaining a planning permission for refurbishment was not straightforward business – you would normally three years for a planning permission to be granted. So for such a huge amount of invest and uncertain venture, most people would be reluctant to take the risk. Fortunately a bank did agree to lend me money so that the project did come to a quite unexpected end. The contracts really did a good job to give a facelift. Since I was able to overcome a very first problem in business, the whole thing gave me further strength to move on.

  On the other hand, I continued to acquire knowledge needed for business, even during those very difficult times. With a better command of the language, I had made considerable progress in my study five years into my migrating to the UK. This helped a great deal in my dealing with business transactions. To be frank in terms of English acquisition, I more or less taught myself. Unlike others I did not always have a teacher who could correct me all the time, or give me help when I needed it. Eventually I was able to complete a degree course in 1992, fulfilling the dream that I had had as a young girl so many years ago. Besides, all along I always tried to offer help in a Chinese community centre. I began this in 1983, starting as a volunteer. Later I was voted a chairwoman of the group’s management committee. In recent years I have been involved in fundraising activities and seeking donations for Chinese older people. I enjoy being a volunteer and derive lots of pleasure from it. I feel life wonderful and meaningful.

‘Aspiration is the father of success’. This is the belief that I have held all these years. It has given me the courage to move on, guiding my way even in the darkest days of my life. With a strong character, I have always been able to overcome the problems I faced and come out successfully. And because the fact I have always been persistent, I have been able to achieve most of my goals. I believe, only when one has a well-defined goal and a vision for life, can one move on along a successful journey. I hope today’s young Chinese can excel in their studies and succeed in work, and be able to realize their lifelong dreams.

 

                                                                         Translated by Cao Yuan

[獨走天涯]

佩服你的毅力和勇氣。這值得所有在逆境中跋涉的人共勉！

我也是一個不滿現狀，艱難跋涉的人。