When I was a child growing up in public-housing projects in Canarsie，Brooklyn，lying in bed at one night I thinking: what if I had a crystal ball and could see the future? But I quickly shut out the thought. All I knew was I had to get out of the projects get out of Brooklyn. I was fortunate to go to college， but I didn't know what to do next. I had no mentor to help me sort out my options.

小時候我住在布魯克林區(qū)卡納西的房租低廉的住宅區(qū)，一天夜里我躺在床上思量：要是有個水晶球能窺見未來，那時的我會是怎樣的呢？不過我馬上拋開了這個念頭。我知道自己必須設(shè)法離開這里，離開布魯克林。后來我有幸上了大學，卻不知道下一步該怎么走。沒有人幫我指點迷津。

Eventually I discovered I had a talent for sales， and was hired by a Swedish housewares corporation. By age 28， I was vice president in charge of sales in the United States. I had an excellent salary and an apartment in New York City， and a beautiful wife，Sheri.My parents couldn't believe the life I was leading.

我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己有銷售的天賦推銷，被一家瑞典人開的家庭用品公司雇用。我，由于表現(xiàn)出色28歲晉升為主管美國銷售的副總裁。我薪金優(yōu)厚并擁有紐約市的一套豪宅，又娶得嬌妻雪瑞。連我的父母都不敢相信我能過上這樣的生活。

But I wanted to be in charge of my own destiny. I became aware of a strange phenomenon. A little retailer in Seattle was placing large orders for a drip coffee make.The company， Starbucks Coffee and Tea， had only four small stores， yet it was buying our product in quantities larger than Macy's was. Why was Seattle so taken with this coffee maker when the rest of the country was using electric coffee makers? I had to find out， so I went to Seattle. Starbucks's flagship store was modest but full of characters. It was an approach to business that was fresh and appealing to me.

不過我想主宰自己的命運。一個奇特的現(xiàn)象引起了我的注意。西雅圖有家經(jīng)營零售業(yè)的小公司向我們大量訂購滴濾式咖啡壺。這家公司名叫“明星咖啡連鎖公司”，只有4家小店，向我們買這種產(chǎn)品的數(shù)量卻超過百貨業(yè)巨擘梅西公司。當時美國各地普通使用電氣咖啡壺。何以此器具在西雅圖那么受歡迎？為了查明原因，我前往西雅圖。明星咖啡連鎖公司的總店樸實無華，卻別具風格。他們的經(jīng)商態(tài)度令我耳目一新，為之傾心。

I tried to persuade Baldwin to hire me—although it did not seem to be a logical career move. Taking a job at Starbucks would mean giving up my job and Sheri's job—and for what?\"You're doing well—you have a future，\" she argued.\"Don't give it up for a small company nobody's heard of.\"

我想說服巴登雇用我——老實說，此舉似乎并不明智。我如果去明星咖啡連鎖公司上班，就必須辭去現(xiàn)在的職位，而我的妻子也必須放棄現(xiàn)在的工作——為了什么？“你現(xiàn)在干得很不錯，前途遠大，”妻子勸道：“不要為一個誰都沒有聽說過的小公司放棄現(xiàn)在的工作?！?/p>

But Starbucks held an inexplicable attraction for me. During the year after my first visit， I found reasons to get back to Seattle several times. But they didn't decided to employ me. I called the boss many times and finally changed his mind.\"I'll employ you\" he said.

但是，對我來說，明星咖啡連鎖公司有不可言喻的吸引力。其后我在一年之內(nèi)又找借口去了西雅圖幾趟，但是他們并沒有決定雇用我。我給老板了多次電話，才終于說服他改變了意見，說：“我決定雇用你了?！?/p>

After I had been at Stabucks for a year， I had an experience that changed my life. I went to Milan to attend an international housewares show. On my first morning I noticed a little espresso bar. I had a coffee in the bar， and then I remembered its warmth and energy. That day I discovered the romance and ritual of coffee bars in Italy. I thought then we should do was sell coffee by the cup， in coffee bars，so they needn't ground and brew our coffee by themselves. However， my bosses argued \"Why rock the boat?\" So in 1985 I had to leave Starbucks and started my own company， Il Giornale.

進明星咖啡連鎖公司一年之后，由于另一件事，我的人生又有了大轉(zhuǎn)變。去米蘭參觀國際家庭用品展覽時，第一天早上，我注意到一個小小的蒸餾咖啡吧，在那兒我喝了一次香濃、溫暖讓我至今難忘的咖啡。那天我見識了意大利咖啡吧的浪漫格調(diào)和經(jīng)營風格。于是我想，我們何不論杯賣出，開咖啡吧，讓他們不必自行研磨沖泡也能喝到我們的咖啡呢。不過我的老板們卻反對說“干嘛找麻煩呢？”所以1985年冬天不得不離開明星咖啡連鎖公司，我創(chuàng)辦了自己的公司伊爾·喬爾納萊公司。

Within six months we were serving more than a thousand customers a day in our tiny Seattle store. We opened a second store six months after the first， and a third one in Vancouver. In 1987 I bought Starbucks stores. Then I had a better chance to accomplish my dreams.

不到半年，我們在西雅圖開的小店每天都有1000多位顧客光臨。第一家店開張6個月后，我們開了第二家，之后在溫哥華開了第三家。1987年，我收購了明星咖啡公司，得到了一個更好的實現(xiàn)雄心壯志的機會。

I believe life is full of chances. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It's seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future. It's seeing what other people don't see and pursuing that vision.

我相信人生中充滿機會。許多我們歸功于運氣，其實與運氣完全無關(guān)，而應(yīng)是把握時機，對自己的未來負責。見人之所未見，努力去追求、實現(xiàn)。

倒譯如流

Why rock the boat?

英語中和船有關(guān)的俗語有很多，rock the boat 指的是：找麻煩，讓人感到厭煩。如：I wouldn't tell the boss if I were you，he'll think you're just rocking the boat and making trouble.

還有一個常用的俗語To shape up or ship out，to shape up是改進。to ship out 是離開。所以該句的意思是：要不就改進你的工作，否則就離開這兒。如：\"Jones， Your uniform looks like you slept in it! Your rifle is always dirty， and you can't follow a simple order! I'm telling you， soldier —either shape up or ship out， you hear me?\"

◆編輯：譚添夏