For three weeks, Mike and I reported to Mrs. Martin and worked our three hours. By noon, our work was over, and she dropped three little dimes in each of our hands. Now, even at the age of 9 in the mid-1950s, 30 cents was not too exciting. Comic books cost 10 cents back then, so I usually spent my money on comic books and went home.
此后的三个星期中，每周六迈克和我向马丁夫人报到并在她那儿工作3个小时。中午以前，我们的工作就结束了，她就在我们每人的手中放下三个小钢蹦儿。即使是在50年代中期，对于9岁的男孩来说，30美分也并不十分令人激动，因为就算买一本小人书也得花上10美分呢。
"What are you laughing at?" I asked with anger and frustration.
“你笑什么？”我沮丧而气恼地问。
"Dad said this would happen. He said to meet with him when you were ready to quit."
“我爸说早料到了，他说如果你不想干了就让我带你去见他。”
"I'm quitting," I told Mike at lunchtime. The school lunch was miserable. School was boring, and now I did not even have my Saturdays to look forward to. But it was the 30 cents that really got to me.
“我要退出。”吃午饭的时候我对迈克说。学校的午饭糟透了，上课也没劲，而且我现在几乎一点也不盼着过星期六了。因为对我而言，现在的星期六换来的仅仅是每周的30美分。
By Wednesday of the fourth week, I was ready to quit. I had agreed to work only because I wanted to learn to make money from Mike's dad, and now I was a slave for 10 cents an hour. On top of that, I had not seen Mike's dad since that first Saturday.
第四个星期的星期三，我准备退出了。我答应工作是因为我想从迈克爸爸那里学会赚钱，而现在我却成了每小时10美分的奴隶。更糟糕的是，自从第一个星期六后我就一直没见到过我们的赚钱老师——迈克的爸爸。
This time Mike smiled.
迈克得意地笑了。
"What?" I said indignantly. "He's been waiting for me to get fed up?"
“什么？”我感到受了愚弄，气愤地问，“他早就在等我去找他？”
Waiting in Line on Saturday
星期六的排队等候
"Sort of," Mike said. "Dad's kind of different. He teaches differently from your dad. Your mom and dad lecture a lot. My dad is quiet and a man of few words. You just wait till this Saturday. I'll tell him. you're ready."
“是的，我爸是个不一般的人，他跟你爸的教育方法不一样。你爸你妈说得多，我爸说得少，不过他早就猜到了你会这么说的。你要等到这个周六，我会告诉他你已经准备好了。
"No, not really, but maybe. Dad will explain on Saturday."
“还不肯定，但有可能。我爸会在周六说明的。”
I was ready to face him and I was prepared. Even my real dad was angry with him. My real dad, the one I call the poor one, thought that my rich dad was violating child labor laws and should be investigated.
我已经准备好要面对迈克的爸爸说个明白，连我的亲爸爸也生气了。我的亲爸爸，就是我前面说的较穷的那个，认为我的富爸爸违反了童工法应该受到调查。
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.
我那受过高等教育的爸爸要我去争取应有的待遇，每小时至少25美分。爸爸说如果我得不到加薪，就应该立即退出。
"You mean I've been set up?"
“你是说我被设计了？”
At 8 o'clock Saturday morning, I was going through the same rickety door of Mike's house.
星期六早上8点，我又穿过了迈克家那扇摇晃着的大门。
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，没发现迈克，我感到有些局促，小心地坐到了沙发上，四个星期前见过的那两个女人笑着给我挪出了点地方。
"You don't need that damned job anyway," said my poor dad with indignity.
爸爸气愤地说：“你根本不需要那份该死的工作。”
"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.
“坐下等着。”迈克的爸爸在我进门时对我说，说完便转身消失在他那卧室边的小办公室里。
"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.
“你不讲信用！”我脱口而出，眼泪差点掉下来。这样的事对一个9岁的小男孩来说是觉得挺委屈的。
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分钟过去了，我开始冒火，那两个女人已经在30分钟前会见完毕离开了。那个老绅士在呆了20分钟后，也办完事走了。
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.
一个小时过去了，那天夏威夷阳光灿烂，外边时不时地传来大人、孩子嬉戏的笑声，而我却仍在那幢陈旧黑暗的屋子里坐着，等候一个剥削童工的小商人的召见。我能听见他在办公室里沙沙地走动、打电话，但就是不理我。我真的想出去了，但不知为什么我没有走。
"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."
“你说过如果我为你工作，你就会教我。好，我给你干活，我工作努力，我甚至放弃了棒球比赛来为你工作，而你却说话不算数，你什么也没教我！就像镇上每个人说的那样，你言而无信，还贪心。你想要所有的钱而毫不关心你的雇员。此外，你一点儿也不尊重我，让我等了这么久。我只是个小孩，我应该得到优待！”。
"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，否则你就不干了，是吗？”他边说边在椅子里摇来摇去。
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.
又过了15分钟，正好9点，富爸爸终于走出了他的办公室。他什么也没说，用手示意要我跟着他去那间小办公室。
"I am teaching you," rich dad said quietly.
“我正在教你。”富爸爸平静地说。
"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？”我问。我并未听明白他的话，心里更加气愤不已。“我想你会如约教我，然而你却想折磨我？这太残忍了，真的太残忍了！”
"Not bad," he said. "In less than a month, you sound like most of my employees."
“不错，”他说，“还不到1个月，你已经有点像我的其他雇员了。”
Rich dad rocked back in his swivel chair, hands up to his chin, somewhat staring at me. It was like he was studying me.
富爸爸在摇椅里向后一靠，手摸着下巴盯着我，好像在研究我。
"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？什么也没有！”我生气极了，“自从我为那几个小钱干活以来，你甚至没和我说过话！10美分1小时！哈，我应该到政府那儿告你！你知道，我们有《童工法》，我爸可是为政府工作的。”
"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."
“这正是我想要做的！”我说道。作为一个小孩，我觉得自己很有勇气。“你骗了我，我为你工作，而你却不守信用，你什么也没教我”。
"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：“现在你看上去就像大多数给我干过活的人了，他们要么被解雇要么辞职不干了。”
"How do you know that I've not taught you anything?" asked rich dad calmly.
“你怎么知道我什么都没教你？”富爸爸仍然平静地问我。
"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.
“你从不和我说话，我给你干了三个星期，而你什么也没教给我。”我撅着嘴说。
"Well, yes," I replied.
“是呀。”我回答道。
"Does teaching mean talking or a lecture?" rich dad asked.
“教东西一定要说或讲吗？”富爸爸问。
"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."
但富爸爸仍在说：“假如你弄懂了生活这门大课，做任何事情你都会游刃有余。但就算你学不会，生活照样会推着你转。所以生活中，人们通常会做两件事。一些人在生活推着他转的同时，抓住生活赐予的每个机会；而另一些人则听任生活的摆布，不去与生活抗争。他们埋怨生活的不公平，因此就去讨厌老板，讨厌工作，讨厌家人，他们不知道生活也赐予了他们机会。”
"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.'"
“那是学校教你们的法子，”他笑着说，“但生活可不是这样的教法。你知道吗，生活才是最好的老师，大多数时候，生活并不对你说些什么，它只是推着你转，每一次推，它都像是在说‘喂，醒一醒，有些东西我想让你学学”’。
"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.
“这家伙在说些什么？”我暗自问自己。“生活推着我转就是生活在对我说话？”现在我知道我必须辞职了，我正在和一个应该被关进精神病院的家伙说话。
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."
富爸爸站起来，推开那扇破旧失修的窗子，“如果你学会了这一课，你就会成为一个智慧、快乐而富有的人。如果你没有学会，你就只会终生抱怨工作、报怨低报酬和难以相处的老板，你会生活在一劳永逸地把你所有的钱的问题都解决的幻想中。”
I had no idea what he was talking about.
当时我还是不太明白富爸爸的话。
"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."
“生活推着我们所有的人，有些人放弃了，有些人在抗争。学会了这一课的少数人会进步，他们欢迎生活来积极地推动他们，对他们来说，这种推动意味着他们又可以去学习一些新的东西，然后再进步。当然，大多数人还是放弃了，一部分人像你一样还在抗争。”
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."
富爸爸继续说：“如果你是那种没有毅力的人，你将放弃生活对你的每一次推动。这样的话，你的一生会过得稳稳当当，不做错事、随时准备着当永远不会发生的事情发生时解救自己，然后，在无聊中老死。你会有许多像你一样的朋友，希望生活稳定、处世无误。但事实是，你对生活屈服了，不敢承担风险。你的确想赢，但失去的恐惧超过了成功的兴奋，事实是从内心深处，你就始终认为你不可能＊，所以你选择了稳定。”
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听。他的眼光与我相遇，我们互相对视着，通过眼睛互相交流着，最后，当我接收了他全部的信息后，我将眼睛转开了。我知道他是对的，我需要向他学习。
"You boys are the first people that have ever asked me to teach them how to make money. I have more than 150 employees, and not one of them has asked me what I know about money. They ask me for a job and a paycheck, but never to teach them about money. So most will spend the best years of their lives working for money, not really understanding what it is they are working for."
“你们俩是第一个请求我教授如何赚钱的人，我有15O 多个雇员，但没有一个人请教过我这个问题。他们只是要求工作，并获得报酬。他们把一生中最好的年华用来为钱而工作，却不愿去弄明白工作到底是为了什么。”
"You've been pushing me around" I asked.
“你一直想推动我吗？”我问。
"Some people might say that," smiled rich dad. "I would say that I just gave you a taste of life."
“可以这样说，但我宁愿说我是在让你品尝生活的滋味。”富爸爸笑道。
Our eyes met again. For ten seconds, we looked at each other, only pulling away once the message was received.
我们的眼光又相遇了。十秒钟之久，我们互相注视着，直到相互明白了对方的心意。
"What taste of life?" I asked, still angry, but now curious. Even ready to learn.
“什么是生活的滋味？”我问，怒气未消，但充满好奇，甚至准备聆听教诲了。
I sat there listening intently.
我坐在那儿专心地听着。
"So when Mike told me about you wanting to learn how to make money, I decided to design a course that was close to real life. I could talk until I was blue in the face, but you wouldn't hear a thing. So I decided to let life push you around a bit so you could hear me. That's why I only paid you 10 cents."
“所以当迈克告诉我你们想赚钱时，我决定设计一个和真实生活相近的课程。虽然我也可以说得精疲力尽，但你们会左耳进，右耳出，所以我决定让生活给你们演示一下，这样你们就会听懂我想说的话了，这也就是为什么我每小时只给你们10美分的用意。”
"I don't understand," I said.
“我不明白。”我说。
"That you're cheap," I said with a sly grin.
“我很便宜。”我不好意思地笑着说。
"So what is the lesson I learned from working for only 10 cents an hour?" I asked. "That you're cheap and exploit your workers?"
“那么10美分一小时的工作又有什么教益呢？”我问，“是说工人很便宜，可以去剥削他们吗？”
"Don't blame me for your problems," rich dad said, growing impatient.
“别拿你的毛病来责备我。”富爸爸说，他开始有些不耐烦了。
"Well, if you don't pay me more or show me more respect and teach me, I'll quit."
“嗯，请你提高我的工资，对我更尊重些并教我如何赚钱。”
Rich dad rocked back and laughed heartily. Finally, after his laughing stopped, he said, "You'd best change your point of view. Stop blaming me, thinking I'm the problem. If you think I'm the problem, then you have to change me. If you realize that you're the problem, then you can change yourself, learn something and grow wiser. Most people want everyone else in the world to change but themselves. Let me tell you, it's easier to change yourself than everyone else."
富爸爸向后靠去并开心地笑了起来，随后说：“你最好改变一下观点，停止责备我，你是不是以为我有毛病。如果你认为我有病，你得想法儿改变我；如果你认为问题在你那儿，你就得去学习，然后改变自己，让自己变得更聪明。大多数人认为世界上除了自己外，其他人都应该改变。让我告诉你吧，改变自己比改变他人更容易。”
"See, you think I'm the problem," said rich dad.
“瞧，你还是觉得问题在我这儿呢。”富爸爸说。
"But you are."
“可的确是这样呀。”
"Well, keep that attitude and you learn nothing. Keep the attitude that I'm the problem and what choices do you have?"
“好吧，如果你继续保持这种态度，你就什么也学不到。反过来，如果问题的确在我，你该怎么办？”
"So what are you learning?" rich dad asked, smiling.
“那么你学到了什么？”他笑着问。
"But you only pay me 10 cents."
“可你每小时只给我10美分哪！”
"Well put," rich dad said. "And that's exactly what most people do. They quit and go looking for another job, better opportunity, and higher pay, actually thinking that a new job or more pay will solve the problem. In most cases, it won't."
“噢，是吗？”富爸爸说，“大部分人会这么干，他们辞职，然后去找另一份工作，期望能得到更好的机会、更高的报酬，认为一份新的工作或更高的报酬会解决所有问题。而在大多数情况下，这是不可能的。”
"So what will solve the problem?" I asked. "Just take this measly 10 cents an hour and smile?"
“那我该怎么办呢？”我问，“接受这可怜兮兮的每小时10美分然后还要微笑吗？”
Rich dad smiled. "That's what the other people do. Just accept a paycheck knowing that they and their family will struggle financially. But that's all they do, waiting for a raise thinking that more money will solve the problem. Most just accept it, and some take a second job working harder, but again accepting a small paycheck."
富爸爸笑了。“有些人会这么做的，仅仅因为他们和他们的家庭需要钱而接受这份工资，但他们所做的只是等待，等待着能有机会让他们挣到更多的钱使问题解决。于是大部分人接受了，有些人做两份工并且非常努力地工作，但仍只能得到很少的报酬。”
I sat staring at the floor, beginning to understand the lesson rich dad was presenting. I could sense it was a taste of life. Finally, I looked up and repeated the question. "So what will solve the problem?"
我坐在那里，眼睛盯着地板，开始听懂富爸爸的这一课。我感到这的确是生活的原味。 最后，我抬起头，又重复了前面的问题：“那么怎样才能解决问题呢？”
Rich dad said over and over, this point of view, which I call Lesson No.1.
富爸爸后来又一遍一遍不厌其烦地讲到这个观点，这就是我称之为“第一课”的内容。
It was at that moment that rich dad shared the pivotal point of view that separated him from his employees and my poor dad -- and led him to eventually become one of the richest men in Hawaii while my highly educated, but poor, dad struggled financially all his life. It was a singular point of view that made all the difference over a lifetime.
直到那一刻富爸爸才显示了他区别于他的职员和我穷爸爸的关键的东西——这一点让他最终成为了夏威夷最富的人之一。而我受过良好教育的爸爸则一生都在与财务问题抗争。 富爸爸独特的观念使他的一生都与众不同。
"This," he said tapping me gently on the head. "This stuff between your ears."
“用这个，”他说着轻轻地拍着我的脑袋，“你两个耳朵之间的这个家伙。”
"The poor and the middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them."
“穷人和中产阶级为钱而工作，富人让钱为他们工作。”