My friend Jack Green is a businessman. He talks about nothing but business with others. He doesn’t drink. Coffee is his favorite. Whenever he is free, he is seen sitting somewhere, sipping coffee. He knows everything about coffee although he seldom shows it.
The other day I met with him in the street. He was shaking hands with someone who was smiling brightly. Seeing me he said, “Michael, long time no see! Any time to have some coffee?” I smiled my agreement and followed him into a bar.
“Do you know I was the owner of this bar until yesterday? I had run it for three years.” He sat back with a satisfactory smile. “I decide to try something new. It’s been settled.”
I did nothing but show my obvious interest in what he was going to say.
“I got here six years ago. I was a young guy without a penny. I came here for an interview. I needed a job to support myself.
“The boss was a little older than me, but appeared more experienced. I told about my ambition, which was indeed very naïve. Anyway he accepted me as one of his employees.
“I knew nothing about business before. Every day I did what I should do and did it very well. It was a bar mainly intended to offer kind of comfortable service for businessmen, who paid little but made their deal to every side’s content. We offered the best service, and by and by it became a necessary resort for all the important business talks in this area.
“One day there came a lady who appeared to be in her twenties. After a talk, she left behind alone, asking for another coffee. I feared that she hadn’t succeeded in her deal. I chose a cup with the saying on it ‘Failure is the mother of success.’
“She took the cup quietly. Seconds later she beckoned to me to come nearer.
“ ‘Have a sit, please.’
“ ‘Sorry, we are not permitted to. What could I do for you?’
“ ‘I want to see your manager.’ She didn’t seem to be angry, which puzzled me.
“I had to do what I was supposed to. Manager came, obviously annoyed.
“ ‘Sir, I’d rather you gave him some time for me to have a word with.’ She pointed at me. ‘I’ll pay for it.’ She added.
“ ‘OK, as you please.’ Apparent relief was on manager’s face.
“Manager winked at me, stepping away, leaving me at a loss.
“ ‘You’re a kind boy.’ She signed to me to sit down.
“She took a sip, ‘How old do you think I am?’
“ ‘23.’ I had wished to say 26.
“ ‘No, I’m 38.’ She smiled, showing her white and neat teeth. ‘Every matter has a best way to deal with. I have my way to keep young as well as healthy. Of course that’s not what I’m going to say.’
“ ‘Could you tell me how old you are?’
“ ‘28.'
“ ‘No, at most 24.’ She had sharp eyes. ‘Forget it. Have you thought of what you are doing in 3 years?’
“ ‘Never.’ I told her the truth this time.
“ ‘I had a wonderful deal just now. It’s not so easy to find some easy time to enjoy life. I just sat down here to enjoy my success together with the beautiful scene. I can see you are kind and promising. Here’s some advice for you.’
“ ‘You should have your own dream. Do you wish to be an employee all your life?’ She looked into my eyes, ‘You have the gift.’
“ ‘Now tell me what you wish to be doing in three years?’
“ ‘Let me see.’ I really had never thought of such problems.
“ ‘Have a bar like this.’
“ ‘Ok. Then next year you should have enough money and be competent for this new post. In a word, you should know a best way to run a bar like this.’ She sipped and went on, ‘At present this year, you should have a detailed plan, including how much you’ll have to earn each month, what relationships are needed and how to get and maintain them, how to improve this bar if you were the boss here, and so on.’
“I was totally clear that time. From then on I worked as hard as before and even harder mentally.
“In the third year the business here seemed to become not as good as before. I proposed to take the bar and my boss agreed since I had proved to be a faithful employee.
“I became the boss and my business was still better than ever before. Now I have found some other area to prove myself.”
What Jack said that day has kept me thinking all the time since then. I have achieved nothing up to now. Sometimes I even pitied myself so much that I almost cried, just as Liu Bei wept for his redundant fat due to lack of ride. Now I know what I am doomed to be.
It’s sort of worthwhile lecture which I’d like to share with you.
Wish you success.
