【特朗普的暗黑时刻：陷入数十亿美元的亏空无底洞，他是怎样爬起来的？（中英对照）】

如果周围每个人都告诉你玩完了，你该怎么办？我在90年代早期有过这样一次华丽的财务状况大转身，我还为此上了《吉尼斯世界纪录》，成为历史上最成功的财务转型案例。我并不鼓励别人也设定同我一样的目标，但是当你深陷财务危机时，你解决问题的心态对于别人或许也是大有裨益的。

很多人都认为，我之所以在商界扬名，除了真人秀节目《飞黄腾达》（The Apprentice）展现了我在商场的运营之道外，还有我面对种种艰难险阻的表现。其实每个人都会遭遇困难，区别或许只是我们遭遇困难的次数罢了。我想表明的观点是，其实每个人都难免会遭遇风雨，很少有人能够一辈子都不跌跟头。有一位作家在描述人生旅程时曾经说过：“此地无人生还。”这话说得有些悲凉，但是如果你曾经负债几十亿美元的话，那么你或许会换一种新的角度去看问题。

特朗普主持的明星节目《飞黄腾达》

我在90年代初期的情况并不乐观，我有几十亿美元的贷款没能偿还。在这些债务中，有9.75亿美元是我自己担保的，有些人觉得我说不定哪天就破产了。这种进退维谷的局面其实并不让人感到意外，因为我在生意上经常会有大手笔，因此荣光过后麻烦缠身也没有什么值得奇怪的。不过，这一次我真的是背水一战了。银行在向我追款，人们躲我就像躲瘟神一样。美国经济陷入了萧条期，房地产业市况惨淡，这时候没人看好我还能翻身。

1991年3月的某一天，《华尔街日报》和《纽约时报》竟然同时在头版刊登文章，细致地描述了我身陷困境的细节以及随时可能会发生的财务危机。广播电台也在播出这样的节目，我的房产帝国摇摇欲坠的消息已经在全世界都传开了。好多人都以为我肯定是玩完了，如果换作别人，那还真有可能成就一段商界悲剧，不过让这些人大跌眼镜的这个人是我。

这是我人生中最低谷的时期，我办公室里的电话一声都不响，换在以前这根本难以想象。实际上，我突然有了很多安静的时间去思考，刚好可以去客观地看待自己眼下的困境。在思考中我幡然醒悟，让我深陷泥沼的一个原因就在于我没能保持冷静的头脑，看到媒体夸奖我有点石成金的能耐就有些飘飘然了。换而言之，我被胜利冲昏了头脑，其实驾驭妥当，我并非一定会深陷这种泥潭。

不过，我的词典里从来就没有“放弃”这个词，连放弃的念头压根都没在我头脑中闪现过，我想这也是为什么我让很多批评我的人最后都闭上了嘴。他们想要攻击我，但这种攻击适得其反，反而让我更想东山再起，而且要再创辉煌。我知道只要自己坚持到底、誓不言败、不服输也不放弃，就能证明他们的奚落是错误的。在这段时期，我变得更加坚强。我并不是让你也去主动承受同样的压力，而是想让你知道如果遇到一些困难，永不放弃或许是你的上上策。

是什么铸就了我的这种韧劲？其实我自己也说不清，但是被世界各地的媒体当成“过气富翁”或是“洗碗布”一样来对待，这肯定激发起了我的斗志。我也知道有些问题如果换个角度来看就是很好的机遇。不管你相不相信，我把自己当时的困境看作是一个莫大的机遇。我有一个千载难逢的机会可以告诉媒体、批评人士和敌手，我是不可小觑的潜力股，而绝不是昙花一现的暴发户。这让我感受到了很大的奋斗动力，也是客观看待困难局面的正确态度。

紧接着，事态就出现了转折点，促成这一转折的就是我自己的态度。公司的几个会计还记得那天晚上他们垂头丧气地坐在会议室里，我推门而入，告诉他们我给公司找到了几个新项目，而且都是大项目。我很兴奋，在和他们描述的时候也是口若悬河、神采飞扬。他们原以为我已经被击垮了，也许那是我在面对压力时显得有些沉默的缘故吧，而事实上我觉得自己站到了一个新的平台之上，又可以继续往前冲了。这并不是我惺惺作态，我是真的作好了这种准备。我告诉他们这种财务压力马上就会过去，我自己也坚信这一点。

事实证明，当晚就是转折点。我们所有人都开始把注意力集中在了解决之道上，而不是抱怨出现的问题。这也是我们学到的另一课：“关注解决之道，而不要抱怨出现的问题。”

1990年6月，特朗普离开位于纽约曼哈顿的特朗普大厦。1990年，特朗普总共欠下了34亿美元的债务。

这看起来有些不可思议，但回首往事，我觉得有过绝处逢生的经历能帮我成为一个更好的商人，变为一个更好的企业家。我必须要跳出自己的小巷思维才能让自己避免葬身商海。面对这样的艰难局面，我也借力于积极乐观的心态。你就相信我吧，这肯定能给你的成功助一臂之力。它帮助我实现了今日的成就，这比我在90年代实现大逆转之前的成就要更加突出。

我曾经想到过自己有一天能上《吉尼斯世界纪录》吗？根本没想过。但是我却做到了这一点，理由就是因为这次大逆转，这也让我感到自豪。有时候，艰难困苦也能发挥特殊的作用，希望它也能帮你更上一层楼。

THE LOWEST MOMENT IN MY LIFE AND HOW I FOUGHT BACK

A Billion Dollars in the Hole

What do you do when the entire world tells you it’s over? I had such an amazing reversal of fortune in the early 1990s that I am listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest financial turnaround in history. I don’t recommend anyone aim for the same goal, but when you’ve been on the financial high wire, it gives you a certain perspective that might be helpful to other people. It’s been said that what makes me accessible to people— aside from The Apprentice showing how I operate in the business world—is that I’ve faced tremendous adversity. It’s something just about everyone can relate to.

The difference may be in the amount of zeros after the numbers, but the point is, people can relate to difficulties. I don’t think anyone gets away with a challenge-free life experience. As one writer described the journey of life, “No one gets out of this alive.” That’s a bit existential but when you’re down a few billion dollars in the red, it can make you think in new dimensions. My situation in the early 1990s wasn’t looking great. I had billions in loans I couldn’t pay, and I had personally guaranteed $975 million of that debt. I could easily have gone bankrupt. This shouldn’t surprise anyone because I’d always done things in a big way, and so it follows that my highs would be followed by a suitably low low. That was a tremendous low. The banks were after me. People avoided me.

There was a recession, and the real estate market was almost nonexistent. This was not a good scenario. Then in March of 1991, both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times ran front page stories—on the same day!— detailing my predicament and the total financial ruin that would happen any moment. The radio stations got the story and the loss of my empire was big news around the world. They were sure I was finished. It would have made a fantastic story—except that it was happening to me. That was the lowest moment I had yet encountered in my life. The phones in my office were even quiet, which had never happened before. In fact, I suddenly had a lot of quiet time to think, and I reviewed the situation objectively.

It became clear to me that part of what got me into this situation was that I had lost my perspective and started to believe the news stories about me having “the Midas touch” when it came to business. In other words, I had become complacent. My momentum wasn’t where it should have been. However, giving up is something that never entered my mind. Not for one second, and that’s one reason I think I confounded my critics. They were trying to skewer me, but it had the opposite effect—it just made me want to make a comeback and in a big way. I knew I could prove them wrong by being stubborn, being tenacious, and not giving in or giving up.

I became a stronger person very quickly during this time. I’m not advising you to ask for the same pressure, but know that if you meet with some setbacks, refusing to give up is probably your best strategy. What gave me this fortitude? I’m not sure, but being tossed aside as a “has-been” or a “wash-up” by the world press might have had something to do with it. I’d also already learned that problems are often opportunities in disguise. I began to see my situation, believe it or not, as a great opportunity.

I had a big chance to show the press and my critics and enemies that I was a force to be reckoned with, not a flash-in-the pan success with no staying power. That’s heady incentive, and that’s looking at the situation positively. Then there was a turning point, and that turning point was my attitude. My accountants still remember the night they were in the conference room until all hours in the woe-is-us mode, and I suddenly walked in to tell them about all the new projects I had lined up for us.

There were a lot of projects, and they were big deals. I was in an exuberant mood, and my descriptions were colorful and optimistic. They thought I had cracked, that maybe I was beginning to hallucinate from the pressure, but I had reached a point where I knew it was time to move forward. It wasn’t an act I put on—I was ready. All this financial pressure would be behind us in a short amount of time, I told them. I believed it, too.

As it turns out, that was indeed the turning point. All of us decided to focus on the solution and not the problem—right then. That’s another important lesson: Focus on the solution, not the problem! It’s odd, but in retrospect, I think having a near wipeout made me a better businessman and certainly a better entrepreneur. I really had to think in out-of-the-box ways to keep from being buried alive. I also relied on something I’d like to discuss here: positive thinking. Believe me, it works. It got me to where I am today—which is far richer and more successful than I was before the reversal started for me in the 1990s. Did I ever think I’d be in the Guinness Book of World Records? No. I am, though, because of this reversal. It’s a fact I’m proud of. Adversity works that way sometimes. Let it work to your advantage.

爱尔兰的国家纪念碑 Ross Errilly Friary，爱尔兰戈尔韦郡 (© plainpicture)