幸福是一种态度 （36）酿酒也疯狂(下)
Once the beer was made, I faced my biggest hurdle yet: getting it into beer drinkers’ hands. Distributors all said the same thing: “Your beer is too expensive; no one has ever heard of you.” So I figured I had to create a new category: the craft-brewed American beer. I needed a name that was recognizable and elegant, so I called my beer Samuel Adams, after the brewer and patriot who helped to instigate the Boston Tea Party.
一旦啤酒酿造出来后，我面临的最大问题就是：如何将它送到消费者手中。销售商们几乎异口同声地说：“你的啤酒太贵了；没人听说过你的名字。”于是我想，我得创造一个新品种：手工酿造的美国啤酒。我需要为它取一个响亮而又高雅的名字，这样，我便以曾领导波士顿倾茶事件的酿酒人及爱国音的名字来命名我的啤酒—-塞缪尔·亚当斯。
The only way to get the word out, I realized, was to sell direct. I filled my leather briefcase with beer and cold packs, put on my best power suit and hit the bars.
我意识到，唯一能创出这个牌子的办法就是直销。我将啤酒及冰袋装进大皮箱里，穿上我那套尽显男人风度与地位的笔挺西装，向一间间酒吧走去。
Most bartenders thought I was from the IRS. But once I opened the briefcase, they paid attention. After I told the first guy my story–how I wanted to start this little brewery in Boston with my dad’s family recipe–he said, “Kid, I liked your story. But I didn’t think the beer would be this good.” What a great moment.
大多数调酒师起初还以为我是国家税务局的呢。但当我打开皮箱时，便引起了他们的注意。我向第一个家伙讲述了我的故事—-我如何用父亲家传的啤酒配方开创了这家小小的波士顿啤酒厂——之后，他说：“孩子，我喜欢你的故事，但我没想到你这啤酒会这么好。”多么激动人心的时刻啊！
Six weeks later, at the Great American Beer Festival, Sam Adams Boston Lager won the top prize for American beer. The rest is history. It wasn’t supposed to work out this way–but in the end I was destined to be a brewer.
六周后，在美国大啤酒节上，我的“塞缪尔·亚当斯波士顿啤酒”获得了美国啤酒的最高奖项。接下来的事情就成为历史了。其实开始时，无论如何都没有想到我会走这条路—-但最终我注定还是要做个酿酒人。
My advice to all young entrepreneurs is simple: life is very long, so don’t rush to make decisions. Life doesn’t let you plan.
我对所有年轻的企业家有个简单的建议：生活的道路是漫长的，因此不要急于作出决定。生活不让你做计划。