????我試圖把它買回來，但沒有銀行愿意提供這樣的貸款。這是我一生中第二次感到羞愧——讓相信我的制造商們失望，讓相信我的客戶們失望。我不知疲倦地從家里努力把商品和家具賣給人，懇求可以幫我找到卡車的每個人。

????我決定在這個消息發布時離開一周，和我的姐姐、姐夫暫時住一陣。登機時，有人在給每個人分發《環球》（The Globe）周日刊。當我沿著過道走向座位時，人們抬頭看著我，就像他們認出了我一樣。我的照片登在《環球》的頭版，并附有全文。

????我悄悄入座。坐在我對面的人說，“這是你嗎？”這真讓人吃驚。他說：“我很為你難過。我知道，從這篇文章來看，這件事對你來說一定很難承受。”

????我離開了一周，回來后就創立了Judy George International——我的新品牌和設計公司。回來時我已經做好了努力工作的準備。

????如今，我正在做一生中最大的交易Sleepy's。也許人們會說，“賣床墊有什么讓人興奮的？”但我們提供的不僅是床墊。我們提供所有的床上用品。他們允許我們做床頭板，這是Sleepy's從未做過的東西。我們的產品將在800家店鋪出售。

????因此，我回顧自己的生活，看看我的年齡。我今年72歲了，我不想改變我自己。我不想讓人們認為我比實際年齡年輕。我不會去做臉部除皺術，我比25年前更加精力充沛。我獲得了Sleepy's管理團隊的信任。我喜歡他們。他們也喜歡我。他們給了我和我的合伙人可貴的機會，做一些人只能夢想的事情。

????我的建議：

????每件事都需要調查研究。每次開會前，我都會做大量的背景調查。與投資者和潛在合作伙伴會面時，我會找一些他們說過的話，在談話中引用這些話。我甚至會給調查人員很多錢，盡我所能搜索我的談話對象和他們公司的相關信息。我創辦Domain時，用房屋貸款，聘請了一家公司進行市場調查。后來在投資者會議中用到了這些調查結果。

????視失敗為起點。我總是告訴人們，不要安于現狀。如果你賺太多錢，如果你沒有承擔足夠的風險，你抱著“我將來會做”的想法將真正好的想法束之高閣，結果只能是不了了之。沒什么事比被人炒魷魚更能推動一個人自尋出路，追尋自己的夢想。

????帶著孩子。我的秘密武器一直是我的家庭。在我的整個工作生涯中，我到哪里都帶孩子們。我需要這么做，免得事后愧疚，過度工作，但這也教給我組織管理和人員管理的經驗。如今，我走到哪里都帶著我的孫子孫女們。

????譯者：楊智

????I tried to go out and buy it back, but no banks were open to anything like that.?It was the second time in my life I felt shame -- disappointing manufacturers who cared about me, disappointing customers who cared about me.?I worked tirelessly from my home trying to get goods and furniture to people, begging everybody who would help to get me trucks.

????I decided to go away for a week and stay with my sister and brother-in-law when the news broke. As?I'm getting on a plane, somebody's handing everybody?The Globe, the Sunday newspaper. And as I'm walking down the aisle, people were looking up at me as if they recognized me.?I was on the front page of?The Globe, with the whole story.

????I just slunk down in my seat.?And the guy opposite me says, "Is this you?" And it was so amazing.?He said, "I'm so sorry.?I know, judging from reading this article, how hard this must be for you."

????I went away for a week and came back and started on Judy George International, my new branding and design company. By the time I came back, I was ready to go to town.

????Now, I'm working on the biggest deal of my life, which is Sleepy's. You know, people say, "What's so exciting about selling mattresses?" But we're creating more than mattresses. We're creating the whole top of the bed. They're allowing us to do headboards, something Sleepy's has never done. We'll be in 800 stores.

????So I look back, I look at my age -- I'm 72 -- and I don't want to change who I am. I don't want people to think I'm younger. I'm not going to get a?face-lift? I have more energy than I've had in 25 years. I've been given a Sleepy's management team.?I love them.?They love me.?And they're giving me, along with my partner Kim, the chance of a lifetime to do something people only dream about.?

????MY ADVICE:

????Research everything. I do huge amounts of background research before every meeting. With investors and potential partners, I find something they've said and I quote it back to them. I'll even pay researchers a lot of money to find out whatever I can about the people I'm talking to and their company.? When I started Domain, I took a loan out on my house so I could hire a company to do market research that I could present at investor meetings.

????Look at failure as an opening. I used to tell people they've got to get uncomfortable with their situation. If you're making too much money, if you're not taking enough risks, you can put off really great ideas with the notion, "I'll do it later," and it just doesn't happen. There's nothing like getting fired to get you uncomfortable enough to go out and live your dream.

????Take the kids. My secret weapon was my family always. My whole life of work I've brought my kids everywhere with me. I needed to do that to prevent guilt and burnout, but it also taught me organization and people management. Now, it's my grandchildren that I go everywhere with.