学文网Andrew Carnegie had arrived in America， a twelve-year-old Scottish immigrant. With barely a penny and only five years of formal education， Carnegie started to work at a textile mill， twelve hours a day， for $1.20 a week.
It wasn't much， but it was enough. The job gave Carnegie the opportunity to learn and to demonstrate his dedication to hard work. Quickly he moved on and up： less than a year later he had secured a position at O'Reilly's Telegraph Company.
It was there that Carnegie's rise began―not through some "lucky break1）" but through the habit of "going the extra mile2）". Carnegie began going to work early in order to learn how to send and receive telegraph messages. He worked so hard at it that he could eventually take telegraph messages by ear rather than by transcribing3） the Morse code4）―a feat5） only two other people in America could perform.
That ability helped him gain the notice of Thomas A. Scott， a superintendent6） for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Scott hired the young man to be his secretary and telegrapher at $35 a month―a tidy sum at the time and a far cry from7） $1.20 a week.
Carnegie soon became indispensable to Scott. The real turning point came shortly after he was hired. Carnegie was in the office alone one day when news came of a wreck on the Eastern Division8）. Rail traffic started backing up； instead of shrugging his shoulders and saying "not my job"， Carnegie chose to take action. "Mr. Scott was not to be found，" he would later write. "Finally， I could not resist the temptation to plunge in9）， take the responsibility， give 'train orders' and set matters going."
It was no easy decision. "I knew it was dismissal10）， disgrace， perhaps criminal punishment for me if I erred. On the other hand， I could bring in the wearied freight-train men who had lain out all night. I could set everything in motion11）. I knew I could." And he did， forging12） Scott's signature and issuing orders until rail traffic was back to normal.
Thanks to Carnegie's determination and hard-won13） abilities， Scott started opening doors for him and teaching him the skills he would need to succeed. Later， he helped Carnegie make his first investment， launching Carnegie's career as a capitalist. By 1860， at the age of 25， Carnegie was making almost $50，000.
Opportunity is abundant. What's scarce is the willingness to take advantage of it. In Carnegie's words， "a man may be born in poverty， but he does not have to go through life in poverty.... But no amount of opportunity will benefit the man who neglects or refuses to take possession of his own mind power and use it for his own personal advancement".
That was what led Carnegie to success： the constant use of his mind in pursuit of a better life. Whether he was learning a new skill， taking decisive action in an emergency， or forging the most innovative and efficient steelmaking company in the world， the commitment to following the judgment of his reasoning mind was the only opportunity he needed. That―the willingness to think―is something no one else can give you.
安德鲁.卡内基刚到美国时，只是一个12岁的苏格兰移民，并且身无分文，只受过五年的正规教育。起初，他在一家纺织厂做工，每天工作12个小时，周薪1.2美元。
钱虽不多，倒也够用。这份工作让卡内基有机会去学习和展现他努力工作时的全力以赴。很快他便跳槽并获得了晋升――不到一年之后，他就在奥莱利电报公司谋得了一个职位。
就是在那里，卡内基开始走向成功――不是通过某些“机缘好运”，而是依靠“再做更多”的习惯。为了学习如何收发电报，卡内基开始每天很早就去上班。他工作异常勤奋，最后竟能仅凭耳听而无需转译莫尔斯电码就能弄清电报的内容――除了他，整个美国只有两人身怀这样的绝技。
他的这种本领使他得到了宾夕法尼亚铁路公司负责人托马斯・A・斯科特的注意。斯科特把这个年轻人雇来给自己当秘书和报务员，月薪35美元――这在当时可是一大笔钱，与1.2美元的周薪相比可谓天壤之别。
卡内基很快就成了斯科特离不开的左膀右臂。在他受雇不久之后，他人生的真正转机就出现了。有一天，卡内基独自一人在办公室，这时传来东部分区发生事故的消息。铁路运行开始停滞。对此，卡内基并没有耸耸肩膀说“这可不归我管”，而是选择采取行动。“当时找不到斯科特先生，”他后来写道，“最后，我还是没能抵住心中想要投身其中、负起责任、下达‘列车命令’并让一切运转起来的诱惑。”
做出这个决定并不容易。“我知道，如果出现差错，我会被解雇，会名誉扫地，也可能会遭受刑罚。但另一方面，我可以让那些在外面躺了一整夜的疲惫的货车工人们回来，我可以让一切运转起来。我知道我能行。”而他确实做到了。卡内基伪造了斯科特的签名并下达命令，直到铁路运行恢复正常。
鉴于卡内基的决心和难得的能力，斯科特开始给他机会并向他传授他日后成功所需的那些技能。后来，斯科特帮助卡内基做了第一笔投资，卡内基的资本家生涯也由此开启。到1860年时，25岁的卡内基已经赚到了近五万美元。
世间充满机遇，缺少的是把握良机的意愿。用卡内基的话说，“一个人可能生来贫穷，但是他未必要在贫穷中度过一生……不过即便有再多的机遇，如果他忽视或拒绝动用自身头脑的力量并藉此取得个人进步，那他也不会从机遇中获益”。
这就是引导卡内基走向成功的关键：不断运用自己的头脑去寻求更美好的生活。无论是学习新技巧，还是在紧急时刻采取果断的行动，抑或是创建世界上最具创新精神、效率最高的***，卡内基所需的机遇只是要保证自己能根据理性思维做出判断。而这种乐于思考的态度是他人无法给予你的。
1. break [bre?k] n. 机会，机缘；好运
2. go the extra mile： 做比期望的多得多的努力
3. transcribe [tr?n?skra?b] vt. 转录；把……译成文字
4. Morse code： 【电信】莫尔斯电码
5. feat [fi?t] n. 绝技；技艺
6. superintendent [?su?p?r?n?tend?nt] n. 监管人，监督人；负责人
7. a far cry from： 和……相隔甚远；与……有极大的差别
8. Eastern Division： 宾夕法尼亚铁路的东部分区
9. plunge in： （专注而认真地）开始从事，投身
10. dismissal [d?s?m?s（?）l] n. 解雇；开除；撤职
11. set sth. in motion： 使某物开始运转（或工作）
12. forge [f??d?] vt. 伪造；把……锤炼成，使形成
13. hard-won [?h?（r）d?w?n] adj. 来之不易的，辛苦得来的
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