And he would ask us at the dinner table what we had failed at that week, and if we didn't have something to tell him, he would actually be disappointed.

他會在飯桌上問我們這周有什麼失敗的事情，如果我們沒有什麼可以告訴他的，他其實會很失望。

And I didn't realize it at the time, but he was just redefining failure for me.

我當時並沒有意識到，他只是為我重新定義了失敗。

Failure became about not trying, not the outcome.

失敗變成了不努力，而不是結果。

Going through life, the only failure that I ever feel that I've had is if I don't try.

在我的人生中，唯一讓我覺得失敗的就是我沒有嘗試。

So that was a real gift that he gave me.

是以，這是他送給我的一份真正的禮物。

I wanted to be a lawyer, and I'm a terrible test taker.

我想成為一名律師，但我的考試成績很差。

After I basically bombed the LSAT, I tried out at Disney World to be goofy.

在法學院入學考試基本失利之後，我去迪斯尼樂園試玩，想讓自己變得呆萌一點。

And you have to be 5'8", and I'm only 5'6", so I'm the height of a chipmunk.

你得有 5 英尺 8 英寸高，而我只有 5 英尺 6 英寸，所以我的身高跟花栗鼠差不多。

Which was like, I guess you could say, sort of felt a little bit like rock bottom.

我想你可以說，那感覺有點像跌入谷底。

I wasn't going to be a lawyer, and I was too short to be goofy.

我不會成為一名律師，而且我太矮了，不適合呆頭呆腦。

There was a moment when I was selling fax machines door-to-door, and I was constantly being escorted out of buildings.

曾經有一段時間，我挨家挨戶推銷傳真機，不斷有人把我送出大樓。

Or sometimes people would rip up my business card in my face, which was a typical occurrence.

有時，人們會當著我的面撕掉我的名片，這也是常有的事。

And one day I pulled off the side of the road, and I literally thought,

有一天，我把車停在路邊，我真的在想：

I'm in the wrong movie.

我演錯電影了

Like, this is not my life.

比如，這不是我的生活。

Cut, called the director, called the producer.

停，給導演打電話，給製片人打電話。

How did this happen? This is not supposed to be my life.

怎麼會這樣？我的生活不該是這樣的

I went home that day and wrote in my apartment, in my notebook, what my strengths were.

那天我回到家，在公寓的筆記本上寫下了我的優勢。

And the only thing basically in the strength column that I was sure about was sales.

而在實力一欄中，我唯一有把握的基本上就是銷售額。

And I said, okay, what can I do with that?

我說，好吧，我能用它做什麼呢？

And I ended up writing, I want to invent a product that I can sell to millions of people that will make them feel better.

最後我寫道，我想發明一種產品，賣給數百萬人，讓他們感覺更好。

And it was two years later that I cut the feet out of control-top pantyhose to wear white pants to a party.

兩年後，我為了穿白褲子參加派對，剪掉了連褲襪的腳。

I went online and looked up manufacturers that made undergarments and hosiery-type products.

我上網查詢了生產內衣和襪子類產品的製造商。

And I called them on the phone and didn't get anywhere.

我給他們打了電話，但沒有任何結果。

And eventually I took a week off of work and drove around North Carolina begging all of these men, ironically, that were making our undergarments to help try to make this new type of undergarment.

最後，我請了一週假，開車在北卡羅萊納州轉了一圈，懇求所有這些為我們製作內衣的人，具有諷刺意味的是，讓他們幫忙嘗試製作這種新型內衣。

I went in unannounced. I had no appointment.

我是不請自來的。我沒有預約。

So you can imagine how that went.

所以，你可以想象事情的經過。

Most of them escorted me out and said, good luck.

他們中的大多數人都送我出去，並對我說，祝你好運。

I got a phone call about two weeks later from one of the manufacturer owners, and he said, Sarah, I have decided to help make your crazy idea.

大約兩週後，我接到一個電話，是一家制造商的老闆打來的，他說："莎拉，我決定幫助你實現這個瘋狂的想法。

I ran it by my three daughters at the dinner table, and they told me I should give you a shot.

我在飯桌上跟我的三個女兒討論過這個問題，她們告訴我應該給你一個機會。

I came up with the name Spanx because it was all about the rear.

我之所以取名為 "Spanx"，是因為它的設計理念是 "後背"。

And so it kind of made your mind wander.

這讓你思緒萬千。

Nobody ever forgot it.

沒有人會忘記它。

And I changed the KS to an X at the last minute because I knew that made-up words were easier to trademark.

我在最後一刻把 KS 改成了 "X"，因為我知道捏造的單詞更容易註冊商標。

The first big account that I got was Neiman Marcus, and I called them on the phone.

我得到的第一個大客戶是 Neiman Marcus，我給他們打了電話。

And I spent about a week calling the buyer and just kept getting her answering machine.

我給買主打了一個星期的電話，一直都是她的答錄機。

But I knew from my fax machine selling days, don't leave a message.

但我賣傳真機的時候就知道，不要留言。

And I waited till I got a human on the phone, and I said, this is Sarah Blakely. I've invented a product that's going to change the way your customers wear clothes.

我一直等到有人給我打電話 我說，我是莎拉-布萊克利我發明了一種產品 它將改變你的顧客穿衣服的方式

I just need 10 minutes of your time.

我只需要佔用你 10 分鐘的時間。

And she said, if you're willing to fly here, I'll give you 10 minutes.

她說，如果你願意飛過來，我給你10分鐘。

I jumped on a plane. I took my lucky red backpack from college.

我跳上了飛機。我帶上了大學時的幸運紅色揹包。

And a few minutes into the pitch, I could tell I was losing her, so I invited her to come to the bathroom with me.

投球幾分鐘後，我可以看出我正在失去她，於是我邀請她和我一起去洗手間。

My dream is for there to be many more female inventors.

我的夢想是有更多的女性發明家。

I'm hoping more and more women will have the courage to take that risk.

我希望越來越多的女性有勇氣冒這個險。

It's a risk to invent something.

發明創造是有風險的。

You have to risk being made fun of.

你必須冒著被取笑的風險。

You have to risk looking like an idiot.

你必須冒著看起來像個白痴的風險。

You have to do something that didn't already exist, which is scary.

你必須做一些原本不存在的事情，這很可怕。

I mean, my brain told me a million times, who do you think you are coming up with this?

我是說，我的大腦告訴過我無數次，你以為你是誰啊？

And then one day you wake up and you go, well, what if it is me?

然後有一天你醒來，你會想，如果是我呢？