There’s a famous story of Edwin C. Barnes, who in 1905 had no money or expertise. However, he was an ardent fan of the inventor, Thomas Edison.

有一个著名的故事，讲的是爱德温·C·巴恩斯。他在 1905 年时既没有钱也没有专业技能，但他是发明家托马斯·爱迪生的热情追随者。

Barnes wanted to become business partners with Edison. He knew that if he became partners with Edison, there would be no limits on what he could accomplish. He took a freight train to New Jersey and walked straight to the Edison Laboratory.

巴恩斯希望能与爱迪生成为商业伙伴。他明白，如果能与爱迪生合作，他的成就将无可限量。于是，他搭上了一趟货运火车前往新泽西，直接走到爱迪生的实验室。

He was wearing musty and scrappy clothes and told Edison he wanted to go into business with him. Edison was impressed by the boldness and made Barnes a floor sweeper.

他穿着发霉破旧的衣服对爱迪生说想和他一起做生意。爱迪生对他的勇气印象深刻，于是让他当了一名清洁工。

During the next few years, Barnes did far more than expected of him for little pay. He also paid close attention to Edison, getting a sense of how he thought and what his goals were.

在接下来的几年里，巴恩斯在薪水很低的情况下做了远超预期的工作。他还细心观察爱迪生，努力了解他的思维方式和目标。

After years of working on his dictating machine — what later became known as the Ediphone that recorded “voice letters” on a wax cylinder — Edison wanted to commercialize it. He loved the invention but none of his staff saw much marketability in it.

经过多年研发出他的口述记录机——后来被称为爱迪风的设备，它能把“语音信件”录制在蜡筒上，爱迪生想要将其商业化。虽然他对这个发明很喜爱，但他的员工们却不认为它有什么市场潜力。

Barnes, however, thought the machine was brilliant and saw a huge potential market. He made a marketing plan for how he intended to sell the machines throughout America and shared the plan to Edison. He sought payment only on the success he created himself.

然而，巴恩斯认为这台机器非常出色，并看到了巨大的市场潜力。他制定了一份营销计划，打算在全美国销售这些机器，并将计划分享给爱迪生。他只要求在自己创造的成功中获得报酬。

Edison liked what he saw and accepted Barnes’ proposal. Within a short period of time, Barnes had sold thousands of machines and even had to create his own company to handle the demand. While things were growing dramatically, Barnes became known for hiring great people to help him market and distribute Edison’s machine. He didn’t see himself as a boss, but more of a coach and a partner to all of his employees.

爱迪生对所见非常满意，接受了巴恩斯的提议。在很短的时间内，巴恩斯售出了数千台机器，甚至不得不成立自己的公司来应对需求的增长。随着业务的迅猛发展，巴恩斯因招聘优秀人才来协助他推广和销售爱迪生的机器而闻名。他并不认为自己是老板，而更像是员工的教练和伙伴。

Barnes quickly became a millionaire, which back then meant a lot more than it means now. He developed a unique collaboration and partnership with Thomas Edison that became a long-term and highly lucrative relationship.

巴恩斯很快就成为了百万富翁，而在当时，百万富翁的地位和财富远比现在要重要得多。他与托马斯·爱迪生建立了一种独特的合作关系，这种合作不仅持续了很长时间，而且带来了丰厚的收益。

Barnes didn’t have a plan.

巴恩斯没有任何计划。

Instead, he had a person.

相反，他有一个值得依靠的人。

He had someone he wanted to work with and help.

他有一个他想要合作并支持的人。

He didn’t have a HOW. Barnes had a WHO.

他没有具体的方法，但他有联系的人。