成功不是偶得，靠的是勤奋，坚持，学习，思考，付出，最重要的是爱你所做和所学。”贝利（1958年，1962年，1970年三次带领巴西国家队赢得世界杯，世界上最伟大的球员，没有之一。)
雪琳第一次介绍她的朋友高先生时，对我说“高先生每天早上坚持做60个俯卧撑”。她说的时候轻轻拍拍我的大肚子，悄悄暗示一下我每天也该锻炼起来了。高先生微笑着用结实的双手热情地欢迎我的到来。他仪表端庄，是一位天生的领导者。
即便是拥有十四亿人口的泱泱大国，有时候看起来也恰不过是个小小世界。高继胜先生在中国不仅是一位著名浙商，他也是英国南汉普顿足球俱乐部的拥有者。高先生和他的家人不仅和雪琳一样来自于杭州，他们竟然还是邻居，一起居住在美丽安静的社区，一个绿洲，有别于周围现代化繁忙的杭州大都市。
在浦东高家做东，安排了很棒的晚宴欢迎我们。作为一名资深球迷，有机会与英超俱乐部的老板消磨时光，我旅途劳顿马上烟消云散。
我注意到了一个文化上的差异，英国人的一惯做法是大人们外出赴约，孩子便交给专人看管。在中国，孩子不仅参加，他们还是晚餐中重要的一部分。我和雪琳，高先生和他的妻子杭女士一起入座。他们的女儿高靖娜和两个孩子，儿子高乐麒（12岁）和女儿蒋懿琪（10岁）一起出席晚宴。靖娜在家族生意中担任高级职务，在座的还有上海区的总经理。
杭女士向我讲述了一个令人鼓舞的故事。她在互联网上筛选出她认为需要帮助的学生，并提供奖学金帮助他们。我告诉她，她的做法和我的想法太接近了。因为教育是一种可以代代相传的礼物。也是我们慈善行走的终级目标，为更多的年轻人提供改变生活的机会。
对此，高先生也十分赞同。他曾经在部队生活学习，后来又读了大学。他的女儿也接受过良好的高等教育。现在，他的孙子孙女在英国哈罗公学中国分校就读，两个孩子能说一口流利的英文，而且外孙乐麒已经玩起奇奇怪怪的运动比如英式橄榄球。
*队军**转业后，高先生在杭州萧山区担任地方官员。他的能力迅速被挖掘，升迁很快。1993年高先生作为副市长的候选人，但没有成功。这一次失利成为他生活的一个转折点。
1992年，*小平邓**在中国南巡，视察了上海，武昌和深圳等。南巡期间他对中国经济由计划经济转向市场经济作了重要的讲话。中国领导人的讲话往往有着深刻内涵，地方官员需要自己理解并贯彻实施。高先生思考着今后的目标，他坚信并理解了贯彻*小平邓**讲话的精神，他认为应该投身于新市场经济，于是他踏上了经商之路。
尽管遇到了很多困难，高先生把在部队中学到的艰苦奋斗积极向上的精神运用到了商业领域中，成功构建团队并坚持不懈。他的努力得到了巨大的回报，这些年来他为当地政府创造了近2000个就业机会。
我开玩笑说，他应该写信给那些在1993年的竞选中没有投票给他的*产党共**员，感谢他们当年没有投票给他。这是一次很好的生活经历：一次失利会是下一次成功的开始。
亨利基辛格担任美国国务卿时，周恩来总理和尼克松总统为中美关系取得重大突破。基辛格说：每当局势*退倒**时或者不利的时候，我第一个就问，“我现在还能做哪些之前所不能做的吗？”保持乐观心态是那些成功者的主要特质。
我问高先生他有没有得到谁的启迪或以谁为榜样，他给我的回答是李嘉诚——香港成功商人，也是世界上最富有的人之一。他解释道：李嘉诚先生把投资目标转移到英国，他跟随李嘉诚先生的步伐，买下了市值两亿英镑的南安普顿足球俱乐部。我相信高先生也会成为很多中国人的榜样，有更多的中国人追随高先生的脚步。
我有幸娶了一位成功的中国女性企业家，我很好奇，对于事业有成的中国企业家们，他们的生活足有保障之后，那么他们前进的动力又是什么呢？我问高总为什么不把资产变现退出商业，拿着丰厚所得去享受生活呢？为什么还要再一次冒险呢？高先生说现在的自己已经能更好地平衡一切，现在他每周打三次高尔夫球，写了四本书，但是他依旧像30年前一样，面对生意中的挑战充满了激情。雪琳点头认可。
接下来又轮到他的外孙和外孙女来回答我的提问了。我问孩子们的生活目标是什么。两个孩子不约而同地选择了像外婆一样，为经济贫困家庭的儿童在暑期提供志愿者教学，使他们掌握读写能力。然后我又问他的外孙女懿琪，长大后想做什么。她自信而响亮地说，“我想成为一名宇航员！”这时，外孙乐麒突然蹦出一个冷笑话：“你们知道为什么宇航员们要离开他们的妻子？” 我们回答说不知道，问他答案，“因为他们需要一些空间！” 在座的大人都爆发出了阵阵笑声，这个笑话真棒，不知乐麒是否真的能明白其中的话外音。
笑声过后，我和高先生的女儿靖娜聊了起来。她是一位头脑清醒，能力极强的年轻女士。我问她在她眼里今后四十年中国会发展成什么样。她看了一眼父亲然后说，我们很幸运站在了巨人的肩膀上，过去的“中国制造”意味着廉价，就像五十年前的日本制造一样。她希望将来的“中国制造”成为品质和创新科技的标志。
这真是乐观而恰当的结束语。
和雪琳回到房间后，我回味晚餐时的话题，我认为在中国成功要素中，除了勤奋，教育，重视家庭，我又看到了另外一个因素，个人成就伴随强烈的社会责任感。
原文 / 麦克·贝茨勋爵
翻译 /杨梦
翻译校对 / 陈必萍
总校对 / 雪琳
贝茨勋爵日志英文原文如下：
"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." Pele (3 time World Cup Winner with Brazil, 1958,1962,1970 and quite simply the greatest footballer, ever)
"Mr Goa does 60 press-ups every morning" said Xuelin as she introduced me to her friend Mr Gao for the first time as she then patted my stomach gently to hint this might be a routine I might like to follow. Mr Gao welcomed me with a warm smile and a firm handshake. He had a commanding presence--a natural leader.
Sometimes even in a vast country of 1.4 billion people it can seem like a small world. Gao Jisheng is a well known Zhejiang entrepreneur best known in the UK as the owner of premiership football club, Southampton.Yet Mr Goa and his family are not only from the same city as Xuelin, Hangzhou, they were actually neighbours in a beautiful small quiet gated traditional community, an oasis of green, amongst the tall buildings and busyness of modern day Hangzhou.
The Gao family are wonderful hosts and ask us to join their family for dinner in Pudong. As a football fan the idea of spending time with a premiership football club owner was guaranteed to solve my jet lag problems.
It is a cultural difference worth noting because it explains so much that whereas in England the normal convention would be for child minders to be secured so the adults could go out for dinner together; in China the children not only join but are very much part of the occasion. So we sat down with Mr Gao and his wife Mrs Hang, their daughter, Nelly who has a senior role in the family business, her two children Laven (aged 12) and Lucy (aged 10) and the General Manager of Mr Gao's business in Shanghai.
Mrs Hang told us a inspiring story of how she had established scholarships by identifying students in need of assistance on the Internet. I told her that this was a cause close to my heart because education is a gift which sends ripples through eternity. That after all was the purpose of our walk; to give more young people that chance in life.
Mr Gao agreed, he had begun life in the military and through his military service was able to attend university. His daughter had an excellent education and now his grandchildren attend the prestigious new Harrow School in China, established by Harrow School in England. They spoke excellent English but Levan was having to come to terms with playing strange sports like rugby.
After leaving the military Mr Gao worked as a local official in Shancheng District of Hangzhou. His ability was recognised and he rose quickly and stood for election as Deputy Mayor in 1993. He was not successful but that disappointment was to be the turning point of his life.
In 1992 Deng Xiaoping had under taken a very important tour of China's south visiting cities like Shanghai, Wuchang and Shengzhen during which he made several speeches about China moving from a planned economy to a market economy. Speeches by Chinese leaders aften carry deep meanings which officials work to understand and implement. Wondering what his next step was in 1993 he believed this would be the moment to taken Deng Xiaoping at his word and start a business in the new market economy.
He took the life skills which he had learned in the military of hard work, being positive even when the odds are against you, perseverance, building successful teams and applied them in the commercial world. His efforts were rewarded with incredible financial success though he overlooks this and is most proud of the 2000 good jobs he has created.
I joked that I hope he had personally written to all the members of the Communist Party that hadn't voted for him in 1993 to thank them for not voting for him. It is a good life lesson that defeat can often be the first step on the path to success.
Henry Kisinger, who was US Secretary of State when the major breakthrough in US-China relations happened between Premier Zhou Enlai and Richard Nixon, said that when he was faced with a setback or disappointment his first question was, 'What can I do now that I couldn't do before?' Being an optimist I have found is a common denominator of most who achieve success in life.
I ask Mr Gao if he had anyone who inspires him or a role model--he immediately says Li Ka-Shing the Hong Kong businessman and one of the richest men in the world. He explained that it was when li Ka-Shing said he was moving his investments to the UK that he thought he should follow and so he bought Southampton Football Club for a reported £200 million. I suggest to him that he is also a role model for many Chinese and I hope they were following his example.
Being married to a successful Chinese businesswomen I have always been puzzled where the drive to keep going comes from after they have achieved financial security. 'Why wouldn't you just want to 'cash out' of the game, take your winnings and sit on a beach somewhere. Why still risk it all on another roll of the dice? He points out that he has become more balanced, he plays golf three times a week and has written four books, but he is still as excited by the challenge of business as he was thirty years ago, Xuelin nods in approval.
It is Levan and Lucy's turn again to answer some questions. I ask what they want to achieve in life. Both grandchildren had followed the example of their grandmother by volunteering to teach financially poor children to read and write over the summer. I then ask Lucy what she wants to do with her life, she replies loudly and confidently, 'I want to be an astronaut!' Not to be upstaged by his little sister, Levan asks 'Why do astronauts leave their wives?'--don't know we replay--'because they just want some space!' The whole table collapses into laughter as we are not sure that Levan quite realises the implied truth in his answer.
As the laughter subsides I talk to Nelly, Mr Gao's daughter, a very level-headed and competent young lady. I asked her what she thought the next forty years would hold for China. She looked at her father and then said, I think we are fortunate because we are 'standing on the shoulders of giants'. Nelly says that today 'Made in China' means cheap, just like 'Made in Japan' fifty years ago, but her hope was that in the future 'Made in China' will become a badge of quality and leading technology.
It was an optimistic and appropriate note to close.
As I reflected on the evening with Xuelin in our room I remarked that in addition to the 'usual' ingredients of success in China--hard work, education, family focus I had seen another moral dimension to work. A sense of a responsibility to the community born of their personal success.