A well-known speaker started his speech by holding up a $ 20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?”
Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $ 20 to one of you — but first, let me do this.”
He proceeded to crumple the 20-dollar note up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air.
“Well,” he replied, “what if I do this?” He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Who will want it?”
Still the hands went into the air.
“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still want it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.”
“Many times in our life, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless; but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased , you are still priceless to those who love you.”
“You are special — don't ever forget it.”
一位著名演说家在演讲开头举起一张20美元的钞票。在容纳了200位听众的房间里，他发问道：“谁想要这张20美元的钞票？”
人们纷纷举手。他说：“我要把这张钞票给你们其中的一个人——不过，首先我要做一件事。”
说着，他弄皱了钞票。接着，他又问：“这钞票谁还要？”听众们的手依然举在空中。
“那么，”他说，“如果我这样呢？”他把钞票丢在地上，开始用鞋往钞票上踩，之后又捡起来。现在钞票又皱又脏。“谁要？”
听众的手并没有放下。
“朋友们，你们都学到了非常珍贵的一课。不论我对这钞票做了什么，你们都还想要它，因为它并没有贬值，还值20美元。”
“生命中会有很多次，我们做出的选择和面临的环境都会让自己遭遇抛弃、受尽折磨、甚至是置身泥沼。我们会感到自己一文不值；但是不论经历过什么或是将要经历什么，你都不会失去自身的价值。不论你是脏兮兮还是干干净净，不论你是被弄得皱皱巴巴还是被精致地折起，对爱你的人来说，你都是无价之宝。”
“你是独一无二的——千万别忘记这一点。”
-crumple [ˈkrʌmpl] v. 弄皱
-crease [kriːs] v. 使……有折痕
人因具有自我本色而富有价值。