Chapter 9 about difficulties

About difficulties (1) Once, a friend of mine said to me, I think there is a talk show that is especially suitable for you, let me help you get in touch.However, two days later, he said to me very embarrassedly, Luqiu, the other party thinks your life is too smooth, so it is not suitable for their program. I told my friend not to take it to heart, because I didn't take the talk show to heart at all, but the reason he gave me made me think for a long time. It turns out that in the eyes of others, I am a person who has never experienced anything. Difficult and frustrated people. Because of the profession of TV reporters, what we impress others is what we see in front of the camera, so many people often ignore the efforts we put in behind the camera.

When giving speeches in universities, students always feel that being a reporter, especially a famous reporter, is such a glorious thing.Many students even said, Luqiu, I want to be a war reporter like you.Every time I want to pour cold water on them, I say, in fact, a reporter is an extremely ordinary profession. In Hong Kong, the profession of reporter makes it difficult for many people to live a good life.Because there is no time and there is not enough money.As for war reporters, there are not many opportunities to fight wars in this world. Even if there are wars, there are not many media that can participate in reporting. Therefore, the vast majority of people cannot become war reporters.

In fact, when I say this, I hope that these young people can pay more attention to how we face various difficulties when we are doing these things. The work habit I have developed over the years is to consider what kind of difficulties you may encounter before doing something. For example, before going to Afghanistan, one should assume all possible difficulties and then think about how to solve them.We thought we might not have a place to live, so we brought sleeping bags.We found shelter, but it was just an empty room, so our sleeping bags came in handy.We thought, what would we do if we had nothing to eat, so we carried a lot of dry food. As a result, these things saved us in Kabul for more than a month.We still have to think about what to do if there is no satellite transmission service, because even if a lot of things are photographed and interviewed, if they are not transmitted, everything will be for nothing, so the few of us save our luggage to the minimum. It's all boxes of satellite delivery equipment.We also had to consider what to do if there was no electricity, so we carried a small generator by ourselves.

Although we considered it carefully, we found that there were more difficulties than we imagined. , twenty degrees below zero, but there is no heating in the room.This was something we didn't think of in advance, but the photographer thought of a way, bought a lot of plastic paper, and surrounded the place where we slept.Although we brought a satellite phone, we didn't expect to bring a portable satellite phone. As a result, we had no way to communicate with the outside world as long as we left the room we lived in.And this experience let me know that there is still the existence of mobile satellite phones. In the subsequent interviews, including going to Iraq, the full preparation of communication equipment saved us a lot of trouble.

I found that the accumulation of experience can reduce a lot of difficulties, which means that doing my own work will feel more and more handy.But this can only be felt after experiencing countless difficulties, overcoming or being unable to overcome. Sometimes, difficulties arise that really cannot be foreseen.I have experienced it many times, for example, because I have to constantly switch countries for interviews, so I keep changing planes.Paris airports are my worst fears.Not because of concerns about the safety of the terminal, but because Paris airports are notoriously prone to missing luggage.And I have already had the experience of missing luggage at Paris airport three times.One of them, the luggage chased me for three cities before it arrived in my hands.Because of this experience, my colleagues and I will take the necessary equipment and personal items with us if we need to transfer many times, especially if the airline or the airport has a bad record, so that even if there is an accident In case of missing luggage, we are also able to work right out of the airport.

When it comes to airports, what worries us the most is that the plane is late, which would prevent us from getting on the next flight.This kind of experience will be encountered in almost every business trip.The worst time was when my photographer and I spent 30 hours at the Moscow airport.Although because of the relationship of the airline, hotels should be arranged for us affected passengers, but because of the work progress and attitude of the staff, we are very worried that when we return to the airport from the hotel, our plane may have flown away .Every chair at Moscow airport has handles, so we couldn't lie on them all night.The worst thing was our photographer, who sat for a whole night with a camera that weighed more than 40 pounds.

Speaking of Russia, think of an unforgettable experience.It was in the year 2000, following former President Jiang Zemin's foreign visits.I didn't know until I arrived in Moscow that Jiang Zemin was going to visit Volgograd, the city formerly known as Stalingrad.Because I didn't know it in advance, I didn't entrust a travel agency to book a ticket.I was running out of time, so I went straight to the airport with my hand luggage and the photographer. No one at the ticket window could speak English. Fortunately, I brought a travel book with Russian names on all the cities, so I finally bought the ticket.But when the plane landed, I wasn't 100% sure in my heart whether I was where I was going or not.Up to now, I still remember that the place where the plane landed was desolate. When I was in a state of panic, I suddenly saw the plane with the Air China logo outside the window. I almost jumped up on the plane with my companion, because we At this time, I am sure that we have not gone to the wrong place.

After getting off the plane and getting into the taxi, fortunately we were Chinese. Even though the taxi driver could not speak English, he quickly understood that we should be with a large group of Chinese who just arrived, so we went straight to Drive downtown.It's just that at this time we found that the phone does not roam in this city.We have no way to contact the delegation, and we have no way to contact the Hong Kong headquarters. That is to say, at this time, no one knows where we are. About difficulties (2) We found the delegation's hotel, saw us wandering in the hotel lobby, and begged the hotel to give us a room. A staff member of the embassy arranged a room for us.So we decided that if the two girls slept on the bed, the photographer could only feel wronged and sleep on the ground.The photographer said that he is used to it, because in order to save the room fee, or because of the tight supply of rooms, it is a common thing for us to have sex with men and women.

The next difficulty to be solved is the communication problem, telling the headquarters where we are now.Although we lived in the most exclusive hotel in the city, there was no long-distance phone service.Under the guidance of the hotel staff, we found the local long-distance telephone exchange.It turns out that the long-distance service here is the same as in the mainland before. You first register to get a number, and then wait in a small room to make a long-distance call for you.I believe that for the staff here, Hong Kong is the first place they have heard of in their life.Because we spent a lot of time telling them that 852 is the area code for Hong Kong.To get through the phone call, we need to tell the other party all the things that have happened and will happen in one phone call.

When I got back to the hotel, I really felt that I was a bit magical. It took me a few hours to come to such a place from Moscow. Maybe it’s because I’ve had so many experiences like this. Now that I’m in a strange country and city, I always feel that I’ve already experienced the worst of the situation. I don’t understand the language, I don’t have roaming, and I don’t have accommodation, so other difficulties are nothing to me. , at most it is a bit inconvenient to work.Sometimes, we would joke that we can open a travel agency in the future, no matter how difficult the places and things have been, is there anything difficult for us?

However, there are always difficulties that cannot be overcome.In my work, there are really many situations like this.Sometimes, I hope to make a visit, and I have worked hard for a long time, but it is still unsuccessful.At this time, I will ask myself, have I tried all the methods, if I have tried my best, then I will decide to let myself go. I once tried to make an interview with a rich man in Hong Kong, but my faxes and phone calls never responded.I entrusted a friend, because the other party is quite familiar with the company's public relations, and he told me that this rich man has an unwritten rule that he will not accept interviews with Hong Kong local media alone, in order to avoid being criticized by other media He is not fair.I thought it wasn't a question of whether I worked hard or not, so I gave up. I still remember going to cover the news about the fire in the commercial building in Jilin. I took a plane from Beijing to Changchun early in the morning, and then took a car. I arrived at the scene of the fire at 11:00 noon.As luck would have it, officials from the Ministry of Public Security were photographed patrolling the scene.Just before I was about to leave, I was told that the governor of Jilin Province would be on the scene soon. At this time, I was faced with a choice. If I stayed, I would not be able to catch up with the news at 12:00 noon.After thinking about it for less than a minute, I decided to send the film right away.Because for the TV station, the fastest time to send the picture back and tell the audience that we have arrived at the scene is the most important.During the post-mortem review, I told the company's management that because of our limited manpower, if we had one more engineer, we could not only transmit the images, but also have enough manpower waiting on site.But in the current situation of our company, the best I can do is this. Sometimes, when facing great difficulties, it is often because the time is not yet ripe, or one's own ability is not enough.I still remember that when I shot and produced a one-and-a-half-hour documentary for the first time, it took me two whole weeks, and I felt quite tired physically and mentally, and it was really strenuous to do it.I don't know how to control the rhythm of the film, I don't know how to choose the content, I don't know how to make full use of the picture.But after doing the same thing again, I don't feel so tired anymore.Therefore, sometimes let yourself face difficulties and try to overcome them, then in the future, you will feel twice the result with half the effort. When it comes to difficulties, the words setback and failure come to mind.Many people feel that I have very little frustration and failure.That's half true.Because for me now, there is no difficulty in my work that I can't overcome, because if I really can't overcome it, I will tell myself that it is because my ability is not enough.Because of this, I now feel less frustrated and failed. The first time I felt a sense of failure and frustration was in high school when I failed solid geometry and had to take a make-up exam.At that time, for a student studying in a key middle school, make-up exams were extremely embarrassing, and since I was a child, I never had to worry about my exam results. I have always belonged to that kind of student who is frequently praised by parents and teachers .But solid geometry has become my Waterloo.I remember at that time, throughout the whole winter vacation, I was immersed in the feeling of failure, and in the class, the voice of speaking was not so loud for a while. When I entered university, the saddest thing for me was that I did not do well in the TOEFL test.There is no hope of getting a scholarship to an American university.At that time, I felt that everything was over and my future was gone.I still remember that when I lost my mind, I threw myself into the arms of a male classmate and cried loudly on his shoulder.Looking back now, I feel that I was really ridiculous, a little thing, as if the whole world collapsed, in fact, even if I did well in the TOEFL test, got a scholarship, and went to a good university in the United States, so what? Who I don't know the future either.It's ridiculous to grieve in advance for the future. As I get older, I become more and more calm in the face of failure.In fact, the sense of failure and frustration is largely your own inner feelings, and how others feel about you will not change because of your own sense of failure and frustration.The most realistic way to face failures and setbacks is to find out the reasons for the failures, and if you can improve yourself, then try to do it. I still remember that when I was working in an international accounting firm, the only basis for promotion was whether I could pass the CPA exam.I am not from the Finance Association, so it will be more difficult for me to take the professional test.As a result, I didn't pass all of them the first time.I think if it was when I was studying, I would definitely be sullen there, constantly blaming myself.Fortunately, I grew up and saw a lot. I told myself that the important thing is to be ready for the next time.Maybe because I didn't put too much pressure on myself, the second exam was quite smooth. About difficulties (3) Sometimes failure is not a bad thing.It prevents you from walking in one direction, but it may provide another direction, just as the old Chinese saying goes: If you lose your fortune, you may know it is not a blessing. When I was in Shenzhen, a bank in Hong Kong came to recruit counter attendants. At that time, because I was married, I very much hoped that I could take this opportunity to come to Hong Kong earlier and be able to reunite with my husband and wife.However, I did very badly on that test.At that time, I felt very regretful and felt that I had missed a great opportunity.Then there was the same opportunity again and I passed the exam, but I didn't accept the job in the end.Because I was already working in a multinational accounting firm at that time, I thought that going to Hong Kong to work as a bank teller might change my current life, but it made me unable to see the future. Looking back now, thanks for the first failure.Because if I did well in the exam that time, I would definitely spend a year in Hong Kong to do this job.But what happens after that? If you go, the trajectory of your life will be rewritten.I probably wouldn't have gotten into television.So sometimes, failure is a good thing.If you fail, you will tell yourself that this matter has no fate with you. I always feel that everyone has something they are good at and something they are not good at. It is because of this that it is very difficult to do things that they are not good at.Therefore, it is very important to know what you can do.As for the difficulties that come before you, try your best. If you still can’t do it, then don’t force yourself and blame yourself, because there are many other things that need to be concentrated on. Some people say, what if you encounter a hurdle that you cannot overcome? For example, one day, you lose your job. I have also thought about it, one day I will lose my job, and eating will become a problem, what should I do when I encounter such a thing.After thinking about it for a long time, I can actually do it if I want to eat. I can be a waiter, and I can do many things that I didn't want to or never thought of doing. There is a saying that still makes sense, the boat will naturally go straight when it reaches the bridge.So don't think too extreme. I have seen a lot of news about suicides, and there are many examples of people who feel that life is gloomy.But I always feel that these are escapes, or an excuse. In Iraq, in Afghanistan, in many war-torn and impoverished places, many people are still living happily and earnestly in such an environment.One thing that touched me very much was that in Kabul, under the corner of the bomb-destroyed wall, an old man was enjoying the afternoon sun, holding a red rose in his hand, smelling the fragrance of the flower from time to time. Compared with life and death, and the flames of war, I always feel that the difficulties we face are insignificant.Why do people under that environment know to cherish every moment, so why can't we?