While browsing my social media, I found a motivational video from Jack Ma. Jack Ma is the founder of Alibaba Group of companies. As I discover more successful human in our present life, I found Jack Ma as a man of wisdom. He thinks very well with humility.
I have learn from his speech that an optimistic person can create huge opportunity and when you stop complaining you can see opportunities ahead of you from other people who complain.
To share the good news and inspiration in life, I decided to transcribe Jack Ma’s speech below.
I didn’t have a rich father. I tried three times for university… all failed! I applied for Harvard ten times… all failed – they don’t even want to see me. For the last time, I went to the Teachers College, which was considered the third and fourth class of my city. So, I applied jobs for 30 times, got rejected. It was so difficult at that time. I was so frustrated because I taught in the university, may pay was $10 a month. Because I cannot find a good job, in 1994, I discussed that I am going to do something called internet and 23 of them against it. They said, “This is a stupid idea! We’ve never heard about the internet and you know nothing about computer.”
And I never thought I was smart. Nobody believed that I could be successful because everybody said: “well this guy thinks differently; think crazily. You know, he’ll think about something that will never work.”
I tried to borrow $3,000 from the bank. It took me 3 months but I still cannot get it. We talked over 30 to 40 venture capitalists. Everybody said no. Forget it. A lot of people said Alibaba is a terrible model. As I said: “I believe it. I think this thing could be big.” If we keep on working. I never thought it would be that big like today. But I believed that something is waiting for me there and I have to work hard to prove myself. That was a tough experience. So, we gathered $50,000 from 18 founders. We started.
For the first 3 years, we did not have even $1 dollar revenue from our business. It was not easy.
But why it keeps going ahead – going forward? Because I received lots of emails of thanks from the customers. They say: “This is such a great thing. We cannot pay you but this thing helped us. If you keep helping us, one day you will be successful. And I believed this.
Little by little we built up our business. Little by little we built up our ecosystem of the infrastructure. And now after 16 years, we have Alibaba Group… we have TMall Group… we have Taobao group. We have Alipay. And people said, “You are so smart, how could you make a company like that?”
Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Jack Welch, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg… the difference between those people and other people, they are all optimistic for the future. They never complain. They always try to solve the problems of the others. When you are optimistic there is always an opportunity. People say the same thing here today: “Jack where is the opportunity? I do not have a job. I do not have this; I do not have that.” The best assets you have is that you are young. Do not complain. Let other people complain. The opportunity always lies where people complain.
Think about how you can make things different. Then when you think about this – start to do it. I saw a lot of people; young people have fantastic ideas every evening. But in the morning, they go to the office, same again. If you want to be an entrepreneur you have to do the things before the other people do. You have to wake up before the other people wake up. You have to be braver than the others.
When I was young, I went to Hanzhou West Lake. There is a hotel – many foreign visitors visit there. And I went there every morning 5 o’clock to practice my English. The foreign visitors come – I practice my English. I don’t know why at that time. But I found everything the foreign visitors told me and so different from the things my parents told me, my teacher told me and the newspaper I read. So, since then I think everything with my own brain. Use your own brain to think. To everybody, to any person – tomorrow is new. Make the move. Make the action. Whether investors believe it or not, whether your friends believe it or not, whether your parents believe it or not. That’s not important. You believe it. Your team believes it. And work day and night on this. Make enough mistakes. You fall – you stand up. If you really want to work for yourself – think about others because only when the other people are successful, when the other people are happy you will be successful; you will be happy. Do not worry about the money. Money follows the people.
People should follow their dreams. If you have a dream; just go ahead.
