We as humans, are social creatures. Outwardly we all may have different goals in life but the essence behind each and every goal of ours is the desire to achieve success and for this, we seek inspiration. Every day, we meet many people but look up to only a few of them for the inspiration. What sets them apart from others is their story of success and the journey they took to reach the destination. Stories have been a part of every human culture and tradition since time immemorial. Not only they leave a positive impact on our brain but also helps us develop a new and different outlook on the life, its hardships, and lessons.
Today, we are going to hear a story. A story about a man from China who is regarded as a God of the internet industry in China. People in China look up to him and wants to be like him. This is the story of Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba and a former teacher turned entrepreneur.
Jack Ma is the founder of Alibaba that is an e-commerce giant in China and a stakeholder in Alipay, a sister company which is an e-payment portal. He is the richest man in China. Though Alibaba is not a household name outside China but its worth is more than Facebook and it processes more good than Amazon and e-bay combined.
The story of Jack Ma is a story of rags to riches that will keep inspiring you for the rest of your life no matter how dark the days may be.
Jack Ma was born in Hangzhou, China along with his elder brother and younger sister. Born in a lower-middle-class family, the parents of Jack were Musicians-Storytellers and barely made enough money to feed five mouths in the house.
Thanks to the former US President Richard Nixon who played an important role in improving the situation of the tourism in Hangzhou and Jack Ma made the most of the opportunity. He used the opportunity to learn English as he used to give free English tours to foreigners for free. The name Jack was given to him by a foreign girl as his real name ‘Ma Yun’ was difficult for her to remember.
Rejection is not a failure
Rejections and Jack Ma used to go hand in hand.
●He failed his primary school exams,
twice.
●Failed in middle school exams, thrice.
●Before getting admitted into Hangzhou Normal University, he failed three entrance exams.
●He was rejected by the Harvard University 10 times.
After getting a degree from the college
he failed to land even the most simple of the jobs. In an interview, he told
that when KFC was hiring in China, 24 people had applied for the job. The
company selected 23 and Jack was the only one rejected. He was also among the 5
applicants who had applied for the police job, 4 were selected and again Jack
was rejected.
During his journey as an entrepreneur, Jack’s two initial venture failed and Alibaba was his third venture. But, despite all the adversities and rejections he never stopped dreaming big and kept moving forward.
The rise of the Jack Ma
Jack Ma was first introduced to computer and internet in 1995 when he was in the US for a Government undertaking project. He fiddled with the internet for some time and then searched for China. To his surprise, only one result popped on the search engine and Jack Ma decided that it’s time that China and it’s people also make their mark on the internet.
He pursued 17 of his friends to invest in his venture Alibaba which he started from an apartment. Initially, there were no investors for the company but later they raised $20 million from Soft Bank and another $5 million from Goldman Sachs in 1999. But convincing people of China that online payments and online selling and purchasing are a safe way to shop was another challenge for the Jack Ma.
Jack Ma started his first successful company at the age of 31 without being a good programmer or a graduate of a world-class university. With time the company went on to break the boundaries of China and is only second to Walmart in terms of sales per year.
Life lessons to learn from Jack Ma
For opportunity use telescope and not a microscope
According to Ma who fails in life have narrow confines for the actions. To be successful it is important to look beyond the horizons of your profession because wealth and success are not hostages to any profession.
Every opportunity is good
Whenever you find a chance in your life, grab it. Don’t think it is too small or doesn’t match your standards. If you want large in your life then don’t treat anything small.
Look beyond your circumstances
Despite your education, background and other million factors you can still be successful. What matters is your spirit, hard work, and fortitude. From where you start matters the least.
Focus on your ambition
It is your job to focus on your ambition single-minded and never let it go. Others will not do it for you.
Learn to act
People want everything to go Swift. What if Swift means that getting failed and bouncing back from the failure. To be successful learn to accept the defeat and failure but forget that ‘giving up’ is an option.
The story of Jack Ma is the story of a Phoenix rising from its ashes. No matter what you ,where you live and what your ambitions are, we all can learn from the story of the most inspirational and influential entrepreneurs JACK MA.
At the Age of 54, and on China's Teacher's Day , Jack MA steps down from the Chinese e-commerce giant on Monday to pursue philanthropy in education. In an interview, Mr. Ma said his retirement is not the end of an era but “the beginning of an era.” He said he would be spending more of his time and fortune focused on education. “I love education,” he said.