Article by Zach Ho via ZeroHedge. H/T Bob Wenzel
Jack
Ma: Before I founded Alibaba, I invited 24 friends to my house to discuss the
business opportunity. After discussing for a full two hours, they were still
confused — I have to say that I may not have put myself across in a clear
manner manner then. The verdict: 23 out of the 24 people in the room told me to
drop the idea, for a multitude of reasons, such as: ‘you do not know anything
about the internet, and more prominently, you do not have the start-up capital
for this’ etc etc.
There was only one friend (who was working in a bank then) who told me, “If you want to do it, just try it. If things don’t work out the way you expected it to, you can always revert back to what you were doing before.” I pondered upon this for one night, and by the next morning, I decided I would do it anyway, even if all of the 24 people opposed the idea.
When
I first started Alibaba, I was immediately met with strong opposition from
family and friends. Looking
back, I realised that the biggest driving force for me then was not my
confidence in the Internet and the potential it held, but more
of this: “No matter what one does, regardless of failure or success, the
experience is a form of success in itself.” You have got to
keep trying, and if it doesn’t work, you always can revert back to what you
were doing before.
As with this quote by T.E. Lawrence – “All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream in the dark recesses of the night awake in the day to find all was vanity. But the dreamers of day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, and make it possible.”
Jack
Ma: People lose out in life because of these 4 reasons:
1.
Being
myopic to opportunity
2.
Looking
down on opportunities
3.
Lacking
understanding
4.
Failing
to act quickly enough
You
are poor, because you have no ambition.
Ambition
is living a life of great ideals; a magnificent goal in life that must be realized.
In this world, there are things that are deemed unfathomable, but there is nothing in this world that cannot be done. The depth of one’s ambition determines the potential of one’s future.
By way of example:
The
Story of Juliet Wu Shihong – one of China’s first-generation professional
managers, who gained success by working her way up the ranks from a cleaner, a
nurse, a marketing executive, through self-education and learning on the job.
She
had been the general manager for the world’s most famous multinational IT
groups’ Chinese branches (Microsoft 1985-1998; IBM 1998-1999). She is also
China’s first successful international corporate executive to join the
executive team of a domestic private firm. Wu was seen as a symbol of the new
generation of business executives that China has produced in its economic
reform and opening-up.
When
Wu started off in a big company working from the lowest ranks, her daily job
was to pour tea and sweep floors. Once, because she forgot her staff pass, the
company’s guard stopped her at the door and denied her entry. She explained to
the guard that she was indeed one of the company’s employees, and that she had
merely left the building for a short while to purchase office supplies.
Despite
her pleas, the guard still did not allow to enter. As she stood at the gate,
she watched as those of similar age to her, but smartly dressed in business
attire walking through without having to show their passes.
She
asked the guard, “Why are these people allowed through without producing a
pass?” The guard dismissed her coldly nonetheless.
That
was the turning point for Wu – she felt great shame, her self-esteem trampled
on.
She
looked at herself, dressed in shabby clothes and pushing a dirty push cart. Looking
back at those dressed in smart attire, her heart felt a deep ache from the
sudden realization of the sorrow and grief from being discriminated. From that
moment, she vowed never to allow herself to be shamed like this again, and to
become world-famous.
Since
then, she used every opportunity to enrich herself. Every day, she was the
first to arrive at work, and the last one to leave. She made every second
count, spending her time learning the ropes. Her efforts soon paid off; she was
made a sales representative, and quickly progressed to being the regional
general manager of this multinational company in China. Wu did not possess
strong academic qualifications, and was revered as the ‘Queen of Part-timers’.
Subsequently, she assumed the position of GM of IBM China. This is the Wu
Shihong, the heroine in China’s business circle.
If
not for the incident, Wu Shihong would not have had the ambition to become
rich, and her life would have taken a very different path then.
Lessons...
- You are poor because you do not have the desire to become successful.
- You are poor because you lack foresight.
- You are poor because you cannot overcome your cowardice.
- You are poor because you lack the courage and determination.
- With ambition you can overcome all inferiority and maximise your potential!
- With ambition you can persevere, continuously learn new things and strive for perfection.
- With ambition you can defy all odds, and create miracles when others daren’t.
No
matter how poor your family is, do not doubt your own abilities and lose sight
of your ambition.
- When your family deems you worthless, no one will pity you.
- When your parents do not have money to pay the medical bills, no one will pity you.
- When you are beaten by your competitors, no one will pity you.
- When your loved ones abandon you, no one will pity you.
- When you have not accomplished anything by the time you are 35, no one will pity you.
Go
big, or go home. Otherwise, you’re wasting your youth.
Average:
Check out the successes of the Uber investors.
Jonathan Buchanan
1. Ashley Qualls operates http://www.whateverlife.com/. A few articles on her here, here, and here from Forbes.
2. Birke Baehr, age 11, has a site titled Birke on the Farm. Don't miss it.
At Polyface Farm while filming the documentary, "Bite Size," with one of the great American farmers, Joel Salatin.
Here is Birke's 2010 TED Conference Talk
5. Matthew Lilley, 15, created Ready-Made Meals. He designed a particular dish, Beef & Tomato Wedge Bake, for Tesco.
10. Leanna Archer. Here is her website and her greeting to you. And an article on her. Her Leanna Archer Education Foundation.
11. Robert Nay owner of www.naygames.com. He designed Bubble Ball which replaced Angry Birds.
12. Mark Bao, 18-year old. His blog. A brief article. Two of his productions are threewords.me and debateware.com. Here is his center for ethical business.
13. Lizzie Marie Likness (that's the correct spelling), who owns LizzieMarieCuisine, was a teenage chef and business owner.
She's got a very successful enterprise. ''Lizzie Marie Cuisine is unique because I teach kids how to have fun cooking healthy meals and how to live healthy,'' said Likness. "My company teaches people that it's not all about eating healthy, it's also about living healthy.''
14. Farrhad Acidwalla owns the website rockstahmedia.com. He's from India, and here is an article on him.
With $10 from his parents, Farrhad Acidwalla joined the entrepreneurial ranks at age 13, when he decided to build an online community devoted to aviation and aero-modeling. Several months later, he sold the community to a fan for $1,200.
15. Asya Gonzalez owns stinkyfeetgurlz.com.
The daughter of two entrepreneurs, Asya Gonzalez wanted to follow in her family's footsteps.
''I remember asking my Dad why my uncle couldn't come with us on spontaneous trips, and he said because he works at an office,'' Gonzalez recalled. ''I knew right then that I wanted to have freedom, make my own money and make my own rules. You can't do that climbing the corporate ladder ... as my Dad says.''
At 13, Gonzalez launched Stinky Feet Gurlz, a company that designs, markets and sells 1940s-inspired t-shirts and apparel.
16. Brian Wong owns kiip.me. Here is his biography.
''I've always had the entrepreneurial itch, but what got me the most excited was the opportunity to truly reinvent a space,'' said Wong.
17. Adam Horwtiz owns http://yeptext.com/, a site that uses text marketing. Looks kind of interesting. He also created Mobile Marketing. Article here and Facebook here.
18. 16-year old Taylor Parker works and lives on a 170-acre farm in East Texas. Through CollegePlus, he found a way to get his college degree for less than the standard price. Listen to his story. Follow his example.
Ash Bhat, 16
19. Ash Bhat is telling companies what they're doing wrong and his mother is worried that he's going to drop out of school. Kiip has hired Ash. "Kiip provides users with rewards during natural pauses in mobile games, essentially incentivizing ad clicks with treats."
20. I like the musical talent and marketing ambition in these two young men, Malcolm Brickhouse and Jarad Dawkins.
Gary North masterfully explains why somewhere in the first decade of the 19th century that religious ideas and attitudes changed to make being rich permissible with escatology. One of the best speeches I've ever listened to. Bravo, Dr. North!
Another Entrepreneurial Kid: Nick D'Aloisio, 17 year old Brit.
Another Entrepreneurial Kid: Nick D'Aloisio, 17 year old Brit.
More on Nick from the UK's Telegraph. Here's Nick on what goes into designing a Smart Watch.
George Hotz
George Hotz
Entrepreneurial Resources
And here he is featured on Nightly News with Brian Williams. Here is a list of his projects.
Dr. Ruth Benerito, creator of wrinkle-free cotton, has died.
"Jaylen Bledsoe is a one-of-kind superstar. The 15-year old sophomore started his own tech company a few years ago, and has found entrepreneurship to be his calling.'
Jaylen Bledsoe, 15 year-old millionaire?
Blogger, Perez Hilton, shopping for Manhattan condo.
Perez Hilton.
Next?
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