Jack Ma is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., one of China’s largest e-commerce companies. He established it back in 1999 while still attending school full time as an undergraduate at Wuhan University. His studies focused on electrical engineering & computer science with a minor concentration in economics for business administration emphasis during his last two years there. Too!
He later went to Harvard Business School, graduating cum laude, which led him to become a famous person who managed top-level positions both inside and outside Wall Street before establishing a business for himself!
He is well-known in China and abroad, not only because of his status as the richest man in China but also because of his rags to riches life story. In 2010, China Daily acknowledged him as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Chinese Persons, followed by an even greater achievement in 2013 when he received an honorary doctorate from the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology for his contribution to China’s economy.
In this blog post, we look at some life lessons from Jack Ma and how we can implement them in our own lives to be just as successful.
1. Learning from Mistakes
Ma stated that “If you want to be successful, you have to do what unsuccessful people aren’t willing to do.” In addition, he said that Alibaba’s algorithm for success was so effective because of their willingness to try and fail. He says, “I am a good follower of free-market principles – if you don’t try, how would you know?”
2. Adapting to Change
He came back from work one day, and his wife noticed that he wasn’t wearing socks. When she asked where they were, Ma replied by saying, “My company bought me ten pairs of socks today.” She was confused as they could afford all this but lived in an apartment with holes in the wall. He replied by saying that this is something that they will not be able to afford forever and that he must enjoy it while it lasts.
This shows us that no matter what level you are at financially, there’s always room for improvement and taking shortcuts may seem like a good idea, but it can also prevent you from growing.
3. Adopting a Growth Mindset
Many people believe that they are fixed human beings and that their qualities, smarts, skills, aptitudes etc., are fixed and can’t be improved upon or changed, which isn’t true! Scientists have found new evidence showing us that our brain is like a muscle, and with the proper training, it can get bigger, stronger, more powerful, just like other muscles in your body.
For example, there was once an experiment where they took students at Harvard University who were all high achievers and split them into two groups. The first group was told that their intelligence levels could be improved, while the other half was told that their intelligence levels were fixed. They then both took tests; those in the first group improved to twice as high as the control group, who stayed the same!
4. Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish
These are probably some of the most inspiring words I have ever read. The first part means that you should never stop learning and always look for ways to improve yourself. This will keep your mind fresh and open to new ideas so that when opportunity strikes, you’ll be ready to take advantage of it!
The second part means that you should always stay humble and keep in mind where you came from. This will stop greed from taking over your life which has been shown to cause depression, anxiety, problems with interpersonal relationships etc.
5. Practice Giving
In Ma’s own words, “I believe that the only real asset we have is our ability to help others.” In other words, if you don’t take care of others, how can you expect to be taken care of. This is why giving back to the community through charity or volunteering regularly can positively affect your mental well-being. There is even evidence that people who volunteer regularly are happier than those who don’t!