Top 10 Success Principles to Learn From That Jack
Jack Ma, known by his Chinese name Ma Yun, is one of the wealthiest people in China and the founder and CEO of Alibaba, one of the largest internet companies. He is the first Chinese person to be featured on the cover of Forbes magazine and ranked second in Fortune’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” 2017 list.
As an outstanding entrepreneur and visionary, Jack is also an inspiration and role model for many in the business world. He is renowned for his speeches and lectures around the world, which enlighten and share his advice.
In this article, you will learn the top 10 principles of success from Chinese billionaire Jack Ma.
1. AcceRejectionion
According to Jack, one key to success is accepting rejection and getting used to it. Jack started out as an ordinary man with no ties to the rich, family, or neighbors and received no funding from the local government in his early days. When Kentucky Fried Chicken first entered the Chinese market, he said he applied for a job there along with 23 other applicants. In the end, out of 24 applicants, 23 were accepted, and he was the only one rejected by KFC.
Because Jack likes to share and talk about his knowledge, he also applied to Harvard University ten times. Again, Harvard rejected him and said these experiences led to previous rejections. Breaking up in business is all too common, especially regarding a successful life.
A rejection happens not just to the Chinese billionaire but to anyone highly successful, such as the author of Harry Potter, JK Rowling, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and even basketball superstar Michael Jordan. Jordan was rejected by his high school basketball team. Still, despite rejection, he did not give up on his dream and continued to work hard for it. So, to be a successful entrepreneur, learn how to accept rejections.
2. Keep Your Dream Alive
Another great thing one can learn from Jack Ma in success is to always keep your dream alive. He once told an interviewer that his wife told him he wasn’t his. His wife says Jack actually owns Alibaba. That’s because Jack almost always can’t get himself to think about other things besides growing Alibaba. Jack acknowledges this and says he always feels about Alibaba, talks about it, sleeps with it, breathes it, and talks about it at every moment.
He is obsessed with his job and his dream, and that’s why he succeeds. Jack advises anyone wanting to be a successful entrepreneur to keep their dreams alive. They must be thought about, discussed, and worked on daily.
The same goes for every other successful entrepreneur like Steve Jobs. Plowing Apple and acquiring Pixar, he started his work as early as 7 a.m.; by the time he got home, it was nearly midnight. Steve Jobs was so passionate and obsessed with the project that he devoted almost his entire life to it. You have to keep your dream alive to create amazing things in life.
3. Ignoring the Naysayer
Whatever you do, you must ignore the naysayers trying to bring you down or tell you things aren’t possible. On your journey to achieve your desired success, you will face many naysayers and have to learn how to deal with them.
Many dismissed the idea when Jack Ma introduced Alipay, popularly known as Zhifubao in Chinese. Alipay is a third-party mobile and online payment platform like PayPal. People told Jack that Alipay wouldn’t work and it was a stupid idea. Today, Alipay has overtaken PayPal as the world’s leading mobile payment platform, and China has rapidly become a paperless country. Almost everyone in China uses mobile payments daily, and Alipay is the biggest platform.
Some people will tell you that your job or your dream is impossible, but you should not let your dream be stolen away. Many thought that electric cars and the conquest of Mars were impossible and that whoever dreamed this up was crazy. Elon Musk proved otherwise. Tesla is currently the largest electric car manufacturer, aiming to make its cars affordable and available to everyone around the world.
4. Focus on Building Culture
Jack Ma says one of his company’s core competencies is culture, not technology. He believes that technology and the internet are just tools and that anyone can leverage technology to create something better. Thus, Jack is very focused on building an amazing culture in his company. The Alibaba Group has thousands of employees, and everyone is united by values and visions. That’s why Jack Ma says culture is important to his success.
When building a successful business, the first thing that comes to mind for most people is profitability. While it is true that a company cannot survive without generating revenue, without a positive and productive culture, a company cannot be successful long term either. Jack says Alibaba is not just about making money; rather, it’s about building its people and growing together.
Why do you think big companies like Google, Facebook, and many others are trying to build great workplaces for their employees? When the organizational environment and culture are encouraging, the people within them will experience higher growth rates and be more productive at work.
5. Take Inspiration from Every Area of Life
Jack Ma said he loves movies and has learned a lot from watching movies. Her favorite movies are The Bodyguard, starring Whitney Houston, and Forest Gump, starring Tom Hanks. In an interview, he once told an audience that he learned the most from Forrest Gump. It’s okay that people can call you stupid or crazy, just like in the movie; you just have to be yourself and do what you think is right. That’s why he started businesses, followed his dreams, and became a successful entrepreneur.
There are many things you can learn from life. Just as Isaac Newton discovered the Law of Gravity by watching an apple fall from his tree. In the case of Albert Einstein discovered the theory of relativity by watching trains pass by while standing on the platform. Lessons about life and success are everywhere, but you have to be willing to open up and learn. Zig Ziglar, the famous personal development guru, famously said, “If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you’re determined to learn, no one can stop you.”
6. Create a Reputation
This is a business success principle that anyone who wants to build a great business should learn. Jack Ma says that your business and company brand is essential because if you want to be famous, you must choose a good one. He chose Alibaba not by chance, but when he tried to register his business name, he asked people if they had heard of it. He was surprised that most people had heard of the name Alibaba and knew about ‘open sesame.’ Plus, Alibaba starts with the letter A, meaning it will always be first. And that’s why he decided to go by the name Alibaba.
Take a look at all the very successful business names today. Amazon is so named because its founder, Jeff Bezos, wanted it to be the world’s largest bookstore. The name stands for the Amazon, the largest river in the world. Moreover, Amazon starts with an “A,” meaning it could rank higher in the search engine in the old days.
Emphasizing choosing a good business name and putting in the effort and time only shows that you are dedicated and passionate about your business. Someone who isn’t passionate about his business would never spend time thinking about a good name because he doesn’t believe it can become an international brand.
7. Stay Responsive
When Alibaba went public in the US, a reporter asked Jack if he had said no to an opportunity, and he replied Because if I say yes, I might have five thousand opportunities every day.”
Jack believes that to build a successful business, you need to stay focused on your ultimate goal. You need to combine all your efforts, grow, and do what your business is meant to do. When you lose focus, you scatter your attention, and this is when you will fail.
And in mindfulness, Steve Jobs was a legendary mind in his field. When he returned to Apple in 1997, one of the first and most important things he did was eliminate unnecessary features. It reduced Apple’s product line from hundreds of them to just ten. Steve Jobs told Fortune magazine, “Apple is a $30 billion company, but we’ve got less than 30 core products.” Jobs also said, “People think focus means saying yes to what you need to focus on. But that is not what it means at all. It means saying no to hundreds of other good ideas.”
8. Customers are Always
In an interview, Jack said he valued his customers over his shareholders. He would put his customers first, which is the most essential part of his business, followed by his employees second, followed by the shareholders.
Jack believes shareholders will come and go. And the only way to ensure shareholders are making money is to make customers a priority. When customers buy from you, your company makes a profit, and the shareholders will be happy. Jack often tells his teams that customers pay the bills and encourages them to put their customers first.
9. Stop Complaining And Look For Opportunities
If you want to succeed in whatever you do, you must stop playing the complaint or blame game. Many people complain about many things in their lives. They say they have a terrible boss, complain about their spouses, and blame the economy for negative outcomes. Jack Ma says that you will miss the opportunity if you complain because you are blinded by the complaint.
“Every fault, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of equal or greater gain,” wrote Napoleon Hill, the best-selling author of “Honored and Rich,” in his book. Jack totally agrees with this. Instead of blindly complaining, she says, look for opportunities in the problems. Where there are challenges, there will be opportunities.
9. Live with Passion
1999 Jack Ma pitched his idea to 17 friends in his small apartment to start Alibaba. At that point, no one knew if the idea would go through, but those who decided to pursue the opportunity believed in one thing: Jack Ma’s passion.
Passion is one of the keys to success. If you are passionate, you will keep working and trying to move forward, even when things get tough or fail. Most people give up because they lack the will to endure. They don’t like doing it, so why do they want to persevere when things are complex and not going their way?
Steve Jobs said it well, “Your work will take up a large chunk of your life, and the only way to be truly happy is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great is to love what you do.” And to love what you do, you have to be in it and passionate about it.
