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15 LIFE & BUSINESS LESSONS FROM CHINA'S RICHEST MAN - JACK MA

He is the recently named China’s richest man - the man who took Alibaba Group, China’s largest e-commerce business, to the biggest IPO in US history. His name is Jack Ma. 

There is something interesting about successful Chinese entrepreneurs and leaders. I always find them to be much deeper and more humble than their American counterparts. After reading several articles about Jack Ma, I particularly admire him for starting out as an English teacher earlier in his life with no technical background, but great foresight, ambition, and determination.

Here are the 15 Life and Business Lessons from Jack Ma (translated from Chinese to English).

Your attitude is more important than your capabilities. Similarly, your decision is more important than your capabilities. 

You cannot unify everyone’s thoughts, but you can unify everyone through a common goal. Let your colleagues and employees work for a common goal.  

A leader should never compare his technical skills with his employee’s. Your employee should have superior technical skills than you. However, a good leader should have more foresight, higher tenacity, and higher endurance for failure than his employees.

Giving up is the greatest failure.

Only fools use their mouth to speak. A smart man uses his brain. A wise man uses his heart.

The world will not remember what you say, but it will certainly not forget what you have done. Don’t make complaining or whining a habit.

Adopt and change before any major trends or changes.

Your attitude determines your altitude. 

A great opportunity is often hard to be explained clearly. Things that can be explained clearly are often not the best opportunities.

“Free” is the most expensive word.

When starting a business, you must have the ability to see, the ability to understand what is going on, and the ability to keep up with the pace.

When you’re small, focus and use your brain instead of your physical strength. 

If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then be different from your peers. 

The most unreliable thing in this world is human relationships.

Starting your company means you will lose your stable income. But it also means your income will no longer be limited, you will use your time more effectively, and you will no longer need to beg for favours from people anymore. 

< This article was originally published in Chinese and was translated into English. Please share if you find this helpful.>