Jack Ma of Alibaba thinks almost anyone can be successful if they really try hard.
Here are three of Ma’s keys to success in business that don’t require any special knowledge, money or connections.
Thinking differently is your power. “If everybody agrees, then there is no opportunity,” Ma said in Paris. When everybody else believe it you have no chance. When only few people believe it, you believe it, you prove it, that’s your chance,” Ma said in Paris.
Be like Forrest Gump: Never give up. Ma is inspired by Forrest Gump in that respect: “I love Forrest Gump,” Ma said. “Simple — never give up.”
Use what skills you have. “I know nothing about technology, I know nothing about marketing, I know nothing about [the legal] stuff,” Ma said in Paris. “I only know about people.” So Ma used that. He had learned how to inspire and empower people in his first job, when he was an English teacher, and he translated that into inspiring and encouraging his team.
From “Alibaba billionaire Jack Ma: Almost ‘everybody can be successful if you really try hard’” by Catherine Clifford
Photo by Hassan OUAJBIR on Unsplash