I bet that you have heard the name Jack Ma. Who doesn’t know this Chinese billionaire who founded Alibaba and Taobao, right? Ma is often seen as Jeff Bezos of China. Apart from his tremendous success in the e-commerce world, Ma is also known for being a great teacher where he shares his knowledge, ideas, and insights about business and success. In this post, I’m sharing with you the 17 amazingly inspirational quotes from Jack Ma that can change your life.
As of 2020, Forbes estimated Ma’s net worth to be around $38.3 billion. If you think that you have nothing to learn from this Chinese billionaire, think again.
Ma started off his career as an English teacher, it’s a humble beginning. But before that, do you know how he learned how to speak English?
Whenever tourists visited his hometown, Hangzhou, young Ma would offer his service to be the tour guide to show the tourists around town. In exchange, the tourists would teach Ma English.
When Ma founded Alibaba, he started the company with 18 other friends in his small apartment. Many people in China did not know anything about the internet at that time.
Ma was rejected many times during his journey to bring Alibaba to be China’s most successful e-commerce platform.
And in 2014, Alibaba went IPO in New York, setting a record as one of the world’s biggest stock offering, raising $25 billion. Check out this article from NYSE.
Today, Ma is seen as the ambassador for the Chinese business and he has been listed as one of the world’s most powerful people by Forbes. Fortune also ranked him second in the annual “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” list.
He often travels around the world and gives his inspirational and insightful speeches. I like one of his speeches where he mentioned that he was rejected when applying for jobs before Alibaba.
He applied for 30 jobs, but all were rejected. This is what he said:
“I went for a job with the police; they said, ‘you’re no good,'”
And he continued to say:
“I even went to KFC when it came to my city. Twenty-four people went for the job. Twenty-three were accepted. I was the only guy…”.
Now you knew how tough he is. He may look like a small and skinny little Chinese guy, but his wealth of knowledge is tremendous, especially his characters that made him successful.
There are plenty of things we can learn from Jack Ma, let us start with these 17 inspirational quotes from him.
By the way, Ma is a very inspirational figure. You should check out YouTube videos on his speeches.
1. “If you are poor at 35 you deserve it.”
This quote actually reminds me of what Bill Gates once said:
“If you are born poor it’s not your mistake, but if you die poor it’s your mistake.”
So stop complaining or blame anyone or anything if you are poor. You can be born into poverty, but that doesn’t mean that you will or should stay poor your entire life.
The power to control is always in your hands, my friend.
You can live the life you want and you can be successful. It all starts with taking responsibility for your life and making the right decision.
We all have the power to choose. And when you stop making excuses and start taking control, that’s when your life will change.
2. “If you’ve never tried, how will you ever know if there’s any chance?”
Yes, you can never know how your future will turn out unless you have a crystal ball. How do you know if your dreams and what you want are achievable? Simple, just do it.
There is no way we can tell the future. So stop asking the “What if’s” question. You will never know until you do it.
You may ask, “What if I try but it doesn’t work out?” Well, just think the opposite, “What if it works?”
For every reason you stop taking action, there is someone out there who has the same reason but chooses to take action, and succeeded.
We don’t possess the crystal ball that can tell our future. The only way we can predict our future is through planning and building it.
First, you see the things that you want. You then set it as a goal. You then create a viable plan and come up with a strategy to achieve it. And then you take action.
Read: Goal Setting Strategies – How To Set Goals Step By Step
What if you fail? Simple, just learn from it and then do it again, until you achieve the success you want.
3. “Opportunities lie in the place where the complaints are.”
When people complain, it means that there is a business opportunity there. And that’s exactly how Jack Ma founded Alipay, a payment processor that compliments Alibaba, like how PayPal was for eBay.
When Jack launched Alibaba, people don’t believe in the idea of e-commerce where they can buy or sell something without having to meet each other. Please bear in mind that it was in the 90’s and it was in China.
Luckily, Jack did not complain about it. Instead, he saw it as an opportunity and started Alipay, the third-party mobile and online payment platform. You can read more about Alipay from Wikipedia here.
In 2013, Alipay overtook PayPal as the world’s largest mobile payment platform. And in 2016, Alipay has amassed over 54% of China’s mobile payment market, which was a $5.5 trillion market.
Alipay started because Ma saw the situation as an opportunity, not a problem that cannot be solved.
So whenever you face a problem, just reframe and think of it as an opportunity. Like what Napoleon Hill said:
“Within every setback or obstacle or disadvantage there is the seed of an equal or opposite or greater advantage or benefit.”
4. “Before you’re 30, work for a small company, learn passion, learn to dream.”
According to Jack, when you are young, especially before you’re 30, it is best to work for a small company.
And when it comes to learning, it is best to learn from the right boss. If you go to the big company, you are a small cog in a big machine. Your work can be replaced and what you do is pretty much repetitive.
This is why Ma says that it is better to follow and learn from the right boss in a small company. And this is where you get to learn how a startup works. You get to learn about the passion and the dream.
Once you have the knowledge and have developed the right characters, you can then start your own company. But, what if you don’t know what is your passion? Read this article below:
7 Clear Signs That You Have Discovered Your Passion in Life
5. “We are never in lack of money. We lack people with dreams, who can die for those dreams.”
Money is just a metric to keep score. When you do things correctly, money will come automatically. Thus, we are never really in lack of money. Instead, we lack the dreams, the action, the drive, and clarity.
If you find that you need money now, what should you do? You can work harder. You can start a part-time job. You can build an online business. You can sell your expertise as a service. Etc.
As you can see, we never lack money. What we lack is a good way to deliver value. When you know how to deliver value, the money will follow.
This is why Ma says that we don’t lack money. We lack people who dare to dream and people who are willing to commit fully to the dreams.
Read: 7 Practical Steps How to Turn Your Dreams into Reality
6. “Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.”
This is one of the most famous quotes from Jack Ma. Things are hard, there is no doubt about it. But the problem is that most people choose to give up rather than to hustle and move forward.
Ma says that today is tough, and tomorrow will be even tougher. However, if you can persist and continue to push forward, the day after tomorrow will be beautiful.
In fact, when Ma said this quote in one of his speeches, he continued to say this after the quote:
“Most people die tomorrow evening.”
Meaning, most people give up just right before they find success. Never let this happens to you. Don’t give up and choose to persist and hustle until you get the results you want.
This quote is similar to Robin Sharma’s saying:
“All change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end.”
It is tough today and it will be even tougher tomorrow. However, if you can persist and move on, the day after that will be easy. Sadly, most people give up just before they strike.
So don’t give up. Things are tough, I know, but that doesn’t mean that you should give up, my friend.
Read: How To Not Give Up On Your Dreams: The 7 Steps Process
7. “Once in your life, try something, work hard at something. Try to change. Nothing bad can happen.”
You are not born in this world to live ordinarily and be like everyone else. Why don’t do something extraordinary, maybe just for once?
You will never know how much potential you have until you do, so why don’t you just take the chance and do it?
This quote reminds me of another quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger:
“What is the point of being on this Earth if you are going to be like everyone else?”
Most people don’t dare to do something extraordinary. They choose to follow the crowd and live a boring, normal life. While there is really nothing wrong with that, but if that’s what you choose, then don’t complain.
Life’s supposed to be full of fun, excitement, growth, and adventure.
Remember when you were a kid, you tried to be like Superman and you want to save the world?
What happened to that dream? As we grow older, we have been conditioned by our society and community to fit in. When you try to do something extraordinary, people will laugh at you, telling you that it is impossible and they want you to NOT fail.
We live like everybody else because that’s what most people do. We stop dreaming because we don’t even believe in ourselves anymore.
Hence, don’t be afraid to stand out. In fact, don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams and your passion. This is your life and you only live once.
Always remember this quote from Jack Ma. Try something, work hard, dare to venture out of your comfort zone, dare to pursue your dreams, and if you fail, guess what, it doesn’t matter because at least you put in the effort.
Thus, strive for what you want, my friend.
Read: How to Find Your Purpose in Life
8. “If you don’t give up, you still have a chance. Giving up is the greatest failure.”
Yes, Ma is absolutely right on this. If you give up, you won’t stand a chance. Perhaps, the best saying to describe this is:
“A winner will never quit and a quitter will never win.”
If you quit, you can never win. As long as you don’t give up and continue to push forward, you stand a chance.
Therefore, no matter what, don’t quit on your dreams. Don’t ever give up on your goals.
Do your best. Keep fighting. Keep pushing forward until you get the results you want. And that’s what success is all about.
Read: 3 Fundamental Principles How to Turn Failure Into Success
9. “The world will not remember what you say, but it will not forget what you have done.”
Saying and doing are two different things. If you want the world to remember you, do something helpful.
Saying that you will do it and actually doing it is completely different.
Do you know that many people say that they want to build an online business, but when they get back home from work, all they do is watch TV and play games?
A lot of people say that they want to be successful and they want to be rich, but they don’t really do anything about it.
So don’t just say what you want, do it. Remember, if you want to leave a positive impact on the world, you need to do something, not just talking about it.
Read: How to Turn Your Goals into Actionable Plans
10. “If there are nine rabbits on the ground, if you want to catch one, just focus on one.”
Have you heard the quote from Confucius?
“The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.”
Yes, if you want to catch a rabbit, focus on just one. Many people are distracted and they wanted to do many things all at the same time.
First, they discover an opportunity with affiliate marketing. And then they come up with a plan to collect leads and promote affiliate products to their prospects.
And then somewhere along the line, they found that e-commerce is all hot right now and they don’t want to miss the trend.
Guess what they do? They jump in and build an e-commerce website. How about the affiliate business that they built? They have abandoned the ship.
And this can go on and on. It is never-ending.
No matter what you want to achieve in life, career or at work, you must put in 100% focus on your goal.
You must not deviate from your goal. Choose to focus, my friend. When you set a goal, put in 100% attention and stick to your plan until you achieve it.
Stop chasing for the next big thing. Don’t fall into the shiny-object syndrome.
Yes, opportunities are everywhere. And you just need to focus on one.
Remember, the grass may seem greener on the other side. But if you are willing to water and nurture your grass, it can be as green as you want.
Read: 10 Amazing Ways How to Improve Your Focus
11. “Forget about your competitors. Just focus on your customers.”
When it comes to business, a lot of people think that competition is good because competition makes a business grows.
This statement may not be true all the time. According to best-selling author and the co-founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel wrote in his book, Zero to One that competition can be bad for business.
Too many businesses focus on beating their competitors that they neglect the most important part of their businesses, which is growth.
When you put in too much attention to winning the war, you can end up losing the battle.
So, don’t focus on your competitor as Jack Ma said. Instead, choose to focus on building and growing your business. Choose to focus on your customers.
When your customers love you, they become your biggest fans, and your business will experience exponential growth. And that will automatically put your competitor out of the game.
12. “They called me crazy Jack. I think crazy is good. we’re crazy but we’re not stupid.”
When Jack said this, the audience exploded into laughter. Yes, when you try to do something that is out of the norm, people will think that you are crazy.
But that is okay because you know that you are not stupid. Crazy can be a good thing because it separates you from the rest of the crowd. It means that you’re doing something uncommon.
When you read the biography of highly successful people like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jack Ma, and many others, you will notice that these people don’t take the ordinary route.
They choose to travel a different path so that they can be the special ones, the extraordinary ones.
So, dare to be different, my friend.
It is alright if someone says that you are crazy. That means you know exactly what you want and you are doing something different from most people.
And that will truly lead you down a different path.
13. “If you want to win in the 21st century, you have to empower others, making sure other people are better than you. Then you will be successful.”
You can’t be successful or build a multi-million-dollar business all by yourself. You need others’ help and support to do so.
No man is an island, my friend.
When Ma started Alibaba, he started with 18 of his friends in his apartment. He didn’t do it alone.
The same goes for every other successful startup. Steve Jobs started Apple with his friends and Steve Wozniak. Walt Disney started Disney with Roy Disney.
Do you know that Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs were good friends and they called themselves the Four Vagabonds? They often met up together and talked about their business. It is like a mastermind group.
Read this article if you want to learn more about this group of extraordinary people.
As you can see, if you want to grow big, you definitely need help from others. Build and grow your own team. Trust and rely on others.
14. “Help young people. Help small guys. Because small guys will be big. Young people will have the seeds you bury in their minds, and when they grow up, they will change the world.”
If you take a look at Alibaba, the company, you will notice that many of their employees are youngsters. This is because Ma believes in nurturing and educating young people.
He always believes that the future belongs to the young. And thus, he employs a lot of young people.
This is not to say that you should not hire older people. It depends on the nature of your business.
For information technology businesses like Alibaba, they need young people with creative ideas to continue to grow. They need fresh ideas and the spark of young people to shape the future.
15. “Life is so short, so beautiful. Don’t be so serious about work. Enjoy lives.”
Life is not all about work, so don’t be too serious about it. You should work hard, but don’t forget to enjoy the process too.
What’s the point if you work your entire life but in the end, you realize that you don’t really enjoy the work and don’t have time to enjoy life?
You want to have some sort of balance. It may not be easy to achieve, but you must at least try your best to do so.
Have you heard about the theory of the four burners? Read this article from James Clear:
The Four Burners Theory: The Downside of Work-Life
At some point in your life, you may want to put in more attention and time to a certain area, like your work. When you are at your 30’s and 40’s, you probably put in more time into your work and business because you are growing it.
Perhaps, when you reach your 50’s, you will put in more time to be with your family and children. That’s life.
You just need to understand where to focus and try your best to maintain the balance.
I believe that in order to thrive at your work and business, you need some form of balance. After all, if all you have is work but no play, it can make your life a little out of tune.
Just like if you put in all your time to work but you ignore your family and your health, eventually, you will suffer the consequences.
Find some sort of balance. Read the article from James Clear about work-life balance. It is a very insightful article.
16. “The very important thing you should have is patience.”
Yes, Ma is absolutely right on this. Most people lack patience. They want to achieve their goals and be successful right now. They don’t want to wait.
This is why people prefer to take weight loss pills rather than going through the exercise and a diet plan.
When they build an online business, they want to see the result right away, not a year from now. This is one of the main reasons why many blogs have been left abandoned and the owner just don’t update them anymore.
They started out strong. After a couple of days or weeks when they don’t see the result that they want, they decided to stop. They lost interest and were distracted by other “better opportunities”.
If you start a project or set to achieve a goal, make sure you have the patience and stick to your plan.
Don’t jump from one project to another. Don’t be a starter, be a finisher. Have patience because it is a virtue.
Rome was not built in a day. Alibaba did not become the biggest e-commerce platform in a month. Jack Ma did not become a billionaire in a year too.
If you want to achieve something big, you need to have the patience to build it, nurture it, and more importantly, give it time to grow.
Have you heard about the bamboo story? Read my previous article and learn what the bamboo can teach you about being patience:
The 6 Success Lessons You Should Learn From A Bamboo Tree
17. “If we go to work at 8 am and go home at 5 pm, this is not a high-tech company and Alibaba will never be successful. If we have that kind of 8-to-5 spirit, then we should just go and do something else.”
Do you have the 8-to-5 or the 9-to-6 mentality? If you do, you don’t think like an entrepreneur, instead, you have the mentality of an employee.
Highly successful people don’t treat their business or work like a normal job. They treat it like a calling. It is something that they must do and they do it with their best effort. It is their obsession.
This is why successful people are willing to sacrifice their leisure time to work. Elon Musk said that he slept in Tesla’s factory floor because he wanted to make sure Tesla can hit the manufacturing target.
Ma is correct. If you want to build a successful business, you cannot have the employee’s mentality.
You must think like a real entrepreneur.
“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.”
Conclusion
Do you find these quotes from Jack Ma inspirational? Share your thoughts with me in the comment section below.
Here is a quick recap on the 17 quotes again:
1. “If you are poor a 35 you deserve it.”
2. “If you’ve never tried, how will you ever know if there’s any chance?”
3. “Opportunities lie in the place where the complaints are.”
4. “Before you’re 30, work for a small company, learn passion, learn to dream.”
5. “We are never in lack of money. We lack people with dreams, who can die for those dreams.”
6. “Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.”
7. “Once in your life, try something, work hard at something. Try to change. Nothing bad can happen.”
8. “If you don’t give up, you still have a chance. Giving up is the greatest failure.”
9. “The world will not remember what you say, but it will not forget what you have done.”
10. “If there are nine rabbits on the ground, if you want to catch one, just focus on one.”
11. “Forget about your competitors. Just focus on your customers.”
12. “They called me crazy Jack. I think crazy is good. we’re crazy but we’re not stupid.”
13. “If you want to win in the 21st century, you have to empower others, making sure other people are better than you. Then you will be successful.”
14. “Help young people. Help small guys. Because small guys will be big. Young people will have the seeds you bury in their minds, and when they grow up, they will change the world.”
15. “Life is so short, so beautiful. Don’t be so serious about work. Enjoy your lives.”
16. “The very important thing you should have is patience.”
17. “If we go to work at 8 am and go home at 5 pm, this is not a high-tech company and Alibaba will never be successful. If we have that kind of 8-to-5 spirit, then we should just go and do something else.”
If you like what you read, please share this article with your friends. And I hope that you enjoy reading these inspirational quotes from Jack Ma.
Very important and if you have books written by jack please send me with my email address
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