It is amazing how a man’s destiny can be changed in one year. Jack Ma, more famously known as the Founder of Alibaba (BABA) has disappeared from the public eye around the time when Ant Group was unable to list on the US stock exchange. China stocks are not having a good year ever since the CCP started to have impose regulations on various sectors. There might be times where you might think dollar cost averaging is not working on Chinese stocks.
That being said, Jack Ma has spoken wisdom on life, business and relationship. I have compiled Top 5 quotes which I particularly enjoy.
Hope that Chinese stocks turn around soon.
#1: On the path to success, you will notice the successful ones are not whiners, nor do they complain often.
After thinking for a long time, I personally felt that this should be the first one on the list (or on any list). If you ask someone what are the ingredients of success, you might get answers like family background, intelligence, the amount of money they have, the school they come from or being hardworking.
I believe that one point stands above all of those listed above. I’m not undermining any of them but without this one point, the rest might fall short.
The Right Positive Attitude.
In my industry and in the previous companies that I worked for, I noticed a similar pattern. The top performers are usually silent (of course they will be loud performers too) and they do what they are suppose to do diligently. Most of them look at the bright side and are often grateful for what they receive or accomplish in their work. Don’t be mistaken though. They do complaint (they are not saints). After releasing the negative energy, they will pick themselves up again and continue preserving in what they do. In time, most of them find success.
Observe the “more successful” colleagues that you have. Are they like what I have described? Do you want to be like that too?
#2: You need the right people, not the best people.
I was inspired by this book called Good To Great by Jim Collins. Jim Collins put together 5 years of research to explain how a company can grow from good to great. In one of the chapter, Jim Collins writes about “getting the right people on the bus“. He didn’t say the best people, but the right people.
The right people or team will figure out how to drive the bus to the direction they want. I believe that everyone gives out a different kind of energy and it is your job (as a leader) to manage that energy. In the world, there are really smart people/best people out there. But if they won’t be able to have the right resonance with the team, they are not right at all. The bus might be driven in a different direction or be broken down entirely.
The right culture takes time to build up and seconds to be broken down. You might have friends who “overstayed” in a role because they enjoyed their colleagues company too much. You probably might have heard of friends who quit their jobs immediately because of a bad manager.
The book Good To Great will give a different dimension in explaining this.
#3: When people think too highly of you, you have the responsibility to calm down and be yourself.
One word can summarise this entire sentence: Ego. This comes as a bad joke because I felt that ego might have gotten better of Jack in the last few years.
As we become more successful and people start looking up to you, I believe it is important to remember our roots and how we get there. I have met people who got successful very quickly and (very quickly as well) became arrogant. I like this quote from Will Smith: Money and success don’t change who we are; they merely amplify what is already there. People will see how you treat people and that is an indication on who you are as a person whether successful or not.
The price of ego could be a heavy one and it is up to us to have humility whether successful or not.
What kind of person do you want to be?
#4: When doing sales, the first people who will trust you will be strangers. Friends will be shielding against you, fair weather friends will distance from you. Family will look down upon you. The day you finally succeeded, paying the bills for every get-together dinner, entertainment, you will realised: everyone else is present except strangers.
I don’t blame them. As Walter Bradford Cannon once said fight or flight is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. A sale may seem like a harmful attack to their wallets (whether or not the product/service is useful for them or not). Any and every exposure to a sale person might seem daunting for some.
I know of some friends who put down everything to start a business. It isn’t as glamorous as it seems. Behind the nice Facebook post lies hard work, sweat and tears (not exaggerating). There are also countless heart aches that they (myself inclusive) have experienced in the course of running a business.
- Working well beyond 9am to 5pm. Some quit their jobs and suddenly they are working 24/7
- Some might face discouragement from family or their close ones. Some very hurtful sentences include “You have a degree, why do you want to do this?”, “Why don’t you find a proper job?”, “Why are you not setting aside time for the family, is money that important?”, “Why are you not working hard enough (when things are not going well), do you know we have a family to support?”, “I can get this cheaper from Taobao”, “I can do this myself by reading up” etc
Yet, the day you succeeded in the world eyes. Suddenly, the applause comes in. Comments like “I knew you could do it all this time”. I heard this first hand from a friend who successful sold away his business for millions of dollar. However, I would have to say it is not easy. It is hard to suddenly trust someone to buy something straight away. It is even harder to refer them to someone that you know. But for those of you who did, a big thank you.
Do you know someone who is running a business or a practice? Lend them a helping hand. Here are some from I know run great business and I would like to extend to them a helping hand.
Disclaimer: I do not get any referral fees for promoting them. I personally feel that their products and services are great.
Platter With Love: Luxurious Handcrafted Artisanal Gourmet Platters with a Social Mission
#5: Buying Life Insurance cannot change your life; instead it prevents your lifestyle from being changed. After tolling for decades, an illness can wipe out an entire family’s saving by medical bills incurred.
You will not turn bankrupt because of buying insurance but you will cause your loved ones to turn bankrupt if you don’t.
There are certain things we want to happen and certain things we don’t want to happen. In the 21st century, humanity is facing one of the greatest war ever: the war against critical illness. Mortality has improved over the years because of medical innovation. At the very same time, the cost of medical provision has also increase. What seems to be like a death sentence decades ago can now be cured.. but you need money to have access to that treatment.
After chatting with past critical illness survivors, I realised that concern of falling ill runs deeper than just the cost. At the end, affording the treatment is the start. Recovering from the illness is the end game. Give yourself a chance to win this game by having the adequate insurance.
Final Thoughts
Let’s all thrive in our lives, business and relationships.
Stay Safe.
Chengkok is a licensed Financial Services Consultant since 2012. He is an Investment and Critical Illness Specialist. Wealthdojo was created in 2019 to educate and debunk “free financial advice” that was given without context.
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The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
