Winners Who Cared for Nothing but…GOALS

Dear Readers, 

Every individual on this earth, whether rich or poor, strong or weak, has to go through various ups and downs in his/her life. Everyone has to face various challenges in their lives. Some succumb to the atrocities in life and those who take up the challenges positively are the ones who become an inspiration for others. We all have certain capabilities in us and the only need is to realize them and work upon them.

There are many inspirational tales depicting the courage and strength of many inidividuals who have converted their disabilities into strengths and have created motivational and inspirational vision for others in life. ‘Winners Who Cared for Nothing but…GOALS’ is a series of articles where we share with you rags to riches stories of people who never stopped trying. This is the fifth article of the series and here we will share the story of a hero, who needs no introduction because he had earned such big name that everyone knows about him. He is none other than JACK MA, the founder of Alibaba. The story of Jack Ma is the perfect example of perseverance and hard work.

Jack Ma was born to a below middle-class family of traditional Musicians-Storytellers and today he is a widely known Chinese business magnate and a generous philanthropist and entrepreneur with an estimated net worth of $21.7 Billion. He is also the richest man in China and the 36th richest person in the world. Jack Ma had developed a desire of learning English since a very early age. He used to travel to the nearby hotel on his bike each morning to converse with foreigners and guide them around the city. This way he developed a good knowledge of English. In his early childhood, Jack Ma failed in his Primary School examinations twice. Also, he failed thrice during his Middle School exams. As he grew up, after failing the university entrance exam thrice, Jack went on to attend the Hangzhou Normal University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1988.

Later, he went on to become a lecturer in English and International Trade at a monthly salary of $12 at the Hangzhou Dianzi University. He even applied for Harvard University ten times and got rejected ten times. After spending three years in the university he failed to get a job after applying to them 30 times. In an interview Jack said, “When KFC came to China, 24 people went for the job. Twenty-three people were accepted. I was the only guy who wasn’t.” He was also one of the 5 applicants to a job in Police force and was the only one getting rejected after being told, “No, you’re no good.”

After ample of rejections, he never gave up. His turning point in life came when he visited US in 1995 and there he was first introduced to the internet and computers. At that time computers were rare in China. The first word he searched on the Mosaic browser was ‘Beer’, and it popped out results from different countries, but signs of China anywhere. He then searched ‘China’ and not a single result popped out! He decided it was time for China and its people to get on the Internet Finally, he persuaded 17 of his other friends to invest and join him in his new e-commerce startup – Alibaba, the company began from his apartment. Initially, Alibaba did not get ample of funds but later raised $20 Million from SoftBank and another $5 Million from Goldman Sachs in 1999. He overcame all his challenges in life and successfully started his company at the age of 31. Today, he runs one of the biggest E-commerce networks in the world. 

He faced so many rejections in his life but never gave up his perseverance. His story is an inspiration for those who succumb to atrocities in life. 

One must never give up on their hard work because later or sooner hard work always pays. 

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Winners Who Cared for Nothing but…GOALS

Winners Who Cared For Nothing But GOALS | Patricia