Jack Ma, the first Chinese entrepreneur to feature on Fortune’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” 2017 list, gave birth to Alibaba from just an idea to an institution. Running Alibaba, one of the largest e commerce platforms in the world, Jack Ma has led an inspiring life. Here is taking a look at some truly inspiring life lessons from Jack Ma, the man behind the second largest e commerce platforms in the world.

Jack Ma Life Lessons:

1. Accept rejection

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According to Jack Ma, rejection is a part and parcel of life. Born to an extremely poor family, Ma realised early on, in order to get something in life, you have to keep struggling to make sure you succeed. His first major taste for rejection happened when he was 23. KFC was opening its Chinese stores and Ma thought this was the best way to make some much needed cash. However, when he applied, he was the only one amongst 24 people to get rejected. This was not the only time he got rejected from something he really wanted. Even his dream college, the Harvard University, rejected him not once, but ten times. If Jack Ma had given up and stopped trying to make a life for himself, Alibaba would not be what it is today! Therefore, in order to reach your goals, you have to accept the rejections as they come and continue working hard.

2. Ignore the negative people in your life

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There are always people in your life who are going to say no to whatever idea you have. The best way to ignore the negative people in your life is by accepting your dream and working hard to make them come true. The first startup he created, Alipay, was rejected by not just his acquaintances, but by his friends as well. If he had listened to the negative comments and shut down the site because people didn’t like the idea, Alipay would not be the largest mobile payments platform. Moreover, people in China wouldn’t have been introduced to a new form of online payments had Jack Ma not worked on the idea despite the negative people.

3. Let your vision have a positive impact on society

One of the things Jack Ma truly believes in is, it is important for your vision to have a positive impact on the people around you. Most people create businesses which help generate revenue for themselves. However, Jack Ma was slightly different. He constantly focused on creating a platform which not only changed the way people shopped online, but also had a positive impact on his employees and colleagues. Furthermore, he realised very early that money isn’t the driving force for success, helping other people is. Through this vision, he made sure everything he did was to impact the society in a better way!

4. Don’t allow the past to dictate your present

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According to Jack Ma, your past life isn’t an indication of what works and doesn’t work for the present. If you are too focused on how things worked in the past, you stop thinking of how to change the game for the present. Using this principle in everyday life, Ma made sure that whatever he does, he doesn’t stop thinking of how to work on the next big idea!

5. Your customers are always your priority

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According to Jack Ma, customers always come first, no matter what. Next come the employees and then, the shareholders. According to Ma, the shareholders always come and go, but the customers will always be the most important thing for the growth of your company. Customers are the ones who drive your company forward and are the ones who give you the push to make something great.

Jack Ma has always ensured that everything he does, he does it for the betterment of the people who work for him. With success lessons like these, it stands to see that the man has led a truly inspiring life. If you think we missed out on any other life lessons from Jack Ma, comment and let us know!