Post: #26

(09-22-2014 02:40 PM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  ^^^Show me your wealth and your success.

Less time hatin' and more time innovatin' yields success.

Did you read the line about not hating on his wealth? Stop the idolatry of this man's wealth and start doing it for yourself.

Again being smug with ones wealth isn't healthy even if it comes with hard work. What the Lord gives, the Lord will happily take away.

Post: #27

(09-22-2014 01:26 PM)frenchie Wrote:  Not hating on his wealth. but Alibaba is nothing special. It removes the middleman so consumers can go directly to China and buy bulk products at a discount. I can go on their right now and buy 500 knock off products at a discount. Not that bad if I want 500 cheap blenders.

I'll be honest and say all of the latest tech IPOs are bullshit. Even Facebook's valuation made me gag. No way in hell these companies which have no real products are worth more than Walmart, Exxon Mobile, and the like. I look forward to when this IPO tech bubble funny money stops happening.

And wwhile I respect a man who has "earned it all" with an attitude like that it's easy for the envious masses to rise up and give him an attitude check. History is rife with individuals who love pontificating about the lesser's wealth. It worked out well for Marie Antoinette.

I agree with you on facebook, but Alibaba is pretty good. It's basically Amazon + EBay + Paypal in one for China. And the Chinese market is much, much bigger than the American one. Pretty sure those American companies I named are fairly valuable. I use Amazon for half of my shopping.

Post: #28

Post: #29

I don't get it.
Alibaba has always looked pretty shady to me
do people actually buy stuff from that site?
I guess so...

Post: #30

(09-22-2014 05:02 PM)frenchie Wrote:  

(09-22-2014 02:40 PM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  ^^^Show me your wealth and your success.

Less time hatin' and more time innovatin' yields success.

Did you read the line about not hating on his wealth? Stop the idolatry of this man's wealth and start doing it for yourself.

Again being smug with ones wealth isn't healthy even if it comes with hard work. What the Lord gives, the Lord will happily take away.

Lol.

"males shouldn't be jealous/that's a female trait/what, you mad cuz you push dimes and he sell weight?"

Nothing wrong with a little idolatry if the idol has shown himself to be truly special.

It's the critical crabs in a barrel who end up hurting themselves and their peers the most.

Post: #31

Just saw this interview with him, pure gold.
Truly inspirational story:

Post: #32

The world needs more men like Jack Ma, plain and simple.

Yes, he understands that he has been very fortunate even with his insane work ethic. But that does not mean for a second that he will not give his later years- maybe even his 50's- to fostering the next generation.

He actually lives a very traditional way of approaching life.

Quote: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.

Quote:When you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength.

Lots of good quotes, but I respect his attitude toward the young.

Post: #33

(09-22-2014 10:56 PM)Muk Wrote:  I don't get it.
Alibaba has always looked pretty shady to me
do people actually buy stuff from that site?
I guess so...

I've used Alibaba a few times getting samples of products direct from the manufacturers. It's a great service to use to be able to directly speak with the manufacturer about price/quantity and you can haggle with them as well as far as min order and such. They do checks and have ratings on suppliers that are legit. I never had an issue with shady business but I'm also not an idiot, I do my research. The alternative to Alibaba would be trying to figure it all out on your own, who to contact, how to contact, etc. which would be very time consuming.

Post: #34

I use aliexpress to buy cheap knockoff kobes, lebrons, KDs, and air force 1's. It's the shit - the quality is so good kids are coming up to me asking to pay full price for them.

Post: #35

My respect for him just went pretty high after learning that he would ride 45 minutes each way to learn english from foreigners as a guide. That's pretty damn cool.

Post: #36

(09-20-2014 07:55 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  

(09-20-2014 07:01 PM)Foolsgo1d Wrote:  

(09-20-2014 04:29 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  Jack Ma is just another super fucking smart, super hard working guy, that was in the right places with the right opportunities and made the most of them. He started from the bottom. Dude is a straight up hustler. No one can keep someone as determined as he is down. I'm not sure what lessons you can learn from him that others have not shown before him, but he is definitely proof that hard work and determination won't hold you down forever.

In China of all places?

Not to take credit from him but if he was to not give the right palms some grease he wouldn't be where he is. I'm sure if he upset any of the establishment his life would be over.

As long as he keeps people happy he will be on the winning side.

You don't know China very well. In China, guanxi (connections) may be number one indeed, but talent almost always floats to the top there. Jack Ma probably has a ridiculously high IQ and is extremely well spoken. His work ethic is beast mode. He is basically like a Chinese Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.

In China, guys like him find their way in higher positions and ranks very quickly. Bosses are always desperate to find ways to make more money off their talented stock, despite what most think. Ma took it even a step further by having a strong entrepreneur's mindset. China is more of an entrepreneurship country than the US or the UK, in many ways. Anyone can start a business very quickly doing anything and no big dogs will shit on you or stop you with lots of red tape. The only way to get bigger is through connections and greasing palms, but you do not have to do that to get started per se. Just have enough cash to start whatever it is you want.

The biggest limitation back then when he was starting out was the small middle class and low market. He hit it at the right time though, because when the middle class exploded, his business did as well. There are tons of millionaires and quite a few billionaires in China that was in a good position like him.

The Tencent founder billionaire Ma Huateng did the exact same thing more or less that Jack Ma did. Huateng studied in the US though and learned alot from the Silicon Valley giants here.

Anyway Jack shocked everyone recently by stepping down from everything. I'm sure all the politics got in the way of what he enjoyed the most. You cannot become or stay a billionaire in China if you do not play ball with the CCP and let them merge into your companies tightly. I'm sure Jack was tired of it even though no article will tell you that. He has more money than anyone could need and can spend time doing whatever he feels like doing I'm sure.

Awesome post. Jack Ma deserves huge respect for what he has achieved, and the humility he has kept through it all.

He stepped down, I believe, because after it all, he wasn't sure it was worth the time he sacrificed with his family. I'm trying to find the interview with him, before he'd stepped down, but he's holding back tears when asked what his biggest regret is.

The man deserves tremendous respect for what he has achieved, the man he has remained through it all, and for the hard work he has put in to getting to where he is.