Jack Ma quotes:

I flunked my exam for university two times before I was accepted by what was considered my city's worst university, Hangzhou Teachers University. I was studying to be a high school English teacher. In my university, I was elected student chairman and later became chairman of the city's Students Federation.

Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.

I wanted to have a global company, so I chose a global name. Alibaba is easy to spell, and people everywhere associate that with "Open, Sesame," the command that Ali Baba used to open doors to hidden treasures in One Thousand and One Nights.

If Alibaba cannot become a Microsoft or Walmart, I will regret it for the rest of my life.

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.

Chinese people, young people, they don't go shopping a lot in department stores. All department store guys hate me. They say business is bad because of Jack.

My job is making money, helping other people make money. I am spending money, trying to make sure more people get rich, because you cannot spend a lot of money, right? So my job is spending money, helping others. This is a headache.

I want to change history, do something important in my life, and influence individuals like we have with millions of small businesses on Alibaba. Then they love and respect you because you made their life important.

I got my story, my dream, from America. The hero I had is Forrest Gump... I like that guy. I've been watching that movie about 10 times. Every time I get frustrated, I watch the movie. I watched the movie before I came here again to New York. I watched the movie again telling me that no matter whatever changed, you are you.

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.

My dream was to set up my own e-commerce company. In 1999, I gathered 18 people in my apartment and spoke to them for two hours about my vision. Everyone put their money on the table, and that got us $60,000 to start Alibaba. I wanted to have a global company, so I chose a global name.

Alibaba is an ecosystem that helps small business to grow.

Without internet, there would have been no Jack Ma, and no Alibaba or Taobao.

I don't want people in China to have deep pockets but shallow minds.

I'm not a tech guy. I'm looking at the technology with the eyes of my customers, normal people's eyes.

I like to play cards. I'm not very good, because I don't want to calculate, I just play by instinct. But I've learned a lot of business philosophy by playing poker.

When I was 12 years old, I got interested in learning English.

I try to make myself happy, no, because I know that if I'm not happy, my colleagues are not happy and my shareholders are not happy and my customers are not happy.

I think Yahoo is a great company, with great assets.

When I am myself, I am happy and have a good result.

I don't shop online, but my wife buys everything at home. We buy sea crabs, fresh crabs, all kinds of things.

Today the financial market is no good, but the money is there.

We appreciate yesterday, but we're looking for a better tomorrow.

A great opportunity is often hard to be explained clearly; things that can be explained clearly are often not the best opportunities.

For ecommerce, the most important thing is trust.

The lessons I learned from the dark days at Alibaba are that you've got to make your team have value, innovation, and vision. Also, if you don't give up, you still have a chance. And, when you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength.

The very important thing you should have is patience.

What kind of business world are we living in?

EBay may be a shark in the ocean, but I'm a crocodile in the Yangtze River. If we fight in the ocean, we lose, but if we fight in the river, we win,

A good job isn't something you go out and find, it's something you discover while you're working.

If you want to grow, find a good opportunity. Today, if you want to be a great company, think about what social problem you could solve.

No matter what your current condition, how or where you grew up, or what education or training you feel you lack, you can be successful in your chosen endeavor. It is spirit, fortitude, and hardiness that matter more than where you start.

No matter how tough the chase is, you should always have the dream you saw on the first day. It'll keep you motivated and rescue you (from any weak thoughts).

Life is so short, so beautiful. Don't be so serious about work. Enjoy the lives.

All MBA have said are correct, but they can't execute it.

Customers should be number 1, Employees number 2, and then only your Shareholders come at number 3.

You've to make consumers smart. An e-commerce portal doesn't sell a product at cheaper rates, instead an offline shop sells it at a costlier prices.

If you do not know where your competitor is, or overconfident and snobbish about your competitor, or are unable to comprehend how yourcompetitor became a real threat, you will surely fall behind him. Don't be the "they" in this idiom: First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

A real businessman or entrepreneur has no enemies. Once he understand this, the sky's the limit.

Only fools use their mouth to speak. A smart man uses his brain, and a wise man uses his heart.

EBay is a great company. There are a lot of good assets and good customers, and the U.S. people love it.

I don't want to be liked. I want to be respected.

Nobody wanted to believe Jack Ma.

If Alibaba cannot become a Microsoft or Wal-Mart, I will regret it for the rest of my life.

You should learn from your competitor, but never copy. Copy and you die.

A peace talk is always difficult, always complicated.

A lot of people complain about yesterday. We have no power to change yesterday. But this very day, 30 years later, is what we can control and decide. Change yourself, take baby steps, and stay determined for ten years. I thank the times of change and everyone's complaints. Because when everyone is complaining, that is your chance, an opportunity. It's only in times of change that someone can be clear of what he has and wants, and what he needs to give up.

Luck is very important. Of course you can't wait for luck, because it won't come. While you start a journey, luck may eventually come to you.

I always tell myself that we are born here not to work, but to enjoy life. We are here to make things better for one another, and not to work. If you are spending your whole life working, you will certainly regret it. No matter how successful you are in your career, you must always remember that we are here to live. If you keep yourself busy working, you will surely regret it.

The opportunities that everyone cannot see are the real opportunities.

If you're still poor at 35, you deserve it.

Success and profitability are outcomes of focusing on customers and employees, not objectives.

I believe in two principles: Your attitude is more important than your capabilities. Similarly, your decision is more important than your capabilities!

If you don't give up, you still have a chance. And when you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength.

Go big, or go home. Otherwise, you're wasting your youth.

Once in your life, try something. Work hard at something. Try to change. Nothing bad can happen.

The quality of a good leader therefore is his vision, tenacity, and his capability.

Adopt and change before any major trends or changes.

Customers first, employees second, and shareholders third,

Find the right people, not the best people.

It doesn't matter if I failed. At least I passed the concept on to others. Even if I don't succeed, someone will succeed.

Don't hire the most qualified, hire the craziest

What starting your company means: you will lose your stable income, your right to apply for a leave of absence, and your right to get a bonus. However, it also means your income will no longer be limited, you will use your time more effectively, and you will no longer need to beg for favours from people anymore.

If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then be different from your peers.

A leader should have higher endurance and ability to accept and embrace failure.

Forget about yourncompetitors, just focus on your customers.

In carrying out e-commerce, the most important thing is to keep doing what you are doing right now with passion, to keep it up.

Today is cruel. Tomorrow is crueller. And the day after tomorrow is beautiful.

No matter what one does, regardless of failure or success, the experience is a form of success in itself.

You never know how much can you do in your life.

When you have one million dollars, you're a lucky person. When you have 10 million dollars, you've got trouble, a lot of headaches.

If you don't give up, you still have a chance

Rather than having small smart tricks to get by, focus on holding on and persevering.

Even if your competitor is still small in size or weak, you should take him seriously and treat him as a giant. Likewise, even if your competitor is massive in size, you shouldn't regard yourself as a weakling.

30% of all people will never believe you. Do not allow your colleagues and employees to work for you. Instead, let them work for a common goal.

I know nothing about technology.

Always let your employees come to work with a smile.

We will make it because we are young and we will never, never give up.

Intelligent people need a fool to lead them. When the team's all a bunch of scientists, it is best to have a peasant lead the way. His way of thinking is different. It's easier to win if you have people seeing things from different perspectives.

Opportunities are where the complaints are.

I am very interested in bringing companies from everywhere to sell their products in China.

I try to make myself happy ... because I know that if I'm not happy, my colleagues are not happy, and my shareholders are not happy, and my customers are not happy.

Giving up is the greatest failure.

Yahoo today is not a portal. Yahoo today is a search engine.

A leader should be a visionary and have more foresight than an employee.

Never ever do business with the government. Be in love with them, never marry them.

Your employee should have superior technical skills than you. If he doesn't, it means you have hired the wrong person.

If we are a good team and know what we want to do, one of us can defeat ten of them.

A leader should have higher grit and tenacity, and be able to endure what the employees can't.

If there are nine rabbits on the ground and you want to catch one, just focus on one.

We should never finish a 20 year program in two year.

The most unreliable thing in this world is human relationships.

I would love to if someone would lend me the money.

The customer is number one, the employee is number two and the shareholder is number three. If the customer is happy, the business is happy, and the shareholders are happy.

I want people to learn what democracy means.

I don't care about revenues.

I am going to enjoy some other things apart from business.

People think, 'Jack, you do too much.

A leader should never compare his technical skills with his employee's.

Change the world is maybe Obama's job.

Don't even trust that you are able to unify what everyone is thinking; it is impossible

I absolutely don't have $20 billion. But I'd love to, right?

Today, making money is very simple. But making sustainable money while being responsible to the society and improving the world is very difficult.

Opportunity lies in the place where the complaints are.

The world will not remember what you say, but it will certainly not forget what you have done.

You never know that the things you're doing are that meaningful to society.

If you've never tried, how will you ever know if there's any chance?

My job is to help more people have jobs.

Global vision, local win.

Never ever compete on prices, instead compete on services and innovation.

If you view everyone as your enemies, everyone around you will be your enemies.

When we have money, we start making mistakes.

I call myself a blind man riding on a blind tiger.

If the customer loves you, the government will have to love you.