“I Want to Die on the Beach, Not in the Office”: Jack Ma on Vacation
Alibaba founder Jack Ma believes working 12-hour shifts, six days a week is a “blessing”. Here are the methods the billionaire uses to maintain the stamina of the body and mental clarity.
Jack Ma grew up in a poor family and was once a school English teacher. In 1999, he created the Alibaba marketplace: for 20 years under the leadership of Ma, the company entered the list of the most valuable companies in the world (ranks 33rd in the Forbes ranking), and the entrepreneur’s fortune grew to $24.5 billion. The founder of Alibaba believes that he has achieved this thanks to hard work.
During his time at Alibaba, Ma lived on a 996 schedule, working from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. “Personally, I think that being able to work in 996 modes is a real blessing. I do not regret that I work 12 hours a day, I would never change this habit", said the entrepreneur.
He believes that it is easy to work at such a pace if you like the profession. According to him, schedule 996 is not just overtime work, it’s a way of life, so it’s important to love what you do. “If you don’t like your job, every minute is torture,” he added.
However, such hard work leads to exhaustion of the body. In addition, a person does not have time for hobbies. Ma noticed this in 2013 when he stepped down as CEO of Alibaba but remained chairman of the board. He thought that this way he “would have more free time to play golf.” But he was wrong. The entrepreneur continued to work hard in the same mode. As a result, in 2019 he decided to step down from his position at the company, stating that he “wants to die on the beach, not in his office.”
Initially, the entrepreneur did not even imagine that Alibaba would become a huge corporation and change his life. “I was just trying to run a small business, and it grew, demanded huge responsibility and brought a lot of trouble,” he said, adding that he misses the old days. “I want to be myself and I want to enjoy life,” admitted the billionaire. He even said his “happiest moment” was when he was making less than $20 a month as a school teacher. Envisioning his future, Ma said, “In my 80s or 90s, maybe I’ll be lying on the beach listening to the radio and the news will say that Alibaba is doing great. I will be very happy."
Ma believes that to be productive, you need to sleep well, especially during periods of high stress. “If I don’t sleep well, I won’t solve the problem. Thanks to good sleep, I have a better chance of coping with it", he is sure. The billionaire added that sleep gives strength not to give up during a period of setbacks or when you are denied something. “Of course, it’s unpleasant when people say no. Sleep and try again,” he said.
Ma believes that good sleep and quality rest make a person more open and empathetic towards others. Rested people pay more attention to developing their IQ and emotional intelligence (EQ). Ma added that to be successful, it is equally important to develop a set of skills, which he calls the “love quotient” (LQ). In a broad sense, this is the ability of a person to build trusting human relationships. Knowledge alone is no longer enough, says Ma. “We need to teach children something unique. In what the machine cannot surpass us", said the founder of Alibaba. We are talking about soft skills: the ability to work in a team, take care of others.
In addition to good sleep, Ma pays great attention to sports. The billionaire practices and popularizes the art of “slow fighting” taijiquan (this is a soft self-defense system that avoids conflicts and direct crushing blows). Ma even takes her instructor on business trips, so she doesn’t miss a workout. According to the entrepreneur, this practice helps him put his thoughts in order before the start of the working day. He also tried to teach the company’s employees to this occupation, so renowned taijiquan masters regularly come to the Alibaba office to give lessons. Ma points out that self-defense is not the main goal of taijiquan: this practice helps to find peace of mind and keep calm. The billionaire added that he uses the philosophy of taijiquan in business.
Ma, who cares so much about a conscious approach to life and business, is very unassuming in his food. He has been seen eating instant noodles more than once, and a former Alibaba employee said that Ma has been eating such lunch for the past 18 years.
Sources: Forbes, CNBC, CNN, Straitstimes.