I woke up this morning, and checked my phone as usual. All my social media platforms are flooded with the  news of how Alibaba stock soars in debut.  Quickly climbed over 40 percent in the very first day. Unlike other entrepreneurs, Jack Ma chose eight Alibaba customers to ring the opening bell, including an American cherry farmer and a Chinese Olympian. Jack Ma always surprised us.

Last week, Alibaba’s road show by Jack Ma was also extremely popular in Chinese social media. At the end of the video, Ma said, “I am proud that we ignite innovation, create jobs, benefit customers and help entrepreneurs fulfill their dreams. With Alibaba’s platform, people are improving their lives today, and hope for a better tomorrow. From our humble beginnings, and throughout the past 15 years, Alibaba has changed commerce in China. Our business has grown, but we never lost sight of our customers, focusing on solving their problems, leads to the best outcome for our business. Alibaba has come a long way, but we want to be a company that can last 102 years. We still have 87 years to go.”

“AND WE BELIEVE ONE THING- TODAY IS DIFFICULT, TOMORROW IS MORE DIFFICULT, BUT THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW IS BEAUTIFUL. SO WE HAVE TO WORK VERY HARD IN ORDER TO SURVIVE THE LONG JOURNEY.”

How inspiring his speech is. Alibaba is a miracle, and Jack Ma is a legend. People think Alibaba is the largest platform that contains the most amount of entrepreneurs. It provides an opportunity for all people across the world to realize their business ideas, well, just in commerce.

Alibaba’s IPO story reminds me of the documentary called “Crocodile in the Yangtze“, which is based on the story of Alibaba and Jack Ma. The American director used to work closely with Ma. A previous video about the early years of Alibaba.

Ma said he never thought of being the richest in China, not even in Zhejiang Province or the community. The happiest time he could recall was when he earned less than 100 RMB over a decade ago.  Ma never set money as his goal. That is also the biggest reason that Alibaba can be so successful. It is also true for all the start-ups. If all you care is money, you will ignore the long-term interest or the potential opportunities.

Some media describe The Alibaba Dream as The Chinese Dream. The Alibaba Dream is a conflict or challenge to the current Authoritarianism in Chinese political system.

Thank Ma for providing a role model for the youth, which he may not intend to but he really does. Silicon Valley is also where dreams can grow into miracles.

Stick to your dreams. You never know when the day will come, and you know it will come. Just be patient.

 

 

I checked the weather forecast yesterday. It said it would rain today. How weird it is for the late summer/ early autumn in Northern California.

The first I do every morning is to check my email on phone. I already forgot when I developed this habit, but it seems more necessary ever since the beginning of job hunting. I am not sure the mailbox is Pandora’s box or a box of surprises or just nothing. I got two rejections this morning, which made me pretty upset from the moment I brushed my teeth. One rejection is from a company I really want to work for. The phone interview was just on Tuesday, and I thought I would get the onsite interview at least.

I have got so many rejections so far, including expected and unexpected ones. The rejections have been piled so high that I have started doubting myself again. I know job hunting is not only because of your qualifications, but also due to luck. Just so frustrated. Cried on phone with T, and got some comfort from him.

There is a career fair in SJSU this afternoon. I finally decided to go and have a try. However, I could not enter the ballroom, because I am not a registered SJSU student. Ordered a cup of Ice Mocha Tesora at Philz Coffee. My mood turned much better after I finished the ice coffee. Delicious as usual.

Microsoft Research Silicon Valley will be closing, effective on Friday. I was so shocked when I read this in news. I spent a good time in MSR this summer with T, and got to know so many nice friends there. I can’t believe Microsoft just shut down the whole institute because of the budget. HOW UNPREDICTABLE LIFE IS.

Alibaba priced its initial public offering at $68 a share, the top end of the expected range, raising $21.8 billion today. It is the largest IPO for a U.S.-listed company ever. Ma explained how he came to Silicon ­Valley 15 years ago for $US2 million, only to be rejected by 30 venture capital funds. Now he was asking for 10,000 times as much and by all accounts he is sure to get it.

Life can not be always smooth as we expect. Most people struggle in life. There is a long way to go, and I can be defeated by current difficulties. Keep trying. DO NOT DOUBT YOURSELF. JUST BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.