Jack Ma: The future has come

Chapter 22 Our Responsibilities (5)
The third example is that I joined a non-profit organization. There was a very capable secretary-general in this organization. I had two meetings with him, and he was late both times.I asked him why, and he said, "I'm free, it's voluntary labor." I immediately paid him a salary. We don't lack this salary. What we lack is a professional with a professional attitude.The more public welfare talents, the more professionalism they must have.

The money of public welfare organizations is accumulated bit by bit.In addition to having a kind heart, a public welfare person must also have kindness and strength.Their professional competence and professionalism are very important.You don't have to be an expert in a certain field, but you have to know how to do a good job in public welfare projects and how to implement these public welfare funds.You have to be a kind person, so that the entire public welfare system can continuously release your kindness.I think the most tiring thing in this world is to be a good person, and to be a good person for a lifetime.

There are three types of people in the world that move me

I am now the chairman and global director of TNC China.When I first joined this organization, I didn't know what kind of organization it was.I went to participate in their activities, and I was shocked that the richest entrepreneur in the world, with so much to do, was willing to spend three days in a meeting to discuss in groups the ecological and environmental protection issues facing Brazil, Peru, and Malaysia.On the first day of the meeting, I was puzzled; on the second day, I was moved; on the third day, I also actively participated in it.The most touching thing is that this public welfare organization is concerned about things that have nothing to do with itself.We're serious because we love this job.

There are three types of people in the world that move me: entrepreneurs, scientists, and social media people.What are the responsibilities of an entrepreneur?Efficiency, using the least amount of money to do the biggest thing, and at the same time paying attention to results, because companies without results will go bankrupt.What are social media people responsible for?Communicate with society.There are also scientists. Scientists will tell you how to do things correctly and how to protect the environment.

China's public welfare undertakings have made great progress, but compared with other countries, we still have a certain gap.People are not afraid of the distance between people, but they are afraid that you don't know the distance.Can we learn more about good systems and systems from European and American countries, learn more about how to choose the right direction, and what is the right way to do things?

In New York, where land is at a premium, there is a Central Park, which occupies a large area, and real estate development has not been allowed in it for generations.Is there such a place in China?Whether there is or not, these concepts and ideas are all things we can learn from and learn from.

I disagree with some practices of environmental protection extremists, and we must use the correct method to do the right thing.How is the smog in China caused?It can be said that the smog is to a certain extent caused by our mentality in handling affairs.My own understanding is that mentality affects ecology, and ecology in turn affects your mentality.Complaining is useless, don't complain, deal with it when it comes.How to deal with it?Public welfare lies in giving, public welfare lies in participation, public welfare lies in a little action, and public welfare lies in awakening humanity and awakening conscience.

I encourage everyone to participate in public welfare actions. It is also good to be able to do some charity.Charity should be done in a low-key manner, and public welfare should be done in a high-key manner.In fact, there is no difference between donating one dollar and donating one hundred million.Doing charity is like running a marathon. It is not how fast you run, but whether you can persist to the end.At the end of the day, we are competing with the worst part of human nature.The improvement of Chinese society cannot rely on policies, but depends on the awakening of our humanity, the stability of people's hearts, and the awareness of public welfare.Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the cultivation of good intentions, good wishes, and good abilities.At the same time, each of us should not let down our good intentions and good wishes, organize them well, implement them, and turn them into real actions one by one!
Editor's note:

On September 2015, 9, Ma Yun delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the first Master of Social Welfare Management Program at Peking University.

9. The essence of public welfare is to awaken kindness
Seeing that we are engaged in public welfare, many people say that we should spend our time on making money.I have also thought about this question, where is the most correct place for a person to put his time.

Seven years ago, Alibaba Group moved from the north bank of the Qiantang River to the south bank of the Qiantang River, and we held an event.Some employees can swim, so we let them swim across the Qiantang River in a relay race.When the last of the crew came ashore, we found them covered in colorful plastic bags and all kinds of rubbish.On that day, all our employees were shocked. We didn't think that we lived in such an environment, and that the water we drank every day was so dirty.

Since that day, all Alibaba employees have been thinking about one question: If the world is not good enough, no matter how good your life is, it is meaningless.Therefore, from that day on, we decided to use 3‰ of Alibaba's annual turnover as a public welfare fund for the construction of cities and countries and the protection of the world's environment.

We thought that would be enough, but we soon realized another truth: public welfare needs money, but money alone is not enough.Because there is a difference between public welfare and charity. Charity lies in giving, while public welfare lies in participation and action.Charity may be based on giving money, but public welfare requires you to spend time, passion, wisdom and all the things you may not be able to give.You may not be able to do charity, but each of us should be able to do charity and participate in charity.

Doing public welfare and charity are the greatest blessings in life
In the past 7 years, we have found that there are many like-minded people on the road of public welfare. They have been exploring, working hard, and changing lives and our world.Therefore, we feel that our group of people needs a platform and an opportunity to share and exchange our experiences and opinions.

The reason why public welfare people are respected is that they have done things outside the scope of their own interests in the world, and they have given their time and sincerity.Public welfare is different from charity. Charity is to give one's own kindness, while public welfare is to awaken more people's kindness.Charity is a personal act, it is kindness, how much money is donated behind it, it is personal privacy, if charity is made too public (public), the taste may change.Public welfare is mainly based on group actions. Public welfare should be public. If public welfare is made too private (private), it will lack influence.Public welfare does not depend on how much money you spend, but on how much love you awaken.

People often ask, is human nature inherently good, or human nature inherently evil?I have always felt that from the perspective of Tai Chi philosophy, when a person is just born, 50% of the goodness and 50% of the evil are combined. It is education, culture, and belief that accumulate our goodness, making the goodness exceed evil.However, due to various reasons in the world, evil and bad things tend to overwhelm our goodness.Therefore, we need to cleanse our own conscience, cleanse our own kindness, and the best way to wake us up to cleanse our own kindness is to participate in little by little public welfare actions.

You cannot cure the poverty of this world; you cannot cure all the diseases of this world.However, we can awaken the kindness and kindness of everyone in this world. This is our original intention to participate in various public welfare activities every year.

Public welfare and charity are different.Charity requires kindness, and public welfare requires not only kindness, but also kindness. Only with ability can we do things well.We have always firmly believed that "the mentality of public welfare, the method of business", this is the best way to do public welfare.The government considers how to make things more fair, scientists think about how to make things more accurate, and entrepreneurs think about how to make things more effective.

Today's public welfare undertakings should be joined by the government, experts, and entrepreneurs, because the combination of these capabilities is a huge philanthropy.We should work together and act together to truly achieve results and efficiency.

I think mentality, posture and ecology are linked. The quality of people's mentality will affect the quality of people's posture, and the quality of posture will affect the ecology of our society.

Today's smog is actually not only a problem of the environment, but also a problem of our social mentality.If there is a problem with the mentality, there will naturally be a problem with the ecology.There is an old Chinese saying that man can overcome nature. The "heaven" of "man will overcome the sky" means natural disasters and man-made disasters, and "fixation" is the determination of human mentality. Only when human mentality is stable can we overcome natural disasters and man-made disasters.

In my opinion, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are the mentality we need today, as well as the beliefs that each of us needs, that is, gratitude, reverence and cherishment.We are full of gratitude for yesterday, we are full of awe for tomorrow, and we are full of treasure for today.Our society will be better and the world will be better only if everyone starts to change and participates in small actions.

Editor's note:

On July 2016, 7, Jack Ma delivered a speech at the first Global XIN Public Welfare Conference, expounding his view on public welfare.

10. Be the spokesperson for rural teachers

The influence of teachers is enormous because education gives us hope.

We launched the Rural Teachers Program in the hope of arousing the attention of the whole society to rural teachers.Only when the whole society respects rural teachers can rural education attract more and more young people to participate in it.In the countryside, teachers may not have good teaching facilities and equipment, but they are the warmest sunshine in the countryside. It is their changes, their devotion, their persistence, their dedication, and their professional awakening that inspire the children. and society as a whole.

why we are teachers
I graduated from Hangzhou Normal University and worked as a teacher for 6 years.There are more than 300 million rural teachers in China, and they shoulder the mission of educating more than 4000 million rural children. The "Jack Ma Rural Teachers Program" plans to invest 1000 million yuan a year. The money is really insignificant and cannot solve the fundamental problems of rural education, but I hope that I can be the spokesperson of rural teachers for the rest of my life, awakening the whole society, the whole nation, The whole country pays attention and value to rural teachers.

I am very interested in English, and my first English teacher played a great role in cultivating my interest.My English teacher learns English in the teacher training class in the morning and comes to teach me in the afternoon.His English is limited, but he knows how to teach me.He often encouraged me and said: Ma Yun, your English pronunciation is good.The simple praise ignited my interest in English, and since then, it has been unstoppable.So, I surpassed my elementary school teachers and middle school teachers and went to university for further study.

Many years ago, once when I went to the countryside, I met a little girl on the road at about five o'clock in the morning.The little girl was seven or eight years old, and she was walking in the dark with a bag in her hand and a big schoolbag on her back.The car just stopped, and I asked the little girl where she was going, and she said she was going to study.It was only past five o'clock, and she had to walk more than 10 miles to study.At that time, I was thinking, if one day I have the opportunity, I should do something for the children and teachers in the countryside.

I have always felt that doing charity is private and my own business; and the main purpose of doing charity is to awaken people's conscience and get people to participate.Therefore, I think charity should be low-key and public welfare high-profile.

(End of this chapter)