Introduction: What Schools Miss
Hello everyone. It’s always good to see you again. I’m really happy you’re here because today I want to talk about something very important, very serious. But don’t worry, I promise to keep it a little funny, too. Life is already too hard, right? We need to laugh sometimes, especially when the truth hits us hard.
The title of my talk today is that school is not enough. Now, before you panic, before you screenshot this and send it to your teacher or your mom, let me explain. Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying school is bad. I’m not saying education is useless. And I am definitely not saying you should drop out. No, no, no. If you’re in school right now, please stay. Finish it. Graduate.
Take that picture with the cap and gown. Your parents deserve that photo. Don’t give them a heart attack because of Jack Ma. Okay? Because if your mother finds out you dropped out after watching my video, she’s not going
Jack Ma’s Background: from Rejection to Billionaire
To tell at you. She’ll look for me. She’ll say, “Jack Ma told my son to quit school.” And honestly, I’ve met a lot of people in this world, but an angry mother, no thanks. I don’t want that kind of problem. Especially not an African or Chinese mother. Those are dangerous. Haha. But here’s what I really want you to understand.
School is important, but it is not enough. If it were enough, then everyone with a degree would be rich, successful, and happy. But look around. Some of the world’s richest people didn’t even finish college. And some of the most educated people are still unemployed.
Why? Let’s dig deeper and find out. The education system we have today, whether in China, Kenya, America, or Europe, was designed a long time ago. It was built to produce factory workers, clerks, government employees.
You go to school, memorize things, pass exams, and then you get a job. That was the deal. But my friends, this system was created for the industrial age, not the digital age. Back then it worked. Today, not so much. Today we are in the information age, the innovation age. We are going into the AI age. And
The Problem with Traditional Education
You know what’s funny? Most schools are still teaching the same way they did in Some teachers are still telling students, “Don’t make mistakes.” But look at all the successful entrepreneurs they made 1,000 mistakes. So I ask you, how can a school system designed to create perfect employees prepare you to be an innovator, a risk taker, an entrepreneur? It can’t. That’s why school is not enough. Let me tell you something that might surprise you. I was not a good student. No, really. I failed my primary school exam two times. I failed middle school three times. When I tried to get into university, I failed two times. Even when I finally got in, it was the worst university in my city.
But today, guess what? That university is very proud of me. They even put my photo on the wall. This is the same university that almost didn’t want me. Now they use my name to attract new students. That is life. Very funny, right? I even applied for a job at KFC. There were 24 people. 23 got accepted. I was the only one rejected. But here’s what I learned. Failure is not the
Skill #1: Emotional Intelligence (EQ Over IQ)
Opposite of success. Failure is part of success. And guess what? School teaches us to avoid failure, but real life demands that we embrace it. So again, I say school is not enough. Now, let me ask you a question. Have you ever seen a course called How to Handle Rejection: How to Start a Business with No Money? How to convince your wife that your startup is not a waste of time? No. But these are the real skills of life. In school, they teach you math, physics, literature.
Good. But nobody teaches you emotional intelligence. Nobody teaches you how to stay motivated when life gets hard. Nobody teaches you how to sell. And let me tell you this, whether you are selling products or selling yourself in a job interview, you need to know how to sell. Elon Musk once said, “If you don’t learn how to sell, you’ll always work for someone who does.” I say if you don’t learn how to communicate, collaborate, and create, you will always be average. But school rarely teaches these things. Now, let me be very clear. I’m not here to insult anyone. I respect education.
Skill #2: Resilience and Failure Management
If you worked hard for your degree congratulations. Truly, you should be proud of yourself. You put in the effort. You passed the tests. You sacrificed sleep, skipped parties, and probably lived off instant noodles for four years. That’s not easy. That’s
discipline. I respect that. Celebrate it. But here’s the truth you don’t hear often. A degree is not a guarantee. It’s not a magic key that unlocks the doors of success. It’s not a VIP pass to a good life. No, a degree is just a receipt. It says this person showed up for class, stayed for x number of years, completed assignments, and passed exams.
That’s all. It does not say this person can lead a team. It does not say this person knows how to adapt when everything changes. It does not say this person can solve real life problems, manage failure, or start something from zero. And here’s what’s sad. I’ve seen many people who graduated top of their class, straight A students, brilliant on
Skill #3: Creativity and Independent Thinking
paper, but when they entered the real world, they panicked. Why? Because life is not an exam room. There’s no syllabus. No one hands you a cheat sheet. Life throws you unexpected problems on Monday morning at midnight during lunch. And guess what? There are no multiple choice answers in real life.
You either figure it out or you fall behind. So yes, go get the degree. Frame it nicely. Make your parents proud. But please don’t stop there. Also, get the skills, get the mindset, get the emotional strength because in the end, life does not care what you studied. It only cares what you can do. Let me tell you one of the most powerful things I ever learned.
Books give you knowledge, but life gives you wisdom. I used to think that reading a 100 books a year would make me a genius. But then I met a farmer who never went to school. Yet he knew how to build a business, manage people, handle stress, raise a family. I realized some of the smartest people in.
Skill #4: Communication and Persuasion
The world never set foot in a university. And some of the most confused people in the world have PhDs. So I tell young people, read books, yes, but also read people. Read the street, read the situation, read yourself.
Go out, make mistakes, volunteer, intern, travel, try something new. Your brain will grow faster in 6 months of real struggle than 6 years in a classroom. Trust me on this. I want to tell you something revolutionary. You, yes, you are your own university. Right now on the internet, you can learn anything. You can learn how to build an app, how to edit videos, how to speak Japanese, how to start an e-commerce store, how to become a graphic designer, how to trade crypto, how to raise chickens, even how to dance like Michael Jackson.
The world is changing. Knowledge is free now. It’s no longer about what you know, but how fast you can learn. In the future, the best learners will win, not the best
Skill #5: Teamwork and Collaboration
Students so ask yourself am I just a student or am I a learner? A student waits for the teacher. A learner finds their own teacher. Sometimes from a book, sometimes from a YouTube video, sometimes from failure. If you want to win in life, don’t just go to school. Become the school. Now, this is very important. In school, everyone asks, “What do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor, engineer, lawyer?” That’s good. But I ask you a better question.
Who do you want to be? Not what who do you want to be kind? Do you want to be honest? Do you want to be resilient? Do you want to be brave? Do you want to be someone who lifts others up? Because let me tell you something. In the end, your character will take you further than your career. People don’t follow you because of your resume. They follow you because of your values. So, while you are learning math and science, don’t forget to learn humility, learn empathy, learn gratitude, learn how to listen.
Jack Ma on the Future of Education
Good heart is better than a good grade. So my friends, let me finish with this challenge. If you are in school right now, stay there. But also ask yourself, what else am I learning beyond the classroom? If you already graduated, congratulations. But now the real education begins. Learn a skill.
Start a small business. Join a community. Teach someone something. Read books that school never told you about. Learn how to manage money. Learn how to speak confidently. Learn how to turn rejection into redirection. Never stop learning. Never stop growing. Never stop trying. Because remember, school gives you a start, but it does not decide your finish. The real exam is life and in life. You don’t get marks. You get results. You may not be the smartest in
What You Can Start Learning Today
Your class you may not have the best degree. You may have failed more times than you can count. But none of that matters. What matters is, do you believe in yourself? Are you willing to learn? Are you willing to grow? Are you willing to fight for your dreams? If yes, then let me tell you something. You already have what it takes to succeed. So go out there and prove it. Cuz school is not enough. But you are. Thank you very much.
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