THE CRA PERSPECTIVE • HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY Same Tree, Different Eyes Why we see the world differently—and how perspective shapes our decisions, relationships and lives. We do not always see things exactly as they are. We often see them through the lens of who we are. Imagine a large, beautiful tree standing beside a quiet road. Its branches stretch towards the sky, its leaves dance in the breeze, and its shade offers relief from the afternoon sun. A child might see a place to discover birds and nests. A carpenter might see the possibility of creating a table or a chair. A woodworker might think about timber. A businessperson might calculate its commercial value. An environmentalist might see biodiversity, ecological balance and the importance of conservation. The tree has not changed. Its physical presence remains the same. Yet the thoughts, emotions and possibilities it evokes are remarkably different. This simple observation ope...
THE CRA PERSPECTIVE • SUCCESS & LEADERSHIP
Rejected by KFC, Remembered by the World: The Jack Ma Story
How rejection, persistence, curiosity and an unconventional vision helped shape the journey behind Alibaba.
RESILIENCE • ENTREPRENEURSHIP • POSSIBILITY
Sometimes, the door that closes in your face becomes the beginning of a journey you never imagined.
Imagine applying for a simple job, standing among 24 candidates, and discovering that you are the only person who has not been selected. For many people, that moment could become a lasting source of embarrassment, self-doubt or resentment.
For Jack Ma, the Chinese entrepreneur associated with Alibaba, this rejection became one of the most widely repeated episodes in his personal story. He has publicly recalled that 24 people applied for a KFC job in his city, 23 were accepted, and he was the one who was rejected.
But the real story is not about a fast-food job. It is about what can happen when a person refuses to let one decision define an entire life.
One rejection can describe a moment. It does not have to define your future.
1. The Rejection That Became a Lesson
Jack Ma has spoken publicly about the difficulties he experienced while studying and searching for employment. In recounting his early experiences, he described repeated setbacks, including being rejected for a police position and failing to secure the KFC job.
In the popular account, 24 candidates applied for the KFC positions and 23 were selected. He was the one who was not hired. The story became memorable because it illustrates how an ordinary hiring decision can look very different when viewed from the perspective of a person's later life.
At the time, there was no guarantee that he would become a successful entrepreneur. There was no predetermined path from job rejection to building a global technology business. The outcome was uncertain, as it is for anyone beginning a career.
The important lesson is not that rejection automatically creates success. It does not. The lesson is that rejection need not become a permanent verdict on a person's ability, worth or potential.
A LESSON IN PERSPECTIVE
An unsuccessful application tells you that you were not selected for that opportunity at that time. It does not tell you what you could become after learning, improving and trying again.
2. The Years Before the Entrepreneur
Before Alibaba became a major name in global commerce, Jack Ma was a young man from Hangzhou, China, who faced academic and professional difficulties. His early career was not built on a conventional technology background.
One important part of his development was his interest in English. He spent time interacting with foreign visitors and practising the language. Those experiences helped him communicate with people from different backgrounds and exposed him to perspectives beyond his immediate surroundings.
He eventually became an English teacher. Teaching may appear far removed from the world of e-commerce, cloud computing and digital platforms, but it developed skills that matter in business: communication, explanation, persuasion, listening and the ability to understand people.
His journey reminds us that the skills developed in one profession can become valuable in another. A teacher may become an entrepreneur. A salesperson may become a founder. An artist may become a business owner. The connection between today's work and tomorrow's opportunity is not always obvious at the beginning.
The power of transferable skills
- Communication: Expressing an idea clearly enough for others to understand it.
- Curiosity: Asking questions about things beyond one's immediate experience.
- Adaptability: Being willing to learn in unfamiliar situations.
- Persistence: Continuing to improve after a disappointing outcome.
- Empathy: Understanding the needs and concerns of other people.
3. Discovering the Internet: A Different Kind of Opportunity
A turning point came in 1995, when Jack Ma encountered the internet during a visit to the United States. At that time, the internet was still in its early stages of development for commercial use in many parts of the world.
What mattered was not simply that he had discovered a new technology. It was that he began to see what the technology might make possible.
He recognised the potential for information to travel across borders and for businesses to reach people far beyond their local markets. For a country with a vast number of manufacturers and small enterprises, an online platform could help connect sellers with buyers in other parts of the world.
This was an entrepreneurial way of looking at technology: not merely asking what the tool could do, but asking whose problem it could solve.
The opportunity hidden inside a problem
Many small businesses can produce valuable goods but struggle to reach distant customers.
A digital marketplace can reduce the distance between sellers and buyers by making discovery and communication easier.
The business opportunity emerges when a technology is connected to a real customer need.
This principle remains relevant today. Artificial intelligence, digital payments, online education, cloud services and other technologies create opportunities when they are applied to practical problems. The technology itself is not the entire business; the value lies in how effectively it serves people.
4. Building Alibaba: From an Idea to a Business
In 1999, Jack Ma led a group of 18 founders in establishing Alibaba in Hangzhou. The original vision was to help businesses, particularly smaller enterprises, connect with customers and trading partners through the internet.
The company was built around a practical commercial need: making it easier for businesses to participate in markets beyond their immediate reach.
Building a business around a new technology, however, involves more than having an interesting idea. It requires a team, a working product, customer trust, reliable operations, financing and the ability to respond when the market does not behave as expected.
Alibaba's growth over time reflected the development of a much larger digital commerce ecosystem. Its activities expanded beyond the original business-to-business marketplace into consumer commerce and other technology-related services.
The broader lesson is that an idea becomes valuable when it can be translated into something people use, trust and find useful. A vision may inspire a company, but execution is what turns the vision into a functioning enterprise.
From observation to execution
1. Observe: Identify a real problem affecting people or businesses.
2. Imagine: Develop a possible solution that addresses the problem.
3. Build: Turn the idea into a product, service or working model.
4. Test: Learn from customers, feedback and early mistakes.
5. Improve: Refine the offering and develop a sustainable way to serve customers.
5. Five Lessons We Can Learn from This Journey
Lesson 1: Do not turn rejection into your identity
Being rejected for a job, failing an examination or losing an opportunity can hurt. It is natural to feel disappointed. But a specific result should not become a permanent description of who you are.
Instead of asking only, “Why did they reject me?”, also ask, “What can I learn from this experience, and what can I do differently next time?”
Lesson 2: Build skills while waiting for opportunities
Waiting for the perfect opportunity without developing new abilities is rarely productive. Improve communication, technical knowledge, financial literacy, creativity or the skills relevant to your chosen field.
You may not control when an opportunity arrives, but you can influence how prepared you are to recognise and use it.
Lesson 3: Look beyond conventional career paths
Not every successful career follows a straight line. Education, employment, entrepreneurship and creative work can overlap in unexpected ways.
However, an unconventional path should not mean acting without a plan. Take calculated steps, test ideas, learn from the market and make decisions based on evidence rather than excitement alone.
Lesson 4: Solve problems rather than merely chasing success
A business becomes more meaningful when it solves a problem for customers. Instead of asking only how to become successful, ask what difficulty you can help someone overcome.
People pay for products and services because they deliver value, save time, reduce effort, improve outcomes or fulfil a need. Understanding that value is central to sustainable entrepreneurship.
Lesson 5: Persistence must be accompanied by learning
Persistence is not the same as repeating the same action indefinitely. Productive persistence combines effort with reflection and adaptation.
If an approach fails, examine the evidence. Perhaps the skill needs improvement, the timing is wrong, the market has changed or a different strategy is required. Continuing to learn is more valuable than simply refusing to change.
6. What Students and Young Professionals Can Take Away
The story is particularly relevant to students, job seekers and young professionals who are trying to find their place in a competitive environment.
Academic results matter, qualifications matter and practical experience matters. Yet none of these alone can predict every future outcome. People continue to learn, develop skills, form relationships and discover opportunities throughout their lives.
When a result is disappointing, consider these practical steps:
- Accept the result honestly. Avoid pretending that failure does not matter, but do not let it overwhelm your judgment.
- Identify the gap. Determine whether you need more preparation, experience, communication skills or a different approach.
- Create a short improvement plan. Select two or three specific actions that you can complete within a realistic timeframe.
- Seek useful feedback. Ask a teacher, mentor, colleague or experienced professional for constructive guidance.
- Try again intelligently. Apply what you have learned rather than simply repeating the same process.
- Keep alternative routes open. One employer, institution or business idea does not represent every opportunity available to you.
A PRACTICAL REMINDER
Your next chapter does not have to be determined by your last disappointment. Let experience inform your next decision, not imprison it.
7. The Reality Behind Inspirational Success Stories
Inspirational stories are powerful, but they can also create an incomplete picture of success if they are reduced to a single dramatic moment.
It is tempting to believe that one rejection, one bold idea or one act of persistence automatically leads to extraordinary achievement. Real business journeys are more complicated. They involve uncertainty, competition, timing, resources, teamwork, customer behaviour and decisions that do not always work.
Many people experience rejection and continue to work hard without becoming globally famous entrepreneurs. Their effort may still lead to a fulfilling career, a stable business, a meaningful contribution or personal growth.
Therefore, the value of Jack Ma's story should not be measured only by the scale of Alibaba. It can also be understood through the broader lesson that a setback need not end a person's willingness to learn and pursue a different path.
Success is not always about becoming the richest, the most famous or the most influential. It can also mean building a dependable career, supporting a family, creating something useful, serving a community or becoming better at a chosen craft.
8. A Simple Exercise: Turn Rejection into a Plan
The next time you experience a setback, use the following four-question exercise. Write down your answers rather than relying only on memory or emotion.
Question 1 — What happened?
Describe the result objectively, without exaggeration or self-criticism.
Question 2 — What was within my control?
Identify preparation, effort, communication, timing or decisions that you could influence.
Question 3 — What will I improve?
Choose one or two practical changes instead of trying to change everything at once.
Question 4 — What is my next step?
Set a clear, achievable action and a date by which you will complete it.
This exercise does not guarantee success. It provides a way to turn an emotional experience into information that can guide a better decision.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
A Rejection Is a Moment. Your Response Shapes What Comes Next.
The story associated with Jack Ma and the KFC job continues to resonate because it captures an experience that many people understand: being overlooked when they hoped to be chosen.
His later entrepreneurial journey demonstrates that professional paths can develop in unexpected directions. From teaching English to helping establish Alibaba, the path was not a simple or guaranteed progression from rejection to success.
The enduring lesson is to remain open to learning, recognise opportunities, solve real problems and adapt when circumstances change.
Do not allow one closed door to convince you that there are no other doors worth exploring.
Sources and Further Reading
This article draws on published interviews, institutional biographies and reporting about Jack Ma's early career and Alibaba's origins.
- TIME — How Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Handled Rejection
- Knowledge at Wharton — Jack Ma: China's First Global Leader
- Alibaba Group — Company Background and Milestones
- The University of Hong Kong — Jack Ma Biography
Note: The KFC anecdote is based on Jack Ma's public recollections. Inspirational summaries of business journeys can omit complexity; this article focuses on the broader lessons rather than treating success as a guaranteed result of rejection.
Editorial note: This article is intended for educational and inspirational purposes. It does not suggest that persistence alone guarantees wealth or entrepreneurial success. Outcomes depend on many factors, including decisions, capabilities, market conditions, resources and circumstances.
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