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Lesson #2: The Good Luck of Goals is Not Luck at All

Article Overview: There are many who see the vast fortune of Li Ka-shing and call him a lucky man. Indeed, some of his more superstitious Chinese peers have even suggested that Li owes his success to 1928 – the year he was born, the year of the dragon. But, Li laughs in the face of anyone who suggests his accomplishments have been the result of chance or accident. “I wasn’t lucky,” he says, “I worked hard to achieve the goals I set for myself.”

Lesson #2: The Good Luck of Goals is Not Luck at All

There are many who see the vast fortune of Li Ka-shing and call him a lucky man. Indeed, some of his more superstitious Chinese peers have even suggested that Li owes his success to 1928 – the year he was born, the year of the dragon. But, Li laughs in the face of anyone who suggests his accomplishments have been the result of chance or accident. “I wasn’t lucky,” he says, “I worked hard to achieve the goals I set for myself.”

It is those very goals that have taken Li to the heights of success where he comfortably sits atop his perch today. When Li established Cheung Kong Holdings and began venturing into real estate, Li set a goal. He made a public announcement that Cheung Kong was going to become bigger and more profitable than Jardine Matheson in real estate development. It was in setting that goal, and holding himself accountable to it, that Li moved one step closer to achieving it.

Jardines was first created in 1832 by William Jardine and James Matheson, two Scottish merchants who began importing opium from Bengal at rock-bottom prices, and selling it to local Chinese at sky-high prices. Eventually, after growing big enough and reinvesting its profits, the company went legitimate and turned to property investment instead. In little time, Jardines had played a large role in turning Hong Kong into a major international business centre. But, now, more than 100 years later, Li wanted a piece of the action. Just a few short years after announcing his goal, Li had indeed accomplished it. He had grown larger than Jardines and even won a highly coveted plot of land to develop in the region.

“Vision is perhaps our greatest strength,” says Li. “It has kept us alive to the power and continuity of thought through the centuries; it makes us peer into the future and lends shape to the unknown.” Li’s vision and goal setting was also responsible for his acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa. In the 1970s, Cheung Kong had established a solid foundation and Li began to turn his eyes in the direction of foreign-owned companies. “I had a clear intention of taking over one of these companies with underperforming assets and developing it into a multinational corporation,” says Li.

Purchasing Hutchison Whampoa was significant, but had it not been Hutchison, it would have been another foreign-owned conglomerate. Li was clear in his vision of the kind of company he wanted to created, and the kind of company he would need to acquire in order to do so. He had a well-defined goal, and if Hutchison had not worked out, Li would have moved on to another. No obstacle would have stood in his way.

Li says that those who want to believe the luck or the power of Fung Shui can do so if they want, “but ultimately people control their own fate.” To that end, Li emphasizes the importance of clearly defining what you want that fate to be. “Broaden your vision, and maintain stability while advancing forward. That is my philosophy.”

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Article Tags: bengal, cheung kong holdings, few short years, goal setting, hutchison whampoa, international business centre, james matheson, jardine matheson, li ka shing, lis, lucky man, opium, plot of land, property investment, public announcement, rock bottom prices, scottish merchants, solid foundation, william jardine, year of the dragon



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