My Ambition Is Medioce

At 54, when he was already a multibillionaire, internationally recognized, and his company worth billions of dollars, Masayoshi Son told his friend, 'My ambition is mediocre'.

At 54, when he was already a multibillionaire, internationally recognized, and his company worth billions of dollars, Masayoshi Son told his friend, 'My ambition is mediocre'.

Did you read that?

Let me tell you again. At the age of 54, Masayoshi Son, the grandson of a former refugee who had to travel from Korea on a boat to reach Japan, the grandson from a family who had to sleep on the street to survive, the man who had to endure the ridicule of his friends, and had turned this all around to becoming the richest man in the world (although briefly), stood there and told his friend "My ambition is mediocre".

Folks, this was Masayoshi Son in summary. Audacious. Crazy. Unstoppable.

One time, a government agency was delaying his business, so he went to the government office and asked for petrol, saying he would burn himself to death because he could not accept their delays. Insane guy!

I've always known that Masa was a crazy guy. I've watched many videos about him. Google man. You will find words like "Insane", "Crazy", "Gambler", associated with him. Even today, he still confounds the world. Despite all these videos, I wasn't ready for the craziness of Masa.

One of the crazy stories from the life of Masa was how he convinced Saudi Araba crowned prince to invest $45 billion in 45 minutes. $1 billion for each minute. You know what's more incredible? It wasn't the first time. Since his younger days, Masa had a way of convincing others to his view.

The guy went to the US for school, but instead of schooling, his number one priority was how to start a business. He asked his friends that he wanted a job that would pay him $10,000 per hour! Insane. Of course, it wasn't possible. So he realized he had to start a business. There, the legend of Masa began.

Masa was bombastic. His business consumed him. The guy had a relentless focus on whatever he put his mind to. One story to show you this.

As usually happened with such idiots, Masa met a fine lady who was willing to manage with him; they fixed a day for the wedding. On that day, Masa's business was supposed to launch a product. You know what? Masa arrived at his wedding 5 hours after the scheduled time. He had forgotten it was his wedding day. When he got there, his wife was in tears. The judge was gone. They begged the clerk, and another day was fixed. He apologized profusely. You won't believe what happened next. The new date for the wedding arrived, and Masa did not arrive on time again! Such an idiot. He came many hours later, his wife was crying, and the judge was there only because he pitied the young woman. They were joined together. Very crazy guy. First class idiot.

Anyway, that business did grow. Masa grew too. His business empire expanded. Today, he is worth billions of dollars. He has become a better man, at least, one can glimpse this in how protective he has become of his family.

Speaking of Masa's ambition. Although Masa said many times that he wanted to be rich, being rich wasn't his only drive goal. He wanted to shake things up. He loves taking risks. When you read this book, you will see a guy who invested without care. One time, he told his team that he wanted to invest in 5,000 different businesses. If you understand how investments are made and understand the philosophy of the greatest investor, Warren Buffet, you would know this is an insult. It is turning investment wisdom on its head. For Masa, it is not just about profit. It is about something deeper. Masa's worldview is shaped by Japanese hero's stories, stories from 500 years ago and stories from centuries ago. Masa wants his life to become such a monument in Japanese history. One time, he drew a 300-year plan for his life.

As I read the story of Masa, the famous Apple ad (by the way, Masa and Steve Jobs were friends) comes to mind;

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."

Cheers to the crazy ones.

May we reach 54, look back at the remarkable achievements we've made, and still say, "My ambition is mediocre."