Junior PM to CEO: Reading Digest - Grit: The Secret to Success

During my recent business trip to Indonesia, I made significant progress in penetrating the Indonesian Chinese community, which controls a large portion of the country's economy. While I can't share too many details due to confidentiality, I can share some insights from my Toastmasters club speech last night.

The Formula for Grit

The formula for grit is deceptively simple, but putting it into practice is a lifelong journey.

• Talent x Effort = Skills

• Skills x Effort = Achievement

Before reading the book "Grit," I believed that talent was something you were born with. But the author argues that talent is a combination of interest and one to two years of cultivation. This is why the book emphasizes the power of "ten years of sharpening your sword" and "10,000 hours of practice." It takes two years to find your talent and eight years to accumulate the necessary skills.

Stackable Skills

In my experience, skills are stackable. One of the key reasons I decided to enter the Indonesian market in 2022 was because my best Indonesian friend's uncle was a leading presidential candidate at the time. Although he didn't win, it had little impact on my ability to enter the market.

From cold outreach on LinkedIn to traveling back and forth to Indonesia, being invited to speak at startup events, and now having a network of contacts, I've only talked about one thing from start to finish: "Converting agricultural waste into bioplastics. We need the best talent and a large amount of agricultural waste in Indonesia, and we have the ability to enter the European and American markets!"

This is the result of continuous setbacks since I started my business in 2015, suffering from severe physical and mental illness, and then living in haunted hotels and countless budget hotels and capsule hotels after starting to enter the international market.

The Key to Grit

In conclusion, the most important factors behind grit are:

1. Be a DOER.
2. Never stop learning.
3. Never give up on your life goals, especially since entrepreneurship is a lifelong journey.

Bonus: The Story of Chu Shi-Jian

In the comments below, I'll share the story of Chu Shi-jian, a legendary Chinese entrepreneur. He was sentenced to life in prison at the age of retirement, and at the age of 73, he was released on medical parole for severe diabetes. He turned out to took out another loan to start a business, and created China's first orange brand "Chu Orange."

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2. Gamma:

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