Orphan Hunger as Permanent Engine

"Therefore, people often talk about how Wang Chuanfu still lives in a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment in Kuiyong Town, Longgang District, Shenzhen, drives an old Lexus, and his only valuable possession is an Adidas sports watch, which accurately tells him whether BYD's global institutions are operating during the day or night. Wang Chuanfu is a low-profile person in the auto circle. For most people, the satisfaction derived from self-actualization far exceeds the modest personal enjoyment of "eating well and using good." This former farm boy from Wuwei County, Chaohu, Anhui, fears nothing more than mediocrity."

"In the Chinese business community, there are many mavericks who have “automotive dreams.” For example, the astonishing Geely Auto President Li Shufu, who is always the center of attention wherever he goes; and the humorous and witty Chairman Yin Mingshan of Chongqing Lifan, who always brings laughter before he even arrives. Only Wang Chuanfu has consistently been silent and stable like an "invisible person." He is not tall, and he walks very quickly. Like most of China's private entrepreneurs, Wang Chuanfu likes to work late into the night. He even has never been to the top of Huangshan, although it is very close to his hometown. Wang Chuanfu said: “I didn't go before because I didn't have the money, now it's because I don't have the time.” When chatting with others, Wang Chuanfu prefers to talk about cars. About himself, he often sums up this way: “I think I still have some adventurous genes in me.”"

"Wang Chuanfu often says that he is always proving himself, from the founding of BYD to now, aiming to rewrite the history of automobile industry development, continually proving to everyone amidst numerous doubts: “I can, BYD can.” He says he has never stopped learning and practicing, although it is not easy, but he knows that this research work "cannot be substituted by anyone." He describes himself as a "hard-working person," not feeling secure if he does not personally disassemble and fully understand the structure of batteries. Once he thoroughly understands an industry, he can “drive the car very fast.”"

"During his brief stays back home, Jean-Paul Bouchard would take them on an activity that left a deep impression. After they piled into his old car, the family embarked on driving tours of businesses of the region: garages, hardware stores, restaurants, trailer parks. Jean-Paul nurtured a single dream in his heart: to enter the business world once again. His children, brought along on these strange adventures, would see first-hand his yearning to find his way back to that road, that pathway to restoring his dignity. The unusual team would disembark, arrive unannounced abruptly and begin to examine the premises and question the owner about his or her revenue, traffic levels, the price of rent, inventory, employees and their wages, profit margins and sales prices. Then their father, who had only a third-grade education and had trouble with basic math, would turn to his son Alain. “He would say, ‘Alain, do the totals,’” Alain Bouchard recalls. Though the boy was just 12 years old, his father was conferring on him, symbolically at least, the responsibility of understanding the workings of a business, of identifying ways to alter the variables and increase profits. The task became deeply connected with having enough food on the table, restoring his father’s honour and lifting his mother’s spirits. It was the dream of returning to the life they had led before the tragedy. It would be hard to overstate the invisible weight carried by this exercise of mental calculation or the profound impression it would make on him."

"It is said that the survival of humankind rests on two pillars—a mother’s love and a father’s protection. But it is equally true that it depends on a powerful lever to propel it forward (or, in some cases, to drag it backward): a son’s desire to restore his parents’ honour."

"“I’m an entrepreneur at heart, in everything I do,” he says. He couldn’t overcome the instinct, which at times seemed to verge on compulsion. The tours of businesses with his father long ago, with the hope of climbing back to a state of dignity and happiness, had left a deep mark. It was like an unquenchable thirst. His mind was constantly working, doing calculations, everywhere he went. “When I go into a restaurant, I count the number of seats and I can say whether it’s profitable or not, based on the traffic. It’s like an innate reflex.”"

"The strong impression of the founder of Giordano It's not just the youth. When dealing with Asian businesspeople, a fervent hunger to grow more and become wealthier comes through. In essence, they're hungry. Hence, the forcefulness with which they engage in their work is completely different, regardless of their abilities. The impression I got from Mr. Jimmy Lai, the founder of Giordano, a SPA (Specialty store retailer of Private label Apparel) I met while working in Hong Kong, was intense. Giordano not only produced its own products but also subcontracted for Limited, which used to be the world's largest SPA. What surprised me was the volume of their production, they produced as much as 300,000 pieces for a single item. When I asked Mr. Jimmy Lai about his background, he said that he had swam from mainland China to Hong Kong, an illegal entry so to speak. However, he did not consider this a disadvantage. Instead, he started a business entirely on his own and went on to become wealthy enough to drive a Rolls-Royce. To put it simply, this man has extraordinary vitality. Everybody in Japan is surprised when I tell this story, but if you go to China or ASEAN, you'll encounter as many people like Mr. Jimmy Lai as you want. That's the reality of rapidly growing Asia."

"Moreover, it is not just the number that is significant. Just as the Japanese people, who dreamed of a prosperous life after the war, sought after the 'Three Sacred Treasures' of television, washing machines, and refrigerators, these four billion people are hungry for prosperity. Their desire to consume is incomprehensible to today's Japanese."

"Poverty takes away dreams and hopes Among experts who deny economic growth, there are those who say, "It's not necessary to be rich." Isn't that statement somewhat irresponsible? Nothing is born from the "concept of being/remaining poor". Because people want to become richer, they strive to be innovative and keep up their hard work, which leads to growth. The argument that it's okay to be poor if you are spiritually rich is a joke that only those who are rich can make. There is a saying called "poverty dulls the arts". Having a bare minimum to survive in life, can one really lead a significant and fulfilling life?"

"By his own account, Masa enjoyed his early childhood, playing hide-and-seek in the haystacks and fishing in the local Daigi river. His first encounter with overt discrimination left a scar, both mental and physical. One afternoon, on his way home from kindergarten, Masa was attacked by Japanese kids taunting him for living in the Korean ghetto. One threw a stone which struck his forehead and drew blood. It was a moment of humiliation but also self-realization: Masa spoke Japanese and he had inherited a Japanese name (‘Yasumoto’), but he was still a pariah."

"Masa suffered hardship in those first five years, but it was nothing compared to the suffering of his parents’ generation. Their sacrifice was a powerful motivating force for the young boy, leaving him with a profound sense of obligation. Whatever he accomplished in life, however much money he made, he felt he could never erase the debt he owed his parents and grandparents.[14](private://read/01jg9b8njt7zc5haz30afb9n29/#ch02_14)"

"Watching his father, the young Masa would have learnt several things: the terrifying fear of destitution, the outsider’s relentless struggle for survival, the bitter truth that no one will help you but yourself, as well as the endless corner-cutting, hustle and re-invention required of an entrepreneur operating on the margins of society. By contrast, his mother Tamako is a more distant figure, absent in the literal sense (she is said to have found Mitsunori’s misogyny difficult and sometimes left the family home to stay with relatives), but also in the emotional sense. Grandma Lee, ever present, always worrying about money, left an enduring impression."

"Leonardo is fourteen years old and has a life to devour with one specific goal: to never again be forced to suffer the hardships of childhood. He has an obsessive desire to succeed. He is hungry for affirmation, ready for any sacrifice necessary to shake off poverty, hunger, misery."

""Martinitt we are called, this heroic and holy name, which we have been handed down, is for us such a noble pride, because we are certain, in a better tomorrow." It is the song and motto of the college. It doesn't matter if you are a child of nobody, if you start at a disadvantage: if you have strength of character and perseverance, you can go far and success will come."

"At seven years old, during wartime, Leonardo leaves his family and ends up in an orphanage. An experience that will change him forever. "I grew up without a father and in an institution. Growing up without a family is something you can't explain unless you've lived it. It marks you," are the few words I manage to get out of him about those years."

"Ambition and fear are the engines of development, two continuous forces that feed each other: on one hand the need to always prove something more, on the other the concern that any unforeseen event can suddenly erase everything that has been built."