Editor's note:
Singapore entrepreneur Hong Zhenqun's experience can be called ups and downs, more wonderful than TV dramas. Starting from a stall, he founded the Pisces Group, which has revenues of more than S$10 million. When his career was in full swing, he was swept away by the group he founded, and he was also involved and bankrupt. However, he soon made a comeback and now owns more than 20 properties and buildings, so let's take a look at his storied story. This is the fifth chapter after "The founder of CK Department Store in Singapore once opposed the disorderly expansion of the company, and was swept away by the company he founded".
In May 1994, I received a letter of dismissal, which symbolized the beginning of my painful three-year journey into exile. At this time, I was in the prime of life before I was 40 years old, but I lost my career, no savings, and even my own real estate and stocks overnight. Next, how should I face the dilemma of life of the old and the young? That "feeling of powerlessness" seems to be constantly growing and spreading in every cell in my body....
Recover 6.5 million arrears from the eldest brother
In the three years since I was dismissed, the idea of reviving his drum has been flickering in my mind, but I feel that I have no strength, I have no strength! What should I do when I come down? In addition to measuring the road, it is to come to the door to beg for money! What I am seeking back is the sale of $3.9 million of Pisces shares and a $2.6 million cash loan. At that time, I had already made up my mind that if I succeeded in recovering the money, I would retire forever and be content with my family wholeheartedly.
The seaside is where Hong Zhenqun frequented after leaving the Pisces Group
And when you once had a lot but suddenly lost, and will face an even more terrible experience - bankruptcy, I believe that the vast majority of people can't accept it, but unfortunately I will be the one who faces bankruptcy. At the beginning of begging for money, the eldest brother was forced by me to be anxious, and the plan to delay the army was to temporarily promise to repay the arrears, but he only paid back three installments. One day in 1996, I went to my eldest brother to ask for money, and when the eldest brother had left Pisces, he suggested that I go to the new chairman Chen Mengzhi to ask for money.
I was invited to the new headquarters of the Pisces Group, which is located in an old Japanese-style building on Prince Edward Road, near Shenton Road. Chen Mengzhi is a native of Shanghai and can speak fluent Teochew dialect. At that time, Chen Mengzhi said to me: "Why did you come to me after you took the money?" Your brother has returned 3.9 million to you, what are you still asking me for? ”
I was stunned! I said I didn't get the money! However, Chen Mengzhi said: "The phone is over there, do you want to confront it?" I replied, "No!" "I burst into tears. If he really wanted to confront him, the eldest brother on the other end of the phone would definitely say that he had returned the money. Whatever the answer, it ends with zero and never-ending bickering. My heart is like a knife, and at this moment, there is one more sad character in the world, and this scene is a real feeling!
I almost went to court
During the three years I was unemployed, the burden on my family was the biggest problem I faced. I always had the illusion of being burned with tears in the darkness. I decided to find a lawyer to take legal action against my eldest brother to get justice. As the day of the court approached, my mother came to me at the last minute and said, "O group! Let me tell you, you can't sue your eldest brother, how can you sue your eldest brother? ”
My mother advised me to do this, and it was very painful for me.
I was very close to my mother, and I always listened to her. But this time my heart was struggling, should I stop there? I can only grieve alone. My mother had a lot of influence on me. She eventually made me dismiss the idea of suing my eldest brother, and in retrospect, it was a very clear decision.
When Hong Zhenqun was at the beach, he would also write a letter to remind his younger brother to recognize the reality
After leaving Pisces in '94, I knew that as the situation developed, I would go bankrupt as I could. For three years, I became very inferior, and I often wandered around the bus and subway aimlessly. From the eastern front to the western front, and from the western front back to the eastern front. The whole person looks silly, most of the time he empties himself, and avoids acquaintances when he sees them. There is one scene that I will never forget. Once wandering aimlessly on the bus, I pulled the handle of the roof, and the bus kept shaking, and I actually shook out a string of bean-sized tears in the inertia of swaying from side to side......
Tears poured out of my eyes uncontrollably, I wonder how the passengers on the side would feel? A big man was in tears in public, and the tears that slipped down showed that he was extremely heartbroken, could something happen? When I meet a familiar friend, I will also feel embarrassed and dare not face it and automatically dodge. I always thought that others looked down on me, but in fact others did not mean this, but their own inferiority complex was at work. Looking back now, my friend probably didn't mean anything else about me at the time
I've always liked to take cruises, and I've been working more often in the three years I've been unemployed. I often took a backpack myself and got on cruises. Penang, Phuket, Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca have all left my footprints. My friends have to go to work, so how can I have time to accompany me to wander? I chose to go to sea alone and enjoy my time alone.
Hong Zhenqun, who took the cruise, felt that the future was uncertain
A lot of times when I'm on a cruise, I don't know what I'm thinking. I often empty myself, sometimes thinking of sadness, and secretly wiping tears from sadness. You say that I go to sea to pass the time and escape from reality, but in short, I am alone, and I feel that I have no way forward.
Change your mindset and make a comeback
How do I get rid of the overwhelming feeling of powerlessness? I chose to change my mindset. The great spiritual teacher and poet Jalal Adeddin Rumi famously said, "You were born with wings, why are you willing to crawl forward all your life, like an ant?" "Yes, people say that I have a keen business acumen, perseverance, and a hard-working mentality, will I be willing to sink like an ant? The answer is clearly no! Finally, at the beginning of 1997, I officially said goodbye to depression, and I decided to stand up from the lying down quagmire and decided to make a comeback!
I often think that if my eldest brother had returned 6.5 million yuan to me, there would be no mySIGN department store today, so I still have to thank my eldest brother. This is not a spiritual victory for Ah Q, but a lesson that I have learned from the Dharma through all kinds of tribulations.
This article is excerpted from Hong Zhenqun's autobiography "Laughing at the Wind and Clouds and Doing Good Roads".
This autobiography is a review of Hong Zhenqun's past experiences, and it is also a microcosm of the changes of the times. The interweaving of sweat and tears has created his positive and indomitable spirit. It was with such a positive psychology that Hong Zhenqun got out of the haze of bankruptcy, founded CK Department Store at the age of 40, and made a successful comeback. This book is a detailed and vivid description of Hong Zhenqun's wonderful story from his past experience as a teenager to becoming a successful entrepreneur today.
CY丨EDITOR
HQ丨Editor
Laugh at the wind and clouds and do good deeds丨Source
Hong Zhenqun丨Author
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