Lei Jun shared his key life insights with young people at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Youth Development Forum on the morning of June 15th.
His first piece of advice is to find something you are genuinely passionate about and stick with it. He considers this his most important life lesson. According to Lei Jun, only with passion are you willing to invest yourself, and only true passion enables long-term perseverance, as truly valuable endeavors are often very challenging. He believes that turning what you love into your career makes the entire process feel not like a hardship but rather full of endless enjoyment. He provided a small example: he recently conducted a 15-hour livestream, driving the new generation Su 7 from Beijing to Shanghai. Starting at over 4 AM and departing after 6 AM, the entire 15-hour journey was broadcast live. Throughout, he received much concern from friends, who remarked that he was streaming when they woke up, during their lunch, and even when they were about to sleep at night. While many might think this process was arduous, Lei Jun felt it wasn't particularly hard. Sitting in a car meticulously crafted by his colleagues, showcasing its range, various features, and interacting with netizens along the way, he found the experience enjoyable. He reflected that if you are doing something you love, the whole process can feel infinitely fun. Therefore, he wants to share that one must understand and love their field to truly excel in it.
His second point is to be guided by ambitious goals—dare to think, dare to act, and dare to set high targets. Even if they seem impossible at the moment, by breaking them down step by step and tackling them persistently, there is a chance to achieve them. He discussed the transformation of Xiaomi Corp. over the past five years. Many people feel Xiaomi has undergone dramatic changes. This stemmed from a half-year period of reflection and summarization around the company's tenth anniversary. They asked themselves: What kind of company did they want to build? Where did Xiaomi come from, and where was it going? After this lengthy review, they concluded by setting a very high goal: to become a global leader in next-generation core hardware technology over the next decade. Guided by this objective, they committed to investing 100 billion yuan in research and development over five years, focusing intensely on core technologies. Ultimately, over those five years, they invested 105.5 billion yuan. With such investment, Xiaomi has achieved a series of breakthroughs from zero to one in areas including automobiles, chips, smart manufacturing, robotics, and foundational large models.