https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1xsW0SvHlU
도와주는 사람이 반드시 있어야 해요.
단 하루도 그냥 살지는 않았어요.
내용 요약
도전을 권하면 많은 사람이 늦었다고 말합니다. 저는 마흔다섯에 시작했습니다. 돈이 없다고도 합니다. 저는 5천만 원을 가지고 시작했습니다. 전문가가 아니라고도 합니다. 저는 생명공학, 약학, 의학을 모두 독학했습니다. 하지만 이런 말들은 결국 핑계일 뿐입니다.
저는 운이 좋게도 서른두 살에 대우그룹 임원이 되었습니다. 어떻게 된 일이냐고 묻지만, 사실 회장이 시켜줬기 때문에 가능했던 것입니다. 서른두 살 때 저는 인정받기까지 1년이 걸렸고, 정말 열심히 일했습니다. 그러나 IMF 위기가 오면서 대우그룹이 자금 조달을 해결하지 못했고, 결국 무너졌습니다. 경영 책임을 져야 하는 상황에서 가장 먼저 사표를 낸 사람이 저였습니다. 그게 1999년 12월 31일이었고, 저는 마흔다섯에 직장인이 아닌 백수가 되었습니다.
새로운 직장을 구하려 했지만 당시 경제 상황이 좋지 않아 쉽지 않았습니다. 백수가 되자 여러 사람에게서 연락이 왔고, 특히 처갓집 식구들이 많이 전화를 했습니다. 다들 무슨 일을 할 거냐고 물었고, 결국 사업을 해야겠다고 결심했습니다. 부하 직원들도 함께하겠다고 했고, 아내는 사업을 하라며 5천만 원을 줬습니다. 그렇게 5천만 원으로 회사를 차렸지만, 처음부터 구체적인 계획이 있었던 것은 아니었습니다.
갈피를 잡지 못하다가 미국으로 가기로 했고, LA에서 사람들을 만나봤지만, 세탁소나 식당을 하라는 이야기뿐이었습니다. 더 있다가는 안 되겠다 싶어 샌프란시스코로 갔고, 그곳에서 바이오와 제약 산업에 대해 공부하기 시작했습니다. 처음에는 아무것도 몰랐지만, 세 달 만에 호텔 방에는 전 세계 제약회사의 지도가 가득해졌습니다.
공부하는 데 시간이 걸리는 이유는 돈을 내고 학교를 다니기 때문입니다. 하지만 돈을 벌면서 공부하면 훨씬 빠릅니다. 저는 직원들을 터키 출장을 보낼 때 100개의 단어를 외우게 했고, 일주일이면 500개의 단어를 익혀 비즈니스 협상이 가능할 정도가 되었습니다. 터키어를 공부하는 데 4년이 걸린다는 말과는 다릅니다.
결국 2000년에 5천만 원으로 시작한 회사는 11년 만에 세계 1등 기업이 되었습니다. 저는 사업을 시작한 이유가 거창한 꿈 때문이 아니라, 단순히 취직이 안 되었기 때문입니다. 처음에는 망하지 않으려고 노력했고, 이후에는 돈을 벌기 위해 일했습니다. 돈을 벌고 나서는 더 큰 꿈을 꾸게 되었고, 나라와 민족에 도움이 되는 일을 하고 싶어졌습니다. 그러다 보니 어려운 사람들도 보이기 시작했고, 그들을 돕고 싶다는 생각이 들었습니다.
저는 흙수저니 금수저니 하는 말을 싫어합니다. 저희 아버지는 연탄 가게를 하셨고, 저도 연탄을 배달했습니다. 대학교 시절에는 택시 기사 아르바이트를 하면서 학업을 병행했습니다. 하지만 결국 대우그룹 임원이 되었고, 사업가로 성장했습니다. 중요한 것은 머리가 좋고 나쁨이 아니라 생활 습관입니다. 젊은 시절 하루하루를 어떻게 쓰느냐가 미래를 결정합니다.
저는 특별한 사람이 아니었습니다. 그렇기에 여러분도 충분히 해낼 수 있습니다. 성공하고 싶다면 자신만의 힘으로는 어렵습니다. 가족과 파트너, 주변 사람들의 도움이 필요합니다. 그리고 무엇보다 절실하게 노력해야 합니다. 전공이 무엇이든, 진정으로 몰입하고 절실하게 공부하면 1년이면 전문가가 될 수 있습니다.
마치며...
도와주는 사람이 있어야 한다는 말이 절감되었다. 나는 '노력'을 내가 나를 도와주는 행동이라고, 아주 이타적인 행동이라고 여긴다. 20살이 되던 해 나의 카카오톡 프로필 대화명 (나의 삶의 만트라)은 '노력' 이 두 글자였다. 노력하며 사는 사람이라는 것이 너무 느껴졌다. 단 하루도 살지 않았다는 고백, 성공하는 사람들이 공통적으로 할 수 있는 고백인 것 같다.
English ver.
Many people say it's too late when they are encouraged to take on a challenge.
I started at 45.
Then they say they don’t have money.
I started with 50 million won.
Then they say they are not experts in that field.
I am someone who taught myself biotechnology, pharmacy, and medicine.
Let me briefly share my story.
By a lucky coincidence, I became an executive at Daewoo Group when I was 32.
People ask how I got there, but no one really knows.
At that time, the chairman appointed me to the position, so it was up to him.
But in any case, I was recognized as someone he needed at the age of 32.
At first, I thought it was a joke, but one day, my doorbell rang, and a man in his 60s was standing there.
I asked who he was, and he said he was my driver, assigned to me from that day forward.
Since I had to go to work, he had come to pick me up.
I became an executive responsible for the global economy division.
At 32, I thought I was already quite old.
It took me a year to be fully accepted, and I worked incredibly hard.
But what I didn’t know was that the IMF crisis was coming.
When the crisis hit, Daewoo Group had exhausted all its funding sources.
As a result, the financial system stopped functioning, and the company collapsed.
At that point, someone had to take responsibility for management decisions.
It turns out that I was the first to submit my resignation.
That was on December 31, 1999.
I was 45 years old.
That was the day I effectively retired.
I tried to find another job, but the job market was terrible at the time.
So, on January 1, 2000, I became unemployed.
As soon as I became unemployed, my in-laws called me frequently.
Some said I had worked hard, while others asked what I planned to do next.
When I said I had an idea, they laughed at me.
In the end, I had no choice but to say I would start a business.
Then, some of my subordinates came to me.
When I asked why they followed me, they said, "If we live, we live together. If we die, we die together."
I had no choice but to accept them.
Then my wife gave me 50 million won to start a business.
With that money, I set up a company.
Not because I had a concrete plan—just because I needed to do something.
Everyone kept asking what I was going to do, but if I had known, I wouldn’t have waited until I was unemployed.
I realized I had to escape, so I decided to go to the U.S.
Everyone said it was a wise choice.
They told me I needed to play in a bigger pond.
So, I first went to L.A.
When people there asked why I had come, I told them I was looking for a business opportunity.
The laundromat owners told me to buy a laundromat.
The restaurant owners said the restaurant business was the best.
Realizing I had to get out of there, I escaped to San Francisco, where I knew no one.
With nowhere to go, I started studying biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
After about three months, my hotel room walls were covered with maps of pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
Until then, the only medicine I knew was aspirin.
When people are encouraged to take on a challenge, many say it's too late.
I started at 45.
Then they say they don’t have money.
I started with 50 million won.
Then they say they are not experts in that field.
I taught myself biotechnology, pharmacy, and medicine.
But those are just excuses.
If you are truly determined, you will find a way.
People think studying takes a long time because they pay tuition and go to school.
But if you study while spending your own money, you learn much faster.
For example, when I take my employees to Istanbul, I give them a list of 100 essential Turkish words.
By the time we land, they have memorized them.
After arriving, I tell them not to speak English or Korean.
With just 100 words, you can survive in Turkey.
In a week, their vocabulary grows to 500 words, enough for business negotiations.
People say learning Turkish takes four years, but if you study while traveling, a week is enough.
It all comes down to how we perceive things.
In 2000, I started with 50 million won.
It took me 11 years to reach the top in my field worldwide.
That means anyone can do better than me.
Looking back, the key reason for my success was simple.
When you ask successful entrepreneurs why they started their businesses, they give grand explanations.
But in reality, they started because they had no other choice.
If I had found another job after leaving Daewoo, I wouldn’t have started a business.
In the beginning, struggling entrepreneurs fight to survive.
Once they pass that stage, they aim to make money.
After making money, they start spending it.
But spending money quickly becomes dull.
Then, they start dreaming bigger.
They begin thinking about how to contribute to their country and people.
Eventually, they start noticing those in need and feel the urge to help them.
Now, at 60, I don’t know how much longer I’ll run my business.
But before I become a burden to the next generation, I must step aside.
These days, I work even harder—what used to take me a year, I now try to do in a day or two.
And recently, I started feeling sorry for the younger generation.
The thing I hate hearing the most is talk about "spoon class"—whether someone was born with a dirt spoon or a golden spoon.
I saw online that there are actual definitions for these terms.
My father ran a small business—a coal briquette shop.
When I was in middle school, I came home from school and delivered briquettes with tongs.
My entire family—my parents, my younger siblings—we all did it.
I grew up in a hilly neighborhood, carrying heavy loads up steep streets.
So, I don’t know what "spoon class" even means.
When I was in college, private tutoring was banned, so I worked as a taxi driver.
There was a system where drivers worked 24-hour shifts.
I would drive a taxi for 24 hours and then attend school for the next 24 hours without sleeping.
Still, I graduated with a GPA of 4.18 out of 4.3.
Maybe that’s why I became an executive at Daewoo at such a young age.
Even after starting my business, I didn’t live an easy life.
I believe intelligence doesn’t matter as much as habits do.
Especially for young people—their greatest asset is time.
How they use their time determines their future.
I’ve listened to many success stories, and they all have one thing in common:
The people were all ordinary at first.
But today, they are extraordinary.
Which means you can do it too.
Because I did it.
And I wasn’t extraordinary to begin with.
You are the protagonist of your own story.
People call me the hero of a miracle, the protagonist of a legend.
But here’s the truth:
When I was arrogant and thought I was smart, I achieved nothing.
But when I felt gratitude and humility, I started to succeed.
If you want to succeed, know this:
You won’t do it alone.
There will be people who support you—your family, your partners.
And if you are truly determined, your background and expertise won’t matter.
No matter what your major is, if you put your mind to it,
you can become an expert in a year.