Had Lei Jun not ventured into smartphones and automobiles, he would undoubtedly have been celebrated as a master of poignant literature.

If the titans of the internet industry were to be cast in film and television roles, Lei Jun would indubitably embody the protagonist of a tragic drama.

Despite the ubiquitous images of Lei Jun online, often depicting his iconic smiling face, no one personifies hardship more profoundly than he does.

At the forefront of the internet realm, each mogul has their signature quotes. Jack Ma effortlessly wields English and laughter, Liu Qiangdong often uses the phrase "for the brothers" to underscore his loyalty, Wang Xing shares speculative philosophical musings on Fanfou, and "never boast" and "far ahead" have long been synonymous with Yu Chengdong. Among them, Lei Jun stands out as a master of poignant literature.

Li Zongsheng sings about hills, confronting life's challenges with a smile. Lei Jun's hills, however, seem to stretch endlessly.

Difficult Hills to Climb

"The past month has been the most trying period since I founded Xiaomi. I've been feeling down and have canceled some meetings, business trips, and paused my social media interactions. Despite being busy in recent years, this time I could calm down and reflect deeply, gaining valuable insights..."

These were Lei Jun's first words after a series of controversies. Following the SU7 accident in Anhui at the end of March, Xiaomi Automobile has been under intense public scrutiny. A series of product and technology launches, including self-developed chips, have been indefinitely postponed. Xiaomi's 15th anniversary was quietly celebrated, and both Lei Jun and the company were absent from the Shanghai Auto Show at the end of April.

The public eagerly awaited Lei Jun's response, and "most difficult" was undoubtedly the most fitting phrase.

Since 2020, Lei Jun has gradually become a spiritual mentor for young people through a series of inspiring speeches.

In 2020, Lei Jun embarked on his mentorship journey with the theme "Pressing Forward Without Hesitation," leaving behind memorable quotes such as, "There are many things in the world that we cannot change, but we can alter our mindset. A positive mindset can lead to a different outcome in this complex world."

In 2021, he shared the ten most challenging decisions he made in pursuit of his dreams, encompassing issues like the company's IPO underpricing, share buybacks, the path to high-end products, and the development of various Xiaomi products.

In 2022, Lei Jun recounted multiple setbacks and periods of confusion in his life, sharing insights on overcoming life's lows and recounting three stories before founding Xiaomi, including the founding of WPS three decades ago, the subsequent failure of the Pangu system, his first experience selling products in a store, and the untimely launch of Joyo.com during the internet era.

After the failure of Pangu Software, Lei Jun said, "The once bustling office gradually became deserted. Those days were particularly hard to endure."

When leaving Kingsoft, he remarked, "I fell into the darkest period of my life."

Upon selling Joyo.com, Lei Jun said, "This was truly a painful experience etched in my memory."

On the day of Xiaomi's IPO, when the stock price fell below the offering price, Lei Jun bought a pair of ripped jeans. "Can everyone understand my mood at that time? The next day, I deliberately went out and bought a pair of ripped jeans. I've never worn ripped jeans before, but I bought them that day to remember the day the stock price fell below the offering price."

He also claimed that all setbacks, failures, and even seemingly meaningless experiences become invaluable treasures.

After enduring setbacks and confusion, it's time for transformation and growth. In 2023, Lei Jun focused on growth, stating that his entrepreneurial journey at Kingsoft had transformed him from a programmer to a manager. Founding Xiaomi, with a vision to revolutionize China's manufacturing industry and an innovative business model, gradually brought his dreams to fruition.

When discussing Xiaomi's path to high-end products, Lei Jun said, "I was feeling very heavy-hearted and didn't have a good Spring Festival holiday." Yet, he encouraged everyone that life is a marathon, and temporary successes or failures are not significant. All life's difficulties find answers in growth.

In 2024, Xiaomi embarked on the road to car manufacturing, with Lei Jun's bold words "even if a thousand people stand in my way, I will still go" still resonating. However, the backdrop of this endeavor remains hardship, the starting point for Xiaomi's automotive venture. "If it weren't for the impact of unforeseen events like US sanctions, we wouldn't have ventured into such a complex industry as automobiles, and there wouldn't be today's Xiaomi SU7."

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but facing fear and remaining steadfast. Courage stems from firm beliefs, surging enthusiasm, and taking solid steps."

The most difficult, the darkest, a painful experience etched in memory, feeling very heavy-hearted, particularly difficult to endure... It's hard to imagine such a mental state emanating from a standard successful person who achieved fame and wealth at a young age two decades ago.

Looking across the ocean at Elon Musk, who had a similar experience, a few years ago, he was still smoking weed and boasting to netizens in live broadcasts. This perhaps encapsulates the difference between Eastern and Western cultures.

Whether enduring hardship or on the path to enduring it, amidst this pile of seemingly endless hills, Lei Jun's role is gradually transforming from a "Leibusi" with a high-tech aura to a Lei mentor who patiently explains to the audience that "enduring hardship is a blessing."

A doctor cannot heal himself; he can save others but not himself. How will Lei Jun, now a mentor, navigate through this challenging time?

It's easy to save others but hard to save oneself.

Unlike past hardships, the issues Lei Jun faces this time are perhaps too complex to be resolved with overused inspirational quotes. If past hardships were mostly related to entrepreneurial difficulties and external pressures, what binds Lei Jun now is an internal demon.

On March 29, a Xiaomi SU7 Standard Edition was involved in a serious accident on the Dezhou-Shangrao Expressway in Anhui. After losing control, the vehicle exploded, resulting in the tragic deaths of three people inside. Prior to the accident, the vehicle was in NOA intelligent assisted driving mode, and despite the driver eventually taking control, the tragedy could not be averted.

At that time, Lei Jun's voice was at its loudest, but publicity is not a panacea; it's more like a magnifying glass that amplifies strengths while also exposing weaknesses, and with the slightest inattention, one can become the target of public criticism.

From a psychological perspective, Lei Jun, who embraces hardship, must have a high sense of morality. For most ordinary people, a strong sense of morality is often a constraint.

Currently, Lei Jun is under triple internal pressure.

First, Xiaomi Automobile once aspired to become a benchmark for intelligent driving. This accident, in which responsibility is difficult to determine, is somehow linked to intelligent driving, marking the collapse of Lei Jun's technological idealism.

Second, the tragic loss of three young lives has placed a heavy burden of responsibility on Lei Jun's shoulders. Even though many comfort him, saying it's not his fault and that individuals are responsible for their own safety, in sleepless nights, Lei Jun may repeatedly question if his statements led to the loss of these precious lives. If he hadn't said those things, perhaps such a tragedy wouldn't have occurred. Compared to life, a business leader's hardships pale in comparison.

Third, users have shifted from fanatical support, even deifying him, to a wave of doubts. The backlash of public expectations has caused Lei Jun to experience a crisis of trust in himself.

Lei Jun has always been adept at managing publicity, which can be considered a textbook example in the business field. Liu Qiangdong once praised him, saying, "Don't compare marketing with Lei Jun; we can't compete with him in this area. Selling Xiaomi phones like this is definitely not something ordinary people can do."

In The Three-Body Problem 2, Luo Ji is revered as a "savior" and worshipped, only to be abandoned in an instant. The sense of disparity from being admired by millions to being criticized by all is also present in Lei Jun's situation.

Perhaps at this moment, Lei Jun will truly understand that the inspirational quotes in his speeches are not nutritious and cannot save lives. They are merely filled with purines, causing a dull pain in various joints.

Looking back, those courages to press forward and positive attitudes in the face of fear suddenly seem ironic. As Han Han said, we've heard countless truths, but we still struggle to live a good life. Despite so many experiences, in the end, Lei Jun can only say – the most difficult.

Such hills cannot be surmounted with mere "courage," "determination," or "dreams" from Lei Jun's speeches.

It is evident that Lei Jun, who has long been financially free, has surpassed the first four stages of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and is pursuing the highest level of self-actualization. This time, it is undoubtedly a severe blow to his self-worth.

Unlike phones, no one can definitively say how well Lei Jun has made cars, but driving can lead to death. The grand dream of revolutionizing the automotive industry and the dilemma of abandoning efforts due to the crises accompanying technological development have created contradictions and hesitations in the wake of this accident.

On May 13, after checking in for a workout, Lei Jun replied to netizens on Weibo, "I've recently read many of my friends' comments, and I'm particularly touched. Your concern and support have given me tremendous confidence, allowing me to gradually regain the courage and confidence to move forward, and my state is starting to recover."

Some experts also argue that netizens' emotions are fleeting, and their attention is scattered. Liu Qiangdong's "signal with a broken glass" and Luo Yonghao's "performing to repay debts" both achieved a reversal of public opinion through emotional release. Even Jia Yueting, who has been in the United States for many years without returning, is almost washing himself clean with his persistence. Lei Jun and Xiaomi can also quickly bounce back, release the products they should, and users will still support them.

But for Lei Jun, true self-salvation lies in transforming personal crises into industry progress, promoting leapfrog upgrades in new energy vehicle safety standards centered on Xiaomi, and reshaping the image of a safety benchmark.

I hope that many years from now, when Lei Jun looks back on these difficult years from the podium, he won't have to relive the tragic drama again.

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