Back in those days, human feces (night soil) was the primary fertilizer for dry fields.

So even when adults visited their friends or when carefree children kicked around an inflated pig’s bladder, they all made sure to relieve themselves at home when nature called to add to their essential stockpile of fertilizer.

The same was true for the kids who came to study Chinese characters at my grandfather’s seodang. If they wanted to relieve themselves, they ran home to contribute to their manure pile, even if class had not finished.

In a bad harvest year, every household would quickly run out of food.

During the long winter months, when everything was covered in snow, we could only manage to cook millet for breakfast, skip lunch, and get by on bean porridge for supper.

After such harsh winters, we would completely run out of food by the time spring arrived.

From then on, we barely managed to stay alive by eating tree bark, grass roots, and wild herbs.

A farmer from birth to death and head to toe, the progenitor of my body and soul, the bestower of my health, work ethic, frugality, patience, commitment, and devotion, the man who taught me the morals that have made me the man I am, my greatest mentor—my father.

But even while toiling on the farm, I would think to myself, “Will I always be a farmer and never straighten my crooked back? A farmer who will never feel full, for even a day? A life like this… to suffer like my toiling father? Is this all there is?”

Such thoughts brought feelings of great frustration. My future seemed bleak. I knew if I continued to live on the farm, my life would be a replica of my father’s. The sad reality of farming is that, no matter how much one struggles, the payoff never equals the amount of work put in.

I wanted to leave my hometown and try anything other than farming. I wasn’t sure, but I thought that no matter what I did, if I worked as hard as I did at farming, I could make more money.

Moving to the city was my only hope.

Whenever I tell people that it was the bedbugs that taught me "Nothing is impossible if one puts in one's best effort," they think I am exaggerating. But this really is the truth.

The bunkhouse where I slept as a laborer in Incheon was teeming with so many bedbugs that it was almost impossible to fall asleep.

Some of the other workers tried to think of ways to avoid the bedbugs. But even when they slept on top of dining tables, they were still bitten as the parasites could climb up the legs of the tables.

We put our heads together and came up with the idea of placing a steel pot filled with water under each of the four legs of the dining table. It worked, temporarily.

Unfortunately, uninterrupted sleep lasted for only one or two days, and then things went back to the way they had been before. The bedbugs were bothering us again.

We wondered how this could be possible, considering that the bedbugs would fall into the pot of water if they attempted to climb any of the table legs.

One night we decided to stay up to see how on earth they survived the water and managed to bite us.

We were completely dumbstruck by what we saw when the lights were turned on — the bedbugs were climbing the walls and dropping from the ceiling onto our bodies. To this day, I cannot forget the shiver down my spine that I felt back then.

This made me stop in my tracks and think, “Even bedbugs think long and hard, and use every bit of energy they have to achieve their goal, and ultimately they succeed.

I’m no bed bug, I’m a man. These bedbugs can surely teach a man a few lessons. If these bedbugs can do it, why can’t we men do it? We just need to stick to it and not quit. We need to emulate these bedbugs.”

At the factory, I was paid 50 cents a day to connect and repair pipes and to run various errands.

This work was not as hard as construction work, but there were no opportunities for me to learn any new skills at the factory.

On top of that, I could not save any money and realized that I had no future there. At every opportunity, I scoured the city for a better job.

It was a stable job with great benefits. I got free lunch, free dinner, and one large straw bag of rice a month.

For the first time in my life, I felt optimistic about my future. Every day was full of joy and excitement. I was elated to have found a decent job for the first time. It felt great to be independent.

I looked back at all the times that I tried to run away from my hometown only to be dragged back by my father.

No matter how small the task, such as delivering on a bicycle, I pour all of my energy into achieving the best possible result.

Half measures, compromises, cutting corners, or “being realistic” do not exist in my world.

In December 1939, the Japanese colonial authorities instituted a rice rationing system and all rice shops in Korea were requisitioned. It had only been two years since I had become the owner of my shop.

They used to exaggerate the seriousness of damages, set a long repair period, and overcharge their customers.

I employed the opposite strategy. I charged more for a shorter repair period—three days instead of the average of ten.

It was not the cost but the repair time that mattered most to those who used their cars as their main mode of transportation. As a result, we had cars in need of repair flooding into my unlicensed garage.

By working hands-on in the repair shops, I learned how different auto parts function in just a short matter of time. This hands-on knowledge of automobiles would later prove to be invaluable.

In the beginning, Hyundai Motor Service Center replaced engines at the U.S. Army ordnance depot.

After a year, we started remodeling Japanese jalopies. We welded together two 1.5-ton trucks to make 2.5-ton trucks. We also modified gasoline cars to run on charcoal or carbide since fuel was scarce.

After liberation, the numbers of cars increased and our business thrived. In less than a year, we had 80 workers.

While I was earning about 300,000 or 400,000 won per contract at best, these construction companies could make up to ten million won per contract. I was completely shocked to realize how much money was in construction.

This difference in profit was not due to our own lack of effort; it simply reflected a difference in the scale of the two industries.

I thought to myself, “For the same amount of effort, why not go for the real big bucks?”

You’ve got one life on this planet. Why not try to build something big? This is the beauty of Elon Musk, and why I think he inspires so many people, it’s just because he takes on really, really big audacious tasks. And he provides an example for people to think big.

And it takes a lot of work to build even small things. I don’t think the corner grocery store owner is working any less hard than Elon Musk, or pouring any less sweat and toil into it. Maybe even more.

But for whatever reason, education, circumstance, they didn’t get the chance to think as big, so the outcome is not as big. So, it’s just better to think big.

You mean you want me to take down our sign?

If you’re suggesting that we stop construction at this point, you’re basically saying we close down our business.

Trust is everything to a businessman. The moment you lose trust, it’s all over.

It’s my dream to create the best construction company in the Republic of Korea, and you’re telling me to abandon it all?

Whatever happens, we’re going to finish this job. We have to.

Although the Goryeong Bridge project was a complete disaster, even today, I do not blame bad luck for the hardships we faced. I had only focused on winning the bid and was not properly prepared for the job. I did not do the calculations properly, and our failure was my responsibility…In the end, it was all my fault.

In spite of everything, I had no intentions whatsoever of abandoning my business. I had failed because I was lacking, and in need of more experience.

However, I brushed this off and simply thought of it as an expensive lesson. This thought helped put things in perspective. I was surprisingly calm.

Working under the weight of enormous debt was like trying to run with shackles on our ankles. But in the end, our determination to finish the project paid off. We gained credibility and earned a good reputation.

Seeing how we had completed the projects despite taking huge losses, the Ministry of Interior gave Hyundai Engineering & Construction a high credit score. Since then, we have had little difficulty winning construction bids on government projects.

We earned a 40 percent profit from it. Through this project, I was able to confirm my motto that “As long as you don’t die and remain healthy, there may be periods of hardship but never complete failure.”

After this construction, we were included in the likes of Daedong Industrial, Joheung Construction, Sambu Construction, and Kuk-dong Engineering & Construction as frontrunners among 1,000 or so construction companies in Korea.

Clearly, one of the main factors that contributed to Hyundai Construction’s growth was our early adoption of advanced machinery and heavy equipment. Of course, this was all thanks to the ordeal of the Goryeong Bridge.

Even if life doesn’t stop for a moment, everybody wants to enjoy life comfortably at a leisurely pace.

However, I think there is nothing more foolish than living a life according to the mantra of “doing enough just to get by,” not knowing how precious one’s time is.

In one lifetime, we can become a revered, immortalized politician, a scholar, a revolutionary, a writer, a musician, a painter, or a businessman like those that we admire.

These remarkable people did not take two or three lifetimes to accomplish what they did. They did it in one. To be sure, individual aptitude, ability, environment, or excellence differs from case to case. Not everyone can pull off such deeds in a single lifetime.

However, if you make full use of your time by living diligently, you can excel in any field. Such a life would be considered a successful one.

I loved my brother. I was so proud of him and had such high hopes for his future. But not once did I ever tell him how I felt. To this day, this remains my greatest regret.

In any era, it is rare to see construction becoming the main driving force behind a country’s industrial growth.

In the 1960s, however, the construction industry led the way in Korea’s drive to modernize. This made Korea something of an exception. But even exceptions have causes.

You cannot succeed without taking risks. We threw ourselves into the overseas construction market before anyone else got their feet wet because we could see its potential before anyone else.

We also did it because we were tired of being thought as living off the government’s dime. Nothing is truly gained without taking risks. High risk can yield high returns.

In-yung, familiar though he was with my new way of operating, was surprised. He asked me how he could possibly sign a contract with a major foreign car company so quickly. I have a blunt response in such situations to deter excuses: “Have you even tried?”

I snapped. I said, “I’ll never take down a single Hyundai sign with my own hands. Even if a business is struggling and everything seems hopeless, I will make it work. Not once have I packed up and quit halfway through. If I start something, I’m going to see it through.”

I first went to the U.S. and then Japan. When I explained what we were trying to do, they thought I was crazy. They said that Korea was underdeveloped and had no capacity to build ships.

With Chairman Longbottom’s introduction, we found a man crazier than me.

This crazy man, willing to purchase our ship, was a Greek named Livanos, Ari Onassis’ brother-in-law.

One of Appledore’s salesmen, who attended Eton with Livanos, convinced him that he could buy a Hyundai ship for a dirt-cheap price.

Livanos’ decision to sign a contract with us after merely looking at a picture of Mipo Bay’s sandy beach was just as remarkable as our terms.

Truth be told, we didn’t even have the land for the shipyard. The picture that we had been showing people was actually just the sandy beach we thought would be suitable for the shipyard.

I can now finally say this, but it was the Barclays loan that allowed us to begin purchasing the lands that we needed. We purchased land as fast as we could grab it, as if our lives depended on it.

At the same time, we were building the two ships Livanos had ordered, and we were also building the breakwater, dredging the bay, constructing the berth, digging out the dock, and completing a five million square foot plant.

By June 1974, we had completed the first stage of the shipyard, capable of building ships up to 700,000 tons. The shipyard, on par with international standards, had a land area of 21 million square feet and boasted two massive dry docks.

Everything we finished in just two years and three months. We set the record for the fastest time to build a shipyard and two oil tankers. 

During the first phase of construction, we made plans for further expansion and by 1975, Hyundai Shipbuilding had the world’s largest shipyard and the capacity to build the world’s largest ships.

These guys are something else. They go in there like a tornado. They bring their own workers from engineers on down, their own clerks, cooks, food, doctors, clothing, movies. They build their own housing. They do the job faster than anyone else, working 14-hour shifts, seven‐day weeks.

They only mix with one another, and once they are through with a job they're moved on to another or sent back home. They're like a disciplined, paramilitary, single‐minded, self‐sufficient machine—simply amazing.

If I were to answer such a question in a serious manner, I would say the following: “I wanted to climb a mountain as fast as possible without any thought of the risks involved. And I have reached the summit before anyone.”

Would such an answer satisfy such a simple question? I don’t believe so.

But this answer is the truth. Without regard for my circumstances, I worked with a do-or-die attitude. Eventually, I became the owner of a rice shop. I pushed myself again and ended up owning an automobile repair garage. I pushed myself again and ended up starting a construction company.

I’ve lived my entire life this way. This is how I have ended up where I am today.

It is not shameful to ask about something you don’t know, even if you have to ask someone younger or of lower rank than yourself.

While carrying out these two construction projects, we were earnest and prepared to learn anything and everything we could from American technicians.

I know I must have hurt the feelings of many as growling was the only way I knew how to speak to them. I am truly sorry for that. However, I am certain that rigorous examination, training, and encouragement made Hyundai what it is today.

When foreign companies send their workers on a business trip, they send those who are older than 55 years old three days earlier, and younger workers two days earlier than the scheduled meetings. This is to give them enough time to adjust to the time difference.

However, we cannot compete with companies from developed countries if we work that way. Right after arriving, we must attend meetings with a clear mind while achieving our initial goal.

I always used to go straight to the construction site, no matter where I had flown in from. I never set aside time to recover from jetlag. There were of course times when I felt tired, but if the CEO does not lead by example and merely orders workers around, his words will fall on deaf ears. Believing that each and every one of our workers could become a future CEO, I trained them to be like me.

If I have to choose between reputation and money, I’ll always take reputation. Finishing on time is how we protect our reputation and honor.

Every day needs to be a journey towards growth. If we pause today, it is a step backward. We must move forward even if it means only one or two steps at a time.

If you are diligent for a day, you will sleep comfortably for a night. If you are diligent for a month, the quality of your life will noticeably improve. If you are diligent for a year, two years, 10 years, your whole life… your accomplishments will be recognized by all.

The diligent lead lives 100 times more productive than the lazy. Their lives are thus more fulfilling. If you work 10 times more than a lazy person, then you are in fact shouldering the lives of hundreds.

Unless your life goal is wasting time, then the first thing I recommend is to be diligent. Being diligent forces you to move a lot, think a lot, and work a lot. Diligence mirrors your sincerity about living a full life. So I don’t trust anyone who is lazy.

Only when he gives his best and lives fully in the present is a man truly happy.

A man who lives fully in the present while dreaming of a brighter future, a man who enjoys his work and who finds happiness in the smallest of things, that man will find success in whatever he does. Such a man is one who lives well.