iaoling Li, professionally known as Charlene Li, is a distinguished economics graduate from Peking University, a career prodigy who earned a million yuan a year at the age of 25, and a real-life legend who left it all behind to immerse herself in the world of jewellery.
She is the founder and creative director of CHARLENE.
Charlene gave a moving speech at the graduation ceremony of the School of Economics at Peking University, where she discussed her perseverance and the accomplishments she garnered while nurturing her dreams. This is also the foundation of CHARLENE's entrepreneurial spirit and its relentless pursuit of ultimate beauty.
“Hello everyone, my name is Charlene Li. I graduated from the Department of Finance at the School of Economics in 2005. After more than ten years out of campus, formerly working as an investment banker, I founded CHARLENEC. Among many identities, I am always proud of being a graduate of the School of Economics at Peking University.
Seeing teachers and classmates today, I suddenly find many things very fascinating. Eleven years ago, I gave a graduation speech on this stage as a student representative, and I had no idea what the future would be like. Now I realize that many things in my life were like seeds planted back then, which have sprouted today after so many years.
In 2003, I was elected as the chairperson of the Students' Union of the School of Economics and started to fully exert my ambitions in management. At that time, everyone thought that the student union was a bureaucratic institution, but I operated it as a brand, as a business. We gave the student union a fancy English name "ELSU" - it's just an acronym of the student union of the School of Economics, and it also means "boys and girls". This experience in brand management and organization management has been of great reference significance to my founding of CHARLENE ten years later.
We established the first and perhaps the only independently operated BBS in the history of the School of Economics, called "ELSU Ideal Country". In the era without WeChat Moments, we freely wrote our youth in our ideal country and harvested the deepest friendships and loves in our life. Today, the first three partners in our team are all from the big waterwheel in the Ideal Country.
Of course, for me, my biggest gain from the Ideal Country is my husband, who is also the chairman of our team.
When Jack Ma went public, he said: "We should still have dreams, what if it come true?" This sentence has inspired countless passionate youths to join the entrepreneurial tide. I would like to add that dreams may not be clear from the beginning, but don't give up searching for and listening to the voice in your heart; and in the process of searching, cherish every experience and do not miss any chance to improve yourself.
We cannot see the future from where we are now, but after 10 or 20 years, when we look back, we will see the connections between them. Believe that these points will connect sooner or later.
When I graduated, I didn't immediately discover what I liked to do, but first joined the Fixed Income Department of BNP Paribas to work on derivative sales, serving corporate clients. I stayed there for 6 years.
In those 6 years, I spent more time than others studying the bank's organizational structure, risk control, incentive mechanisms, etc. The structure of my current company is designed with reference to the front, middle, and back office of the bank to maximize sales efficiency. In those six years, I spent more time serving clients than others, which sometimes baffled or even ridiculed my colleagues. But one thing that happened after I left the bank made me sure that the seeds planted will sprout sooner or later.
That was in March 2013, not long after I had just resigned. I received a call from Mr. Sun, asking me to prepare a birthday gift for his wife.
Mr. Sun was the boss of a listed company I served during my time at the bank — I didn't even understand how gems could be transformed into jewellery. So, my first reaction was to suggest that Mr. Sun shouldn't proceed with me yet. But Mr. Sun was insistent, saying something I will never forget in my life: "I know you can't do anything now, but I believe that with your integrity, qualifications, and hard work, you will eventually create a successful brand. But no matter if you make it to your 100th, 1,000th, or 10,000th piece, you will always remember your first piece of jewellery!”
Mr. Sun's unconditional trust in me, which stemmed from the hard work I put into serving them in the past few years, motivated me to uphold integrity and quality. His trust, along with that of many friends when CHARLENE was starting, gave me the strength to hold onto my values and deliver quality.
Once we leave this campus, we bear the mark of Peking University. This mark can bring us untold glory, but it can also bring worldly prejudices and invisible pressures.
In today's restless society, there are all sorts of reasons to abandon dreams, even treating beliefs, dreams, and morality as mere bargaining chips for transactions. However, as Peking University graduates, as part of the elite, can we pursue our inner happiness? Can we bear the most tenacious pursuit of society, without being blinded by vanity or lost in profit-seeking? Can we support reality with our dreams?
More importantly, are we willing to cultivate a piece of land for such a seed? Are we willing to bury our dreams in the soil, even if we can't see any hope at all? Are we willing to provide sunlight, water, and nourishment for it?
Are we willing to stand by it until our dreams sprout and grow into a big tree, providing shelter for more flowers and plants?
Because I have children, I often read children's picture books. There's a book called "The Carrot Seed". The protagonist is a little boy who plants a carrot seed.
His father tells him, "The seed won't sprout,"
His mother says, "The seed won't sprout,"
His sister says, "The seed won't sprout,"
His brother also says, "The seed won't sprout,"
Despite this, he still takes good care of it.
One day, a carrot sprouts, just as the little boy knew it would.
If you're willing, please, like that little boy, plant your dreams in the soil and care for them.
About CHARLENE CLASSIC:
Established in Beijing in 2013, CHARLENE CLASSIC is a high jewellery brand that originates from the East. It is committed to spreading "1cm² of Oriental Aesthetics" through its jewellery. In 2017, the brand was invited to customize high-end jewellery for the Forbidden City, and in 2018, it won the Milan Design Special Award. The brand's philosophy: Jewellery is not only the aesthetics of life and the encapsulation of emotions, but it also helps the wearer encounter a better version of themselves.
