Don’t go with the flow
Tesla and Space X founder Elon Musk and his secrets for success. Source: youtube.com
Elon Musk is exactly the kind of person whose inventions and accomplishments motivate plenty of people worldwide. His projects, mindset, and vision for the future are more than impressive.
His field of activity is not confined to one particular industry or branch. The payment system, electric cars, rockets, and even Mars colonization plans are the scope of his activities, which seems to be quite striking.
Even though he is not in the Forbes top 10 list (as some experts say “for now”), and his net worth is currently no less than $22.1B (which is far from the top 10 leaders), this is a man, who is definitely worth mentioning if we are talking about success stories and the secrets for success of famous people.
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Sure, Elon is a man you should listen to, even if you are not big fans of him, or have occupations that are not related to payments systems, electric cars, or rockets. It is not about the one particular branch you may be involved in, it is about a life philosophy, which leads to success. Of course, one man can’t be 100% right in all his persuasions, or it can just fail to work out for you personally, but we firmly believe that such a man as the Tesla and Space X founder knows something.
Elon Musk used to say a lot of motivational things, and it is not so difficult to compile a list of 100 or even 1000 points, but we have decided to use the most important ones here.
Self-education
Musk says it is a significant point. He often recalls the time when he was a teenager, and how he, unlike other guys of the same age, preferred encyclopedias to fiction and entertainment books. The entrepreneur also believes that social media is a complete waste of time.
Not ad, but quality
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Emphasis must be placed on the quality improvement of products. It is one of the main rules for business developing, and that is what Elon Musk says. Many companies spend vast fortunes to create brands, logos, design and merely don’t care about the quality. But Musk says that advertisement is not the best investment, while the quality of the product is.
Take risks while you are young
It is much easier to start your business when you are young. Taking risks and experiencing fails is a normal part of any business, and the older you are, the harder they may seem for you. Moreover, when you get older, your risk-taking decisions can impact your family and children. After all, the younger you are, the more time on your hands you have.
Fatigue, tiredness, exhaustion? Sorry, I’ve never heard of them
Elon Musk assures that there is no such a thing as exhaustion/fatigue (whatever you call it), there is only a lack of motivation. He is known for his work ethic, and usually, he works as much as 100 hours per week, taking into account his numerous companies.
Do not complain and whine, better to waste this energy on a solution-seeking process
Remember, whatever happens, the main thing is not to give up when problems arise and never back down. If you have time and energy for whining and complaining, it means you still have the energy (and, apparently time), so use it in a smart way, to your advantage. Search for solutions, and who knows, maybe these very (even temporary) solutions will appear to be innovative.
Elon Musk also recommends not to pay attention to competitors. It is better to focus on quality product creation.
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Put everything into the realization of your dream
Elon believes, if you want to achieve something, you have to focus all your energy on that. However, you should be prepared to fail.
For example, Tesla has been on the verge of bankruptcy, and Falcon rockets failed to launch one by one. Musk has used these failures as a valuable experience instead of becoming upset and giving up. He has drawn the right conclusions and improved the technology.
Criticism
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Nobody argues that criticism is a useful thing, but it is constructive criticism we are talking about here. It usually helps to make the right decisions and make progress. However, do not confuse constructive criticism with a layman’s opinion, even if they are your friends. They wish you well, so do not refuse their suggestions sharply, but remember that everybody has a different mindset and way of thinking. And if you think globally/out of the box, people will consider you crazy, as they merely will not be able to understand your ideas. The progress of civilization is driven by the thoughts and acts of outstanding, great men.
Do what you are good at
Elon does not say something vague like “follow your dream”, or “do what you like”. He just means that hard periods and crises are unavoidable and an integral part of life and business, and following your interests and doing things you really like may help you to get through dark days. After all, isn’t it amazing when your business or work is not just bringing you money, but also inspires you? Therefore, you do not look for inspiration somewhere “on the side”, and can fully focus on your life’s work.
Stay true to your idea
Once in an interview, Musk said that he wasn’t sure Tesla would be a successful company. He expected a failure. Nevertheless, he decided that at least he could fight the false stereotypes about electric cars (boring, ugly, poorly-designed, slow as a golf cart vehicles). As we can see, he has managed to do, to put it mildly, much more.
Do not fear the fear
It is normal to experience fear, but you do not have to be afraid of being afraid. You better draw up all likely outcomes and all the worst/best things that may happen to you and your business. It will reduce fear, and help your brain and senses to be more reasonable.
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Bonus idea
Don’t follow trends, create them
It is all in the name. Elon wasn’t happy with the payment system he used – he co-invented PayPal, electric cars seemed to be boring and slow – the Tesla company was his answer, then he went further and created Space X. The most successful companies focus on creating new innovations. They don’t try to chase the competition.
Life is a lot like Tetris – if you try to fit in, you disappear.
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