Elon Musk is undoubtedly one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time. He is a shining light that we can all learn from, taking his experiences, advice and success to learn and better ourselves, as well as gain motivation for what we want to achieve.
I have compiled 5 quotes from Elon that are most important and influential to myself and Zeutek in our mission:
“When somebody has a breakthrough innovation, it is rarely one little thing… It’s usually a whole bunch of things that collectively amount to a huge innovation.” Innovation in the 21st century is both easier and harder than ever. The competition is fierce, but there are also an endless amount of resources and connections to be made instantly, clearing the way for the dedicated to stand out from the crowd and succeed.
“I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.” This quote is really important for both success and failure. If you succeed, you want to know why you succeeded so you can do it again. If you failed, but did not feedback the experience to learn, your experience was exclusively a failure, and you will make the same mistakes again.
“I would just question things… It would infuriate my parents… That I wouldn’t just believe them when they said something ’cause I’d ask them why. And then I’d consider whether that response made sense given everything else I knew.” It is important to question everything, even when it is coming from what you regard as a reliable source. The reason innovation occurs, is because an individual can see from a different perspective to the norm. Without questioning why things can be improved, creativity and innovation could not occur.
“I always have optimism, but I’m realistic. It was not with the expectation of great success that I started Tesla or SpaceX… It’s just that I thought they were important enough to do anyway.” Setting high goals to push your boundaries and expectations is important for success, however setting them unrealistically high can cause you to lose motivation in the long term, or you may never reach the goal. Instead, keep your greater goal, but also have smaller intermediary goals that are definitely achievable along the journey to the ultimate goal. If you have a plan with actionable steps to meet your goal, then it is achievable and realistic.
“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favour.” Passion should be the guidance for your life’s purpose. Following this will ensure you are not only doing what you enjoy, but also increasing your chances of success, as there is no reason to give up, there is nothing else you would rather be doing.
