Reading Reflection 3

Elon Musk

I chose to read the biography about the life of Elon Musk. He is one of the most popular entrepreneurs and inventors in the world and is currently doing things that no one has done before. What surprised me the most was to learn that Elon Musk was at the point financially where he would either have to give up on SpaceX or Tesla. However, he was able to secure funding for both companies just in time before he would have had to shut one down. What I most admire about Elon Musk is that he is always thinking to the future. Even when he was a student, he knew that he wanted to make a big difference in the world. Additionally, he has constantly been making strides towards creating solutions for the future of humanity, whether its electric cars to reduce oil dependency or SpaceX to try and start commercial space travel, he is constantly looking to bring futuristic ideas a reality now.  What I least admire about Musk is that he is a big talker. He does deliver on his promises, but he does tend to talk about it a lot. In my personal experience I think that it is better to move in silence and not let people know everything that you’re doing. Elon Musk definitely encountered a lot of adversity and failure in his time as an entrepreneur. Most famously, when SpaceX and Tesla were about to run out of money. To overcome this he found investors, got a government grant and kept moving forward. He didn’t let these challenges discourage him and defeat him, he found solutions to make sure he was able to achieve his dreams.

One competency I noticed was that he finds a way to overcome failure. Through his many ventures he finds a way to make them successful no matter what. Whether is how to start the company or finding money just to keep it afloat he gets it done. While he promises many big things, he finds a way to accomplish them. Additionally, he has a strong vision for the future and is a very forward thinker, making him very successful in his futuristic type companies. The only confusing part to me was what actually inspired Elon Musk to be some enamored with the future growing up. While his family was involved in engineering and flight, I’m not sure where he came up with his inspiration to ensure humanity is ready for the future.

If I could ask Elon Musk two questions, the first one would be: How did you know where to get started? I would ask this because Elon Musk has created such a massive empire of wealth and resources, it is truly impressive what he was able to create. My second question would be: What was your inspiration for SpaceX? SpaceX is one of the most future-forward company when it pertains to space travel. I think that it would be interesting to see what caused Elon Musk to pursue such a risky venture knowing that it could not be successful and would cost a lot of money if it went under.

I think that Musk’s opinion of hard work is fairly simple: do what inspires you and give it your all. The reason I say this is because this is essentially what he does. He creates companies in fields he is passionate about and puts everything into them. Even when he is unsure if he’ll be able to keep the company from bankruptcy, he still does not give up on them and finds a way to make it work. I share this opinion of hard work, as I believe that it is very important to give a venture your all or else it won’t be successful. This is exemplified by the past companies Musk has started as well as the ones that he currently runs.