Elon Musk: 50 Life and Business Lessons from Elon Musk

by George Ilian

The relationships - personal and professional - that you

establish in college might well be some of the most important you ever have. Maintain your friendships and associations, and support one another.

We are all learning throughout our careers. Everyone needs to be humble and to be able to bounce back when they have made a mistake.

12: Money alone doesn’t buy you credibility. You need to do your research, plan, and bring in the right level of expertise if you want to be respected in new fields and markets.

Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.

Lesson 20: If you can provide a high-quality product or service at a competitive rate, customers will come to you and you will dominate your marketplace.

Check out this quote.

Lesson 21: The best ideas aren’t necessarily new ideas. Be prepared to take products or services that already exist and rework and improve them for the modern

Lesson 24: People will always try to rain on your parade. Keep your head down, keep working and ignore idle gossip. This is the only way to remain focus and not get bogged down by other people’s negativity.

Lesson 30: No market or business exists in isolation. Be constantly on the look out for ways to collaborate and build relationships that will stand you in good stead in the future.

Lesson 36: Academic awards can enhance your credibility in the commercial world too. The two worlds, though they sometimes can appear to be poles apart, are in fact compatible and have mutual benefits.

Lesson 44: No amount of money makes you immune from personal tragedy. What is important is how you respond when that tragedy strikes.

The final lesson in this book which we should learn from Musk, then, is that what determines success is not your qualifications, where you were born, or how much money you have. Instead, it is how you choose to see the world, your openness to ideas, and how you respond to opportunities and challenges when you are faced with them. No one in this world, not even Elon Musk, goes through life with a completely easy ride. For all of us there are forks in the road, and vital decisions to be made. We must approach these times with confidence and conviction if we are to achieve our goals.