I chose Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance
1) What surprised me the most about Elon Musk was that he was the founder of more than just SpaceX and Tesla. I did not realize that he founded PayPal, and that he sold it for $1.5 billion. Another thing that surprised me was how long he had been working on SpaceX and Tesla. These are things that have really made an impact recently, but I did not hear about them much growing up.
What I admire most about Elon Musk is his ability to bounce back and keep going after failing and being at the bottom. What I admired least about him was how he could get impatient with those that he hired due to his ambition. Elon Musk countless times encountered adversity and failures. He always kept pushing, though, which has lead to some of his greatest creations, including Tesla and SpaceX.
2) Elon Musk exhibits an insane work ethic and overcomes adversity when it is presented to him. He also has the ability to solve basically anything that he comes across.
3) For me, a confusing part of the book was some of Musk's jargon when speaking on things like SpaceX that would go over the ordinary person's head.
4) One question I would ask him would be how soon does he think that electric cars will replace gas vehicles, realistically? I would ask him this because while Elon Musk can be very ambitious and anticipate things before they become true, this is an important problem that needs to be addressed. Another question I would ask him is if he could take a break from everything and do anything he wanted, what it would be. I would ask him this because he is constantly working and does not take breaks or even long vacations in which he addresses in the book.
5) I believe Elon Musk's opinion of hard work is to never give up on anything and to work every day toward what you are passionate about. This is very similar to my opinion on hard work, I believe that everyone should be passionate about what they are working for and always give 100%.
Hi Myles,
ReplyDeleteI liked your post and think you did a good job reflecting on the Elon Musk biography. I also read this biography so I understand where you are coming from on many of your points such as your admiration of Musk's ability to bounce back after failing. Tesla and SpaceX both looked like they were destined to fail at the beginning but Musk overcame adversity to make both projects a success. Lastly, I was also surprised to find out Elon Musk founded PayPal as similarly to you I was unaware Musk was involved.
Hey Myles,
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of crazy how one business was able to give him his start and foundation. All it took was one opportunity, and he captured it when it mattered most. I respect his focus and it does take a lot of work, because there will always be people waiting for him to fall or falter. I guess it is just about knowing yourself and knowing your strength. The weaknesses will come, but it is about how you handle them. I feel like they are meant to come in order to test you. You need to feel that pain in order to overcome it and progress forward.