ENT 27A- Reading reflection 3

Entrepreneur I chose from the list: Elon Musk

1      What surprised me the most about Elon Musk was that he dropped out of school very shortly after returning to acquire (Or so he thought) a PhD in physics. Musk had a passion for learning, as many entrepreneurs do, and was very passionate about physics. So for me, I was surprised to learn that he didn’t stick around to learn as much as he could about physics. I most admire Musk’s personal growth and attitude. He is a very humble man, and genuinely wants to further advance the planet technologically. He started with one company, which then grew into a crazy successful business which we know as PayPal, and then he branched off to create tesla and SpaceX. He was never satisfied in his work and kept pursuing new opportunities as they appeared. What I least admired about Elon Musk was sometimes he would get frustrated while in business meetings and literally storm out of the room. As much of a non-big deal as this seems, I honestly couldn’t find anything else about him that I didn’t admire. He seems like a very down to earth and highly intelligent man. Musk encountered some minor failures but for the most part he was overall a very successful person. When he did face failure, he would do what any good entrepreneur would and learn from it to better himself and his future endeavors.

2      Apart from being naturally extremely intelligent, Musk’s core competencies were his ability to think outside the box and to pursue and idea when it popped into his head. Ideas such as tesla and SpaceX were spur of the moment ideas that turned into real world successful businesses. Of course, his determination and strong work ethic didn’t hurt either.

3      One part of the reading that was confusing to me was when they described musk’s lesser well known businesses that had to do with solar panels and other energy sources. It was unclear at times whether these were existing companies, future companies that Musk wanted to create, or simply just ideas that were food for thought. I ended up googling this information after reading the book to see if these companies existed and what they were all about.

4      I would ask how he transitioned from an idea to a reality with his companies. It is one thing to think that building rockets and space technology would be cool but then to actually do it is astounding to me. It seems like a monstrous task to take on. Another question would be whether he believes a college education is necessary. I have heard him express his views on college education and how he doesn’t believe it is a good indicator of anything important and is overall unnecessary to being successful. It would be interesting to hear his perspective.

5      I think that Elon believes that hard work is vital. He wouldn’t be where he was today if it weren’t for hard work, nor would many great entrepreneurs that the world has seen. Hard work is the key to success and making dreams a reality. And yes, I do share this same opinon.