4 Life Lessons From Tesla’s Elon Musk

Elon Musk became a household name in the contemporary years due to establishing both PayPal and Tesla Motors. It all began in 1971 when he was born in South Africa. After obtaining a Canadian passport in 1988, he left South Africa in search of greater economic opportunities available in the United States. He founded X.com in 1999. This website was later known as PayPal.

He also became the brainchild of both SpaceX (2002) and Tesla Motors (2003). He reaped the fruits of his labor as he became a multi-millionaire in his late 20s when he sold his start-up company – Zip2. With all these achievements on his belt, here are some life lessons that he shared during his past interviews.

#1: PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF

Persistence is very important to success. When he was asked what he was willing to give up towards realizing his dreams, he said: “I am willing to give up everything that others hold dear.” Elon Musk was in the journey for the long haul.

It is difficult for us to measure the limits of what we are capable of. For instance, he experienced serious challenges in 2008 when both SpaceX and Tesla were running out of money. He saw the circumstance as short-term set backs and focused on reducing the costs of launches in SpaceX. At a time when most people had given up in American automotive and aerospace industries, he showed foresight to stay on these industries. He looked to the future with hope and was overly optimistic in most cases.

#2: FOCUS ON THE IMPACT OF YOUR DREAMS

Zip2 was the first company he founded. When he sold it to Compaq, he poured his soul into PayPal. He had enough money to retire into wilderness when eBay bought PayPal. However, he had bigger dreams. He is not here for the quick route, he is here for the long haul. He put about $100 million in Tesla and $70 million in SpaceX. Other found him crazy at that time. He did not care! His vision was clear.

He wanted to prolong the lifespan of humanity by colonizing Mars. He aims to have weekly flights to space when he is in his 50’s. This propels all his enterprises to chase excellence and history. Our dreams may not be as grand as his, but having an end goal you strive for can help motivate you to work towards it.

#3: BECOME YOUR OWN CRITIQUE

“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. I think that’s the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself,” he once said.

Despite accomplishing various things in different industries, he does not stop to reach excellence. He constantly strives to improve himself. This is something we can apply in our daily lives. Whether it be personal or professional life, improving your skills and knowledge can help you become the best version of yourself. Identify certain parts of yourself that you want to improve on and look for resources that can help you with that.

#4: TALENT BEATS NUMBERS

When it comes to hiring employees, talent beats numbers. Entrepreneurs may experience problems when they throw a lot of employees to one building. Not Musk.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

According to him: “It is a mistake to hire huge numbers of people to get a complicated job done. Numbers will never compensate for talent in getting the right answer.” Hiring two people who do not know anything about the job will slow down the progress and cost you more. Instead, hire a person best suited for the job. Do not forget about the person’s character too. It must go hand-in-hand with the talent.

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

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7 Life Lessons From Alibaba’s Jack Ma

YOUR HUMBLE BEGINNINGS WILL SHAPE YOU

On September 10, 1964, Ma Yun or Jack Ma was born. He originated from Hangzhou, southeastern China. He had two other siblings and was not born into a wealthy family. In fact, they did not have much money growing up. Things began to change when President Nixon visited Hangzhou in 1972. Ma’s hometown became a tourist destination. He took advantage of that. As a teenager, Ma offered tours of the city in exchange for English lessons. The nickname “Jack” was given to him by a foreigner that he befriended.

DO NOT QUIT

We all have a “quit switch”. The question is: how soon will you turn it on? For Jack Ma, he saw failures as opportunities to improve himself. After failing the university entrance exam twice, he finally got in on the third try. He attended the Hangzhou Teachers Institute and graduated in 1988.

As soon as he graduated, he started applying to as many jobs as he could. He experienced a dozen rejections before getting hired as an English teacher. Ma was a natural with his students. Despite having a relatively low paycheck, he loved his job. He did not quit!

STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Ma had zero experience with computers and coding, but he was captivated by the Internet. He used it for the first time during a trip to America in 1995. During this time, he started a translation business. His first online search was “beer”. He was surprised that there were no Chinese beers in the results. It was at that moment that he decided to open an Internet company for China.

He was stepping out of his comfort zone and exhausting his resources to his new ventures. He gathered 17 of his friends and convinced them to invest in his vision for an online marketplace he called “Alibaba.” This website allowed exporters to post product listings that customers could buy directly. Soon, Alibaba started to attract members from all over the globe. The rest is history.

MONEY IS A RESPONSIBILITY

Jack Ma is China’s fourth richest person and the 25th richest person in the world. He is worth billions! With this massive amount of wealth, one can simply think that he is happy and content. However, he highlighted that money comes with responsibility.

He once said:

“When I graduated, I earned $20 a month, which was fantastic. When you have one million dollars, you’re a lucky person. When you have 10 million dollars, you’ve got trouble, a lot of headaches. When you have more than one billion dollars, or a hundred million dollars, that’s a responsibility you have—it’s the trust of people on you, because people believe you can spend money better than the others.”

HAVING CONNECTIONS IS NOT THE ONLY WAY TO SUCCESS

Jack Ma did not have a powerful family growing up. He started Alibaba in his apartment with his friends. However, he created opportunities for himself and the people around him. He created a service that is needed by the people and believed that the customers supported their business. Having connections is not the only way to achieve success.

INVEST IN THE YOUTH

Your people is not only your manpower, they play an important part in making your dreams come true. Invest in the youth to make your business happen. Ma said that the “secret here is helping those who want to be successful”. Find people who never give up due to their fierce motivation.

“Help young people. Help small guys. Because small guys will be big. Young people will have the seeds you bury in their minds and when they grow up they will change the world.”

FOCUS ON SOLVING A PROBLEM

It is not always about making profits. Focus on solving a problem that many people face. You build a business to make money. However, money should not be your sole reason to provide service. Alibaba was born with the idea of empowering people online, which allowed it to grow.

Image credits: unsplash.com

Sources: 1 & 2

 

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6 Things You Can Learn About Money From Professor X-Perience

“Who is Professor X-Perience?”, you may ask. It is a persona that I created to embody our experiences.

Our experiences consist of  the overall process of sensing and doing things. As far as I know, not everything can be learned from the pages of the book! Exploring the world with your own eyes gives you the most valuable lessons about money.

On that note, here are some of the financial realizations that came from my experiences:

1. GIVE AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE

Whether you want to admit it or not, it is rare that we receive something without doing anything. This statement does not only pertain to finances as it can be applied to other areas in life like opportunities and friendships. If you want to increase the perceived value of what you receive, you must give it out first.

Why is this so? I realized that you reap what you sow. Almost everything that happened to me was a result of my actions. I was able to enjoy an overseas trip because I worked for extra hours and saved up for it.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Image Credits: pixabay.com

2. EARN YOUR MONEY HARD

Since you worked hard for your money, you must spend it wisely.

I never saw the true value of money until I had my first full-time job. When I was younger, I spent my part-time pay on shoes, clothes, tickets, and other materialistic things. The feeling of satisfaction was short-lived as these things are superficial. Nowadays, I spend my money on long-term investments.

Being independent with my finances made me realize how important it is to practice budgeting and tracking your expenses.

3. DO PRIOR RESEARCH

Days before a job interview, I make it a point to do prior research regarding the company and the position that I am applying for. Make your way into the basics such as the company’s mission and vision as well as the position’s duties and objectives. Then, dig deep into the issue that is rarely spoken in our Asian culture – the salary. Be prepared to provide a salary range.

Spend a substantial amount of time in finding out the average salaries for similar jobs in your particular field. Websites such as salary.sg, hudson.sg, and payscale.com are helpful for this task.

4. EXPLORE DIFFERENT JOBS

Some people are so creative that they cannot be confined in a cubicle. If you are one of them, do not limit yourself to the 9-5 PM office jobs. Learn to explore other opportunities such as working online.

Saying that Internet changed our generation is an understatement. Personally, it influences my bread and butter. I am freelance writer that is able to choose from a variety of markets. And, you can too.

You can write for online or print media that go beyond magazines and newspapers. Setting up your own website or blog is also doable. Furthermore, book publishers are always searching for the next big thing. They are in need of people to write their marketing letters, announcements, e-books, and more. An ambitious scribe may dive in to freelancing and get its profits. Note that training, skill, and experience affects your rates.

5. REWARD YOURSELF RESPONSIBLY

According to studies by Behavioral Psychologists, positive reinforcements motivate people to work more. I support these studies as I savor rewards after a long month of work.

Rewarding yourself with a responsible amount of 5-8% of your monthly salary is recommended. Find interests outside of your job such as painting, dancing, yoga, or cooking to ease your daily stress. Also, rewarding yourself with a hobby is a good way to keep you motivated.

6. KEEP YOUR COOL

When faced with embarrassing money-related situations, it is best to keep your cool.

I was working as an administrative officer at a fitness studio a few years back. A rising Hollywood celebrity came to pay but her credit cards got declined. She was furious at me and gave her debit card instead. Thankfully, the transaction was successful.

You can handle this situation better by being calm. Talk to the personnel privately and arrange an alternative form of payment. Consider going to the nearest ATM to withdraw some cash.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Comment down below to share your own experiences with money.

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