13A Reading Reflection #1

13A - Reading Reflection #1

For this exercise, I decided to read Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance. The thing that surprised me most was that Musk dropped out of Stanford. This surprised me because he prides himself on hard work and determination, so it's weird to think of him quitting. The thing about Elon Musk that I admire most is his tenacity towards each project he embarks on. He is someone who I have been interested in long before this blog post, and I try to keep up with what he is doing. My family owns a Tesla and supports most of his projects, and I look forward to everything else he attempts to accomplish. I appreciate how Musk is able to push the boundaries to new levels that nobody else has been able to before. However, the thing that I least admire about him is that sometimes he does not know when to stop. Musk will do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals, which can be a good and bad thing. One of the biggest ways he faced adversity in his life was when he was younger, because he would get bullied a lot. However, I think he definitely pushed through and showed everyone who is boss since he is now a billionaire. 

I believe that Elon Musk is one of the smartest men in the world, and that he will most definitely go down in history for all he is doing. He thinks outside of the box and focuses on what is going to be happening 10 years from now instead of focusing on the present.

I did not believe there was much that was confusing about this reading, however the one thing I did not understand is why Musk decided to step down from PayPal. He had a really good gig going and then just stopped pursuing it. However, it is hard to question his judgement on that decision when you see how far he has come since then. 

1. How do you divide up the time to spend on each of your companies and how do you know when to move on to the next project?

2. Since you are in charge of so many different projects and are constantly working, how much sleep do you get at night?

I think that Elon Musk's middle name is hard work. Tenacity and determination is what he values most about himself and what he values about his employees as well. He refuses to give up on what he believes in, even when the people he cares about most tell him that he can't accomplish it. I feel like I have this mindset to an extent, however, I am still not to the point in my life where I do not doubt myself anymore.