Elon Musk - born in South Africa, a programmer since the age of 12, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal, the CEO of Tesla Motors, and the founder of SpaceX.
Elon aims to create a sustainable human colony on Mars in his lifetime. His ambitious vision includes a reusable rocket booster, a public transportation system, and other devices that could revolutionize transportation here on Earth.
While many childhood friends went on to study finance or medicine, he would go on to become one of the most innovative minds of our time. In his own words he would go on to say "I just like solving problems" and that he believes that it is fundamentally good to improve
other people's lives.
Here are some of Elon Musk’s quotes that have been a source of inspiration to entrepreneurs around the world:
1. “It’s OK to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket.” – Elon Musk
2. “If you’re co-founder or CEO, you have to do all kinds of tasks you might not want to do… If you don’t do your chores, the company won’t succeed… No task is too menial.” – Elon Musk
3. “I would just question things… It would infuriate my parents… That I wouldn’t just believe them when they said something ’cause I’d ask them why. And then I’d consider whether that response made sense given everything else I knew.” – Elon Musk
4. “Great companies are built on great products.” ― Elon Musk
5. “If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.” ― Elon Musk
6. “When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars, people said, ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse?’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.” – Elon Musk
7. “Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive, and determination of the people behind it as the product they sell.” – Elon Musk
8. I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary. ― Elon Musk
9. “If you need inspiring words, don’t do it.” ― Elon Musk
10. “Good ideas are always crazy until they’re not.” ― Elon Musk
11. “My biggest mistake is probably weighing too much on someone’s talent and not someone’s personality. I think it matters whether someone has a good heart.” – Elon Musk
12. “I don’t spend time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my
time-solving engineering and manufacturing problems.” – Elon Musk
13. “I wouldn’t say I have a lack of fear. In fact, I’d like my fear emotion to be
less because it’s very distracting and fries my nervous system.” – Elon Musk
14. “Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.” – Elon Musk
15. People work better when they know what the goal is and why. It is important that people look forward to coming to work in the morning and enjoy working. – Elon Musk
16. “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk
17. “If something has to be designed and invented, and you have to figure out how to ensure that the value of the thing you create is greater than the cost of the inputs, then that is probably my core skill.” – Elon Musk
18. Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough. – Elon Musk
19. “Don’t confuse schooling with education. I didn’t go to Harvard but the people that work for me did.” – Elon Musk
20. When I was in college, I wanted to be involved in things that would change the world. Now I am. – Elon Musk
21. “Rockets are cool. There’s no getting around that.” – Elon Musk
22. “I think 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.” – Elon Musk
23. I think we have a duty to maintain the light of consciousness to make sure it continues into the future. – Elon Musk
24. “Your Will is the most accurate way to predict the future.” ― Elon Musk
25. [When asked about three consecutive failures at SpaceX] Never. I don’t ever give up. I’d have to be dead or completely incapacitated. ― Elon Musk
26. “I don’t believe in process. In fact, when I interview a potential employee and he or she says that ‘it’s all about the process,’ I see that as a bad sign. The problem is that at a lot of big companies, the process becomes a substitute for thinking. You’re encouraged to behave like a little gear in a complex machine. Frankly, it allows you to keep people who aren’t that smart, who aren’t that creative.” – Elon Musk
27. Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is a disaster. – Elon Musk
28. “As much as possible, avoid hiring MBAs. MBA programs don’t teach people how to create companies.” – Elon Musk
29. “People work better when they know what the goal is and why. It is important that people look forward to coming to work in the morning and enjoy working.” – Elon Musk
30. Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive and determination of the people who do it as it is about the product they sell. ― Elon Musk
31. I think it [colonizing mars] would be the most inspiring thing that I can possibly imagine. Life needs to be more than just solving problems every day. You need to wake up and be excited about the future, and be inspired, and want to live. ― Elon Musk
32. “Take risks now and do something bold. You won’t regret it.”― Elon Musk
33. “If the rules are such that you can’t make progress, then you have to fight the rules.” ― Elon Musk
34. “Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time. Sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind. But brand is simply a collective impression some have about a product.” – Elon Musk
35. “When somebody has a breakthrough innovation, it is rarely one little thing. Very rarely, is it one little thing. It’s usually a whole bunch of things that collectively amount to a huge innovation.” – Elon Musk
36. “There are really two things that have to occur in order for a new technology to be affordable to the mass market. One is you need economies of scale. The other is you need to iterate on the design. You need to go through a few versions.” – Elon Musk
37. “You have to be pretty driven to make it happen. Otherwise, you will just make yourself miserable.” ― Elon Musk
38. “I could either watch it happen or be a part of it.” ― Elon Musk
39. “I don’t create companies for the sake of creating companies, but to get things done.” – Elon Musk
40. “If you’re trying to create a company, it’s like baking a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion.” – Elon Musk
41. “Constantly think about how you could be doing things better and keep questioning yourself.” ― Elon Musk
42. “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 (two people who don’t know something are no better than one), will tend to slow down progress, and will make the task incredibly expensive.” – Elon Musk
43. “You have to say, ‘Well, why did it succeed where others did not?'” – Elon Musk
44. “Work like hell. I mean you just have to put in 80 to 100 hour weeks every week. [This] improves the odds of success. If other people are putting in 40 hour workweeks and you’re putting in 100 hour workweeks, then even if you’re doing the same thing, you know that you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve.” – Elon Musk
45. “I always invest my own money in the companies that I create. I don’t believe in the whole thing of just using other people’s money. I don’t think that’s right. I’m not going to ask other people to invest in something if I’m not prepared to do so myself.” – Elon Musk
46. “Too many people confuse being rich or famous with being a leader. Wealth and fame are byproducts, not qualifications to lead.” – Simon Sinek
47. “We are not victims of our situation. We are the architects of it.” – Simon Sinek
48. “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” – Simon Sinek
49. “And it's those who start with why, that have the ability to inspire those around them or find others who inspire them.” - Simon Sinek
50. There is a difference between working together and working in the same office. – Simon Sinek
Now that you’ve been inspired by all of these Simon Sinek quotes, Are you ready to start your business? Or check out these more powerful insights.
Starting a business in an emerging market such as Botswana can be exciting. Looking for information, knowing where to start can be a challenge. We understand that. We’re here to empower you with the tools need to start, grow and lead in the Botswana market.
