Success secrets from Elon Musk

Elon Musk didn't go into business wishing to build a vast fortune (though he has), he went into business wishing to change the course of humanity. He has transformed three different industries through his ventures. He is responsible for PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and continues to push the envelope in all he does. How does a person reach such heights? While you may not have a photographic memory, or have the ability to develop and sell a video game at age 12, here are some of his success secrets that can help you achieve your goals in your chosen field. 

1. APPLY CRITICAL THINKING TO WHAT ONE IS DOING

Musk says that people so often fail to apply the fundamentals of logic which is a huge mistake. He goes on to say that wishful thinking is innate in the human brain, and that this is the most common flaw.

2. LIKE WHAT YOU'RE DOING

Regardless of your chosen field, you will more than likely experiences countless failures, hardships, and set backs before reaching success, because of this, it is important to like what you're doing enough to stick through these issues to eventually reach your goal. Elon stresses this as in his own words, "Life is too short to do something you don't enjoy.

3. WORK "SUPER HARD"

This means doing things that others in your field will not. Work 7 days a week, night and day. Expect 80-100 hour work weeks, every week. This drastically increases your chances for success. Even if you are only able to do the same tasks as the average person working a 40 hour work week, with this work ethic you will achieve in four months what they achieve in a year. 

4. INNOVATE

When you think of what made PayPal or Tesla Motors so revolutionary, it certainly wasn't small changes to current way those fields currently did things. It was because the change was significant. The realization you have to make is that incremental change doesn't mean anything. If it was between a trusted brand, and a new brand that was slightly better, you would more than likely buy the trusted brand. This will always be the case unless there is a significant difference that causes your product, idea, or business to shake up the way things are currently being done.

5. SEEK NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

One of the most important features that separates a successful individual from an average one is their ability to grow from negative feedback. People so often fall into the pattern of hiding from criticism that they lose the opportunity to grow from it. You should always take the approach that you're wrong, and that you need to be LESS wrong. Seek out those who you know will give you honest feedback and remove the "yes men".

6. DON'T EVER GIVE UP

When SpaceX failed the first four times to launch, Elon knew that if the fifth launch failed, SpaceX would be dead. Most people when prevented with this kind of situation would give up. Elon on the other hand, started SpaceX with the mindset that he would be losing money, and that was perfectly fine as long as it helped him achieve his goal of helping change the course of humanity. He pushed on and succeeded on the fifth attempt. When asked if he ever thought about giving up, he replied, "No. Giving up is never an option for me. For me to give up, I would need to be dead or completely incapacitated." This is the mindset you must have when presented with failure. So often we see failure as an end and chose to move on to the next stage of our life. Instead of giving up, you MUST push past these failures, take the lessons they give you, and continue on until you meet your goals.