Reading Reflection 1

  1)  How Elon grew up is what most surprised me about him. He was quiet and reserved. He was often picked on as well. I envisioned him to be a very outgoing individual his whole life prior to reading his book.  I most admired the drive he possess. Not only does he drive innovation and work hard on a daily basis, but when he perceives others are not as driven he lets them know. There is a story in the book about employees not working Saturdays and Elon felt they were getting soft as a company. So not only did he possess personal drive, but he drove others. I least admired the amount of downtime he let himself have. He is such a driven individual he left very little time to unwind. Elon faced difficulties when starting his first company Zip2. The internet was so new people didn’t buy into his concepts right away. Often time his sales staff would being doing a presentation of the product and it would not work properly. Elon overcame this by constantly improving the coding and seeking investors to help get this product where it needed to be.

  2)  Elon was not only hard working, but he had crazy ideas which lead him to innovation. I think one of his best competencies was his ability to imagine an idea, no matter how far out there, and get people to eventually buy into it and create it. 

  3)   The part of the book I found to be confusing is why Elon risked so much of his personal wealth on new ventures. While his ideas were often out there and well ahead of the curve he seemed to find people willing to invest in them. However, he put his personal financial security at risk.

  4)  Question 1: How did you go from such an introverted kid and grow into the type of outgoing    person you are today?

Question 2: How do you overcome all of the doubters when you first start a new venture?

  5)  In my opinion Elon’s idea of work ethic is to commit your life and ever moment to your work. While I am a driven individual, I do not share in that same work ethic as Elon. I believe you have to have balance in life and it’s meant to be enjoyed.