Reading Reflection No. 1

I chose to read the autobiography on the life of Elon Musk. His entrepreneurial journey has intrigued me since my freshman year of high school. I have followed his story since to keep up to update with what he will be doing with Tesla, SpaceX, Boring Company, etc. 

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most?

What surprised me to the most about Elon Musk was his decision not to eat proper meals nor have set time aside for lunch time during work hours. For someone as busy and important as him, I feel like that little time he has to himself would be valued greatly for his mental health and stability. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

What I admired about Elon is his drive to succeed at whatever he chooses to do. He sets my mind on a goal or idea that could be wilding unpopular and unlikely to succeed such as Tesla and SpaceX and pushes forward. His aggressive mentality around setting high goals and benchmarks in order to get the most done shows how willingness and ambiguous he is about his projects.

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

What I least admired about Elon was his treatment of employees. Although not clearly stated, Elon has the reputation of working his employees to the limit and pushing them to complete the deadlines he has set for his companies. I believe that the long harsh hours make working for Tesla, SpaceX, or any of his companies difficult long-term.

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Although it wasn’t directly mentioned, Elon has countered adversity and failure in aspects outside of business. With the mindset to continuously strive for greatness, Elon lacks in emotional relationship or work-life balance. His unsuccessful marriage is the biggest evidence of this weakness. This example highlights how entrepreneurs like him do suffer greatly in trying to maintain their relationships outside of work because of the heavy time commitments. Now, Elon sets time aside on the weekends for his kids and other various activities for himself to enjoy. 

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

Along with his brilliant intelligence and high drive to succeed, Elon Musk exhibits a hands-on mentality with his companies. He helps design the cars Tesla plans to make as well as meets with the design teams for SpaceX. Elon wants to be in the know-of-all his companies’ plans. I believe as an entrepreneur this quality is helpful because you know what the problem is quicker and can be more connected with your employees.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I found it confusing in the reading how the transitions from a biography summarization of his life to actual interview parts. I don’t think the book combined to two aspects well.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

I would ask Elon Musk:

When do you think we will be able to colonize Mars?

I asked that to see what his updated plan projection and time frame would be.

Will you please bring a Boring Tunnel system to Gainesville?

I asked that to help fix our game-days and rush hour traffic situations.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I think Elon Musk’s opinion of hard work is the relentless grind of completing goals, while also setting more goals so you never have a reason to slow down.