Some of you are impressed with the amount of money he’s able to generate. Some are with how smart and innovative he is. And some others, perhaps, are with the women standing beside him. Or if you’re like us, it’s all the above.
Elon Musk is the closest thing we have to limitless being. He wanted to have online payment, he co-created PayPal. He wants to go to space, he created SpaceX. He wants to make the world a better place, he made an electric car and established a solar panel company. He sets his mind on something and he does it.
Is it simply because he’s Elon Musk? Or is there something you can do to follow his path of greatness? We believe in the latter. And that’s why we come up with 14 ways to be limitless like Elon Musk. If you’re thinking, “No way, that’s impossible.”, that the first red flag you need to work on. Stop limiting yourself. Open your mind!
Think of the unthinkable.
Sounds semantically nonsense, we know, but this is the first thing you need to do to be limitless. Stop thinking like most people. Try to put yourself out of the ordinary box.
Elon is unique because he thinks uniquely. He is not a sheep who follows his herd. He is different, and he doesn’t mind being so.
So, next time your brain is telling you “no way”, don’t look away. Instead, follow that train of thoughts and let it amazes you.
Spend more time alone with yourself.
One of the first things people would notice from being around Elon is how much time he spends on thinking. He would sit alone and just let his mind wanders as if he’s not there.
Of course, it’s good to go out and hang out with people. But you should take some time alone and allow your brain to explore its corners sometimes. Let your brain works!
You can start by scheduling a quality “me-time” every day to do what you like by yourself. Read a book, solve a puzzle, listen to classical music or anything that would help you think deeper. Anyone up for some Bach “Prelude in C Major”?
Don’t just think. Do.
Elon might not be the smartest person on earth right now, but he is arguably the one achieving the most. There are many smart people and smart thinkers in this world, but unfortunately, not all of them are doing something significant. It’s not enough to just think and come up with brilliant ideas. What matters is that you do something to make that idea real.
Elon does not just think. He engineers. Be like Elon.
Keep going even when you’re surrounded by doubts.
Do you know how many times Elon was told “no”? And do you also know how many people out there despising what he does?
Many.
But those don’t stop him from keep going.
Even when he was facing bankruptcy, he did not stop. Let alone coward, negative people telling him that his idea is mad. Believe in yourself. If you think you can make it happen, do it. Don’t let doubt stop you from trying.
Surround yourself with positive people.
Dealing with doubts can be exhausting. So, to make sure you don’t have to deal with them every freaking time, cut ties with sources of doubts.
If you have that one friend who keeps telling you “I’m not sure if you can do it”, CUT. THEM. LOOSE. Because they cannot be a positive influence in your life and you don’t need that on your path to greatness.
Surround yourself with positive people. Befriend smart, enthusiastic people. Work together with like-minded people you cross path with. Elon is not working alone. He surrounds himself with people who can help him achieve his goals.
Have a good support system.
We are human after all. And sometimes, we would reach some of the lowest points of our lives. This is where a good support system comes in handy.
It can be your family, friends, coworkers, anyone you trust the most. Get them behind you and let them be your safety net. Although, we should remind you not to be dependent on them.
Elon’s family, even his ex-wives, have been supportive of his work. His proud mom who is still rocking the fashion industry takes her time to follow his work. And his brother was one of the first people he started his early work with. See that’s the best teamwork.
Stop chasing women.
Oh, boys, we know how your brain works. But little do you know that what you need to chase is a success. Because once you’re there, women will chase you instead of the other way around.
Even though he has two ex-wives, Justine Wilson and Talulah Riley, Elon didn’t spend too much time chasing them. In one of the interviews for his biography, he said he’s not considering having a girlfriend because he simply didn’t have time for them.
So, boys, let the perfect woman comes to you. Don’t chase the same popular fish everyone is aiming for. Be special and you will get your someone special.
Sleepless.
We are all guilty of oversleeping especially on weekends. That is something you should work on. Elon does not sleep much. He puts his work as the top priority. Some days, he would only sleep for a couple of hours at his office. Some other days, he wouldn’t sleep at all. Well, you don’t have to pull all-nighters. Just have enough sleep.
The study says we need only five to six hours of sleep every day. So, start setting your alarm clock before you go to bed now.
Be ruthless when necessary.
If you’ve been following Elon’s work, you’ve probably heard of complaints from his former employees about how he would fire them even though they have been so loyal to him. Well, guess what, loyalty will not get you anywhere unless it comes with productivity.
From Elon’s point of view, it was necessary to do to keep the company going. Remember, he was facing bankruptcy. Besides, it’s not good to have an unproductive employee, even if it’s only one of them. Unproductivity is contagious. One lazy A person can drag the whole group down.
Be passionate about what you do.
Did you watch the first SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch? Besides the rocket boosters landing, another thing that gave us goosebumps was Elon’s proud face as he watched it took off. The passion in his eyes was real and that is what matters.
When you love what you do, achieving your goals is no longer a chore, but it’s a mission to fulfill your satisfaction, your dream.
So, stop for a minute and think of what you’re doing in life. Is that something you want to do? Do you enjoy the process? Are you passionate about it?
Have a mission.
Whether it is to make the world a better place or to start a colony on Mars, you should find your mission. It will be something to keep fueling your work and just make everything worth doing.
Behind SpaceX is Elon’s mission to make space travel achievable for regular people. So even though this company is draining his bank account, he will NOT stop. It is for a greater good. It is for a great mission.
Have fun.
Enjoying what you are doing is important to keep you going. When you’re stuck, don’t quit. Just take a break and enjoy the moment. Not too long, though, or else your break will soon turn into procrastination.
Elon’s work with Tesla and SpaceX can be draining. So what would he do? He started a fun company called The Boring Company. And what does this company do? Manufacturing things like flame throwers. Yup, you heard that right. Take a look at how happy Elon is playing with his flame thrower. He’s 47 years old, but he still has fun like a 15-year-old.
Never stop learning.
The world keeps growing. More things are being discovered and invented. If you don’t keep up with this, your business, project, or whatever you’re working on will grow old and die.
So, never limit your knowledge. Read books, follow TED talks, seminars, symposiums, anything that will feed your brain. You don’t necessarily have to follow each public figure on Instagram, though. Choose wisely.
See far ahead into the future.
The best way not to exhaust yourself in chasing the world is to be a few steps ahead of it. Elon’s SpaceX is achieving so much because he has this vision of starting a colony on Mars since decades ago. While most people are still debating about how the earth is round or flat, Elon is thinking about how to make Mars livable for humans.
Next time you have your quality “me-time”, try to think decades ahead and imagine the world you want to live in and figure out what YOU can contribute to making it happen.
‘Nuff said. Let’s get to work, people!
Share your brilliant stories and ideas in the comment section. We’d love to hear from you!