The South African-born Elon Musk has always been an iconic personality; I have even mentioned him here and there. Lately, he has been in the spotlight especially because he is now the richest man in the world. His net worth is now around US$190 billion. In barely a year his net worth surged by US$125.7 billion – quite a remarkable feat. Elon Musk has several companies, Tesla being one of them. Tesla’s market valuation is now over half a trillion US dollars. When you combine the other nine top car manufacturing companies their market valuation reaches just over US$480 billion. This still is less than the market valuation of Tesla – again quite remarkable! In this article I look at some Elon Musk quotes that might interest you.

Employee Engagement

One of the greatest secrets to top-notch employee engagement is best summarized in something Elon Musk once said: “People work better when they know what the goal is and why.” Often entrepreneurs simply make their employees work without a clear sense of the what and why. No wonder employees become sloppy and complacent because they will be unmotivated and uninspired.

As an employee have you ever thought of how you can get a salary increment fast? Well, Elon Musk has a suggestion for you: “If you do a 3-hour task in 1 hour, do not report it to your boss. He will just give you more work. Instead, use those 2 hours to document your process and figure out how much money would the company save for that time. (Time = money). Then ask your boss for a raise and even a bonus to give him the process you created.” Tricky but it is worth a shot.

On Academic Qualifications…

Elon Musk has said quite a lot about the issue of academic qualifications. He once said, “I do not have an aerospace degree. I have read a lot of books and talk to a lot of smart people and have a great team.” That quote also speaks of the importance of networking with smart people and having a great team in entrepreneurship. Here is something he also said, “You do not need college to learn stuff. OK. Everything is available basically for free. You can learn anything you want for free. It is not a question of learning. So I think colleges are basically for fun and to prove you could do your chores.”

That is quite a radical standpoint but it does have its merits. He has also said, “I hate when people confuse education with intelligence, you can have a bachelor’s degree and still be an idiot”. Sure enough, certain areas require someone to undergo academic training but most do not. He is also one of the global billionaires that have sharply criticised the efficacy of MBAs. Elon Musk says, “As much as possible, avoid hiring MBAs. MBA programs do not teach people how to create companies. Our position is that we hire someone in spite of an MBA, not because of one.” Peter Theil and Jack Ma are other examples of billionaires who echo Elon Musk’s sentiments.

The Real Purpose For Starting A Company

I know so many people love the idea of just starting businesses or companies. You see people in love with the idea of having multiple businesses or companies under their name. What is the real purpose for creating them though? Elon Musk says, “I do not create companies for the sake of creating companies, but to get things done.” He has also said something closely tied into that. I believe it applies to both entrepreneurs and employees. “You are paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of the problems you solve.”

Vision Is Everything – Attach Yourself To What Really Matters

Do not ever attach yourself to a person, a place, a company, an organization or a project. Attach yourself to a mission, a calling, a purpose only. That is how you keep your power and your peace. It worked pretty well for me this far.” This is something that applies to life in general even more so in entrepreneurship. Why are you passionate about what you are passionate about? Why do you attach yourself to the things you do? All that and more are dealt with in that esoteric quote.

Feeling Like Giving Up Does Happen (Do Not Give In Though)

When people look at global success icons most people think it is always rosy. Well, Elon Musk has gone through his fair share of failures. Several times his attempts to launch reusable rockets into space under his SpaceX company failed dismally. He is of course known for being tenacious but he has had his moments of contemplating giving up. “During the darkest days of the Model 3 program, I reached out to Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla (for 1/10 of our current value). He refused to take the meeting.” To think that Tesla is now the most valuable car manufacturing company on the planet; Tim Cook’s refusal was a blessing in disguise.

The Real Purpose Of Wealth

Elon Musk is quite an interesting personality who seems not to be really after material wealth. His response upon receiving news that he is now the richest man in the world was classical. He simply tweeted, “How strange. Well, back to work.” He also once said, “You should ask why I would want money. The reason is not what you think. Very little time for recreation. Do not have vacation homes or yachts. About half my money is intended to help problems on Earth…” He went to highlight that the other half is for the creation of a self-sustaining city on Mars.

There is so much to talk about when it comes to Elon Musk. I am confident that some of the things I have discussed in this article will inspire you. Always be eager to learn, always!