Elon Musk's Ultimate Advice for Students & College Grads - HOW TO SUCCEED IN LIFE
Here’s a summary of Elon Musk’s advice for students and college grads:
- **Job Application and Entrepreneurship** (00:07): Musk advises applying for jobs at companies like Tesla, SpaceX, or SolarCity. If that fails, consider other companies in the same field or starting your own venture, especially if you have engineering skills.
- **Thinking with First Principles** (01:23): Musk recommends using first principles thinking rather than following trends. This involves breaking down problems to their fundamental truths and reasoning up from there, which is a method used in physics and beneficial for innovation.
- **Handling Fear and Risk** (02:58, 03:29): Musk acknowledges experiencing fear but emphasizes overcoming it if the mission is important. He also advises young people to be less risk-averse since there is usually less at stake early in their careers.
- **Education and Learning** (04:49): Musk criticizes conventional education for being inefficient and suggests gamifying learning to make it more engaging. He stresses the importance of advancing knowledge and consciousness.
- **Vision for the Future** (06:10, 07:34): Musk’s driving motivation is to ensure a positive future by advancing sustainable energy and space exploration. He sees exploration as a core American value and believes in making life multi-planetary as a continuation of human exploration.
Key Insights
- 🏑 Musk suggests that college graduates should consider applying for jobs at companies like SolarCity, Tesla, or SpaceX or starting their own ventures in similar fields.
- 🤔 Thinking from first principles, rather than following trends, is important in order to come up with truly innovative ideas.
- 😮 Musk's surprise at his own success highlights the unpredictable nature of life and the value of taking risks.
- 😨 Fear can be overcome by focusing on the importance of what one is doing.
- ✳️ People should be less risk-averse, especially when they have less at stake.
- 🎓 Conventional education can be improved by making it more interactive and engaging.
- ❓ Musk believes that advancing knowledge and expanding consciousness are crucial for human progress.
