From his early role at PayPal to DOGE, Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, and more, Elon Musk is certainly everywhere, all at once. Add to his success story his purchase of X and the rise of Grok in the world of AI, and it’s easy to see why Musk is one of the most important and most powerful individuals on the planet.
While there is a lot you can say about Musk politically as of late, it’s something that you often have to overlook in order to get the truth that he’s also a titan of business for a great many reasons. It’s these reasons that can make his advice so important for a 40-something to hear.
1. “If the rules are such that you can’t make progress, then you have to fight the rules.”
Elon Musk knows a little something about breaking the rules.
It’s hard to imagine a more Elon Musk quote than this one, considering he is someone who seemingly makes up the rules as he goes. While it’s hard to argue that every 40-something should follow the same advice, the overarching theme of this quote remains true in that if you can’t push past a ceiling, you have to figure out how to bust through it.
2. “Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”
There is something to be said about Elon’s view on failure.
The reality of this quote is one that Musk knows all too well, as his companies have often seen big challenges that might have otherwise crushed other names. If you’re a 40-something, this should serve as a reminder that failure is okay, but what’s more important is that you keep trying until you push past the failure with something that succeeds.
3. “Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.”
Elon wouldn’t be where he is without persistence.
Building on Musk’s belief that failure isn’t an option, this serves as a reminder not to give up, as you can learn to accomplish anything you set your mind to. You might have to work at something, which is the persistence side of this quote, but you have to work hard if you want to achieve big things.
4. “When something is important enough, you do it, even if the odds are not in your favor.”
The odds won’t always be in your favor, says Elon, but that’s not a reason to stop.
There’s a consistent theme in Elon’s quotes that any 40-something should consider: if you want to achieve something, you must figure out how to do it, regardless of the odds. While your success might not match that of Musk’s, everyone wants to achieve something in life, no matter their age.
5. “Always take the position that you are to some degree wrong, and your goal is to be less wrong over time.”
It’s okay to be wrong, but you have to be less wrong over time.
It’s easy to make this claim when you are Elon Musk and the world’s first or second-wealthiest person, but it’s true for everyone. Musk has faced plenty of adversity with his ideas in his life, and this is especially true with SpaceX, where they had to continually refine their concepts to make their rockets work, which is a strong example for every 40-something.
6. “In order to make the right decisions, you have to understand something. If you don’t understand something at a detailed level, you cannot make a decision.”
It’s important to deeply understand whatever you are working on.
This might seem like just another deep thought from the mind of Elon Musk, but it’s an important one all the same. Understanding what you are doing, whether it’s in life or work, is critical. You can’t just go through life not knowing the details of what you are doing; otherwise, you end up a rudderless ship just floating in the middle of nowhere, stuck forever.
7. “It’s OK to have your eggs in one basket, as long as you control what happens to that basket.”
Elon knows all about not putting your eggs into one basket.
At the end of the day, Musk knows that it’s okay to go all-in on one idea, but to do so, you have to make sure you have full control over what is happening. For a 40-something who might see whatever they are doing as a last-chance to make it big, controlling everything in a basket is arguably the key to success or failure, and this can be a hard truth to swallow for many people.
8. “There are just times when something is important enough, and you believe in it enough, that you do it in spite of the fear.”
Part of winning is doing, says Elon.
Can you imagine a world in which Elon Musk decided to stop working on some of his biggest projects out of fear? We might not know Tesla as the world’s most successful electric vehicle brand or SpaceX as the support system for going into space. The same rule of thumb applies to everyone reading this quote in that fear is natural, but it shouldn’t be a barrier that causes you to stop.
9. “Life needs to be more than just solving everyday problems. You need to wake up and be excited about the future.”
Elon remains excited about the future of his businesses.
I don’t even want to try to imagine waking up without being excited about my day, even so, it’s a reality for so many. You don’t have to necessarily love your job, but you have to find something in your life at 40 that you can get up in the morning and be excited about, as it’s the only way to truly live.
10. “Great companies are built on great products. When the product starts to become shoddy and uncompetitive, so does the company.”
Tesla is already the best EV on the market and is likely to continue being so.
Let’s assume for a moment you are looking to enter a new phase in your life at 40-something as an entrepreneur. First of all, congratulations, as it’s a big step, but the other side of this is that you can’t just want to be great, you have to be doing something great, according to Musk, and he’s definitely not wrong. If you have watched just one episode of Shark Tank, you know Musk is 100% correct.
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