9 Success Rules Elon Musk Used to Become the Real Iron Man

From a bullied kid in South Africa to the real Iron Man

A little over 49 years ago — on the 28th of June of 1971 — the real Iron Man was born.

Unlike what Hollywood tries to have you believe, Iron Man wasn’t born in New York. He wasn’t born in any of the states of the United States. He doesn’t speak as well as Robert Downy, Jr, and his name isn’t Tony Stark. His real name is Elon — Elon Musk.

But Elon Musk wasn’t born as Iron Man.

He didn’t become that until later in his life, after moving from his home country to avoid mandatory service in the South African Military. Then, moving from Canada to America after obtaining his Canadian citizenship.

The internet boomed when Elon Musk moved to Stanford University to study for a Ph.D. in energy physics.

He saw potential there that most entrepreneurs ignored at the time. And after just two days at Stanford, Elon Musk dropped out — to join the internet — and make history. And that he did.

Elon Musk’s Success Rules to Become a Real-Life Robot

In, 1995 Elon Musk and his brother Kimbal founded his first company, Zip2 Corporation (an online city guide).

The company later was sold for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock options to a division of Compaq Computer Corporation. Fast forward a couple of years later — in 1999 — Elon Musk and his brother founded X.com that later led to the creation of PayPal.

In 2002, Elon completed his transformation to Iron Man and revealed his real intentions of conquering space, and became the Elon Musk we know today. Because in that year, he founded SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies), intending to build spacecraft for commercial space travel.

Elon Musk made history when SpaceX launched Falcon 9 rocket into space with an unmanned-capsule. It became the first time in history that a private company had sent a spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Chill out, Elon:

Sheesh, give me a break. I got tired of writing about his successes. And still, I haven’t talked about Tesla, The Boring Company, or Neuralink.

Perhaps reading about Elon Musk’s success overwhelmed you as well. How can someone achieve so much? How did this awkward kid grew up to create and do things no one before him did? How did he become the real Iron Man?

To know that we must go back to his childhood when Elon Musk was just a kid in a town in South Africa. A kid who was bullied often because of his differences. Back when he was a young boy who daydreamed about inventions so much that his parents and doctors had to order a test to check his hearing.

Because there are rules — success rules — he used and played by to achieve this tremendous success. Success rules, that if almost anyone played by or followed, will achieve outrageous success as well.

1. Continuous Learning (Self-Learning)

When Elon Musk was a young boy, he was the definition of a book worm. He was always reading.

His young brother Kimbal even claimed that when Elon Musk was in school, he was able to read 10 hours a day! He used to do this on weekdays. But on weekends, he was able to finish two books in one day — another exclamation point! — and he read all the books in his neighborhood library and at school.

He even went to the librarian and tried to convince him to buy more books. The librarian tried to get rid of this awkward kid and figured to give him a book that will get him off for a while. He was probably hoping he would never see him again. He gave him Britannica — the massive encyclopedia — and Elon Musk read all of it. He even liked it.

After reading so much and acquiring so much knowledge, Elon became a walking encyclopedia himself.

Since he was a kid and until today, Elon Musk never stopped learning. He would learn whenever he can. He even learned rocket science by himself by reading textbooks and talking to industry experts.

This hunger for learning is one of the essential success rules Elon Musk followed. He knew that there is always more things to learn. He never let his curiosity take a break.

I believe we should all strive for that.

2. Persevere, Persevere, Persevere

When Elon Musk was asked, in an interview he had with 60 Minutes about SpaceX failed launching-attempts — three failures in a row — and whether he thought of packing things in, he responded with, “Never… I don’t ever give up.”

He failed in front of the whole world, with millions of eyes watching, but he never let that stop him or slow him down. He knew what he wanted, and he worked hard at it.

He didn’t mind the outside noise, the critics, or the doubters. He just kept at it.

With every failure, he improved. After the horrific failed attempts and when the company was about to go bankrupt, on the 28th of September of 2008, Falcon 1 launched successfully for the first time and became the first-ever privately developed liquid-fuel rocket to reach Earth’s orbit.

If Elon Musk had given up after the first failure or the second, he wouldn’t have succeeded. He wouldn’t have made history. He wouldn’t have become the real Iron Man.

Elon taught us that through perseverance, almost anything is possible.

3. Like What You Do

“If you don’t like it, life’s too short.” — Elon Musk

This success rule is a crucial rule of Elon Musk’s success. Because he wouldn’t probably work half as hard as he does if he was doing something he didn’t like to do.

This goes the same for us. Unfortunately, most people don’t like what they do for a living, but they do it anyway. Because they need to pay rent, they have debt, and have kids, and… that’s why they don’t end up doing something remarkable.

That’s why they can’t reach the level of success people like Elon Musk do reach. Because they don’t like what they’re doing, and they don’t think about it when they are not working. They don’t spend a ridiculous amount of time learning more about it. They don’t obsess over it day and night.

If you have a chance — any fraction of possibility — to do what you like, pursue it to make it a reality.

4. Take Risks, Then Take Some More

The thing entrepreneurs hear all the time — and they will keep hearing it again and again — taking risks.

Two words that make me think about a lot of things whenever I hear them. But they never failed in making me bolder. They remind me that we have to take risks if we wish to accomplish great things.

Elon Musk took too many risks. This rule by itself is one of the main reasons he is so successful. The biggest one being in 2008, when he faced the toughest choice in his life. As he explicitly said. Both his companies, Tesla and SpaceX, were dying.

He didn’t have enough money for both of them, so he had to choose one and let the other one die. If he split the money into the two companies, both of them could die. For Elon Musk, the two companies were like his babies. No one wants to kill their children. So did Elon.

He took a frightening risk and decided to split the money between Tesla and SpaceX, and to his luck, both survived.

5. Do Things That Matter

“If something is important enough, you should try even if, the probable outcome is failure.” — Elon Musk

Elon Musk would not spend a ridiculous number of hours doing things that don’t matter. All the sacrifices he took, he would never have done that for nothing. He had a bigger vision, a purpose, to help our mad species. Or to become the King of Mars or something, who knows?

I believe the main drive for Elon Musk is that he’s doing something that matters. That’s why he’s willing to work +100-hours weeks. That’s why he’s willing to sleep on the factory’s floor. That’s why he’s willing to sacrifice sleep.

A lot of the people who are depressed and sad aren’t doing things that matter to them. They carry this hole and emptiness inside of them, and they feel like they have no significance. Because what they are doing doesn’t matter, so perhaps their life doesn’t matter too. This mindset is dangerous.

But on the other hand, doing what you like to do and doing things that matter — giving value to other people or helping out society — will fill you with a sense of purpose.

A study published on ScienceDirect found that living a calling is linked to a better career or job-related income and overall better life. This feeling and drive will not only help you avoid these negative thoughts but will also push you forward to succeed.

6. Find Great People

The people who work at a company will determine the success of that company.

They will make or break it. That’s why this is one of Elon Musk’s foundational success rules that made him become the real Iron Man. Because if the people building his flying suits weren’t so good, he would fall off the sky and get hurt real bad.

Statista showed that about 23% of startups fail because of having the wrong team. Elon Musk knew that finding and attracting great people is crucial to the success of whatever it is he’s doing. That’s why he carefully chooses the people he works with and does business with.

Because he knows that — even if he works super hard — if the people around him don’t have a similar mindset or work ethic, his companies would suffer.

We also can’t dismiss the fact that we are a product of our environment. But that doesn’t mean if our environment isn’t so great that we will not be very successful. Not at all. It means that we should try harder to create or find a better environment with like-minded people.

People that help us grow and push us beyond our limits to succeed.

7. Have a Great Product

“You have to make sure that whatever you’re doing is a great product or service.” — Elon Musk

Elon Musk doesn’t work on a product or service if it’s not great, and even if it’s better than what competitors and other brands offer.

Your product has to be much better. There has to be a big difference, Elon said.

I believe us entrepreneurs need to have this mindset if we want to succeed with our ventures in this crowded hectic world that we live in because it seems that everything, every idea, every business is already created.

So why would consumers choose your new brand over the trusted one? Elon Musk’s answer to that would be, “Your product or service needs to be much better than theirs. It can’t be a little bit better.” It has to be much better.

8. Work Like a Robot

“Just showing up is half the battle.” — Elon Musk

If there is one thing Elon Musk is known for, it would be his ridiculous hectic unbelievable work ethic.

It makes me doubt sometimes if he was a human like the rest of us. But then I remember that he isn’t like the rest of us because he’s Iron Man! (a joke, by the way, if you happen not to know who Elon Musk is. He isn’t Iron Man… or is he?)

Almost every interview I watch of him, he would have tired eyes. A lot of the times, he’s even too tired to talk that it sounds like he’s mistakenly speaking Mars lingo.

There is no denial of Elon Musk’s incredible work ethic.

In 2008, when both Tesla and SpaceX were facing near collapse, Elon Musk worked more than 20-hours a day and only slept for an hour or two on the factory’s floor. When asked about his crazy work ethic, Elon Musk would often reply with, “No one should put this many hours on work.” He also said, “This is not good.” He even explicitly describes it as very painful.

But, don’t burn yourself out:

Entrepreneurs should probably listen to this advice and not sacrifice sleep as he does.

This can bring some serious health and mental health issues. But, they should probably listen to this advice from him as well. “You need to work super hard… work hard like, every waking hour. That’s the thing I would say, particularly if you’re starting a company.” Maybe not literary every waking hour, but you do need to work super hard if you want to reach a high level of success.

No matter how painful it is and unhealthy it can get, his work ethic is one of the most fundamental success rules Elon Musk follows.

9. Your Vision Is a Must

“There have to be reasons you get up in the morning, and you want to live.” — Elon Musk

Elon Musk is the definition of a visionary.

I don’t think there is anyone else on this Earth who has a bigger vision than him and actually works at it.

He has a grand vision of making our species interplanetary. No matter how ridiculous his vision may sound to other people, he doesn’t care. He doesn’t shy away from it, and he let the world knows. And he works at it every day. His vision is what pushes him forward.

It is what we like about him. Even if we don’t agree with him or see it as ridiculous, we still can’t help but give him the respect he deserves.

Having a powerful vision is what gives you drive. It attracts similar hungry people to you. It is what keeps you pushing forward even when the odds are against you.

The Takeaway

Here’s a quick recap of Elon Musk’s success rules that made him become the real Iron Man:

1. Continues learning: Always learn, whether it be in taking courses or by reading books. Just keep learning every day.
2. Persevere, persevere, persevere: Develop grit. Become relentless. Persevere until you make it, and never give up. You can change plans, but you can’t give up.
3. Like what you do: Do something you like doing. You’re going to be doing it for a long time, don’t make it something that sucks your energy, but something that fills you with it.
4. Take risks, then take some more: Do you want to accomplish something big? Then you have to take risks. Probably big risks too. Take risks, but be smart about it.
5. Do things that matter: Make sure what you do is important enough and gives value to others and the world around you.
6. Find great people: Try hard to find and attract great people, especially if you’re starting a company. Then surround yourself with them. Surround yourself with people who help you learn and push you forward to succeed.
7. Have a great product: Almost every product or service has been created already. So if you wish to stand out, make sure your product or service is much better.
8. Work like a robot: But don’t burn yourself out. When it comes to success, there’s no substitute for hard work.
9. Your vision is a must: It is what will give you clarity and drive, and hope for the future.

I hope you take these principles into action and apply them to your life and your business. Just having a vision isn’t enough. You have to work at it to make it a reality.

Always keep in mind these fundamental success rules, especially if you wish to be a superhuman entrepreneur like Elon Musk.