Who doesn’t know Elon Musk? His name is splattered across every headline in the 21st century. He’s a bit strange, a bit eccentric, but nobody can deny his 1-liners. In fact, he is often quoted for what he says. Maintaining an online diary is a discipline that many deep thinkers embrace. Dating back to the Roman Empire, powerful men like Marcus Aurelius would maintain a diary to spill out their thoughts and make distinctions about everyday living. In the 21st century, most people are too pre-occupied with consuming information from social media outlets and chasing dopamine in the form of addiction to really put forth the time and effort to make use of an online diary. But what if you could use quotes from someone famous like Elon Musk to spark ideas for your diary? That’s exactly what we want you to take away from this article.
Here are 10 quotes from Elon Musk with a few follow-on questions to help inspire a good writing session. Mull over the quote for a few minutes then ask yourself the questions before putting fingers to keyboard with your online diary, or pen to your paperback diary.
- “You get paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of problems you solve.” Have you ever wondered how to accelerate your earning potential? Perhaps you are in a dead-end job where your genius is not recognized by the corporation. That’s okay. What kind of problems can you solve OUTSIDE of your job for the world to benefit from? Brainstorm this topic and then start writing in your online diary about what you can solve in this world.
- “I don’t ever give up. I’d have to be dead or completely incapacitated.” Think about this quote from Elon Musk for a few minutes. Most people would give up long before they died. There are very few people in the world other than elite soldiers like Navy SEALs that have this type of mentality. How could embracing this mentality help you break through self-limiting beliefs about what you can accomplish in your life? Are you thinking that you’re too old to take on a certain project? Or perhaps you are afraid of how the work will affect your mental or physical health? What if you embraced this mentality? What could you accomplish? Yes, you could die – but you could also achieve great things. Write about it for 20 minutes in your online diary.
- “Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.” Too many people are afraid to fail. They are afraid of what others will think if they have the wrong answer, or their solution doesn’t work. Imagine if Thomas Edison gave up on the lightbulb, or if Elon Musk gave up? Where would the world be today? Take a few moments and think about this quote from Elon Musk. What are you hesitant to take on in fear of failure? Write about it. Be honest with your online diary. It’s secret – nobody is reading it except yourself.
- “People should pursue what they’re passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.” What are your passionate about in life? List out 10 things that you really love to do. Now write about how you could turn those passions into revenue generating ideas. If you can make a living from your passions – you are on-track to living a much happier and fulfilling life than most!
- “I take the position that I’m always to some degree wrong, and that aspiration is to be less wrong.” Wow, think about that quote for a minute! True genius is checking your ego at the door and accepting that you’re in some degree wrong. This leaves your mind open to new distinctions and ways of thinking through complex topics. Write about this idea and how you could evolve your way of thinking to be more open and receptive to better ways of living, better ways of thinking, and living.
Analyzing and writing about quotes is an intriguing way to unravel your own preconceived notions. If you ever experience writer’s block and need inspiration, you should start Googling famous quotes.