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Elon Musk’s journey to becoming the world’s richest man didn’t start with open doors. In fact, it began with rejection.

Elon Musk Couldn’t Get A Job

In 1995, Elon moved to Silicon Valley hoping to find work at the company he was fixated on.

Elon says despite his best efforts he just couldn’t land a job at Netscape (one of the leading Internet companies of the time).

“I sent my resume in and hung around in the lobby, but I was too shy to talk to anyone,” Musk later admitted.

He could have gone to work in a different field but saw that the internet and usage of the world wide web was going to increase and wanted to work in this soon to be booming sector.

So, what did he do?

How Elon Musk Made His Own Job

Rather than give up on working in tech, Elon teamed up with his brother to start Zip2, an Internet company that helped businesses get online.

Four years later, they sold that business for $307 million, and Musk’s career as a serial entrepreneur was underway. What followed was a string of bold ventures: founding X.com (which became PayPal which he sold for a pretty penny), investing in Tesla, and eventually launching SpaceX.

Musk turned his $180 million PayPal earnings into a $100 million bet on space travel, $70 million on electric cars, and $10 million on solar energy. While not every gamble paid off, Elon’s vision and determination have cemented his status as a global icon and has drawn him into the circle of the world’s most powerful people. 

Today, he tops the Forbes Billionaires List, with a record setting net worth of over $430 billion, proving that setbacks can ultimately be stepping stones.

Could You Be Like Elon?

Love him or hate him, Elon has pushed towards his long term goals unrelentingly for many years now.

You too might be looking to try something new. Elon’s story shows that sometimes, the job you want simply doesn’t exist—so you might have to create it.  Even if it does exist, someone else might get that job instead of you. 

Should you give up?

‘sometimes, the job you want simply doesn’t exist—so you might have to create it’

No, It just means that whether you’re dreaming of starting your own business or maybe just having a side hustle, you may have to provide yourself with the opportunity you need rather than rely on others.