Elon Musk, a South African-born Canadian-American entrepreneur, engineer and inventor, has delved into and conquered some of the most challenging fields, ranging from aerospace to energy and automobiles. Musk's success story speaks volumes about the importance of perseverance, breaking barriers and never giving up on dreams. Today, Elon is the 15th richest person in technology and holds the 38th position in the list of the most powerful people, but the question is, what helped him reach these heights of success? 

Risk-taking ability

Musk was able to achieve so much mainly because he was not afraid of pushing boundaries, taking risks, and working hard. He went for very different and challenging fields and was not scared to experiment. In 2002, he poured his money into his boldest and most unfathomable venture, SpaceX. He aimed to preserve human race through multi-planetary expansion with his rocket company SpaceX. He had his share of difficulties, but today, SpaceX is doing well and has a $1.6 billion contract from NASA for handling cargo for it. SpaceX is also determined to send humans to space in the future, particularly Mars. 

Right decisions

Musk invested in the right place at the right time. He was conscious of the fact that he needed a heavy sum to fund his ideas and therefore founded, ran and sold different companies. He started his first company, Zip2, with his brother and earned $22 million when it was acquired by Compaq. With 3 quarters of his net worth, Musk co-founded X.com in 1999. This was an online financial services company, which merged with Confinity a year later to form what we know as PayPal. Musk was instrumental in selling PayPal to eBay and from the sum he acquired as the largest shareholder, he started working on SpaceX. These timely moves were necessary for Musk to gather enough money to continue his ventures. 

Consistent hard work

Musk was determined even in times of adversity and was never hesitant to work hard, something that is true for all successful people. He was working round the clock for Zip2 and would even sleep in his office. He was ousted from his role as CEO of X.com (later PayPal) and had serious disagreements with the co-founder, but he settled everything peacefully and helped sell PayPal to eBay. He didn't quit even after three of the initial SpaceX's launches failed. Instead, he personally funded the fourth launch, which was a success and saved SpaceX from its inevitable death. He had to go through more obstacles with Tesla Motors, which he founded with the aim of producing fully-electric cars. There was a serious lack of funds as others were skeptical of investing and considered Musk overambitious. However, he worked closely with his team to produce a successful model S and then a sedan. These were enough to get the much-needed investments, and Tesla Motors was saved. 

Leadership skills

Musk is considered a legendary entrepreneur and his leadership skills helped him throughout his journey. He has been called the 'most grounded billionaire' by his employees since he was always open to their ideas, listened to them, and encouraged feedback. He also adapted to difficult situations quickly and reduced costs whenever needed. Elon's story describes what it takes not only to attain the billionaire status but also respect from the followers and employees and teaches the value of daring to think and act differently.