For Dreamer-Entrepreneurs, the Distance Between Success & Failure Can Be Measured in Inches

tip-o-the-morning

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At the end of 2008, Elon Musk and all of his companies were on the verge of outright bankruptcy.

His Falcon 1 rocket had failed to reach orbit for the third time in early August, 2008. He was rapidly running out of money.

Musk had gone through most of the $180 million windfall he received in 2002, when eBay acquired his PayPal stock. Plus he had tapped all of the hundreds of millions of dollars venture capitalists and the Federal government had collectively invested in SpaceX.

Most would have thrown in the towel after so many failures. But Musk refused to quit. So, he put everything on the line on September 28, 2009, the fourth attempt to put his Falcon 1 rocket into orbit. Everything hinged on that fourth flight. If it failed, it was over.

Only it didn’t fail. On his fourth and final try, the first privately built rocket made orbit and Elon Musk entered the history books.

Due to his rocket’s success, Musk was able to cobble together enough money to get SpaceX through the end of December, 2008. Then, on December 28, 2008 NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract.

The rest, as they say is history.

Today, Musk is estimated to be worth north of $23 billion. His companies are changing the world.

Success miracles often happen when relentlessly persistent Dreamers are able to overcome adversity and survive until they thrive.

For Musk, the difference between success and failure was one day – September 29, 2008. One day completely changed his life. One day was the difference between success and bankruptcy, for Elon Musk.

Life rewards Dreamers who simply refuse to quit.

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Thomas C. Corley About Thomas C. Corley

Tom Corley is a bestselling author, speaker, and media contributor for Business Insider, CNBC and a few other national media outlets.

His Rich Habits research has been read, viewed or heard by over 50 million people in 25 countries around the world.

Besides being an author, Tom is also a CPA, CFP, holds a master’s degree in taxation and is President of Cerefice and Company, a CPA firm in New Jersey.
 
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Comments

  1. I don’t believe Musk’s investors have received anything, so they might have a different definition of his “success”. Michael Dell created an industry, but well past his prime he bought and ruined my company, so I don’t consider him a “success”. And the “billionaire” in the White House”? That’s too much to cover here.

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