{"id":815,"date":"2015-04-19T23:47:53","date_gmt":"2015-04-19T18:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/abhinav.spsdarj.org\/?p=815"},"modified":"2016-01-14T22:19:42","modified_gmt":"2016-01-14T16:49:42","slug":"will-i-become-a-billionaire-if-i-am-determined-to-be-one-and-put-in-all-the-necessary-work-required","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/2015\/04\/will-i-become-a-billionaire-if-i-am-determined-to-be-one-and-put-in-all-the-necessary-work-required\/","title":{"rendered":"Will I become a billionaire if I am determined to be one and put in all the necessary work required?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Answer by Justine Musk:<\/p>\n

(Just to say: thank you, everybody, for the upvotes + the comments. I'm blown away — and appreciative.)<\/p>\n

No.<\/p>\n

One of the many qualities that separate billionaires from the rest of us is their ability to ask the right questions.  <\/p>\n

This is not the right question. *<\/p>\n

You're determined. So what? Of course you're determined now; you haven't been racing naked through shark-infested waters yet. Will you be just as determined when you wash up on some deserted island, disoriented and bloody and ragged and exhausted and beaten and staring into the horizon with no sign of rescue? <\/p>\n

We live in a culture that celebrates determination and hard work, but let me stress: these are the qualities that keep you in the game after most everybody else has left, or until somebody bigger and stronger picks you up and hurls you back out to sea. Determination and hard work are necessary, yes, but they are the minimum requirements. As in: the bare minimum. <\/p>\n

A lot of people work extremely hard and they're struggling to survive. <\/p>\n

How can you *leverage* your time and your work? <\/p>\n

Shift your focus away from what you want (a billion dollars) and get deeply, intensely curious about what the world wants and needs. Ask yourself what it is that you have the potential to bring to the world that is so unique and compelling and helpful that no computer could replace it, no one could outsource it, no one could steal your product and make it better and then club you into oblivion (not literally). Then develop that potential. Choose one thing and become a master of it.  Choose a second thing and become a master of that as well.  When you become a master of two worlds (say, engineering and business), you can bring them together in a way that will a) introduce hot ideas to each other, so they can have idea sex and make idea babies that no one has seen before and b) create a competitive advantage for you because you can move between these worlds, speak their languages, connect the tribes, mash up the elements to spark creative insight until you wake up with the epiphany that changes your life.<\/p>\n

The world doesn't throw a billion dollars at a person because the person wants it or works so hard they feel they deserve it. (The world does not care what you want or deserve.)  The world gives you money in exchange for something of equal or greater value: at that level, something so awesome and incredible that it transforms the culture, the way people live and think. Are you or can you get good enough to do that? To create that much value for that many people?  There is no roadmap, no blueprint for this; a lot of people will give you a lot of advice, and most of it will be bad, and a lot of it will be good and sound but you'll have to figure out how it doesn't apply to you because you're coming from an unexpected angle. And you'll be doing it alone, until you develop the charisma and credibility to attract the talent you need to come with you.<\/p>\n

* It's not a wrong question, or a bad question. But it won't get you thinking about the things you need to think about to move in the desired direction. Ask yourself: how can I create a billion dollars' worth of value for the world? and your undermind will chew on this question over time, especially when you're consciously thinking about something else, and send up insights, or observations that will lead to insights, when you're least expecting either.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Will I become a billionaire if I am determined to be one and put in all the necessary work required?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Answer by Justine Musk: (Just to say: thank you, everybody, for the upvotes + the comments. I'm blown away — and appreciative.) No. One of the many qualities that separate billionaires from the rest of us is their ability to ask the right questions.  This is not the right question. * You're determined. So what?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-stuff","category-motivate"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4KGvB-d9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21,"url":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/2011\/12\/why-busted\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":0},"title":"Why- Busted","author":"Abhinav","date":"December 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I Like this song.. It\u2019s by a band named\u00a0Busted. Here are its Lyrics and a\u00a0Download Link\u00a0for the Song Look at me up in the sky Watch the world just pass me by And all my feelings give me away It\u2019s happening more everyday Loving you could be so easy Loving\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Song"","block_context":{"text":"Song","link":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/category\/song\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":845,"url":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/2015\/10\/what-are-the-secrets-of-being-likable\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":1},"title":"What are the secrets of being likable?","author":"Abhinav","date":"October 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Answer by Anatole Ginsberg:When I was young I thought the secret to popularity was to be as impressive as possible so people would want to talk to me.Instead they thought I was arrogant.Then I examined what made me want to befriend someone, and I learned that I'd had it all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life stuff"","block_context":{"text":"Life stuff","link":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/category\/life-stuff\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":947,"url":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/2016\/05\/from-a-therapists-office-wall\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":2},"title":"From a therapist\u2019s office wall","author":"Abhinav","date":"May 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I don\u2019t like the phrase \u201cA cry for help.\u201d I just don\u2019t like how it sounds. When somebody says to me, \u201cI\u2019m thinking about suicide, I have a plan; I just need a reason not to do it,\u201d the last thing I see is helplessness. I think: Your depression has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life stuff"","block_context":{"text":"Life stuff","link":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/category\/life-stuff\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":507,"url":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/2014\/08\/inspirational-quotes\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":3},"title":"Inspirational Quotes","author":"Abhinav","date":"August 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than the one with all of the facts. Far better is it to dare mighty things to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered with failure, than to make rank with those poor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Quote"","block_context":{"text":"Quote","link":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/category\/motivate\/quote-motivate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":962,"url":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/2016\/07\/the-egg-andy-weir\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":4},"title":"The Egg – Andy Weir","author":"Abhinav","date":"July 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"You were on your way home when you died. It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reads"","block_context":{"text":"Reads","link":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/category\/reads\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":709,"url":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/2015\/02\/beautiful-poetry-quotes\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":5},"title":"Beautiful Poetry Quotes","author":"Abhinav","date":"February 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\"To my Dear and Loving husband\"If ever two were one, then surely we.If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;If ever wife was happy in a man,Compare with me, ye women, if you can.I prize thy love more than whole mines of goldOr all the riches that the East\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poems"","block_context":{"text":"Poems","link":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/category\/poems\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Thrown-in-the-deep.jpg?fit=987%2C646&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Thrown-in-the-deep.jpg?fit=987%2C646&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Thrown-in-the-deep.jpg?fit=987%2C646&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Thrown-in-the-deep.jpg?fit=987%2C646&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=815"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":816,"href":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions\/816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abhinavkr.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}