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The next two personalities that I want to profile for you are Elon Musk and Jack Ma - both geniuses who leverage technology to make their fortunes and change the lives of people all over the world. But, as you will learn, they had no hand-ups but instead became successful because of their vision, purpose, and personal fortitude.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk has become a household name and he once famously said,

“Failure is not an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”

Whenever we talk about advancements in innovative technology, such as renewable energy and space travel, Elon Musk’s name immediately enters our minds. Elon is a South African entrepreneur and one of the most prolific modern inventors. He exhibited his entrepreneurial aptitude at the age of twelve by developing a video game for a computer magazine. In 1995, he founded a company named Zip2 which provided maps and business directories online. In 1999, he created an online money transferring tool with the name of X.Com, and it was later renamed PayPal. In 2002, he started up SpaceX to manufacture less costly rockets.

Elon always had an interest for uncovering the possibilities of electric cars which is why, in 2004, he became one of the top funders of Tesla, and later he took over as the CEO of the company. This is how entrepreneurs reach the milestones which are thought to be inaccessible by others. Elon never limited his capabilities by restricting himself to one thing; he continued to explore new outlooks. This made him a billionaire at the age of forty-one.

Currently, Elon’s net worth is more than $300 billion. Elon shows that entrepreneurship is not confined to existing reality but to anyone who can discern the future possibilities which are not evident to others. We all can do this, if and, more importantly, when we put our minds to it!

Jack Ma

Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, is no stranger to sacrifice because he knows the rewards are worth it. He said,

“Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.”

If you are fond of online shopping, Alibaba and AliExpress are likely familiar platforms especially if you live in Asian societies. Jack Ma is the person behind creating these platforms that rival any of the largest companies in the world.

Ma was born into a low-income family in China who were professional storytellers through music. From a young age, Ma was keen to improve his proficiency in English. So, he became a tour guide for foreigners to serve his passion for wanting to spend more time with native English speakers and gain better command of the English language.

Ma was one of the first people in China to recognize the internet as a business opportunity. He started his first venture as a language translation agency and then started creating websites for clients. This was new to everyone, but Ma was certain and put all his effort into building his business. Within three years in the mid-90s, he earned nearly a million dollars.

“My job is to help more people have jobs.”

In early 2000, he decided to launch his own idea and founded Alibaba which has taken him to the heights of global fame. The young poor boy who started from scratch became one of the wealthiest men in the world. He also co-founded other similar ventures which were also successful to a great extent; one of these was the e-commerce website called Taobao.

Jack has won numerous awards over the years for his entrepreneurship and giving to others. His net worth today is $34 billion but had been as high as $50 billion before the Chines government started reducing his influence in the companies and theirs on the Chinese economy - they felt threatened! Pretty amazing when a government of 1.5 billion people is scared of a single person.

If you ever want to speak with me directly just reach out via?LinkedIn?or through our mobile community app,?Createyourself.com

Have a great week, Gordon

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