Elon Musk: Traits of a successful entrepreneur

Elon Musk is a rock star. PayPal, Tesla Motors, rockets and solar power.

How does he do it?

Watch this video. If you like, skip to 5:50.

Critical thought:

People do not think critically enough. They assume too many things to be true without sufficient basis in that belief...Analyze things from first principals.

Way to promote rational thought.

Risk:

People tend to overweigh risk on a personal level...Let's say you're young and you're coming out of college or high school...what do you risk?...What are you afraid of? People should be less risk averse when there's not much at risk.

Brilliant.

A great day to live in Washinton

Aside from President Elect Obama, we have:

• Re-elected Chris Gregoire
• Passed Prop 1. I love trains.
• Buried Tim Eyman's latest steaming pile--985.
• Become the second state in the Union to allow death with dignity. See my previous post on this.

A great day to live in the Evergreen State.

NY Times: Friedman on Obama

From the article:

But there also may have been something of a “Buffett effect” that countered the supposed “Bradley effect” — white voters telling pollsters they’d vote for Obama but then voting for the white guy. The Buffett effect was just the opposite. It was white conservatives telling the guys in the men’s grill at the country club that they were voting for John McCain, but then quietly going into the booth and voting for Obama, even though they knew it would mean higher taxes.

Why? Some did it because they sensed how inspired and hopeful their kids were about an Obama presidency, and they not only didn’t want to dash those hopes, they secretly wanted to share them. Others intuitively embraced Warren Buffett’s view that if you are rich and successful today, it is first and foremost because you were lucky enough to be born in America at this time — and never forget that. So, we need to get back to fixing our country — we need a president who can unify us for nation-building at home.