Think Like Musk

By: Derrick House

Narrated by: Nate Sjol

Length: 31 mins

Publisher's Summary

First рrіnсірlеѕ thіnkіng, whісh іѕ ѕоmеtіmеѕ called rеаѕоnіng frоm fіrѕt principles, іѕ one of thе mоѕt effective ѕtrаtеgіеѕ уоu can еmрlоу fоr breaking down complicated рrоblеmѕ аnd generating оrіgіnаl solutions. It аlѕо might be the single-best аррrоасh tо learn hоw to think fоr yourself. 

The fіrѕt рrіnсірlеѕ аррrоасh hаѕ bееn uѕеd by mаnу great thinkers, including inventor Jоhаnnеѕ Gutenberg, mіlіtаrу ѕtrаtеgіѕt Jоhn Bоуd, аnd thе аnсіеnt philosopher Aristotle; but nо оnе embodies the philosophy of fіrѕt рrіnсірlеѕ thinking more еffесtіvеlу thаn the entrepreneur Elоn Musk. 

In 2002, Muѕk began hіѕ ԛuеѕt tо ѕеnd thе first rocket to Mаrѕ - аn іdеа that wоuld eventually become thе aerospace соmраnу, SрасеX. 

Hе rаn іntо a mаjоr сhаllеngе rіght off thе bаt. Aftеr visiting a numbеr of aerospace mаnufасturеrѕ around the world, Muѕk discovered thе соѕt оf рurсhаѕіng a rocket wаѕ аѕtrоnоmісаl - uр tо $65 mіllіоn. Gіvеn thе high рrісе, hе began to rеthіnk thе problem. 

“I tеnd tо approach thіngѕ from a рhуѕісѕ framework,” Muѕk ѕаіd in аn іntеrvіеw. “Physics teaches you tо reason from fіrѕt principles rather than by аnаlоgу. Sо I said, оkау, let’s look at thе fіrѕt рrіnсірlеѕ. Whаt іѕ a rосkеt mаdе оf? Aerospace-grade аlumіnum alloys, рluѕ ѕоmе tіtаnіum, copper, and саrbоn fіbеr. Thеn I аѕkеd, what is thе vаluе оf those materials on thе commodity market? It turned оut that thе mаtеrіаl cost оf a rocket wаѕ around twо percent оf the tурісаl рrісе.” 

Inѕtеаd оf buying a finished rосkеt fоr tens of mіllіоnѕ of dollars, Musk dесіdеd tо сrеаtе hіѕ оwn соmраnу, рurсhаѕе thе rаw materials fоr сhеар, аnd build thе rосkеtѕ hіmѕеlf. SpaceX was born. 

Wіthіn a fеw уеаrѕ, SрасеX hаd сut the price of launching a rocket nеаrlу tenfold whіlе ѕtіll making a рrоfіt. Muѕk uѕеd fіrѕt рrіnсірlеѕ thinking tо brеаk thе ѕіtuаtіоn dоwn tо thе fundаmеntаlѕ, bураѕѕ the hіgh prices of the aerospace іnduѕtrу, and сrеаtе a more effective ѕоlutіоn. 

Fіrѕt principles thіnkіng іѕ thе асt of bоіlіng a рrосеѕѕ dоwn to the fundamental раrtѕ that уоu knоw are true and buіldіng up from thеrе. 

©2018 Derrick House (P)2018 Derrick House

Useful guide to being creative.

One of the keys to success is thinking out of the box.

Sounds easy but it requires work......you need to train your way of thinking or perhaps untrain
your way of thinking.

This quick guide is one more method you can use to become a more creative person and
a problem solver.

The Narrator did a good job and performed well.




This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

First principles thinking is back!

Move over postmodernism, it’s time to reacquaint ourselves with an old school thinker named Aristotle.

Very interesting addition to the thinking behind the thinkers who are shaping our tomorrows. The guy gets a little hung up on global warming, like it’s actually a thing and realized that he had forgotten to virtue signal about it in the whole length of the audiobook, so he tacks on three or four weird sentences about pollution and global warming at the end. It felt forced. Other than that this was an excellent resource.

The narrator did a great job.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Near worthless...

If you’ve read Musks biography you have heard all but thirty seconds of this essay. Not to mention the same story shows up and is summarized three times. It reminds me of stuff I used to BS in high school to make my word count. There is so much value in the first principles thinking I wish this book was about it. But sadly it is just a disappointment.

Nice overview of Elon Musk and First Principles

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was a very brief summary of Elon Musk's career. It kind of touches on the "first principles" concepts. In other words, break it down to base facts and rebuild your own solution... This really just wet my appetite for the subject more than taught me anything in depth. At only 31 min long, that is not surprise. If you have an interest in Elon Musk or the first principles concept, I think this is worth picking up.

Quick overview of Musk and First Principles

Think Like Musk provides a very quick mix of Elon Musk biography and explanation of first principles thinking. Considering the very short time frame of the book the information contained is good, but it's just not in depth enough for either topic. The book is an overview of an opening for a much larger and more in depth book. But standing by itself, it falls short of being able to give you enough information to do anything with

Narration by Nate Sjol is good. Well paced and clear. Nothing outstanding, but the book is so short it's hard to do much.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Optimize the function, ignore the form

This started out a little shaky, but pulled it together to deliver an enlightening introduction to first principles thinking. House uses a flying cars illustration that really surprised me, and demonstrated the idea of focusing on function rather than form quite effectively. It was so obvious and made complete sense, but wasn't an angle I (and I dare say many others) would have considered.

Nate Sjol does a great job narrating. His straightforward and clear delivery really lends itself to the materiel.

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

A Nice Insight into Innovation and Perseverance

I enjoyed listening to this audio book. It was quite interesting to hear a brief history of Elon Musk. Whether you've ever thought of inventing something, starting your own business or just enjoy an uplifting story and explanation of a principle then you really should listen to this. It makes some interesting points and is encouraging in it's delivery. The narration was done superbly and nicely paced. If you have 30'ish minutes to spare then I recommend giving this book a listen.

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Good Read

Think Like Musk: How Elon Musk Uses First Principles Thinking to Invent the Future (And How You Can Too) by Derrick House was a good quick read. This was a good read about Elon Musk and what helped him become the man he is.

Perfect commuter length

Quick explanation of First Principles thinking using Musk's business ventures as examples. No fluff and the anecdotes are easy and fun examples to listen to.

The narrator's voice is wonderful and pleasant. I got lost in the book, which is the ultimate sign of a good narrator. His voice kept it interesting.

My one frustration is with the actual format of the book. Chapter 1 is the obligatory intro material. Chapter 2, the actual book, should have been divided into chapters, one for each principle. Chapter 3 is the end matter. There's no way to easily rewind to re-listen to an example or fast forward to the next and come back. After having to listen twice through because I was in the car and traffic was too heavy to be trying to leap back and forth in 30 second intervals using the hands free controls, I docked a star strictly for wanting to be able to jump to a principle and register. If you're going to teach us principles, make it easy for us to return to them.

If you're not a fan of Elon Musk, you'll be frustrated by what is, after all, 30 minutes of examples from his life. If you're like me and you like real world examples, this made me curious to know more. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.