Eric Jorgenson
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Articles by Eric Jorgenson
HarperCollins is proud to announce the publication of 'The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success' By Eric Jorgenson Original
PRNewswire New Delhi [India], July 1: HarperCollins Publishers India is delighted to announce the release of The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success by bestselling author Eric Jorgenson. More than a biography or a conventional self-help book, The Book of Elon distills Elon Musk's most powerful ideas, philosophies, and principles into an accessible guide for entrepreneurs, innovators, and ambitious readers seeking to build meaningful lives and solve extraordinary problems.
Eric Jorgenson: Elon Musk prioritizes unique problem-solving over profit, the critical need for engineering talent, and how SpaceX’s culture drives innovation | David Senra
Key takeaways Elon Musk’s entrepreneurial approach focuses on solving unique problems rather than financial gain. Tackling unique challenges can lead to greater success by fostering innovation and societal value. The primary constraint in building civilization is not capital but the availability of excellent engineers. Hiring young, unproven engineers and granting them responsibility can boost a company’s innovation rate.
Comfort Is a False God: Why Discomfort Is the Shortcut to Growth
The following is adapted from The Shortcut by Dylan Trussell. If you’re comfortable right now, that might be the problem. Complacency feels safe, but it’s often the slowest path to mediocrity. Growth requires friction. In the military, they say “embrace the suck.” The idea is simple: don’t just tolerate discomfort—seek it out. Difficulty isn’t the enemy; it’s the training ground.
When Google Banned Us and the FTC Came Knocking: A Founder’s Survival Guide
The following is adapted from 3 Startups, 40 Pivots by Ali Moiz and Murtaza Hussain. We thought we’d finally cracked it. After struggling to grow our own Chrome extension, we decided to build something bigger: an ad network for Chrome extensions. Mobile ad networks were exploding, but no one had built one for Chrome. So we did. Our first product, Free Weekly Apps, allowed desktop users to discover and install free Android apps directly onto their phones.
How Breaking the Rules Can Change Everything
The following is adapted from The 21 Myths of Street Life by Russell C. Lathom. When it comes to street life, one of the most persistent myths is that people snitch purely out of fear. It’s a convenient explanation—fear is simple, emotional, and easy to understand. But as anyone who has lived the streets knows, the truth is far more complex. Snitching isn’t always about trembling in an interrogation room or panicking under threat; for many, it’s a calculated, strategic choice.
Tough Love for California: Compassion with Consequences
The following is adapted from California 2.0 by Jon Henderson. Let’s be honest: loving a place means being willing to tell the truth about it. For those of us who have lived and worked in the Bay Area, the rise in shoplifting, neighborhood theft, and visible disorder isn’t just a political talking point. It’s personal. In cities like Oakland, petty crime and organized retail theft have chipped away at something more fragile than storefront glass—they’ve eroded public confidence.
Practicing Medicine on My Terms: From Burnout to Purpose
The following is adapted from White Coat, Heavy Soul by Richard Harris. For years, I questioned whether I chose the right specialty. When I transitioned from pharmacist to physician, internal medicine felt like the logical next step. I already understood medications and treatment plans. It seemed like the smoothest path forward—a practical decision rooted in experience. But what began as practicality turned into purpose. Internal medicine shaped me into the kind of physician I was meant to become.
Why Smart Leaders Make Terrible Decisions-and How to Avoid It
The following is adapted from Breaking Bad News by Jeff Hahn. When a crisis breaks, most executives face a brutal internal conflict. Do they admit mistakes and ask for forgiveness? Or do they defend, rationalize, and protect the brand at all costs? Too often, they choose self-justification. Why? Because of cognitive dissonance—the psychological tension we feel when our actions don’t match our beliefs. When leaders rationalize a bad situation, their emotions settle.
Your Store Doesn’t Run from the Back Office-It Runs from the Sales Floor
The following is adapted from 30 Days to Running Great Stores by Rachel A. Williamson. If you want better results, stronger teams, and higher sales, here’s a hard truth: your store isn’t run from behind a desk. It’s run on the sales floor. Spreadsheets matter. Reports matter. Emails matter. But none of them convert customers. None of them build culture. None of them create energy in the store.
Dr. Joseph Field Wrote a Book That Ranked Him as the #3 Cosmetic Dentist in the US on ChatGPT
The Challenge: An Outline Stuck in a Drawer for 5 Years Dr. Joseph Field knew he had a book in him. For years, patients told him he needed to share his unique approach to cosmetic dentistry with the world. He even had an outline ready—written years earlier during a “snowless ski trip” where he found himself trapped in a lodge with nothing to do. But like many busy professionals, life got in the way.
The following is adapted fromThe 100-Page Subscription Pricing Book by Felix Mörée. When most leaders think about innovation, they picture new products or breakthrough technology. Joseph Schumpeter, often called the father of innovation, identified five core types: new products, new production methods, new markets, new resources, and new organizational forms. But there’s a powerful sixth category that often gets overlooked: pricing. Pricing isn’t just a number.
Ron Thurston Leveraged His Second Book to Secure Spotify Sponsorships and Interview Sarah Jessica Parker
When Ron Thurston published his first book, Retail Pride, the result was a massive career shift. He went from a corporate Vice President of Stores to a recognized thought leader, launching a speaking career that took him across the country. But five years later, Ron saw the conversation shifting. As he traveled for speaking engagements, he noticed a new, overwhelming focus on Artificial Intelligence. At every conference, the keynotes were dominated by AI, efficiency, and automation.
Jeremy Burrows Sold 40,000 Copies of His Niche Book and Increased His Speaking Fees by 10x
Jeremy Burrows spent nearly two decades as an Executive Assistant, but his path wasn’t always smooth. After his executive was fired, Jeremy found himself burned out, unemployed, and sitting on a mountaintop in Colorado wondering what to do next. He realized he wanted to help other assistants avoid the burnout he had experienced. He started blogging, networking, and coaching, slowly building a reputation in the industry. But as his influence grew, he hit a ceiling.
Handling Conflict Without Burning Bridges
The following is adapted from Be Kind by Gui Costin and Morgan Holycross. Conflict is unavoidable. Whether you’re leading a team, managing clients, or navigating partnerships, moments of disagreement will happen. The real question isn’t if conflict arises — it’s how you handle it when it does. Done poorly, conflict damages trust and morale. Done well, it can actually strengthen relationships and clarify expectations. The key is balance.
How Tim Urban (Wait But Why) Turned an Epic Blog Post into a Print Masterpiece with Scribe
When you’ve built something that resonates online, the next step is often to make it tangible. That’s what writer and illustrator Tim Urban, creator of Wait But Why, set out to do.
Lessons in Strength, Discipline, and Benevolence: Growing Up with a Complicated Father
The following is adapted from DADBOD by Joe Wheeler. Growing up, my father was a study in extremes: largely uninterested, except when his interest was overwhelming, sometimes overpowering everything and everyone else. In our house, the saying went that he truly took an interest when you could hold an “intriguing conversation”—around age twelve—or if it was something he was passionate about. One memory stands out. I was about ten, and another boy and I had a scuffle at school.
Unmasking ADHD: Reclaiming Your Authentic Self
The following excerpt is adapted from The ADHD Awakening by Sara Kelly. For many adults, receiving an ADHD diagnosis is only the beginning. The harder part comes afterward, when you realize how much of your personality has been shaped by masking—filtering, rehearsing, and pretending to appear “fine.” Unmasking isn’t a single moment; it’s a slow, often uncomfortable process of reclaiming what’s real.
Why You’re Struggling to Get Work Done (And How to Fix It)
The following is adapted from Maximize by Alex Dripchak. Do you struggle to start, sustain, or optimize your work? Often, productivity problems aren’t a mix of everything—they usually stem from one core issue: motivation, energy, or focus. The trick is identifying which one is holding you back. Let’s start with starting. Difficulty beginning a task can be a matter of procrastination, unclear priorities, or low motivation. If motivation is the root problem, create a battle plan for low-energy days.
Breaking the Cycle: Lessons from a Childhood of Chaos
Trigger warning: the following contains mention of sexual assault. The following is adapted from Four Time Felon by Rick Scadden. The chaos of my childhood didn’t start with me—it began long before I was even conceived. Dysfunction and trauma were passed down like a curse from one generation to the next. My mother grew up in a home defined by instability. Her parents’ marriage was fragile, shattering and reforming repeatedly—they married and divorced twice.
Healing the Divided Life: Leadership Begins Within
The following is adapted from The Quantum Blueprint by Samantha Baltadonis. Parker Palmer describes something many of us sense but struggle to name: the tragic gap between who we are and who we want to be. In A Hidden Wholeness, he calls this a “divided life”—a quiet fragmentation where our inner truth and outer reality drift apart. We build careers, identities, and reputations that look coherent from the outside, while internally we live in pieces, each part disconnected from the next.
From Chasing Success to Choosing Perspective
The following is adapted from Perspective is a Verb by The Converse Cowboy I once had a close friend who, from the outside, appeared to have everything figured out. He climbed the corporate ladder, landed his dream role, earned a six-figure salary, and drove a company car. His personal life looked just as polished. He married a beautiful woman, built a sprawling home on hundreds of acres, and filled a multi-car garage with brand-new vehicles.
Why Listening Comes Before Leadership
The following is adapted from The 48 Laws of Divine Power by Dr. C. Errol Ball. The loudest voice in the room is not always the leader. Sometimes it’s the one least capable of hearing anything beyond itself. Real power doesn’t begin with speaking. It begins with listening. With stillness. With the humility to pause long enough for instruction to arrive.
The Moment I Realized I Needed a Different Life
The following is adapted from Smoke by Scott Anthony. The real world felt foreign to me, like another planet. The suburbs were especially alien. Until one particular afternoon, I didn’t really understand where I stood in the social hierarchy—or how far behind I was. I was fourteen and living in Chicago when I met a guy named Phil. He had a beautiful sister named Becky, which was the real reason I went to his house in Evanston, a suburb just outside the city.
Connection Before Conversion: Rethinking Marketing, Sales, and Distribution
The following is adapted from Firecircle 5×5 Method by Deneen Allen. One of the most challenging parts of running a business isn’t creating a great product—it’s building a marketing strategy that actually works, and then executing it consistently. Marketing, sales, and distribution all exist for one reason: to connect with the right people and guide them along a path that eventually leads to a purchase. That path might be quick and almost invisible, like grabbing a familiar household item online.
Is Profitable Trading Skill-or Just Luck?
The following is adapted from The Next Perfect Trade by Alex Gurevich. When people ask what I do for a living, the answer is deceptively simple: I trade financial markets. I evaluate risk, place bets on price movements across assets, and try to make disciplined decisions under uncertainty. Once that’s clear, the next question almost always follows. If this work makes money—sometimes a great deal of it—why isn’t everyone doing it?
Accountability Isn’t the Enemy-Confusion Is
The following is adapted from Hope Is Not a Strategy by Brandi Nicole Chin. Just hearing the word accountability can make people tense. It often brings to mind uncomfortable conversations, performance reviews, and the fear of getting something wrong. For many leaders, accountability feels synonymous with pressure, conflict, or punishment. But what if that reaction isn’t about the concept itself—what if it’s about how we’ve experienced it?
When Your Superpower Doesn’t Scale: Why Data is the New “Sommelier Sense”
The following is adapted from Growth Data Analytics Playbook by Mengying Li, Joe Kumar, Yuzheng Sun. A friend of mine is one of only 260 people in the world who can call themselves a Master Sommelier. It took him seven years of relentless study and testing to reach that level—a journey that demands expertise not just in wine, but in human behavior. A sommelier’s job isn’t just about knowing the right vintage or region. It’s about reading the customer.
The Future of Network Marketing: A Vision Worth Building
The following is adapted from Moon Shot by Sandro Cazzato. I have a vision of the future. It’s not a future of flying cars or teleportation (although those would be cool). It’s a future of constant lunar travel for everyone brave enough to take a chance on building their own rocket to the moon. In that future, network marketing is no longer looked at with suspicion. It no longer has to deal with scams because the real businesses have won the day.
We’ve Drifted Away From the Sun
The following is adapted from Get Sexy, Girlfriend! by Candi Frazier. If you believe your body “can’t tolerate” sunlight, it’s not because something is wrong with you. It’s because modern life has trained you to live without it. Most of us spend our days under artificial lighting, behind windows, inside temperature-controlled buildings. We move from home to car to office with barely a moment in real daylight. When we finally go outside, our skin reacts badly.
Why Great Stories Change Our Brains
The following is adapted from The Story Effect by Danielle Krischik. We tend to think we love certain shows, books, or speeches because they’re “interesting.” Neuroscience says otherwise. Behind every story that grips us is a chemical sequence designed by evolution to make us care, pay attention, and act. At the center of that response is oxytocin—the neurochemical tied to care, connection, and empathy.
The Stories We Lose If We Don’t Ask
The following is adapted from One Last Question Before You Go by Kyle Thiermann. One year ago, my mom fell in a parking garage. She’d been walking backward, helping a friend reverse out of a tight spot, when she stepped into the path of the garage lever—the kind that lifts when you pay to leave. The bar came crashing down on her head, knocking her to the ground and fracturing her hip and femur. Each year, about 350,000 Americans break a hip.
The Bangkok Freezer Case: An FBI Investigation Into Identity and Murder
The following is adapted from Beyond the Badge by John Schachnovsky. Trigger Warning: Content contains graphic imagery. Bangkok’s relentless heat masked a chilling discovery within an ordinary-looking residential apartment: body parts meticulously severed and stored in a freezer. As an FBI agent stationed in Thailand, I was called to help with a scene that seemed more like a horror film than reality.
Pivot: Lessons in Adaptation from Life and Medicine
The following is adapted from Clip Toenails for a Living by Marcin N. Vaclaw. Life rarely goes according to plan. Early lessons in pivoting came during my time at Brigham Young University. My first organic chemistry class was massive—hundreds of students, a few TAs, and complex concepts. One day, frustrated with my grades, I met the professor.
Listening to the Four Voices of Strategy
The following is adapted from Values-Based Organizations by Dr. Thomas Epperson. Strategic planning isn’t just about predicting the future—it’s about learning from the past and understanding the present. A good plan looks inward and outward, collecting data that tells the real story of your organization. That story starts with the voice of the money. Financial data is the easiest to get and often the loudest voice in the room.
Government Is Better Than We Think - And We Need It Now More Than Ever
The following is adapted from Positive Politics by Neil Thanedar. On the evening of September 11, 2001, as the country reeled from unimaginable tragedy, members of the House and Senate gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. No one knew if Congress itself was safe, yet they stood together anyway—not as partisans, but as Americans.
Rethinking Retirement: Why Waiting Is the Real Trap
The following is adapted from Men@Pause by Matthew Ray Scott, Christopher J. Lisle, and G. Bryan Cornwall. The retirement brochure looks perfect, doesn’t it? Golf courses, beach walks, endless leisure. But here’s what they don’t show you: Monday morning, 7:00 a.m. No meetings. No purpose. Just time. We’ve been sold a story about retirement—that it’s a finish line, a stop, a reward for decades of work. A day when we finally “have time.” But time for what?
The Courage to Reset: Finding Your True Voice Beyond
The following is adapted from C.O.U.R.A.G.E. by Christopher O.H. Williams. From the outside, my decision to retire from full-time corporate work seemed abrupt. How could I walk away from a thriving career and decades of momentum? The truth is, it wasn’t sudden at all. It was the culmination of a long, quiet build-up—a shift in priorities that began as a faint whisper and grew into a resounding call I could no longer ignore. For years, I had been climbing, chasing milestones, and collecting accolades.
The Power of Authenticity in Leadership and Life
The following is adapted from Good Drama! by Carmen I. White and Lennie A. Smith. For years, we kept our marriage a secret. We feared that being married might undermine our credibility, affect our income, or make us appear less professional. But over time, we realized that hiding our relationship was actually a missed opportunity. Being married wasn’t a weakness—it was a unique strength. When we began openly acknowledging our marriage, everything shifted.
Welcome to The Giving of Us
The following is the first chapter of The Giving of Us by Glenna Shawn. The early drivers on Route 29 were enjoying the morning light. The air was crisp, and the sun was warm. Driving at top speed, Tim felt his first thrill of the day. It was a better adrenaline rush than his morning coffee. As he drove, he relished the air, the scenery, and especially the feeling of the sweet-smelling wind blowing through his hair and the sun on his face.
What a Rat Infestation Taught Me About Leadership
The following is adapted from VIDA by Ron Lovett. The rat problem at the 32-unit townhouse complex was like something out of a horror movie. They were everywhere. We caught dozens every day, but they just kept coming—chewing through front doors and burrowing into people’s homes. One resident sent me a video I’ll never forget: a rat scaling her glass patio door in broad daylight. Not scurrying, not hiding—just clinging there like it owned the place. She stood frozen behind the glass, terrified.
The Power of Paradox: Finding Meaning in Contradictions
The following is adapted from 7 Principles of Nature by Aldrich Chan. Paradox is woven into the fabric of life. Opposing forces, rather than simply canceling one another out, often create balance and reveal deeper truths. Without our tendency to categorize, we might see paradox not as contradiction but as the wholeness of experience holding everything in tension. The world itself is paradoxical.
The Silent #MeToo in Medicine
The following is adapted from Doctoring While Female by Kolleen Dougherty. Back in 2018, my hospital chose not to renew the contract of a prominent female surgeon. On its own, that decision might not have meant much. But it wasn’t the first time—and it wouldn’t be the last. Over the course of about five years, ten female surgeons left our institution. They weren’t retiring or leaving to raise families. They were moving on—to other hospitals, other systems, other opportunities. Two thoracic surgeons.
When I Realized My “Friendship” Was Just Free Labor
The following is adapted from I Buried Her in a French Press by Sarah Barnes-Humphrey. The moment I realized Bonnie was taking advantage of me was when she asked me to cut my honeymoon short to work a trade show—for free. When I said no, she accused me of leaving her in a bad spot. That’s when I finally saw what our “friendship” really was: she wasn’t my friend, she was using me. There had been red flags before, of course.
Practical Marketing Tactics That Actually Move the Needle
The following is adapted from The Lead Docket Book by Ivan Rodrigues. If you’re looking for simple, proven marketing strategies that deliver real results, the following tactics are worth implementing. Even if you only adopt one, you’ll see a difference in how prospects engage with your firm. These are field-tested approaches that consistently help firms convert more leads and strengthen client relationships. Send a Thank-You Message with a Contact Card First impressions matter.
The Rational Case for Optimism
The following is adapted from Lords of the Cosmos by Arjun Khemani and Logan Chipkin. Is optimism just a mood—something some people are born with and others aren’t? In a world filled with problems like racism, poverty, and violence, isn’t optimism naïve? After all, many insist that such evils will always exist. This assumption is what philosophers call pessimism: the belief that some problems are permanent and unsolvable. But pessimism is not just gloomy—it’s wrong.
The Best Trade I Ever Made Was the One I Walked Away From
The following is adapted from Money and Meaning by Christopher F. Poch. For several years, I served on Citigroup’s Global Capital Commitment Committee—the group that determined which securities the firm would underwrite and release to the public. The stakes were high. If a deal went wrong, the firm’s reputation and finances were both on the line. My job often had less to do with celebrating opportunities and more to do with identifying risks.
Rowing Together: How Clarity Revived a Struggling Brand
The following is adapted from Built on Belief by Matt Marcotte. When I served as regional director for Gap’s Boston region, I oversaw sixty stores and nearly a thousand employees. At the time, Gap was slipping. Once the darling of Wall Street, the brand had drifted from its core customers in pursuit of a new audience that never materialized. We alienated loyal shoppers and lost our clarity of purpose.
How Kyle Thiermann Turned a Viral Podcast Moment into a Breakout Debut Book and a Launch Built on Generosity
Kyle Thiermann had never written anything longer than ~3,000 words—despite years of experience as a journalist, copywriter, and podcaster (400+ episodes).
How Shark Tank Winner Shaan Patel Leveraged a Book Launch to Drive Record Revenue for Prep Expert
Shaan Patel had lived both sides of publishing. He’d published traditionally (and saw what “professional” really looks like), but the royalties were tiny—he earned roughly $0.30–$0.50 per copy on a book that sold more than 50,000 copies. After that, he self-published several books DIY-style, but the process and polish didn’t match what he wanted—especially for test prep, where complex layouts, diagrams, equations, and formatting make production far more demanding than a standard text-based book.
BookTok and the Business of Reading
BookTok and the Business of Reading Every generation reinvents reading. Sometimes it’s a format shift: the printing press, the e-reader, the audiobook. Other times it’s something stranger: a cultural movement hiding in plain sight on an addictive, purportedly harmful app built for dancing teenagers. Today, the beating heart of book discovery is neither a bookstore table nor a critic’s column. It’s a hashtag. #BookTok has accumulated more than 370 billion views across 60 billion videos.
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