Elon Musk

I finished Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson. Four lessons I took away for myself.

Question everything. One of the things Musks hates the most is when people tell him that 'it has to be done this way' or that there is a requirement. All the rules, requirements & processes were set by people. Breakthrough innovation requires us to question everything, no matter the rules.

Move fast. Musk had an idea about building underground tunnels to combat LA traffic. They had a meeting to discuss with the team on a Friday evening and two hours later the team was digging the first tunnel in SpaceX parking lot. To get something done, move fast.

Go hardcore. All of Musks big successes required maniacal work ethic and focus. Often the big leaps required his team to work around the clock to make it happen. When you care about something, go hardcore.

Don't be like Musk. Elon has seemingly the best life - he is one of the richest people on the planet, he flies rockets, builds self-driving cars, mingles with global leaders, and can afford everything in the world. Yet he seems constantly stressed and deeply unhappy. He has 10+ kids but hardly finds time to spend with them. The saddest lesson from the book was - don't be like Musk.