Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance: How to change the world

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About the Author

Ashlee Vance is a NYT best-selling author and feature writer at Bloomberg Businessweek. He's also the host of the Hello World television and internet show. Previously, he worked as a reporter for The New York Times, The Economist and The Register.

Source: http://www.ashleevance.com/

Click here to buy on The Book Depository

https://www.bookdepository.com/Elon-Musk/9780753557525/?a_aid=stephsbookshelf

About the Book

This biography is an incredible dive into the life of the man who is both private and prolific; Elon Musk. 

Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits.

More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy.

Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25541028-elon-musk

BIG IDEA 1 (3:11) - If at first you don’t succeed. The determination and sacrifice of Elon Musk both in personal and professional perspective was very clear throughout the book. He just keeps trying and going, adjusting and learning, adapting things and moving forward in the pursuit of continuous improvement. This is not just about advancement but taking taking things to the next level of possibility.

His level of dedication towards betterment was very inspiring, and that it’s not just for his personal enjoyment but how he applies it to the biggest problems of today and the future.

BIG IDEA 2 (4:13) - Surround yourself with the best. In his professional pursuits, Musk has gone after the best people in the field. He would hunt them down to convince them to work with him and bring his (seemingly crazy) ideas to life. However, whilst he seeks to surround himself with the best people, he can also let go of people quite abruptly (both personal and professional).

BIG IDEA 3 (5:31) - Learn, learn, learn. Ever since Elon Musk was young he was obsessed with learning. Everytime he finds topic he’s interested in or curious about, he will go deep. He is an exceptionally prolific reader who learns across disciplines.  

He has a knack for getting back to first principles; starting from scratch and finding the links and the intersections and bringing them to life to connect fields in ways that may haven’t been considered previously.

In all his curiosities, he’s not simply asking ‘how’ or ‘why’ but more importantly he’s asking ‘what if’ and ‘why not’. It gives us a message about the importance of reading and learning across disciplines and challenging how things are currently done.

Link to Michael Simmons article on how Elon learns faster and better than everyone els

Music By: Elevating Burst ByIan Post

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