27 Reading Reflection #3

This time around I decided to read about an entrepreneur that did not correlate to my major or personal-likings at all. In Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, by Ashlee Vance I read about an ambitious, groundbreaking, sometimes very odd man. I was certainly most surprised by the stories of his upbringing. I had always assumed that he was American born and raised, came from an elite family and went to private schools / Ivy Leagues before making it in big in silicon valley. I couldn't have been further from the truth. He was born in Pretoria, South Africa to an emotionally abusive father and was constantly bullied. To say the least, his early life was hard to read about and IM sure even worse to experience. He moved to Canada alone at the age of 17 and enrolled in a college there before going to Upenn to study economics and physics. From there he moved to the west coast to start of his two start off projects which sold from 22 million and 180 million dollars. What I most admired was his willingness to follow his dreams. Regardless of what anyone else thought or said about him, no matter how crazy people thought his ideas were he went after them. What I admire least are some aspects of his quirky personality. In the book you don't get to know too much about him but from what is revealed its clear that he is a somewhat odd character. It is said he fired an employee for missing a meeting to attend the birth of one of his children. He has a rather arrogant air and is known for taking credit for others accomplishments. As I mentioned before, Musk encounter adversity at every turn in his life. From his un healthy upbringing to the belittling of his ideas, he has had to overcome a great deal. Although I mentioned that his personality was a bit cold for my liking, I really think it is what got him through all of these trials. In the end, he came out on top, his ideas not so crazy, and he has become one of the greatest minds of our lifetime. The parts in the book that talked about SpaceX and Tesla, and all of the technical things behind it were the most confusing by far. The novel even included footnotes for the more technologically advanced that knew what was being described, but as a complete novice, I was lost. If I could ask Elon Musk two questions they would be: What do you think will come out of sending people to Mars? and what is to come next from "The boring company"? I think Mr. Musk's opinion of hard work is a very dedicated and strenuous one. His colleagues said that sometimes he would work 23 hour days. He only hires people who can keep up with his crazy conditions. His work ethic  believe is unparalleled  because the size of his dreams are unmatched.