27. Elon

1. With Elon Musk, I knew some about him going into the novel, but I learned that he is like Steve Jobs in a lot of ways.  This was one of the things that really got me most interested in him.  He is always dedicated to his work and perfection.  He is not as emotionally charged as Jobs, but the two's ability to look far beyond the realm of possibility is what truly makes the two unique.  With Musk, I think that his upbringing was very interesting and he has built an alter ego with his professional life.  Like it was mentioned with the visit from his friend, someone who started as shy and geeky always getting bullied by other children turned into a man that had confidence and swagger with an ability to push his weight around.  I would love to be as much as a visionary as he is.  He looks to the future dreams of the impossible and builds it into possibility.  Like Jobs, I admire Musk's ability to not accept no as an answer.  He only wants to hear when, and his goals for himself are far off the actual time needed to complete them.  This is something to admire.  With this though, there are times that you end of hurting the little people involved.  However, I think that there is a balance that if achieved, could be quite effective.

2. The major competency that Elon has is his ability to be a visionary in every situation.  I think that this is the primary reason that people do not think that he will make a great executive, but I think that visionaries serve a unique purpose as well.  Without them, we fall into a world of realism, which is great for structure, but awful for the development.  If we want to remain on our current path, great, but if we want to improve the world risk is necessary.  Elon Musk and most entrepreneurs understand this.  Also, his ability to convince people that his ideas are realistic by driving to see the finish product when people think his ideas are impossible.  In my specialty, political campaigns, we have to hope for the best and work expecting the worst.  I would love to escape this mold, because how Elon approaches his visions makes him much more effective.

3. I was not confused by the novel, but a greater understanding of some of his personal relationships would have been beneficial.  You hear that he goes through PR personnel frequently, and you hear some of the reasoning.  However, the Jobs novel was much more descriptive about his emotional range and quick temper and you could easily understand why his personal relationships were not as successful.  I do not feel like I got the same level of depth with Elon.

4. What is advice that you can give to someone who wants to have a lasting impact on the trajectory of this world from the perspective of an entrepreneur?

What markets do you think are untapped or need drastic innovation in order to bring our STEAM back to its prior levels of development?

5. I just really want to find something that I am passionate about and can see its efforts affect humanity.  I do not think that anyone is actually working if they enjoy what they are doing.  When I first applied for my position at Publix, I told them that you never have to work a day in your life, if you love what you do.  They then responded with, "well there will be days when you work here."  That was a kind of disappointing response because I still live by the same optimism.  I try every day to make things enjoyable, I try to learn something new, and work towards new goals.  If we do not do that, then there is no point to work.  If this is an activity that you are going to participate in for 40-60 years of your life, why be miserable.  So getting back to the idea of hard work.  I think that Elon is dedicated, but I doubt that he sees much of it as work.  He is there to make a difference and do something that he is passionate about.  If he saw any of it as work, I am sure that he would retire on his billions.  I live the same way, the day that I feel I am working is the same day that I try to change where I am and work towards something that I enjoy.