Ep. #133: MFL Book Club Podcast: Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance

[00:00:00] Hey, this is Mike from Muscle for Life and I’m often asked about books. People ask me for book recommendations on various topics. They ask me what books to read. What book I am currently reading and what books I have recently read and what my favorite books are and so forth. And as an avid reader, I am always happy to oblige and get some book recommendations in return as well.

I also just like to encourage people to read as much as possible because I think that knowledge benefits you much like compound interest benefits your bank account in that the more you learn the more you know and the more you know the more you can do and the more you can do the more opportunities you have to succeed.

And on the flip side, I also believe that there is little hope for people who aren’t perpetual learners. I know that might sound a [00:01:00] little bit pessimistic or cynical to you, but let’s face it, life is overwhelmingly complex and chaotic. And if we look around, we can find plenty of evidence that it simply suffocates and devours the lazy and ignorant.

So if you are a bookworm and you’re on the lookout for good reads, or if you’d like to just get into the habit of reading more, then this book club is for you. The idea is very simple, every week I’m going to share a book that I’ve particularly liked and I’m going to tell you why I liked it and give you several of my key takeaways from it.

I’m also going to keep these episodes short and sweet so you can quickly decide whether or not a book is likely to be up your alley or not.

Okay. So this week’s book is Elon Musk by Ashley Vance. And if you like to read biographies and memoirs to find ideas, models, systems, habits, and so forth that extraordinary people have used to do extraordinary things, [00:02:00] then you definitely want to read this book. And just in case you have only recently arrived here on earth and spend most of your time up in orbit and therefore don’t know who Elon Musk is, he is one of the most fearless and visionary entrepreneurs around these parts.

No, seriously, though, Elon was one of the co founders of PayPal, and then he took the money that he made there to create three other companies, which are SpaceX, Tesla Motors and SolarCity, and SpaceX is a space exploration company. Tesla Motors is an electric car company and SolarCity is of course a solar energy company.

Now chances are you know those things and you also know that Elon’s genius, vision, work ethic, courage, and integrity has earned him billions of dollars and a cult of personality as well, and rightfully so if you ask me. If you read this book, you’ll see that his story is a master lesson in the power of thinking big, working hard, and refusing to give up.

And, I think that we’re lucky to have people like Ilan working for the betterment [00:03:00] of humankind as opposed to selling more knickknacks or creating new ways for us to waste more time on our smartphones. Alright, so now let’s get to my five key takeaways from this book. Starting with number one, which is quote, the guiding principle at SpaceX is to embrace your work and get stuff done.

People who await guidance or detailed instructions languish. The same goes for workers who crave feedback. And my note here is the world is absolutely starved for people that have initiative. People that are willing to venture out into unknown territories And risk large amounts of time, money, and effort on new and untried things that may ultimately come to absolutely nothing, maybe in the end, a complete waste of resources.

And if you can develop this trait in yourself, if you can become more enterprising, I really think that this is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to increase your earning potential and [00:04:00] ultimately your career potential, because right now. Out in the world, or even just in the company that you work in, there are an infinite number of problems that need solving.

And these are all opportunities. They’re just there waiting for someone to come along and figure them out. Why not you? Okay, second takeaway quote. And the absolute worst thing that someone can do is in Form Musk that what he’s asking is impossible. An employee could be telling Musk that there’s no way to get the cost on something like that actuator down to where he wants it, or that there is simply not enough time to build a part by Musk’s deadline.

Elon will say, fine, you’re off the project. And I am now CEO of the project. I will do your job and be CEO of two companies at the same time. I will deliver it. And what’s crazy is that Elon actually does it. Every time he’s fired someone and taken their job, he has delivered on whatever the project was.

And my note here is that a leader earns devotion by showing devotion and never asks his people to do something that he won’t do. [00:05:00] And I think you would be hard pressed to find someone more devoted to their vision and willing to shoulder any burden than Ilan. For example, several years ago, when it looked like both SpaceX and Tesla were going to fold, Ilan actually literally lived in his office.

He worked 18 to 20 hours per day, seven days a week. He slept on a beanbag for a few hours a night employees, there was a joke around the office and this is all recounted in the book, of course, but employees, they really wondered if he even showered because they never saw him not in his office.

That’s powerful. Hey, quickly, before we carry on, if you are liking my podcast, would you please help spread the word about it? Because no amount of marketing or advertising gimmicks can match the power of word of mouth. If you are enjoying this episode and you think of someone else who might enjoy it as [00:06:00] well, please do tell them about it.

It really helps me. And if you are going to post about it on social media, definitely tag me so I can say, Thank you. You can find me on Instagram at muscle for life fitness, Twitter at muscle for life and Facebook at muscle for life fitness. Okay. My third takeaway quote, as he sees it, all of the design and technology choices should be directed toward the goal of making a car as close to perfect as possible to the extent that rival automakers haven’t.

That’s what Musk is judging. It’s almost a binary experience for him. Either you’re trying to make something spectacular with no compromises or you’re not. And if you’re not, Musk considers you a failure. And my note here is that while perfectionism can be paralyzing, at some point, You do have to stop tinkering and just ship the thing.

Too many people though, think about too many things other than simply making the best product. What they fail to realize is that [00:07:00] the number one best way to grow a business is to just make. Products and services that are so good that customers will tell everyone about them. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to acquire new customers, but it’s also difficult because you have to earn it.

You can’t get it with fancy advertising or fancy marketing. You have to deliver the goods. You have to deliver an outstanding customer experience. And of course, a big part of that is delivering an outstanding product or service. All right. The next takeaway here. Quote, even then, as essentially a college kid with zits, Elon had this drive that this thing, whatever it was, had to get done, and that if he didn’t do it, he’d miss his shot.

I think that’s what the VCs saw, that he was willing to stake his existence on building out this platform. Musk actually said as much to one venture capitalist, informing him, my mentality is that of a samurai. I would rather commit seppuku than fail. And my note here is that when you can make decisions.

Big or small with this [00:08:00] amount of force and certainty and determinism. When you can say that you’re going to do something or not do something, and that only death can change this. I think you really enter a whole new realm of existence and potential. Go to said that boldness has That’s genius and power and magic in it.

And I’m really a believer of that. I think that the moment you can truly commit to an action or a plan or path, then all sorts of things just start aligning to help you that otherwise would never have occurred. You can find countless examples of this in the lives of great men and women throughout history and a.

Perfect and top of mind example is the life of Alexander, the great, and the reason why it’s top of mind is I just finished reading a biography of Alexander, the great by Philip Freeman, which I highly recommend. And while Alexander was a deeply flawed individual, I mean he [00:09:00] was a mass murderer after all, I’ll also say though that he was a product of his times and that’s what you did if you were a young ambitious king with military prowess, you go and conquer things.

But anyways, moral judgments aside, when you read about Alexander, you really can’t help but marvel at not just what he was able to do, but what he was willing to do. To do what he was willing to commit to and then actually execute and deliver on. He was just truly on another level, a level that you just don’t see.

You and I, we probably don’t know anyone that even possesses a fraction of Alexander’s will and determination and willingness to commit to doing things that should be impossible. And Elon. Seems to be one of those types of people. Rare. Okay, the fifth and final takeaway, here it is. Quote, Elon came to the conclusion early in his career that life is short.

If you really embrace this, it leaves you [00:10:00] with the obvious conclusion that you should be working as hard as you can. And my note here is, people often say that when you’re on your deathbed, you’re not going to be proud of how much you worked. And, I completely disagree. I think that If you spend your life in service of something greater than you, and engaged in meaningful work, you’re going to be very happy about it when you’re on your deathbed.

What you’re not going to care about is the shit that people spend a lot of their time and put a lot of their attention into. How many video games you played, and how many TV shows you watched, or Political arguments you think you won on Twitter. I really do think that the only way to be truly satisfied with your life is to find some external cause that means enough to you to make it worth sacrificing your life to.

Something that makes all the trials and tribulations of life worthwhile. Worthwhile and endurable, and you’re only going to find that in work. You’re not gonna find it [00:11:00] in drugs, in entertainment, in food, or anything else that provides immediate gratification and immediate pleasure. And so I agree with Ilan.

I think one of the most important things we can do is find something that matters and then say to ourselves. This matters to me. I am going to commit myself to this. I’m going to sacrifice myself to this and then work tremendously hard at it. All right, that’s it for this week’s book review. I told you I’d keep it short and sweet.

I hope you found it helpful. And if you did and you don’t mind doing me a favor, could you please drop a quick review of iTunes or wherever you’re listening from? Because it really helps boost visibility, which ultimately helps more and more people find their way to the show and read. Check it out. And of course, if you want to be notified when the next episode goes live, then simply subscribe to the podcast and you won’t miss out on any of the new stuff.

And lastly, if you didn’t like something about this episode or just about the podcast on the whole, then [00:12:00] definitely shoot me an email at Mike at most for life. com and share your thoughts on how I could make things better. I read all the emails myself, and I’m always looking for constructive feedback. So thanks again for listening to the episode.

And I hope to hear from you soon. Oh and before you leave, let me quickly tell you about one other product of mine that I think you might like. Specifically, my flexible dieting cookbook, The Shredded Chef. This book has sold over 200, 000 copies in the last several years and helped thousands and thousands of men and women get the bodies they really want, eating the types of food that they really love.

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