Amarakoon Bandara

National Organizer, National People’s Party

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@Optimus832 @LashanieDe SL experiment (wrongly tho) all the time because we are not educated on the political economy front. So very eager to select any who promises to give everything free

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@RacingRambo @LashanieDe It’s not due to capitalism but because of crony capitalism

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@LashanieDe Very true

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@ruffydfire If CBN doesn’t use the policy rate effectively it will affect the exchange rate. So, CBN needs to break the cycle of high inflation , high interest rate by focusing more on fighting inflation even if it means negative impacts on businesses in the short term

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@ruffydfire Naira had been overvalued for so long (by about 95% since mid 2018). So this means if you take only inflation into account (ignoring the effects of deterioration in productivity, political instability etc) you will expect an exchange rate to hover around 850-900.

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@ruffydfire So, it’s imperative to depreciate at some point by market forces, if not by authorities. Usually, when the exchange rate is abruptly liberalized, it will overshoot. That’s what happened in Nigeria. But market will stabilize if everything remains the same.

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

https://t.co/8xx9QRxXVP

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

Rest In Peace Mathew Perry

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

Today, I joined the National People’s Party, as the National Organizer.
We dedicated ourselves for nation building by implementing people centered policies with a vision for sustainable development, eliminating corruption, putting in place a robust governance system. #SriLanka

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@lukasFragas @stats_feed One would get only $28 if Elon Musk distributed his wealth equally to all. The problem won’t be solved

[Farzad 🇺🇸 🇮🇷 @farzyness]

A call for doers.
My thoughts on Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk biography.

I’ve been following Elon Musk and his companies for the better part of a decade. I started investing in Tesla, the electric car/energy/AI company, in 2012. That started me down a rabbit hole that I haven’t been able to escape to this day. I’ve spent more time than I care to admit researching all his companies, the industries they play in, the man himself, and everything on the periphery.

In 2017, I had the opportunity to work at Tesla, which I did for the better part of 4 years. I left the company in 2021, with a ridiculous amount of knowledge, a ton of scars, friends for life, and financial independence. I knew my time was up once I couldn’t muster the same fire I had when I first entered the company. Without the fire, the company will chew you up and spit you out. Working at a Musk company is not for the faint of heart. The second I came to the realization and before feeling like I’m being chewed up, I moved on. Easily the best job I’ve ever had.

Now that I gained one of the biggest luxuries a human can have - time - I was left wondering about so many things from my time at Tesla.

How did Elon create such an insanely successful company, in one of the hardest industries in the world, with Tesla?

How come everyone I worked with was so maniacal about working as hard as they could while putting themselves through insane pain? What is the secret sauce?

How did he do the same exact thing with SpaceX, a rocket company?

How does he have time to have 4 more companies on top of that?

How does he have 10 kids on top of that?

How does he have time to have relationships on top of that?

And most importantly - is Elon an Alien?

I did not understand. A normal person would probably say “yeah, that’s pretty crazy right? So what are your plans tonight?” But a lunatic like me has been searching for the answer, on top of many more, that he and his companies raise.

I’ve been so obsessed about this that 5 weeks after I left the company, once I became so bored that my pastime became throwing things at my wife, I started creating YouTube videos on a complete whim about my time at Tesla.

And now, almost 2 years to the date after I left on 9/17/21, Walter’s book comes out and answers SO MANY QUESTIONS I’ve had about the man, his companies, and what makes him tick.

First - I want to give a giant shout out to Walter for writing one of the easiest books that I’ve ever read. Fast, to the point, with no filler, it reads in a way that makes it near impossible to put down. I wish more books were written this way. It’s no wonder he’s been so successful as an author. A truly incredible job.

And what’s more, this writing style is complemented by the fact that Elon Musk has figured out how to live 10 lives in 1.

As you read the book, all the way from his childhood to present day, I was continually thinking “how the hell is this the story of ONE person?”

A quick summary of Elon’s life:

Raised South Africa in a brutal household with an abusive father.
Witnessed a ton of violence, and was subject to it as a child from many angles.
Traveled on his own to Canada as a teenager, and later to the US.
Ends up building Zip2, which helps fund PayPal, which helps fund Tesla, SpaceX, Boring Company, Neuralink.
Almost died from Malaria.
Survives multiple near-catastrophic business failures with Tesla and SpaceX.
Marries, has children, divorces, marries, divorces again, has more children, today 10 in total.
Buys Twitter, renames it X.
Funds OpenAI, then funds competitor to OpenAI in X AI.
Constantly deals memes on X.

I mean seriously - who has time for all of this? And the dude is only 52. WTF.

But as you dig deeper, and you follow his story from beginning to end, it becomes clear the kind of person Musk is. Given all his epic strengths and giant weaknesses, if I were to summarize Elon Musk in a sentence, it would be this:

Elon believes that if he doesn’t optimize his life to work as hard as he possibly can to solve the most existential problems that face humanity, civilization’s chances of long term survival are significantly lowered.

How he arrives at that conclusion, and what he does in order to execute against it, is where Walter’s storytelling comes in, aided by Elon’s hectic, chaotic, epic, and confusing life.

In achieving this mission of making humans multiplanetary, transitioning the world to sustainable transport, ensuring AI is maximally positive for humanity, and ensuring free speech never dies, among others, he has surrounded himself with a group of people that trust him and his decision making to a level most leaders can only dream of. It also helps that these folks are some of the most brilliant minds that humanity has to offer.

Don’t believe me? All you have to do is look at Tesla’s valuation, which is more than most of its competitors combined, or the capability of SpaceX, which is humiliating the rest of the rocket industry with the amount of payload the company is capable of putting into orbit. This is not by mistake. Elon Musk has an embarrassment of talent around him and he has figured out how to put them to work to maximize results.

This same talent is witness to Elon’s most demanding and darkest side. In the quest of his missions, which he deems to be of extreme importance and extremely time critical, there’s no one that’s spared if they aren’t able to keep up with his sense of urgency and his extremely high standard of excellence, which in my opinion, can be quite unrealistic in times of stress.

There’s no doubt that after some people read the book and see how Elon handles folks that are not able to keep up, they would think twice about his approach. No feelings are spared. You will get chewed out. It requires a certain level of talent, patience, sacrifice, and foresight in order to avoid Elon’s dark side.

Some have figured it out. Many are still trying. Even more have faced the consequences. And even if some have figured it out, at some point, they’ll face his intensity and ruthless approach.

I had an intuition that this was the case. I heard stories while I was at Tesla on Elon’s approach. But one thing is obvious - it works. It may not be optimal when it comes to maximizing people's overall well-being. Let’s face it - it’s likely the complete opposite. But it does filter for only those that can survive the nonstop and constant demands that he, and his companies, put on themselves.

The rewards are companies that are changing what it means to be successful.

This is the big battle that I face when reading the story - the achievements of Elon and his companies are truly incredible. You’d be hard-pressed to find success stories that rival what he’s achieved with Tesla and SpaceX. But it comes at a giant price, both for himself and those around him.

The urgency that he has in fulfilling the missions of his companies - a type of anxiety I will call it - will oftentimes land him in very questionable situations. Like calling all-hands on deck surges that last multiple days and require around-the-clock work, putting himself and the entire team through a huge amount of stress that could feel necessary, but sometimes yield questionable results.

Or getting himself in some very questionable back and forths right here on X that, in my opinion, are a result of little sleep and a giant amount of stress, which don’t allow him to take a few extra minutes to fully diagnose the situation before pulling the trigger. And we’re not even talking about examples from his personal life that could cause you to raise an eyebrow more than once.

However, it must be said that when Elon does get himself into some deep doo-doo, he is extremely fortunate to have a support system that truly cares for him and are constantly trying to help him in any way they can, especially the members of his family. There may be an insane amount of drama in his life, but there’s also an insane amount of love.

And so, after reading the book, it becomes quite clear that no, Elon indeed is not an Alien. Very far from it. He’s very human. He just loves to live in the extremes, which appears hugely impacted by his genetics and his childhood.

Love him or hate him, from my standpoint, I think one thing is clear. Elon’s intentions are pure. He’s in it to be a service to humanity. He’s almost like an insanely powerful laser that civilization has at its disposal that is aimed at some of the most difficult problems we face. But sometimes, that laser starts pointing itself at things that don’t need a laser, and all of a sudden you have a mess on your hands.

For me, this book highlights just how difficult it is to make large-scale change. To change the fabric of society. To make mind-blowing technology. It highlights the kind of work ethic, sacrifice, and hard work that’s required to make things great. It highlights that one should never stop asking ‘why’, regardless of how insignificant you may think something is. That in the quest to make things that will dramatically help people, no stone should ever be left unturned.

But on that quest, even those with the best intentions could end up creating actions that are tough to justify.

Ultimately, it’s a call for more people to do things. To be willing to experience pain and anguish to pursue things that are really important. To leave ego at the door as much as possible and be willing to ask all the tough questions that need to be asked. To never back down from a challenge, regardless of how difficult it seems, and to surround yourself with people who are willing to walk through the fire with you, ready for war.

Just remember to wear your sunscreen, because flying close to the sun is a very hot place.

Thank you @WalterIsaacson, @elonmusk, and everyone involved for a thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@ElonMuskAOC Happy birthday Elon. Forget the cage fight, enjoy the day

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@ossap_sdgs @UN_Nigeria @UNDPNigeria @Adejoke_O_A Congratulations on your well deserved achievement Princess Adejoke.

[UNDP Nigeria @UNDPNigeria]

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We are looking to hire a firm to build a strong pipeline of women & youth-led SMEs seeking commercial capital.

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[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

Wish you all a very happy, peaceful and productive year 2023. May the new year bring in blessings for all, courage to be resilient and wisdom to make a better world.#HappyNewYear #Welcome2023 #

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

Wish you all, your families and loved ones a Merry Christmas. Let’s do our part to make a better world by adhering to ethics, walking the talk on standards and norms in public and private lives and “doing something that make you feel good”.

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@piersmorgan My prediction: Argentina to beat France 2:1. Both Messi and Mbappe to score a goal each

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@Cristiano No matter what the outcome, you are one of the greatest players ever. Good luck with your next steps

[Thilina Kaluthotage @ThilinaKalu]

A night view of Sri Pada (Adam's Peak) 🇱🇰
Adam's Peak is extremely popular with tourists for its alluring beauty and unmatched trekking. The peak, the seventh tallest peak in Sri Lanka, is also known as Sri Pada (sacred footstep) and Samanala Kanda (butterfly mountain).

[Amarakoon Bandara @ARWMM]

@BishowParajuli Yes, I am Bishow. I will soon follow you. Four more months.