Elon Musk warned new SpaceX employees during orientation that working for him might cost them their marriages, their health, and their best years.
He told them the mission is to make humanity multiplanetary. That the work required to achieve it is brutal. That the hours will be long and the pressure will be relentless and the personal cost will be real.
He said some of them would sacrifice their relationships. That they would miss birthdays and anniversaries and the moments with their children that you can never get back. That the work would consume years that in hindsight will feel like they went by in a month.
And then he said he was sorry in advance.
Not sorry enough to change the expectations. But sorry enough to say out loud what every startup founder thinks and never admits.
I am going to burn you. And I know it. And I need you anyway.
The honesty is brutal and also rare. Most companies pretend the grind doesn't exist. They talk about work-life balance while sending emails at midnight. They call it a family while firing people quarterly.
Musk just tells you the truth on day one. The mission is worth it. The cost is real. Decide now.
The fact that thousands of people hear this speech and stay tells you everything about what the right mission does to people. They'll walk into the fire voluntarily if they believe the reason is big enough.
I'm convinced that 99% of success is just the ability to outlast uncertainty. The one who can tolerate the most uncertainty is the one who will eventually win.
My favorite @elonmusk quote that I often send friends:
Do not fear losing. “You will lose,” Musk says. “It will hurt the first fifty times. When you get used to losing, you will play each game with less emotion.” You will be more fearless, take more risks.
Wealth used to follow geography, it then shifted to the best education. Now? It follows curiosity. The most curious person in any room is the most valuable person in any room.
“My largest positions aren’t the ones I think I’m going to make the most money from. My largest positions are the ones where I don’t think I’m going to lose money.”
— Joel Greenblatt
"Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth."
-Fyodor Dostoevsky