Elon Musk was asked by a teenager at a public event what he should study in school to be like Elon when he grows up.
He said "don't try to be like me. I'm not happy."
The audience laughed nervously. Elon didn't laugh. He let the silence sit for a moment then continued. He said the things that make him effective at building companies are the same things that make him terrible at being a person. The obsession that produces rockets destroys relationships. The work ethic that saves companies ruins health. The focus that solves impossible problems blinds him to the simple ones happening in his own house.
He told the teenager that the version of success the world sees is real but incomplete. The rockets are real. The loneliness is also real. The wealth is real. The inability to sit still for five minutes without feeling like something is being wasted is also real. Both exist in the same person at the same time and he's not sure the trade was worth it.
He said if the teenager wants to build things that matter he should do it. But he should do it with his eyes open. Knowing the cost isn't hypothetical. It's specific. It's every birthday he missed. Every relationship he watched dissolve. Every morning he woke up and felt the weight of his own choices pressing down before his feet hit the floor.
The teenager asked a question about success. Elon answered with a warning. And the warning was more valuable than any success story because it came from the only person qualified to give it. The man living inside the answer.
i understand now why so many office workers are kpop fans. you really need this type of whimsy in ur life when ure sat down for 8 hours inside a concrete room staring at a google sheet
@meyonkei Hahaha actually some places got de but i also forgot but definitely not first time seee heheee now got pistachio coconut also very jengs hehehehe