"A Beautiful Mind": What makes Elon Musk, First Among Equals

Writing about Elon Musk has become fashionable, almost to the point of being passe. Just today I read a post by someone suggesting 'ways to be famous on LinkedIn' - and it seems when all else fails - talking about Elon Musk helps.

This article, at that time lay in a draft stage, and I almost wondered if I should write it at all. But I did anyway, and for a very specific reason.

For the longest time in my life, I have struggled to answer the question "who is your role-model..". I have admired many people, but never found one single person who embodies all that I wanted to be.

I am not about to tell you that Elon Musk is that person.

But he comes close.

I write about Elon Musk, because he is one person whose mind absolutely fascinates me.

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Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter.

- John Forbes Nash Jr., A Beautiful Mind

Every once in a while, in the human existence, come across these genius minds. Minds which are special not because of a higher ability of math, science or arts; but because they see the world so differently, than everyone else.

A view that is so apart from the popular notion that, before common minds begin to admire that view, they often, as history has stood to witness...

• Find it blasphemous
• Feel shocked
• Feel threatened
• Mock, insult
• Punish

Elon musk is often seen as a role-model entrepreneur and innovator; perhaps in the same league as his contemporaries like Jeff Bezoz, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Ma.

But to my mind Elon Musk is, like the title of the Jeffery Archer book read profoundly, first among equals.

As I see it, Elon Musk is one of those genius minds, that walk on the surface of the earth, seeing reality much different from the way, the rest of the world does.

Here are two very rare qualities, in a rarer combination, that set him apart.

1. Beautiful mind
2. Unadulterated perception

#1) Beautiful mind

Elon Musk was in a conversation with Chris Anderson on the Ted platform. During that conversation Anderson gave voice to a question that many may have on their mind:

"...there are so many desperate things happening on the planet now from climate to poverty to, you know, you pick your issue. You should be solving what's here and now. And to be fair, you've done a fair old bit to actually do that with your work on sustainable energy. But why not just do that?"

(The reference was perhaps to a company like SpaceX, which stems from Musk's thought of making multi-planetary existence of human beings possible.)

Elon Musk's response to the above question was this:

"I look at the future from the standpoint of probabilities. It's like a branching stream of probabilities, and there are actions that we can take that affect those probabilities or that accelerate one thing or slow down another thing. I may introduce something new to the probability stream. Sustainable energy will happen no matter what. If there was no Tesla, if Tesla never existed, it would have to happen out of necessity.....

....Then there's becoming a multi-planet species and space-faring civilization...It's very important to appreciate this is not inevitable."

That answer blew me away. And it was not the first time I felt that way, listening to this man.

The reason Elon Musk does the things he does, is not merely the outcome of courage, problem solving or any other of those usual qualities.

Elon Musk's work is the outcome of an extraordinary mind, that sees reality in a way, very few can.

#2) Unadulterated perception

In the movie, Murder on the Oriental Express, world-famous detective (a creation of author Agatha Christie), Hercule Poirot, says:

"I can only see the world, as it should be...."

Poirot was talking about his painfully obsessive need for things to be perfect, to the point of madness. Or, that is how the world saw it.

Poirot saw things as they should be, and any imperfection or anomaly stood out, helping him become the world's greatest detective.

I have a name for this.

I call it, unadulterated perception.

Almost all of us, see the world through conditioned eyes. Eyes of unclear perception.

We "get used to" things.

Start seeing things as a part of the scheme.

We assume.

There are few people who don't.

Children don't.

Which is why they ask the most basic and therefore the toughest questions.

And just a few handful of adults. A few.

Newton. Actually "noticed" that the apple "fell down".

He "saw it". Questioned it.

Crazy question right? Crazy, to the rest of the world.

Elon Musk saw, we might run out of resources on Earth.

He asked..

So how do we transport people to other planets?

How do we become an multi-planetary species?

He saw that we are going to run out of road space, and there is so much that ariel routes can do. But we can dig down - many levels...

So how can we dig?

Crazy?

What common people see as crazy questions, are merely obvious questions to a mind with unadulterated perception.

While the world thinks of the PROBABILITY of something,

Genius minds simply see the POSSIBILITY of it.

It has nothing to do with courage or guts.

It is simply seeing things as they should be, and going after it as a logical response to it.

Elon Musk has many million dollars riding on him at this point in time...

I don't know what is going to be the stock markets results of Tesla or the rest...

And irrespective of whether you can uber a rocket to Mars anytime soon...

Elon Musk's mind will continue to fascinate me.

If we can dig deep and find that kind of mind inside us...

And eyes of such unadulterated perception...

We may just come close to pulling off, in our lives, what the man, who came close to becoming my role model, continues to..

"Crazy thought".. you might think...

I know... low probability... that we can wake up from our conditioned stupor...

But, who cares about probability...

When we can have a beautiful mind, that just needs to see a single stream of possibility!

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(Disclaimer: No part of this blog maybe copied or reproduced or reused or republished in any way, except using the share feature of LinkedIn. Any other form of reuse, must be only after explicit written consent of the author.)

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Swati is a writer and entrepreneur. She has been listed on the LinkedIn Top Voices 2017.

While she writes on a wide variety of subjects, her favorite topics are leadership, life & purpose, artificial intelligence and education.

Swati is the author of a unique book on entrepreneurship, called:

The Entrepreneur’s Soulbook — Is it your cup of tea? Link to the book

She runs her own venture, the GhostWritersWorld (LinkedIn Page)/(website)

Connect with her on Twitter @swatcat_sj

Her other LinkedIn articles are here.

Some of her favorite ones are..

Technology & product

1. “If Robots will do everything, what will humans do”: Why AI Rhetoric deeply worries me
2. “Justice delayed is justice denied”: Could AI and Data Science be the answer to India’s judicial backlog?
3. Flirt with your product ideas, don’t fall in love
4. LOL … driverless cars for India??: When AI meets Cows, Rajinikanth and Ganpati
5. Love in the time of Artificial Intelligence: Valentine’s Day 2030
6. “Who pays the price?”: Why PRODUCT INNOVATION without SERVICE EXCELLENCE hurts customers — the ETHICS of product innovation

Leadership and Organization

1. “If you are nothing without the suit, you don’t deserve it”: 3 cardinal tests for anyone who calls himself leader
2. 3 unforgettable lessons I learnt from an Indian Ed Tech Leader
3. “Oh! You are sensitive”: Why sensitive is a TABOO word — and LEADERS should consciously HIRE such people in teams
4. “I love solving problems”: The BIG problem with problem solving
5. “So why are you leaving?”: Don’t treat retention discussions like a ONE TIME date
6. Sophisticated-fear-based-management: 3 unmistakable signs
7. Interns or cheap labor? Making internship count
8. “Travis may be Uber, but Uber cannot be Travis: The curious case of Charismatic leaders”

Diversity and Inclusion

1. Not FEMALE bodies, we need FEMININE minds: The missing link in organizational diversity
2. “Women can’t code because of Biology: 3 reasons it was a BIG MISTAKE for google to fire James Damore (perspectives of a feminist)
3. 3 taboo questions Millennials are asking, leaving hiring managers shocked
4. Why the ‘Corporate-style Women’s Day Celebrations’ gives me the creeps
5. The OOUCH of maternity leaves: Why managers secretly dread it
6. Man or Woman? Who should lead gender diversity? Why we are simply asking the WRONG question.
7. “She has good figure”: Why creating a safe place to work takes much more than just sexual harrassment policy

Life & purpose

1.”But I have bills to pay..”: Why the PREMISE we build our life on, DECIDES how far we will go..

2. “How is life? Well, going on.”: Why you should NOT quit your job, but GRADUATE from it

3.The Monkey Catcher’s Lesson: Why we get stuck in our jobs, situations, emotions..

4. “Anger is remembered pain”: 3 steps to healing from difficult experiences at workplace

5. “How is life? Well, going on..”: Why you should NOT quit your job, but GRADUATE from it

6. A “50-over-50” list: Pressures of adults “growing up” in a world of over-achieving youngsters

7. The (difficult) art of doing nothing and why it matters in a world proud of “busy”

8. 500 Uber rides without driver talking on the phone: My personal starfish story

9. “Here is a muffin that will make you successful”: The unspoken truth about success

10. 5 reasons we should “stop fighting” for a cause

11. “You are hiding something”: 4 reasons we find it difficult to trust those we love

12. “Pick your battles”: Fine, but how?

Education

1. The Yin and Yang of Ed-Tech: Will schools even survive the next 10 years?
2. Why we “grown-ups” are the biggest reason the education system must change urgently
3. “No chair for teacher”: Is it time we do away with this regressive and myopic policies