Stop Calling Elon Musk A Genius
The damaging effects of thinking he’s so special
Elon Musk is not a genius
Stop telling yourself that he is. Stop telling other people that he is.
When you call Elon a genius, you imply that he is superior in an inaccessible way.
This helps NOBODY.
When you call Elon a genius you suggest that
- He was born with abilities that we do not have and can not acquire.
- His brain works in ways beyond what we could ever achieve.
- It is not worth attempting to succeed at his level.
I’m not claiming to be as smart as Elon Musk.
Instead, I’m claiming his intelligence is less distant when you demystify it.
Let’s analyze a few components of his success.
- Elon Thinks Big: He is willing to dream on a massive scale. His imagination is limitless. Mars? Why not?
- Elon Asks Questions: Is this physically possible? Is there a better way? How could I make this work?
- Elon Uses Aggressive Timelines: He is always filled with urgency. You know the feeling of facing a highly public deadline; you work especially hard to meet it.
- Elon Challenges Assumptions: Do we need to do things the same way as everyone else? What if we did the opposite? Why? Why? Why?
- Elon Builds Rigorous Fundamental Knowledge: He learns physics by reading difficult textbooks, not by trolling Wikipedia. The height of a pyramid is limited by the size and strength of the base.
- Elon Delegates: He builds teams of experts and lets them contribute.
- Elon has a high Risk Tolerance: Elon is willing to fail. When you swing for the fences, you miss more often. When you hit, however, the ball sails much further.
- Elon isn’t addicted to comfort: Elon (at least in the past) was not married to a baseline quality of luxury life. He was willing to stake his entire fortune on his ideas.
Are any of these traits beyond your capabilities?
Elon may be a lot smarter than average, but it is his habits that drive his success.
It isn’t raw intellectual horsepower. It is intelligent habits, systems, and questions.
It isn’t raw brains. It is bravery, chutzpah, and curiosity.
Stop treating Elon like a one-in-a-billion genetic possibility. Instead, treat him like an above-average guy with incredible success habits.
Stop selling yourself short and worshipping a human. This is golden calf 101.
Instead, build yourself to his level. Become a critical thinker. Ask big questions.
The more you study someone, the less of a genius you realize they are.
The more we tell each other that Elon is a genius, the fewer Elon Musk’s we will produce as a society.
You can do great things too. I assure you, you have what it takes.
