If you’re worth $15.6 billion, and you have 3 companies that are fulfilling your fantasies of changing the world, would you stop dreaming?
I sure hope not!
This is the case for Elon Musk. CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc., CEO of Neuralink, Chariman of SolarCity, and Co-chairman of OpenAI.
Musk’s long term goal is to colonize Mars. The dream is that humans can continue surviving on our neighboring Red Planet.
Since Musk was young, he was always fascinated with Sci-Fi, space, and engineering. In his self-titled biography, “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashlee Vance, a young Musk would read endlessly.
Musk read so much that at one point in his childhood, he ran out of books to read at his local library. He resorted to reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica to quench his thirst for information.
Fast forward through two successful start ups (Zip2 and PayPal) that were sold to larger parent companies for millions of dollars, and we have Musk with millions of dollars and his determination to turn his dreams into reality.
After successfully growing his three existing companies, Musk proposed the idea of the Hyperloop in 2013. Imagine a hyper-fast train that will take you from LA to the SF Bay Area in roughly 30 minutes.
For perspective, Google Maps estimates that the driving distance from Los Angeles to San Francisco is 348 miles. Or roughly 5 hours and 48 minutes of driving, without traffic of course.
While total flight time from LAX to SFO is roughly an hour, it’s really more like a 3–4 hour ordeal — assuming you get to the airport 2 hours in advance and considering the traffic to get to the airport.
Musk’s dreams don’t stop there.
A few months ago, I saw a business Insider video floating through my Facebook newsfeed. It was a simulation of an underground tunnel that Musk hypothesized would significantly reduce the terrible traffic running rampant through the maze of concrete freeways.
Whenever I see a new idea by Musk, I’m always left thinking about where these ideas come from.
For starters, the man apparently abhors being inconvenienced by traveling
He’s non-stop
From his obsession with Sci-Fi novels and engineering, Musk has always dreamed of a better world. Thus far he has a fantastic track record of success.
One consistent concept that Vance introduces into the biography is Musk’s network. Musk surrounds himself with like-minded people who dream as largely as he does.
In fact, he’s good friends with Google Founders Larry Page, and Sergey Brin. They even have a secret apartment in Palo Alto where they brainstorm out of this world ideas.
A close friend to Musk and Venture Capitalist, George Zachary, attended one such meeting. Zachary described the meeting to Vance in Musk’s biography by saying the following:
I was there once, and Elon was talking about building an electric jet plane that can take off and land vertically. Larry said the plane should be able to land on ski slopes, and Sergey said it needed to be able to dock at a port in Manhattan. Then they started talking about building a commuter plane that was always circling the Earth, and you’d hop up to it and get places incredibly fast. I thought everyone was kidding, but at the end I asked Elon, ‘Are you really going to do that?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’
It’s obvious that Musk NEVER stops dreaming. He’s always finding ways to make the world a better place.
His dreams may seem out of this world (pun intended) but that doesn’t stop him from trying to make them a reality.
Also, Musk and company are not shutting down ideas. They’re believing anything is possible and working to bring them fruition.
I applaud Musk, Brin, and Page for dreaming so big. It’s not an easy feat to conjure up ideas on such a grand scale.
However, what’s more impressive to me is that the 3 entrepreneurs have not stopped dreaming. Despite having a combined estimated net worth over $100 billion, and running massive companies, they keep dreaming.
Now it’s your turn
How we can apply this? Simple. Never stop dreaming.
We all have fantasies and visions of what we truly want out of life. However, for whatever reason, we have not fulfilled them nor are we making strides towards turning our dreams into reality.
While the reason behind our inhibition is important, I want you to focus on that dream. Tap into your inner imagination.
Think to yourself about the dream or fantasy you once had, or still have.
Remind yourself of what that dream means to you. Recall how that dream made you feel. Remember the motivation and inspiration for that dream. Recollect that feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment from your dream.
If you already have a dream or are working towards your dream, that’s great! Don’t lose sight of your dream. Stay consistent and focus on your progress. After all, you already have your dream in mind.
I do propose a two questions to my fellow dreamers…How can your dream be bigger? What else can come from your dream?
Regardless of the size of your dream, don’t be afraid of it. Move towards it. Any action that helps bring your dream to fruition is progress.
“When eating an elephant take one bite at a time.” — Creighton Abrams, United States Army General
Readers, now that you have your dream in the front of your mind, what are you waiting for?
-KG
