There are two ways to think about starting over.<ul><li>There’s the dramatic kind: a full-stop start over. A divorce happens. Start over. You’re terminated from a job. Start over. An accident happens. Start over.</li><li>Another type of fresh start is the daily reset. This is just waking up and choosing to have a fresh mind and set of intentions for a new day. It’s not as dramatic as a full-stop life change. It’s more subtle and straightforward. It’s the simple decisions we make to want to be better dads, moms, lovers, and leaders. It’s about setting goals to be better, that come from a desire to experience li<warningtag>fe more sweetly.</warningtag></li></ul>

The full-stop start over vs the daily reset

Moving off of a linear career path shifts you toward having a less conventional career. That means you might need to take a less conventional, more creative approach to open up opportunities. For example, instead of relying on job boards or traditional recruiters who tend to favor traditional candidates, you might need to focus on relying more on building connections through networking.

Resourcefulness

When you walk away from your current career, be prepared to face external judgment from colleagues, friends, family, and other professionals in your sector. Most people who want change are generally motivated by internal values and priorities others can’t necessarily see, e.g., more time with family, more fulfilling work and more personal growth.
For example, landing a cushy promotion is easy to spot. However, gaining more personal fulfillment might be less obvious to the casual observer. That means you can’t get too fazed by external judgment or criticism from people on the outside looking in who think your career seems off-track.

Being resilient when you start over

Changing careers is not for the faint of heart. It requires dedication and persistent commitment to creating the change you desire. It means continuing to move forward even when you feel like you’ve exhausted all of your options, making one more phone call, going to one more networking event or applying to one more position. Often that final push is what makes the difference, and that requires commitment and drive, remaining laser-focused on where you’re trying to go and not staying down for too long when facing hurdles along the way.

Drive

Change requires time, so the idea of flipping overnight from one profession to another is not realistic. Intermediate steps may be necessary. For example, enrolling in an evening course while holding down a full-time job, working toward obtaining a certification over time or taking up a side project that might not generate the desired returns in the short run. Being realistic about the time it takes to make a major change prevents frustration when progress takes longer than you had hoped.

Patience

Starting over almost always involves making a decision with an element of risk. Whenever you walk away from anything in which you’ve invested time, you really never know if you’re going to uncover something better or worse than your current situation. This is why moving on is often harder than holding on. At some point, though, you have to be willing to take a brave leap in order to pursue more meaningful work. Playing it safe is often not enough to deliver the kinds of significant shifts that make a real difference to your circumstances.

Bravery

Start over in your professional life: How you can put yourself on a new career path.

Full-fledged restart is scary. But I’ve found that those full-stop second chances in life end up being monumental breakthroughs in people’s lives.

career

Career

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

How to Start Over In Your Career: One Day At A Time

Unless people reduce CO2, methane, and other greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, sea levels will rise, and disastrous weather events may happen. The food system accounts for more than 30 percent of global GHG emissions, and the grocery sector has a unique opportunity to become the driving force for the decar­bon­ization of the entire food system while saving costs.

Cutting back on carbon emissions is a universal mission

The pressure from multiple stakeholders to make grocery sustainable is growing. <ul><li>37 percent of European consumers deeply care about sustainability. Many consumers already pay more for sustainable options that are also beneficial to themselves. </li><li>Sustainable employers stand a better chance to attract, retain and inspire purpose-driven people. </li></ul>

Sustainable grocery

<ul><li>Europe has set targets for reducing GHG emissions to achieve net zero by 2050. </li><li>Internationally, Glasgow's UN Climate Change Conference had the first concrete methane reduction pledges.</li><li>In New Zealand, the government plans to charge farmers for the methane emissions from the animals they keep.</li><li>In the Netherlands, plans to slash emissions associated with livestock farming gave rise to nationwide protests by farmers.</li></ul>

Regulations

Grocers can create transparency around current GHG emissions along the entire value chain.<ul><li>Scope 1. Direct emissions from grocers' operations.</li><li>Scope 2. Emissions from the generation of electricity and heat that grocers purchase</li><li>Scope 3. Emission from agriculture, food processing, waste, and transport upstream, as well as transportation, consumption, and waste downstream.</li></ul>Scope 1 and 2 emissions account for about 7% of the total, while 93% of emissions are outside the grocer's direct control.

Most emissions are outside the direct control of grocers

Energy consumption in stores can be reduced by 30–50 percent by modernising lighting, refrigeration, heating, ventila­tion, air condi­tioning, and cooling alone. Saving energy in stores can fall into four categories:<ol><li>net-zero stores</li><li>net-zero warehouses</li><li>net-zero fleets</li><li>sustainable manufacturing (for vertically integrated grocers)</li></ol> Each category has levers that are less and more disruptive. A potentially powerful lever is redesigning the grocer's network of distribution centres to shorten routes.

Decarbonizing grocery operations (Scope 1 and 2)

The bulk of grocery emissions occur during production and consumption. The biggest challenges is the key role dairy and meat play in the Western diet. The global cattle population is among the top three for GHG-emissions.

Decarbonizing food production and consumption (scope 3)

<ol><li>Provide more sustainable options, including both branded and private-label (PL) products. Substituting beef with plant-based alternatives can lead to a 90 percent reduction in emissions. Additional assortment-related levers include refillable packaging, products sold without any packaging, and reduced package size.</li><li>Create transparency for consumers. all PL products in a grocer’s assortment should have labels specifying their impact on consumer health and the environment.</li><li>Collaborate with farmers.</li><li>Collaborate with small and medium-size suppliers</li><li>Set ambitious targets for major CPG companies.</li></ol>

Five strategies to reduce scope 3 GHG emissions

Transforming the global food system will take many years. Grocers are well advised to embark on their decarbonization journeys today and position themselves at the forefront of the trans­formation by pursuing initiatives across three areas:<ul><li>Get the basics in place. Increase transparency around key sustaina­bility metrics and implement a scope 1 and 2 abatement strategy.</li><li>Develop a compelling sustainability value proposition to consumers.</li><li>Explore opportunities for disruptive business building.</li></ul>

Making it happen

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

Decarbonizing grocery

Elon Musk is one of the most influential people in the world, but his success is a result of deliberately subverting norms and challenging expectations.Though financial resources differ greatly among entrepreneurs, a calculated media strategy is something every entrepreneur can add to their toolkit. Let's unpack Musk's rise to fame, from his publicly celebrated business successes to his Twitter game, to see how any entrepreneur can take a note from Musk's playbook.

How Elon Musk Breaks The Rules

In the heat of the dot-com boom, Musk invited the cameras to get a first-hand look at his success.Although it was difficult for the public to understand the inner workings of Silicon Valley and VC money, Musk created an instantly recognizable icon in his sports car.

Strategy 1: Pour Gasoline on The Fire

<ul><li>In his early ventures, Musk lost control of his own companies</li><li>With Zip2, his investors appointed a more experienced leader, Richard Sorkin, to position the company for an acquisition</li><li>After his second company, X.com, became PayPal, he was again fired from his role as CEO while he was away from the office</li></ul>

Strategy 2: Make Your Business Personal

Rather than focusing on a clear path to profitability, Musk declares impossible feats to the world, such as getting humanity to Mars before he dies. People love rooting for success against all odds. As one of the richest and most powerful people in the world, Musk positions his companies as "Davids" by creating seemingly unbeatable "Goliaths."As an entrepreneur, your goals are more than financial and operational. Set goals with the power to motivate your workforce, attract an investor or engage your customers.

Strategy 3: Set Unrealistic Goals

Entrepreneurs know that the key to success is to stay laser-focused on their goals and objectives. Yet while Musk is so busy that he sleeps on an uncomfortable couch at the office, he always has time for the spotlight.With the exception of Bill Nye, most scientists aren't drawn to the big screen. Except Musk, who can be spotted in Iron Man 2 rubbing shoulders with Tony Stark, on South Park and The Simpsons, and hanging out with Howard on The Big Bang Theory. For someone focused on advancing mankind, Musk spends a calculated amount of time crafting his image.

Strategy 4: Ignore Your Lane

As an entrepreneur, remember that everything you post is a reflection of you and your business. When Musk posts nerdy memes, he's affirming that he's a part of a subculture that many of his customers associate with. When he offers emergency assistance to Ukraine, he's demonstrating the viability of his business goals. When he posts updates about his business, he's signalling to the world and his employees that he's in charge.What appears random is all a part of the bigger media strategy. Think about the image and signals you want to convey, and engage accordingly.

Strategy 5: Say What's on Your Mind

You are where you are because you challenged a convention, did something in an unexpected way or created something new. Know your end goal, and craft your image around it. From there, you can determine which rules were made to be broken, and how you will bend them in your favour.

Break The Rules

Bend and break those rules, Elon Musk style.

Five business strategies you can steal from this groundbreaking entrepreneur's playbook.

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

business

Business

The Richest Person on Earth Breaks Every Rule, And You Should Too

A quick note about cognitive biases. What are they? Why is knowing about them crucial? All humans make systematic errors in thinking—hurting our judgment. Being aware of cognitive biases will make you less susceptible to them.

Cognitive Biases

We judge everyone else on character but blame our shortcomings on the situation.Example: If Jane is late for work, she’s lazy. If you’re late for work, it’s because of traffic.

Fundamental Attribution Error

We chalk failures up to the situation while taking all the credit for our successes. Example: You earned that A through hard work & skill. Meanwhile, you got a poor grade because of external factors: bad professor, team assignment, etc.

Self-Serving Bias

We privilege those in our ingroup over those in an outgroup. Example: Jackie works in your division, so you value her more than John, who works over in accounting.

Ingroup Favoritism

Concepts, trends, and beliefs catch on as more people validate them.Example: Jill believes buying an LV bag will make her look chic. Janet does, too.

Bandwagon Effect

We make irrational decisions just to avoid conflict.Example: Jackie wants to go bowling. Joe wants to buy a cake for a dinner party. You suggest getting a cake in the shape of a bowling ball.

Groupthink

Focusing on one trait (positive or negative) as being indicative of the whole.Example: “Brad must be a great entrepreneur; he’s amazing at golf!”

Halo Effect

Equating moral superiority with a positive outcome and moral inferiority with a negative outcome.Example: He won the election because he was morally superior to the loser.

Moral Luck

We assume others agree with us by default.Example: “Everybody knows that!”

False Consensus

We believe that everyone knows the same things we do.Example: Jane gets frustrated with her son for not understanding multiplication right away.

Curse of Knowledge

We think people are paying far more attention to us than they are.Example: Josh is worried everyone at work will notice he needs new shoes.

Spotlight Effect

We make snap judgments based on the most recent information.Example: When an airline reports a crash, ticket sales go down until people forget about the incident.

Availability Heuristic

The tendency to blame others for your mistakes out of self-protection.Example: Brad scapegoats Jill for submitting a bad company report even though he did all the research.

Defensive Attribution

Believing the world to be inherently just, we interpret injustice as bad karma.Example: Jackie broke her ankle because she made fun of Jill’s medical condition.

Just-World Hypothesis

We privilege our “objective” view of reality over all others.Example: “I see things for what they are—everyone else is misinformed.”

Naïve Realism

The assumption that others act only out of self-interest.Example: “The only reason the boss gave us a bonus is to squeeze extra work out of us.”

Naïve Cynicism

We see ourselves reflected in things that could apply to many.Example: “Today’s horoscope was spot-on!”

Forer Effect (aka Barnum Effect)

The overestimation of ability when one has little experience.Example: The market firm’s new hire was confident he’d designed the perfect ad campaign, but it ended up losing money.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

We make decisions based on first impressions.Example: “The label says gluten-free. It must be good for me!”

Anchoring

We put too much trust in automated systems to fix our mistakes.Example: “Grammarly suggested it; therefore, it’s correct.”

Automation Bias

We don’t store information in our brains that’s conveniently found online.Example: “Who was that actor in the latest Marvel film? I’ve Googled it like ten times...”

Google Effect (aka Digital Amnesia)

We go against orders, especially when we see them as an assault on our freedoms.Example: “I don’t care if your sign says masks are required. I can do whatever I want.”

Reactance

We seek out (and retain) information that confirms what we already believe.Example: Flat Earthers base their beliefs on a feeling, ignoring all evidence to the contrary.

Confirmation Bias

We see ourselves as more immune to media than others.Example: “See how brainwashed you’ve become?!”

Third-Person Effect

We tend to accept the outcome of an argument only if it matches what we believe. Example: All fish can swim, and whales can swim; therefore, whales are fish.

Belief Bias

You interpret evidence that disproves your belief as a confirmation of it.Example: You insist the world is flat because NASA faked all those photographs of Earth.

Backfire Effect

This is the first part of 50 cognitive biases, as tweeted in an infographic by Elon Musk. 

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

problemsolving

Problem Solving

25 Cognitive Biases, As Tweeted By Elon Musk

The emerging technology of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/quantum-computing-use-cases-are-getting-real-what-you-need-to-know">quantum computing</a> could revolutionize the fight against climate change, transforming the economics of decarbonization and becoming a major factor in limiting global warming to the target temperature of 1.5°C.Exponentially more powerful machines could make possible major reductions in emissions, putting the goal of limiting global warming within reach.

Quantum Computing And Global Warming

Quantum Computing is a new technology that leverages the laws of quantum mechanics to produce exponentially higher performance for certain types of calculations, offering the possibility of major breakthroughs across several end markets.The technology works by calculating with qubits, which can represent 0 and 1 at the same time. By contrast, classical computing calculates with transistors that represent either 0 or 1. In quantum computing, power increases exponentially in proportion to the number of qubits; with classical computing, power incre

Quantum Computing- A Primer

Quantum computing could help reduce emissions in some of the most challenging or emissions-intensive areas, such as agriculture or direct-air capture, and could accelerate improvements in technologies required at great scale.Quantum computing could bring about step changes throughout the economy that would have a huge impact on carbon abatement and carbon removal

Solving Unsolvable Problems

<ul><li>Improving the energy density of lithium-ion batteries enables applications in electric vehicles and energy storage at an affordable cost</li><li>Quantum computing could allow breakthroughs by providing a better understanding of electrolyte complex formation, by helping to find a replacement material for cathode/anode with the same properties, and/or by eliminating the battery separator</li><li>Higher-density energy batteries can serve as a grid-scale storage solution</li></ul>

Global Warming: Batteries

During calcination in the kiln for making clinker, a powder used to make cement, CO2 is released from raw materials.Alternative cement-binding materials (or "clinkers") can eliminate these emissions, but there's currently no mature alternative clinker that can significantly reduce emissions at an affordable cost.

Global Warming: Cement

Currently, solar cells rely on crystalline silicon and have an efficiency on the order of 20 percentPerovskite crystal structures, which have a theoretical efficiency of up to 40 percent, could be a better alternativeThey present challenges, however, because they lack long-term stability and could, in some varieties, be more toxicQuantum computing could help solve these challenges by allowing for precise simulationIf the theoretical efficiency increase can be reached, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) would decrease by 50 percent

Harnessing The Sun: Solar Cells

<ul><li>Improving electrolysis could significantly decrease the cost of hydrogen</li><li>Electrolyzers have delicate membranes that allow the split hydrogen to pass from the anode to the cathode (but keeps the split oxygen out).</li><li>Catalysts and membranes do not yet interact well</li><li>Quantum computing can help model the energy state of pulse electrolysis to optimize catalyst usage</li><li>Increased hydrogen use as a result of these improvements could reduce CO2 emissions by an additional 1.1 gigatons by 2035</li></ul>

Harnessing Air: Hydrogen

Best known as a fertilizer, ammonia could also be used as fuel. Currently, it is made through an energy-intensive process using natural gas.Other potential approaches include Nitrogenase bioelectrocatalysis.This method is attractive because it can be done at room temperature and at 1 bar pressureQuantum computing can help simulate the process of enhancing the stability of the enzyme, protecting it from oxygen and improving the rate of ammonia production by nitrogenase.

Saving Our Soil: Ammonia

<ul><li>CO2 can be captured directly from industrial sources such as a cement or steel blast furnace</li><li>The vast majority of CO2 capture is too expensive to be viable for now</li><li>One possible solution: novel solvents</li><li>Quantum computing promises to enable more accurate modeling of molecular structure</li><li>Could reduce the cost of the process by 30 to 50 percent</li><li>Potential to decarbonize industrial processes</li></ul>

Harnessing Air: CO2 Capture

Twenty percent of annual greenhouse-gas emissions come from agriculture-and methane emitted by cattle and dairy is the primary contributor (7.9 gigatons of CO2e, based on 20-year global-warming potential).Research has established that low-methane feed additives could effectively stop up to 90 percent of methane emissions, but applying those additives to free-range livestock is difficult.

Reforming Food and Forestry

With $3 to $5 trillion in value at stake in sustainability, according to McKinsey research, climate investment is an imperative for big companies.Governments have an important role to play by creating programs at universities to develop quantum talent and by providing incentives for quantum innovation for climate, particularly for use cases that today do not have natural corporate partners, such as disaster prediction or that aren't economical.

The Bottom Line

Quantum computing just might save the planet

There is no magic, one-size-fits all answer for building a happier, healthier, more productive life.

Most of us aren’t ready for all the expectations the world piles onto us, let alone the internal ones we have of ourselves that add to the pressure.And yet, somehow we deal with them. We learn, we struggle and over time, hopefully we get better. Of course we develop much of our approach to dealing with our internal and life’s external expectations subconsciously. Identifying the approach you’ve shaped so far is what The Four Tendencies are for.

Learning To Live While We Live

The Four Tendencies is a personality profile framework to help you understand how you and the people around you deal with their outer and inner expectations, so you can better manage your life, work and relationships.Understanding the four tendencies has three primary benefits:1. Self-mastery in getting yourself to do things.2. Influencing others to do things.3. Understanding why others do or don’t do things, which reduces frustration and increases harmony.

The Four Tendencies: The Premise

Upholders meet inner and outer expectations. They love rules, having a clear plan and are self-motivated and disciplined.  Questioners meet their own expectations, but resist outer ones. They need to see purpose and reason in anything they do.  Obligers meet other peoples’ expectations easily, but struggle with their own. The must be held accountable by a friend, coach or boss to get things done. Rebels defy both outer and inner expectations. Above all, they want to be free to choose and express their own individuality.

Upholders, Questioners, Obligers and Rebels

The largest group are Obligers. In theory, that’s not a problem, because it’s fairly easy for Obligers to make good use of their tendency. As long as they set up a good accountability system, they can be consistent and reach their goals.Obligers often face the biggest inner struggle, because they always put everyone else before themselves.  This can culminate in self-sabotage through little acts of defiance that end up hurting themselves more than anyone else, for example failing a test on purpose, just to prove a point.

Obligers: The Biggest and Hardest Group to Be In

An Upholder is someone who gets things done efficiently and makes time for themselves as well. An Upholders responds well to both other people’s expectations and their own personal ones so they’re very reliable at work and get all of their tasks done without any trouble.Some upholders can be so obedient that they don’t question what the rules are and follow them without thinking. These people often become snitches because of their need to obey authority. They also tend to resist change, which is why they’re not as successful in life as others who are more critical thinkers.

Upholders: People Who Are Good at Upholding Their Commitments and Responsibilities

Questioners turn all outer expectations into inner expectations if they believe its reasonable and efficient. Thus, Questioners only meet inner expectations.Questioners excel at being logical and efficient in everything they do. But they can also be viewed as annoying for their constant questioning unless they are very socially adept when asking those questions.Some random characteristics of Questioners: They hate waiting in line, they love spreadsheets, and they love sharing articles.

Questioners: The Quest For Logic And Purpose

Questioners have the self-direction of Upholders, the reliability of Obligers, and the authenticity of Rebels.

Rebels want to do what they want to do, in their own way, and on their own time. If someone else tells them to do the exact same thing, they will resist. They don’t even want to tell themselves to do something. They prefer to act from freedom, choice, and self-expression.Rebels might struggle with themselves because conventional advice doesn’t work for them. They are told to set goals and to get outer accountability by all the other tendencies, but those things actually make it harder for Rebels to do things because they feel a lack of freedom.

Rebels: The Misfits

People fit squarely into one of the four tendencies. If you want to get into more detail, then technically, people fit into one of 8 primary-secondary combinations:<ol><li>Upholder-Questioner</li><li>Upholder-Obliger</li><li>Obliger-Upholder</li><li>Obliger-Rebel</li><li>Questioner-Upholder</li><li>Questioner-Rebel</li><li>Rebel-Obliger</li><li>Rebel-Questioner</li></ol>For example, a Questioner-Upholder is more likely to meet outer expectations than a Questioner-Rebel.

The Four Tendencies: Multiple Traits

It’s easy to get carried away with personality types like these, but that’s dangerous. When you chisel your tendency in stone you might accept it, but you’ll also turn it into an excuse and stop believing that you can change.Instead of putting yourself in a box, use this concept to get to know yourself better, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and improve your relationships with others by being mindful of their tendencies.

Don’t Box Yourself in With This Framework, Use It to Understand Your Own Behavior Better

In this groundbreaking analysis of personality type, bestselling author of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin reveals the one simple question that will transform what you do at home, at work, and in life. During her multibook investigation into understanding human nature, Gretchen Rubin realized that by asking the seemingly dry question "How do I respond to expectations?" we gain explosive self-knowledge. She discovered that based on their answer, people fit into Four Tendencies: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. Our Tendency shapes every aspect of our behavior, so using this framework allows us to make better decisions, meet deadlines, suffer less stress, and engage more effectively. More than 600,000 people have taken her online quiz, and managers, doctors, teachers, spouses, and parents already use the framework to help people make significant, lasting change. The Four Tendencies hold practical answers if you've ever thought: • People can rely on me, but I can't rely on myself. • How can I help someone to follow good advice? • People say I ask too many questions. • How do I work with someone who refuses to do what I ask—or who keeps telling me what to do? With sharp insight, compelling research, and hilarious examples, The Four Tendencies will help you get happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. It's far easier to succeed when you know what works for you.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

loveandrelationships

Love & Relationships

books

Books

The Four Tendencies

About 75 percent of households in the United States have air conditioners, which use approximately six percent of all the electricity produced nationwide. As the planet gets hotter due to global warming, air conditioner sales are expected to increase significantly. However, a future that relies on air conditioning is unsustainable.

Global Warming: It's Getting Hot

Air conditioners consume large amounts of electricity, which primarily relies on fossil fuels to generate power. Moreover, the units themselves contain greenhouse gasses (GHG) known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that deplete the ozone layer. The warmer it gets, the more people use air conditioning, which increases GHG emissions that further add to the warming of the planet.

Air Conditioners: A Double Blow To Earth

The primary driver of air conditioning use is thermal discomfort. When ambient temperatures—the air that you’re occupying—exceed your threshold, you’ll feel uncomfortably warm. That causes people to turn on the air conditioning unit and keep it on until the temperature drops below that threshold.Moving indoor air with electric fans increases the temperature threshold at which people feel uncomfortably hot by about three to four degrees Celsius.

Electric Fans Increase the Body’s Threshold for Thermal Discomfort

You can cool a room without air conditioning by using window coverings to <a href="https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/energy-efficient-window-coverings">reduce</a> heat gain, painting the walls a lighter colour to <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/old/15771.pdf">reflect</a> heat away, or placing vegetation around the home to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/using-trees-and-vegetation-reduce-heat-islands">cool</a> the environment through evapotranspiration.Other ways include drinking cold water, applying ice towels, or donning wet clothing. Immersing the feet in cold water and self-dowsing with a spray bottle or sponge can also improve thermal comfort.

Explore other sustainable cooling solutions

Thanks to our body's ability to regulate temperature, feeling cool might not require a giant drop in actual air temperature.

Feeling hot? Try these eco-friendly tips for cooling down.

Elon Musk is the entrepreneur behind PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Musk’s mission with each of these companies was to save humanity.
Elon has always dreamed big. Plus, he eventually achieved many dreams people claimed he never could. From throwing massive parties to pay his way through his education at the University of Pennsylvania, to plans to create one of the first online banks. Elon has always been an innovator.

Elon Musk: An Introduction

Elon Musk’s motivations do not lie with money. He cares for humanity more than he cares about money.
<ul>
<li>These characteristics have allowed Elon to create two separate sustainable technology companies, Tesla Motors and SolarCity, that are each worth billions of dollars. Sustainability is a highly competitive industry, and without Elon’s internal drive, he probably would have failed.</li>
<li>He also has more elaborate plans for saving humanity. He states that his main goal in life is to save the human race. He wants to provide people with the opportunity to relocate to Mars before Earth is destroyed by climate change and asteroids.</li>
</ul>

Driven by the Idea of Saving Humanity

Elon Musk does not let worries consume him but instead uses them as motivation to get things done. However, this motivation can sometimes be overwhelming.
<ul>
<li>He has also become well known for setting unrealistic goals for his companies and unrealistic expectations of his employees. Subsequently, several previous employees have provided examples of the unbearable workloads and his verbal abuse.</li>
<li>Despite this, he is still respected by his employees. His clear sense of mission helps motivate them to follow his lead. They see he is successful in almost all his pursuits. He also demands unrealistic expectations of himself.</li>
</ul>

Paranoid-Like Focus

<ul>
<li>Growing up in South Africa, Elon had very few friends.</li>
<li>After his parents separated, Elon decided to live with his father. However, this decision led to a problematic young life for Elon. The Musk family has been unwilling to elaborate on how he behaved. Still, they are willing to describe him as an unpleasant man to be around.</li>
<li>As well to a difficult life at home, Elon was also bullied by his classmates because he was more intelligent than most of them. On some occasions, Elon would receive such a severe beating from the bullies that he couldn’t attend school for a week.</li>
</ul>

A Difficult Childhood

<ul>
<li>To escape from his complicated relationship with his father and the turmoils of school, Elon retreated into reading and studying. </li>
<li>Elon had the remarkable ability to memorize information photographically. Hence, he was able to read two encyclopedias and remember everything. </li>
<li>However, out of all books, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was the one that had the most significant impact on him. Specifically, the book taught him that answering a question is easy, but asking the right question is much more challenging.</li>
</ul>

Saved By Books

This ethos of looking to ask the right questions led to Elon Musk considering how he could expand and improve human civilization from a young age.
For example, by high school, he already had strong opinions on solar power, moving to other planets, paperless banking, and space rockets. On top of this, during this time, Elon started to learn more about entrepreneurship. He created his own video game, Blastar, which he sold for $500 when he was just 12 years old.

Asking The Right Questions

<ul>
<li>In the 1980s, when Elon Musk was reaching college age, military service was mandatory in South Africa. However, Elon had no interest in the military. So, he decided to leave the country.</li>
<li>The US was his dream destination, but he instead opted for Canada as a starting point.</li>
<li>Elon’s first year in Canada did not go exactly to plan. He struggled for money, as he drifted between odd jobs, and he struggled to find a real home. Instead, he was moving from relative to relative for short periods at a time.</li>
</ul>

The 80s: South Africa To Canada

Elon created his first company in 1995, straight out of college. He and his brother founded the Global Link Information Network. This company would later be renamed Zip2.
<ul>
<li>The USP of this company was that they guided businesses that are struggling to understand how to set up and use the internet. Although this idea would eventually make Elon and his brother millions of dollars, they were not immediately successful. As the internet was a completely new concept, several businesses did not yet understand the value of putting their business online.</li>
<li>Elon and his brother struggled to gain traction with their new startup until a venture capital firm was impressed by Elon’s energy and drive. Mohr Davidow Ventures decided to invest in the start-up after meeting Elon. They hired Rich Sorkin as CEO of the company, moving Elon further down the business.</li>
</ul>

Musk’s First Start-Up

<ul>
<li>Zip2 saw a considerable growth opportunity when, in February 1999, PC-maker Compaq Computer offered $307 million in cash for the company. </li>
<li>Elon did not even have to think about selling his share. He already had several other projects in mind, and this money would help make those dreams a reality. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Elon wanted to become a CEO who was heavily involved in the company’s decision making.</li>
</ul>

The Compaq Takeover

South African born Elon Musk is the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Musk wants to save our planet; he wants to send citizens into space, to form a colony on Mars; he wants to make money while doing these things; and he wants us all to know about it. He is the real-life inspiration for the Iron Man series of films starring Robert Downey Junior. The personal tale of Musk's life comes with all the trappings one associates with a great, drama-filled story. He was a freakishly bright kid who was bullied brutally at school, and abused by his father. In the midst of these rough conditions, and the violence of apartheid South Africa, Musk still thrived academically and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he paid his own way through school by turning his house into a club and throwing massive parties. He started a pair of huge dot-com successes, including PayPal, which eBay acquired for $1.5 billion in 2002. Musk was forced out as CEO and so began his lost years in which he decided to go it alone and baffled friends by investing his fortune in rockets and electric cars. Meanwhile Musk's marriage disintegrated as his technological obsessions took over his life ... Elon Musk is the Steve Jobs of the present and the future, and for the past twelve months, he has been shadowed by tech reporter, Ashlee Vance. Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of Spacex and Tesla is Shaping our Future is an important, exciting and intelligent account of the real-life Iron Man.

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