Many of us may know of Elon Musk, a self-made billionaire with an unwavering dedication to space exploration. He is linked to successful innovation such as Paypal and Tesla. I am reading a biography on Musk (Elon Musk, Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance) and I am surprised on the experiences that help shape who he is.
Here's 7 Surprising Parenting Lessons To Learn From Elon Musk
1. Laissez-faire approach to raising children
Elon Musk’s grandfather adopted a carefree way to raising his children and didn’t believe in punishment. He believed children have an intuit way to regulate their behavior. This family belief was passed down the generations and this was how Musk's parents raised him and his siblings.
2. Pursue your childhood obsession
For as long as he could remember, Elon Musk was obsessed with space. He wrote his first video game at age 12 in 1984. The game was about space battleship.
3. Believe in super heroes
Musk loved comics as a young child. He was drawn to the heroes and the common theme was about saving the world. He believes it influences him want to save the world and make it a better place. ‘The inverse just makes no sense.’
4. Read now, read better later
Musk started off with comics but moved on to other books soon. As a young boy, he was always seen with a book. On weekends, he could go through two books in a day. By 3rd grade or so, Musk ran out of books to read at both the school and community library.
5. Let our child daydream
When he was young, Musk was known to drift into his own world and he had a disant look in his eyes. His family thought he was deaf and the doctor proposed to remove his adenoid glad (thought to improve hearing). Now his mother knows he drifts into his own mind to design a rocket or a car mentally.
6. Ask questions
Musk believes asking the right question is more important than giving the right answer. He believes when we figure out what question to ask, the answer will come quickly.
7. Truth & Facts
As a child, Musk wasn’t popular because of his constant yearning to correct people and his abrasive/blunt approach to telling the truth. He genuinely thought people would be happy to hear the flaws in their ideas or fact. When a cousin was frightened by the dark, Musk pointed out ‘darkness is merely the absence of light’ to comfort the child. He didn’t fight to fit in, instead he focused on fact and science as a way of life. It made him highly unpopular, but all the more time left to read!