I’m currently reading the Wait But Why series on Elon Musk. In four posts it details his early career, Tesla, SpaceX, and a deep dive into what makes him unique.
It is fascinating to learn more about the vision Elon has for the future of his companies and the way that he has been able to pursue that vision over the past 15 years since leaving Paypal.
After Paypal sold, and Elon made $170 Million, he could have gone the traditional post-exit Silicon Valley route and become a VC, but instead, he went all in on two new projects. He invested almost all of his money into Tesla and SpaceX, taking a gigantic gamble that almost crashed down in 2008 and is now leading two companies that are at the forefront of world-changing technology.
The SpaceX post is particularly fascinating, as it tells the story of Elon’s vision for colonizing Mars and making humans interplanetary. I highly recommend it.
Something that I pull from that post is how well Elon and SpaceX keep their eyes on a big world-changing goal. Right now they are a company that launches satellites in orbit and is working on taking astronauts to the International Space Station. That is cool and interesting, but that is only a step in a much larger plan.
That plan is to build a profitable company that massively drives down the costs of space travel to make colonization of Mars economically feasible.
More than most, Elon is able to hold this big vision while focusing on the small details of today and giving his all at solving the individual problems along the way. To reach a big goal, like sending people to Mars, you need to successfully solve countless little problems along the way. You can’t solve those problems if you aren’t motivated.
One of the hardest things to do is maintain a vision of your long-term goals in the face of daily stress, challenges, and obstacles. It is easy to give up on causes you believe in because of workplace politics, an annoying coworker, a set of boring tasks, an unpleasant customer, or countless other things.
You see this all the time with people who become jaded about the causes they are working on. That’s why I believe that to do great things one of the most important skills to possess is being able to put your day to day work into a long-term, big goal, context.
There is a popular anecdote about three workers laying bricks. The first says that he is laying bricks, the second says that he is building a wall, the third says that he is building a cathedral to the glory of God.
That third worker is resilient in a way the other two are not. He is not worried about roadblocks, about annoying coworkers, or unpleasant bosses, he is doing his work for a reason that transcends all of those things.
There is something else that is important to note about that story. All three are doing the exact same work.
It is very common to hear people complain about how meaningless their work is and remark that they would be much more motivated if they were working on a cause they cared about.
This point of view gives away the power that we have to create meaning in our lives.
Sure, there is some element of external meaning. If you are working in a job where you are not earning money from voluntary customers, then it is right to find a different job.
But if you are being paid by an employer or customer, you are creating value for them and having a beneficial effect on the world around you. It may not be your end goal. You may have grander plans for the future, but while you do your work, you will do better and feel better by maintaining the perspective of the third worker and reminding yourself of the cathedral that you are building.
You may not be working to colonize Mars, but even the simplest of jobs, like working in a warehouse for Amazon or a kitchen in a restaurant, have a meaningful effect on peoples lives.
When you are feeling burnt out and tired of laying bricks, look forward into the future and remind yourself that you are doing much more than that. That you are building a wall and in turn a cathedral that will positively impact the lives of countless people.
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