Summary
Musk was born and grew up in South Africa. As a kid, he found a way to block the world and concentrate to a certain task, which didn't endear him to his peers. Gradually, his inclination toward computer and technology fostered an intense interest in Silicon Valley. In 1988, he flew to Canada where he spent a year working a series odd jobs. In 1989, he ended up enrolling at Queen's university. Having spent two years working hard on his subjects, Musk was transferred to the university of Pennsylvania on a scholarship.
In 1995, Musk and Kimbal formed Global Link Information Network, a startup which aimed to help business get online. Later, the start-up renamed Zip2 that also created a software package sold to newspaper to build their own directories. In 1999, the company was sold. Musk had come away with $22 mils that enabled him to be on to his next project, to start an internet bank named X.com. Soon, X.com had a competitor, but they ended up merging as a new company PalPay which was finally bought by Ebay.
Thoughts
每当人们提到Musk, 总觉得他是外星人一样的存在。因为他创立的公司都是全新的行业,从特斯拉电动车到火星计划,去年还提出了真空管道列车计划(Hyperloop Transportation).从前几章他从小的成长经历,到后来两次成功的创业,可以看到他身上显著的几个特质。
专注力
从小时候开始,他就展现了惊人的专注力,沉浸在自己的世界时对周围的动静毫无反应,以至于他妈妈都怀疑他是否有听觉障碍,带他去医院检查。
For Musk, these pensive moment were wonderful.At five and six, he had found a way to block out the world and dedicate all of his concentration to a single task.
专注力正是我们这个时代最缺乏的,因为太多的诱惑,一直跳出提醒的邮件、手机,都在不断的分散我们宝贵的注意力。而你的注意力在哪里集中才有可能在那个领域学到知识,变成你羡慕的那些牛人。
When Elon gets into something, he develops just this different level of interest in it than other people. That is what differentiates Elon from the rest of humanity.
冒险创新精神
两次的创业都是全新的领域,从不跟风,只是坚持做自己认为最有价值的事情。
He wasn't just sniffing out trends, and he wasn't consumed by the idea of getting rich. He's been in pursuit of a master plan all along.
坚持不懈
There were a million laws in place to block something like X.com from happening, but Elon didn't care.
提出要做网上银行这个项目时,大家都反对,认为大众会认为网络银行没有安全感,不容易接受;又或者会违背一些法律条款,但是他毫不在乎,只是想去怎么做好自己能做的事情。这不就是高效能人士七个系习惯里的 To begin with the end 和be proactive的真实案例吗?
Words
1.ace
He aced math exams well beyond his years.
1. American English informal to do very well in an examination, a piece of written work etc:
I aced the History test
ace的原意是扑克里的A,一般都是最大的牌,可以引申为在某方面很厉害的人,比如 a soccer ace
或者网球里的ace球,再比如 hold the ace 在某一方面占尽天时地利人和
2.peg
Maye, like many mothers do,pegged her son as brilliant and precocious.
peg somebody/something as something
释义:to believe or say that someone has a particular type of character, or that a situation has particular qualities:
例:I’d had him pegged as a troublemaker.
造句:I pegged Eric as a man of strong willpower.
3.bloom/blossom
When kimbal and Elon eventually reunited in Canada, their headstrong,playful natures bloomed.
Musk blossomed even more at Penn, and really started to feel comfortable while hanging out with his fellow physics students.
释义bloom: to become happier, healthier, or more successful in a way that is very noticeable 同义 blossom:这两个词在这章正好都出现了,本意都有开花的意思。这里用来形容Musk的性格特质发展了起来
例:She bloomed into an utterly beautiful creature 她出落的亭亭玉立例:Why do some people take longer than others to blossom?...为什么有的人比他人大器晚成?
造句: Jack Ma blossomed untile he graduated from the university.
4.
The conversation left Christie, who is now a science writer, with the distinct impression that Musk was handsome, affable, and a tremendous nerd“For whatever reason, I wasso struck by that moment on the sofa,” He captivated me in that way.
这一段描写Musk让Chrisite留下极其深刻的印象
left sb with distinct impression 给某人留下了深刻的印象
be captivated by somebody/something:to attract someone very much, and hold their attention用captivate代替attract
He was captivated by her beauty.
5.ramp up
Musk did all the oringinal coding behind the service himself, while the more amiable Kimbal looked toramp up the door-to-door sales operation.
释义:if a company ramps up an activity, it increases it:
例:Producers can quickly ramp up production.
造句:Sales department tried hard to ramp up the sales.