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Is There No Success Without Pain?
Were Elon Musk and others only successful because they endured intense pain?
Originally published via the Unartificially Intelligent Newsletter.
Some of the greatest works of art, science, and business have come following some of the greatest periods of pain. When channeled properly, pain can be a powerful motivator.
But is pain a necessary condition of success? Do great achievements require at least some degree of pain?
Elon Musk’s biographer suggested that childhood trauma led to Musk’s greatest successes
I recently purchased Walter Isaacson’s new biography on Elon Musk. I’ve always loved Isaacson’s books, dating back to his biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Henry Kissinger.
Although I haven’t finished reading the Musk biography yet, I listened to Isaacson describe some of his findings after following Musk around for a couple of years while he conducted research.
Isaacson attributes much of Musk’s drive to his upbringing. In the interview I listened to, he described the emotional scars inflicted on Musk by his father. He explained that they caused Musk to become “a tough yet vulnerable man-child with an exceedingly high…
