For many founders - Elon Musk is the north star. 

It makes sense. The guy is probably the GOAT of entrepreneurs:

• Richest guy in the world

• Most famous founder

• Badass - he’s unafraid, goes after the biggest, hardest, problems

He’s incredible…but I’d never want to be him. His family life is a mess, he neglects his health, & he lives a high-stress life. 

‍“One man’s heaven is another man’s hell.” - some wise monk, probably‍

So it begs the question - who do I actually admire? Who’s life/career do I look at and say - ‘gimme one of those’? 

It’s never an exact copy you want, but a useful guide.

For me - I admire creative polymaths. For example, Ben Franklin:

• As a scientist, he invented Bifocals, and the franklin stove. 
• In media, he created a successful newspaper (the Pennsylvania Gazette) 
• In politics, he was a founding father, helped write the constitution & declaration of independence
• In business, he was CEO of the US postal system, made it efficient and profitable
• In music, he invented the glass armonica, an instrument that influenced composers like Mozart and Beethoven 

Science, Media, Politics, Business, Music… what a legend.

Jesse Itzler is a modern day example:

• Started as a white-boy rapper
• Wrote a few famous jingles (won an emmy) 
• Entrepreneur (coconut water, private jet company) 
• Prolific runner / endurance athlete 
• Lived in a monastery with monks, had david goggins live in his house
• Wrote a couple great books
• Married Sara Blakely, 4-5 kids, seems like a good dad

Why do I love these careers so much? I think it’s because a part of me feels like life is short - that Disneyland will close soon and I wanna ride all the rides before we get kicked out.

Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert) once said: "If you want to be successful, find out what the price is and then pay it."‍

Looking at my examples, here’s what I wrote down for the “price I need to pay”:

I need to…

• reinvent self and not be afraid to start from scratch (beginner's mind)
• become a very quick learner
• be unafraid to do things that I’m clueless at
• be willing to change my career label, friend circle, and habits every few years. 

These all sound fun. It sounds like me, or at least, what I want to be like. 

So, who’s your Elon? 

- uncle shaan