Elon Musk’s Reading Habits
A major factor in Tesla and Space X founder Elon Musk’s success is the way he approaches reading. Elon Musk holds education in incredibly high regard and frequently peruses multiple books at a time. He is a notorious self-education enthusiast, often discussing his fondness for reading, and even calling it “critical to his success”. Here we take a closer look at the amount of books Elon Musk reads and the importance of reading in general.
Influence of Reading
Musk has often shared his enthusiasm for reading on different public platforms such as Quora, Reddit and Twitter. One of the subjects he frequently mentions is biographies and other non-fiction works. For example, he often touts the importance of the biography of Benjamin Franklin, as well as works from Iain M. Banks and Isaac Asimov. It’s well documented that reading provides a wealth of knowledge, and Musk is an avid believer in this fact.
The tech-billionaire understands the importance of being well read and doesn’t take the task of reading lightly himself- or lightly enough to bypass it wholly. How much, then, does Elon Musk read? In an interview with Bloomberg in 2019, Musk revealed he reads “roughly two books per week”. This amounts to roughly 104 books per year- an impressive amount.
A Guided Learning Experience
Musk hasn’t only been content with poring over books. Instead he has made a point of supplementing his reading with other activities such as forming in-depth conversations with experts in various fields. This supplemented knowledge provides a more comprehensive understanding from a variety of major sources. Moreover, personal interactions can provide perspectives that can not be attained so easily through operating only off of what one reads.
At the same time, Musk also takes well to lessons from failure. His ambitious projects at Tesla and Space X have failed more times than they have succeeded, and Musk has analysized each mistake in order to make sure a similar misstep wont happen again. Making sure to never miss a beat, Musk harnesses his teachings from his projects’ failures to make the experience a more informed one.
The Golden Age of Learning
The internet has provided us with an unparalleled level of access to knowledge. Everything from textbooks to online courses can provide an exciting and thorough way to learn. It has replaced long held methods of acquiring lecture based knowledge in classrooms or through classes run by experts.
The rise of the internet has allowed us to amass knowledge at an unprecedented speed and omniscient level. It’s estimated that the world has created 90 percent of all its data and information within the last 2 years! This can be attributed to advances in technology and the increased use of data engineering and processing. Furthermore, these immense troves of data have all been made available to the consumer.
The Benefits of Reading
Besides the sheer joy and emotional pleasure that reading can bring, research done by the the University of Melbourne shows books and literature can help provide the reader an understanding of their own life and the way empathy works. It can also help to improve cognitive abilities, communication skills, and foster new and creative ways of thinking, as well as reduce stress levels.
Reading also helps with preserving and sustaining memories. Reading plays an analytical role when absorbed and translated and can help fuel conversations and create new relationships. This plays a part in contributing to better wellbeing and overall quality of life.
The Takeaway
Elon Musk has been an advocator and enthusiast of reading from a young age, having read a tremendous amount of books throughout his life and career. He prescribes to the notion that knowledge is power and holds reading in particularly high regard. The entire world is in a constant state of access to information and knowledge, thanks to the ubiquity of the internet. We can all benefit from the infinite amount of data that has been made accessible to the public.
The Other Side of the Coin
Although the internet is incredibly informative and helpful, there still needs to be balance between traditional and digital resources. Too much internet use can be damaging to a person’s mental health, as it can lead to anxiety, stress, and other related problems. Therefore one should read with moderation and prioritize proximity learning and conversing with others.
Interacting with novelists and taking part in book clubs is also a great way to learn about new texts and further analyze the content within them. As reading can often be emotionally taxing, an alternate source of knowledge can provide a balance in one’s search for understanding.
Activities & Skills
Other activities such as creative writing, debating, and problem solving can be great exercises for improving one’s understanding of a broad range of topics and can also help with socializing and intellectual progress. Also, many skills like public speaking, confidence, and persuasive communication can be developed through effective reading.
Although the internet gives us access to a plethora of information, physical books and conversation with other open-minded individuals is still incredibly important. Books can provide a more in-depth and intrinsically detail account of any given subject that can help improve the reader’s ability to reason and cultivate empathy.
A Working Relationship
A study done by Harvard Business Review came to the conclusion that reading can lead to better relationships with colleagues and employers. This also included improving the quality of one’s interactions and conversations with people by increasing exposure to different types of literature, which can help immensely in networking.
Reading not only benefits one’s knowledge, but also their relationships. By reading various books and further utilizing the internet for research, one can begin to form relationships based on mutual interests and further their understanding of those subjects.
Reading for Wellbeing
Aside from simply providing knowledge and arousing emotions, reading can also help with one’s mental health and wellbeing. Hearing a story can help greatly in calming the mind and alleviate stress through allowing an escapist experience. Also, reading helps exercise imaginative abilities and this can be further utilized in the real world.
Books have the ability to transport one to a completely different world, help shape their moral compass and give them a new perspective on life. All of these aspects are incredibly beneficial to mental health and wellbeing and can go a long way in helping individuals of all ages cope with their surrounding environments.
