How to be Elon Musk (tips from his ex-wife), Jensen Huang on character, and AirBnB rejection emails

Welcome back to the Z Fellows newsletter! Every Monday we share 3 ideas - to help you build companies, ship products, and create your life's work.

1: How to be Elon Musk

Justine Musk is the ex-wife of Elon Musk. The following was her response to a 2015 Quora thread titled: How can I be as great as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Richard Branson?

“Be obsessed.

Be obsessed.

Be obsessed.

If you're not obsessed, then stop what you're doing and find whatever does obsess you. It helps to have an ego, but you must be in service to something bigger if you are to inspire the people you need to help you (and make no mistake, you will need them). That 'something bigger' prevents you from going off into the ether when people flock round you and tell you how fabulous you are when you aren't and how great your stuff is when it isn't. Don't pursue something because you "want to be great". Pursue something because it fascinates you, because the pursuit itself engages and compels you.”

Source: https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-be-as-great-as-Bill-Gates-Steve-Jobs-Elon-Musk-or-Sir-Richard-Branson/answer/Justine-Musk

2: Jensen Huang on Resilience

“People with very high expectations have very low resilience, and, unfortunately, resilience matters in success. I don’t know how to teach it to you except for I hope suffering happens to you.

I use the word, the phrase, ‘pain and suffering’ inside our company with great glee, and I mean that in a happy way, because you want to train and refine your character. 

Character isn’t formed out of smart people. It’s formed out of people who suffered.

I wish upon you ample doses of pain and suffering.”

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoGmfcsoADI

3: A Series of AirBnB Rejection Emails

Source: https://medium.com/@bchesky/7-rejections-7d894cbaa084

Best of The Week

See you next Monday,

- The Z Fellows Team

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