How to be your most creative self, according to Elon Musk

Image via Complex Original

According to Musk, most of us “reason by analogy” in our day-to-day lives, which is to say we understand and create based on comparisons to things that have already been done or what others are doing. This type of reasoning is antithetical to innovation, argues Musk. Instead, he favors reasoning by “first principles” by “boiling things down to the most fundamental truths…and then reasoning up from there.” To give an example, trying to improve upon a candle wouldn’t lead you to examine the fundamentals of an alternative light source, such as electricity; it would just give you a better, brighter ball of wax.

Since he was in grade school, Musk demonstrated an innate curiosity for knowledge that is partially responsible for his tireless work ethic. He taught himself computer programming before he was a teenager. By his mid-twenties, Musk had received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Penn's College of Arts and sciences AND a B.A. in Economics from the Wharton School of Business, which meant putting in an extra year of school. After that, he began his PhD in applied physics at Stanford, but left to become a boss in the world of tech, renewable energy, and outer fucking space.

That's not to say that Musk doesn't know how to let loose. It's alleged that he and his Penn roommate/PayPal co-founder, Adeo Ressi used a 10-bedroom fraternity house as an unofficial nightclub. In an interview with Internet entrepreneur, Kevin Rose, Musk also admitted that "one key idea for a supersonic, vertical takeoff and landing electric plane occurred to me at Burning Man." Guess it's time to whip out the face paint and the body glitter.

Musk also claimed that, as cliché as it may sound, some of his best ideas come to him in the shower.

Surprisingly, despite his idealistic vision for the future, Musk loves a healthy dose of criticism when it comes to his own ideas and projects. During a TED talk, Musk encouraged fellow innovators to "pay attention to negative feedback, and solicit it from friends."

Part of what makes Musk's creativity especially inspirational is that his inventions solve major problems or satisfy some sort of tangible need. But to find and create an answer, you must first identify a problem. Constructive criticism becomes an essential tool for defining points of weakness to create a better ideas and new solutions. 

If Elon Musk were to rewrite the dictionary, (and who knows, he still might), "process" would be a four letter word.

When asked by Wired if he had a creative process, he retorted "I don't believe in process." Musk went on to say, "The problem is that at a lot of big companies, process becomes a substitute for thinking. You're encouraged to behave like a little gear in a complex machine. Frankly, it allows you to keep people who aren't that smart, who aren't that creative." #burn

We see evidence of this antithetical relationship between process and innovation in government all time. Good and progressive ideas are often stifled by bureaucracy and red tape, which in the corporate world goes by the codename: process. So yeah, f*ck that.

Musk's innovations are rooted in a desire to better the world. His creative genius may only be matched by his compassion for humanity and his desire to ensure a brighter future for it.  

At his CalTech commencement address, Musk explained, "Going from PayPal, I thought well, what are some of the other problems that are likely to most affect the future of humanity? Not from the perspective, 'what's the best way to make money,' which is okay, but, it was really 'what do I think is going to most affect the future of humanity." Ultimately doing good, is guaranteed good business. Our future depends on it.

Until Musk decides to venture into the field of biomedical research and clone his brain, our best chance at replicating his creative genius is by understanding his perspective. Musk-level innovation is less about a series of steps (remember, f*ck process) and more about a way of approaching and genuinely investing in the world (and other planets) around us.