Speaker 1: Although Elon Musk obtained not one but two degrees, he is not someone who credits his college education to his success. In fact, he feels just the opposite. Elon has his own way of learning anything he wants, and it's simply because he's honed certain techniques for learning. And if you acquire these techniques, you can become much better version of yourself, that's for sure. Elon Musk attended the University of Pennsylvania and received his bachelor's degree in both economics and physics. He intended to obtain his PhD from Stanford out in California, but left soon after to co-found the web software company Zip2 along with his brother, Kimball. He never looked back. Musk has been very vocal about his criticisms of the modern education system. Quite simply, he doesn't believe that students are learning rapidly and thoroughly. With that, he certainly doesn't think that there is enough emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving. Musk decided to take his education into his own hands, turning instead to textbooks and individuals with specialized knowledge to help guide him. One of the earliest people he reached out to was a man by the name of Jim Cantrell, who according to his LinkedIn account, describes himself as a subject matter expert in satellite systems. Cantrell worked for the French Space Agency or CNES from 1990 to 1992, then came back to the United States where he began consulting for aerospace agencies. Musk got to wind up Cantrell and how valuable a person he would be, so he called him out of the blue in 2001. Cantrell, who had never heard of Musk, would later describe him as the smartest guy I've ever met, period. Musk told him over the phone that the two of them needed to speak and he eventually probed Cantrell for information about the possibility of sending a spacecraft to Mars. The future SpaceX founder had just been rejected by the Russians and was looking for a little guidance. Allegedly, Musk had gone to the Russians to purchase rockets in his quest to put one on Mars, but the price tag was enormous. At the time, Musk was not a billionaire, though had made a few millions, so he could not afford what they were asking. His solution? Build the rockets himself. That's where Cantrell came in. Cantrell, intrigued by the proposition, allowed Musk to borrow some of his textbooks. He lent him titles such as Rocket Propulsion Elements, Fundamentals of Astrodynamics, and the International Reference Guide to Space Launch Systems, just to name a few. Musk poured over these textbooks. Cantrell would later say that he was unsure whether or not Musk took notes on the information in the books, but what he does know is that Musk appeared to have memorized close to everything he read. Because of this, Musk was equipped with the knowledge and the vocabulary to carry on conversations about rocket science, astrodynamics, and other topics. After reading the textbooks, Musk developed the very plans for the rocket that would eventually be used by SpaceX. Cantrell recalls thinking to himself, I'll be damned. That's why he's been borrowing all my books. The mechanical engineer was impressed not only by how much information Musk had absorbed, but how much he had applied. In addition to collecting textbooks, another principle that Musk follows in his quest for self-education is surrounding himself with the best and the brightest. He would strike up conversations with people who were the best in their field, acquire their knowledge and expertise through discussions, and then try to replicate that knowledge when he applied it to his endeavors, such as with SpaceX. In fact, Jim Cantrell actually worked with Musk at SpaceX for a time before moving on to his own ventures. Speaking in Dubai at the World Government Summit in 2017, Musk said this about the power of asking the right questions. I came to the conclusion that what really matters is trying to understand the right questions to ask. And the more that we can increase the scope and scale of human consciousness, the better we are able to ask these questions. It is for this reason that he keeps a close network of industry experts, some of whom he even employs. You might be asking, just how much reading does it take for someone to become a self-educated rocket scientist? The answer is quite a lot. In a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, Musk admitted that he was raised by books and then my parents. He credits his time spent reading to how he became as successful as he is today and his reading history is an impressive one, as you might have imagined. The famous adage, a jack of all trades is a master of none, is definitely not applicable to Elon because he is a great example of someone who is very successful across multiple areas. When he was just nine years old, he reportedly read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, then moved on to almost exclusively reading science fiction novels for about 10 hours per day. It also comes as no surprise that Musk recommends books about other geniuses who have lived, notably the book, Benjamin Franklin, An American Life by Walter Isaacson, as well as Einstein, His Life and Universe, also by Isaacson. From reading all those books, Musk learned a great deal about leadership and purpose to change the world for better place. Although the average person probably doesn't have 10 hours a day to dedicate to reading, some of the richest and most talented people will tell you that one of the secrets to their success is that they read constantly. Warren Buffett reportedly reads between five to six hours daily, making his way through a handful of newspapers and financial documents. Other billionaires such as Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Mark Cuban all attest to the power of reading and the impact it's had on their success and business acumen. If you are interested in building your knowledge through books the way Musk has done, it won't guarantee that you will be on the level of a rocket scientist in a short amount of time. Musk can't even call himself a proper rocket scientist. He simply accrued an impressive amount of information. But what separates Musk from people who just read books is that he applies the knowledge he acquires. Musk has stated that he has two basic principles for knowledge acquisition and application. The first is that he reviews knowledge in his words as sort of a semantic tree. He encourages people to make sure you understand the fundamental principles, i.e. the trunk and big branches. Before you get into the leaves or details of the thing, it's not enough to just cover material, in his opinion. You have to delve into every detail and sector. This is the principle he used in teaching himself about rocket science. He studied every particularity to ensure that he understood it completely. His second principle is that it is nearly impossible to remember what you can't connect. The correct function of our brains in acquiring knowledge is not just store random facts. In order to learn the way Elon Musk has learned, we have to practice putting that information to use. Musk didn't merely memorize what he'd read about in those early textbooks lent to him by Cantrell. He actually used the material to create the plans for the rockets that SpaceX would eventually send into orbit. He follows a building out philosophy. Start with the base, add more knowledge as time goes on, and then apply from there. Or another way to put it is that you should tackle the core first before you get caught up in the more superficial details. The SpaceX founder's thoughts on education even extended to what he looks for in potential candidates. He's famously said that if an applicant doesn't have a college degree, that doesn't preclude them from getting a job. Musk is certainly someone who practices what he preaches in that regard. And that's it for now. Don't forget to subscribe, hit the notification bell, and until next time.