You who are already familiar with Tesla may not know its founder, Elon Musk, the "Iron Man of Silicon Valley"; and even less do you know the hardcore mother of its founder, Meyer Musk.
Picture 1: Meyer Musk's "Life by Me"
It can be said that without the words and deeds of his mother, Meyer Musk, there would be no elon Musk's success, and there would be no cool Tesla now.
But today we don't talk about Tesla, don't talk about "Silicon Valley Iron Man", let's take a look at the seemingly open life of its hardcore mother, what are the laws of success that we can learn.
There is no perfect life, there is a constant rebuilding of the self
Figure 2: Meyer Musk
Meyer became popular on the Internet at the age of 72 when she had gray hair, and as a model, she became popular all over the world, not relying on her son's popularity, but based on the accumulation of 50 years in the modeling industry.
After learning about it, I learned that modeling is only her side hustle and hobby, and Meyer's main business is a nutritionist and has two master's degrees in nutrition.
But I want to share this book and this hardcore mother, not because she is the so-called "perfect female spokesperson" created by the media, but because she shows us how a woman gradually explores the world and constantly rebuilds herself in the midst of many difficulties.
This is what we really need: we can't avoid encountering difficulties, but there is still a way to successful transformation, and we can respond as actively as she did, so that "life is up to me".
1. Bravely escape from difficulties and rebuild yourself
Meyer was born and raised in a family obsessed with adventure travel.
From a young age, he followed his parents and rode in his own small propeller plane, and in the era when there was no GPS positioning system and only a compass, the whole family traveled through Canada, the United States, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Picture 3: Meyer's parents, sister Kay and younger brother Lee
Such a family and experience gave Meyer a happy childhood and a beautiful youth.
And Meyer's nightmare began in college: from the age of 16, the boyfriend who had been separated and had fallen in love with other girls in the year of graduation made Meyer very sad.
At this time, in order to graduate, under the dual pressure of learning physics and chemistry in non-native languages, he overeated, so that he weighed 186 pounds when he graduated.
After graduation, Meyer, because of obesity, extremely lack of self-confidence. Got my first job in Cape Town, far from home.
His previous boyfriend, who was separated from the other, suddenly appeared with an engagement ring and proposed. After being rejected, he took matters into his own hands and returned to Pretoria to tell Meyer's parents that they were getting married.
During that difficult time of communication, Meyer's parents believed it and suggested that they marry their twin sister Kay on the same day. When Meyer received the telegram, the sisters' wedding was already in preparation and guest invitations had been sent.
And because of his extreme inferiority, he thinks that the boyfriend at this time should really love himself, and does not think that there are other people other than him who are willing to marry him.
And so it went, the wrong marriage. The married husband, in the case of 3 children in 3 consecutive years, did not stop beating and insulting Meyer, or even for no reason.
For the sake of the children, Meyer endured strongly alone, often bruised and doing housework.
Even so, she has not given up hope, taking care of the children while working hard to run her own nutrition consulting business.
Until the day South Africa passed the divorce law, Meyer began to plan for the first time, she would use the law to escape from this demonic cruel husband with her children.
In order to get rid of this hellish life and all control, she voluntarily gave up all her possessions for only three children. In the end, the court helped Meyer do it.
In this way, at the age of 31, she became a bankrupt single mother, with three children alone, traveling to 9 cities in 3 countries, and constantly starting her own business from scratch.
Picture 4: Single mother Meyer and her three children
During this period, not only did he raise his three children well, but he also maintained his studies and obtained a doctorate. And has always been taking care of their own nutrition consulting career.
Only she knows the hardships: traveling to new countries, only to find that credit cards are frozen, even unable to rent a house, and at the poorest time, stepping on the snow more than a meter high to work as a model.
But no matter how hard it was, she never gave up.
Meyer said: "Everyone has the ability to escape the predicament. No matter how difficult it is, you must grit your teeth and persevere, you must know that everything will eventually pass, and all the efforts are worth it. No matter how bleak everything may seem, there is always light ahead.
2. Be a long-termist and don't take shortcuts
Because a friend of Meyer's parents managed a modeling school and a modeling agency, Meyer had been working as a model in Pretoria, South Africa, since she was a teenager, earning a lot of part-time earnings.
Photo 5: Meyer qualifies for the Miss South Africa final
His own conditions are superior, he has also entered the finals of the beauty contest "Miss South Africa", fully capable of eating the bowl of professional models, and the salary is also high, compared to insisting on the road of study, it can be said that it is a shortcut.
But meyer knew at the time that her goal was not to become a model, but to enter college for higher education. She clearly believes that nutritionists are a stable and never-destroyed long-term career path. The job of model is just the icing on the cake.
In this way, there is time to shoot part-time models, and take it seriously, which is used to supplement the education and living expenses of themselves and their children.
At the same time, he constantly improved his scientific research ability, studied for a master's degree in nutrition, and carried out his own dietitian consulting business. Share a healthy lifestyle with those who need it.
Photo 6: Meyer graduates as a dietitian intern
Meyer has always tried her best to keep her life, studies, and career going hand in hand.
This is precisely because of Meyer's long-term values: having a job that is expected and loved is so important, because work takes up most of our waking time.
So, no matter how difficult life was, she never gave up her dietitian business, and never stopped studying professionally, until she was forty-two years old, and she was still pursuing a doctorate in Toronto.
Not stopping learning is one of the key factors in her ability to regain the initiative in life again and again in the turmoil, and to complete one small goal after another according to plan.
It reminds me of Dr. Steven Chu's words that deeply inspired me: "Life is too short, you have to pour your affection into something... When you're gray-haired, dying, and looking back on your life, you need to be proud of what you've done. Neither material life nor the possessiveness you achieve will produce pride, only those who are influenced by you and changed by you."
It is precisely because of Meyer's clear planning and unremitting efforts for her career that when she became popular on the Internet with gray hair, it was because she achieved the best of herself--- Meyer Musk, not the mother of "Silicon Valley Iron Man". She, just herself, has been running for the best of herself all her life.
3. Everything has nothing to do with age, and there is no limit to life
There is no one who is not afraid of aging, and no one can stop the passage of time. But only by reconciling with the years and embracing the gifts of all time, wrinkles and white hair, can people have no limits on life and keep moving forward.
Meyer said: "It's all about age, don't slow down as you get older because you're a woman."
Married at the age of 22; started at the age of 23, in 3 years and 3 weeks, became a mother of 3 children; and at the age of 31 became a bankrupt single mother, almost out of the house, taking on the responsibility of caring for the whole family; in a remote town in difficult times, borrowing a doctor's dormitory, the children slept in the bedroom, And Meyer slept in the living room or kitchen.
It's hard to imagine that even in such a difficult situation, Meyer taught everyone to model the catwalk and started fashion shows; gave lectures on nutrition and build inner confidence at the same time; and even began to study for a master's degree in science.
After several turns, at the age of 41, in Johannesburg, Meyer's career flourished, and at the same time he was admitted to the University of Cape Town to pursue a doctorate; he also had a beautiful house of his own.
It was at this time that the children suggested going to Canada to develop, so they gave up everything here and moved their families to Canada. Visited each university in 5 provinces in Canada and eventually began his PhD studies at the University of Toronto.
Because of the frozen funds, it means that everything in Canada has to start all over again.
In order to resume practicing law in Toronto, Meyer must first become a registered dietitian, which requires passing five undergraduate exams at the University of Toronto. For Meyer, who grew up in South Africa, going through all-English study and exams was another challenge. But she did.
Meyer, 42, is a part-time model while studying for a PhD while preparing for the exams for a registered dietitian in order for her family to continue her life in Toronto.
At the age of 59, when his hair turned completely white, he was able to appear on the cover of the Health Column of The New Yorker magazine due to the accumulation of precipitation in the modeling industry and the long-term maintenance of his body.
At the age of 71, he entered the golden period of his career: new book publishing, speeches everywhere, and entry into the self-media popular network.
Picture 7: Meyer is doing self-media sharing
Meyer's whole life has been interpreted with actions: life is up to me!
4. Be a climber, not a camper
After reading the history of Meyer Musk's lifelong struggle, I understood that I should dare to be a climber in life, not a camper:
Climbers believe that there is no road in vain, and every step counts. Campers believe that there must be shortcuts on the road to success.
Climbers see effort as a habit; growth as a lifelong affair. Campers see effort as an act of moving themselves; the rest of their lives are defined early on, but that's it.
Climbers will persevere and be hopeful in the face of difficulties until the end of the day comes and the lights are bright. In the face of difficulties, campers will easily raise their hands and surrender, leaving the rest of their lives to fate.
Let us bravely learn to be the climbers of life, focus on our next step, don't rush to the end, don't rush to make up your mind, don't rush to lose all hope.
As long as you are still climbing, every second you have the opportunity to become a better version of yourself.
As NeGu said: "Life is up to me, not by heaven"!