We probably know everything (or almost everything) about Elon Musk thanks to the Internet. CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter, founder of dozens of companies, business creator and praised by many of his colleagues, analysts and billionaires.
But when a less-than-stellar mortal talks about the mogul, it's even more interesting because it seems to offer a more human look at what Musk is really all about.
A report on the Business Insider website tells how Navaid Farooq, a fellow student at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, who befriended Elon in his freshman year, revealed “the trait that sets him apart from the rest of humanity.”
Farooq and Musk lived in the same residence hall as students. When he enrolled, after trading his native South Africa for Canada, the world's richest man was 17 years old.
How is Elon Musk different from the rest?
Farooq, raised in Geneva, Switzerland, can say he knows Elon Musk very well. They spent many hours together and shared interests such as strategy games and having lived abroad.
Knowing him better than anyone else led Farooq to define the trait that best defines and most distinguishes Musk from other people: “When Elon gets into something, he develops a different level of interest than other people. This is what sets Elon apart from the rest of humanity.”
According to Navaid Farooq, quoted in the book “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future,” Musk “could lose himself for hours on end” in the same strategy video game or be left alone with it and immersed in his thoughts during a party.
Those who know Elon Musk have always emphasized his level of concentration and determination when he is really interested in something. This is probably the not-so-hidden secret of his success in all the industries he has ventured into.
