"The Harder You Work, the Luckier You Get? Let's Take a Look at This 71-Year-Old Supermodel's Story"

This article is Lu Canwei's 144th original piece.

Click the blue 【Lu Canwei】 above to follow; remember to add a ⭐️ star mark~

Recently, I read a book, an autobiography titled "Life by Me," written by Elon Musk's mother, Maye Musk, the supermodel in her 70s. Musk changed his name because she married Elon’s father.

Before we discuss, I want to ask everyone a question: Do you think we should adapt to life or change life?

Maye Musk

I believe most of you have seen Elon Musk more through the media. Elon Musk's father is an electromechanical engineer, and currently, he is a model. Growing up in such a family, Elon Musk was very obsessed with science and technology as a child, which led to him becoming a real-life Iron Man.

However, in the book, I saw another version of the story. Maye Musk's marriage was a nightmare. She grew up in South Africa and had an on-and-off boyfriend, who is Elon’s father. She rejected his marriage proposal. Later, he directly contacted Maye's father and claimed that Maye had accepted his proposal because long-distance phone calls were very expensive in South Africa at that time. Eventually, Maye learned through a telegram that she was already engaged.

At that time, Maye had a back injury and was wandering alone. Her weight made her lack confidence, and when she returned home, she couldn't refuse anything. Everyone related came to congratulate her, and then Maye inexplicably got married. The following years were hell. During her honeymoon, Maye was subjected to domestic violence, and at that time, she became pregnant with Elon. In the next three years, she gave birth to two more children.

During this period, she was controlled in every way, being insulted daily, called ugly and stupid, and suffered domestic violence. But in reality, Maye had a Bachelor of Science degree and was a model. Five-year-old Elon would hit his father's knees to stop him. Many people might think Maye was weak, but the laws in South Africa at that time did not protect women. Men's abuse of women could not constitute grounds for divorce, and there were no successful precedents. The societal view in South Africa at that time was that it was natural for men to abuse women.

When South African law finally allowed her to divorce, she did everything possible to get divorced, living a very frugal life with three children. From her marriage to her divorce, she spent a full nine years in an abusive hell. During this time, Maye, who was once a model, gained weight up to 93 kilograms. After her divorce, she began to replan her life and started pursuing a Master of Science degree.

As an older and overweight woman, are these advantages or disadvantages in the modeling industry? For Maye, these were her advantages because the market needed a plus-size and older model, and she happened to meet both conditions.

When her life in South Africa began to stabilize, Elon felt that Canada could allow him to pursue his interest in computers. At this point, what would you choose? Would you give up everything stable to go to a place where you have no idea what the future holds? When she chose to leave South Africa, the South African government froze all her assets, so she could only take less than two thousand dollars to Canada, and everything started over again.

Maye's life has been a continuous breakthrough. In her thirties, she experienced a ten-year failed marriage; in her forties, she started anew in Canada; in her fifties, she restarted in New York, and at seventy-one, she could still appear on magazine covers. We always think that our past selves were better, and we can look forward to our future selves, but we often overlook our present selves.

My impression of Guangzhou is not particularly good. In my twenties, I had a serious illness and stayed in a hospital in Guangzhou for six months. After that, I had to report to the hospital every two weeks for over a year. At that time, I felt terrible, as I had just started my entrepreneurial journey and encountered such a black swan event.

Looking back at myself in my thirties, I think that at least I still had hair and plenty of time to make mistakes, with various possibilities ahead. If I look back at myself now when I’m forty, would I also feel that I have various possibilities and see many advantages? If that’s the case, then my current self is in the best phase of my life.

"The harder you work, the luckier you get" is Maye's father's motto. If we look at the achievements of Elon and Maye, it seems they are much luckier than others. She became a "cover girl" at sixty-nine, and her children have all succeeded in their respective fields, with one even becoming the richest person. However, the reality is that she lived a frugal life, starting over time and again, constantly trying and learning, while her children, like her, were also continuously learning and trying. When she left South Africa, they had no credit rating, so they could only rely on cash to get by. Without credit cards, they couldn't establish credit records, which made it impossible to rent cars, offices, or anything else. This was the starting point, and her continuous efforts led to her current luck.

In conclusion,

The same things, when viewed from different people and different angles, will yield different insights.

Recently, I started reading Mr. Nan's "The Analects: A Different Interpretation," and I’m reading it very slowly. However, it has given me different perspectives and viewpoints. Take the example we learned since childhood:

Confucius said: "Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar? Is it not a joy to learn and practice what you have learned? Is it not a virtue to not be angry when others do not know you?"

The explanation we had back then was that knowledge should be practiced at all times, and "joy" is borrowed to mean happiness. However, how many of us truly enjoyed learning back then and felt no joy at all? Mr. Nan emphasizes that the key lies in the "time" of learning and the "practice" of knowledge. However, knowledge does not solely refer to information; if I were to relate it, I might think it resembles what we now commonly refer to as cognition.

Mr. Nan explains this by combining Confucius's later statement, "Observing others' mistakes leads to understanding benevolence." Seeing others make mistakes prompts self-reflection, which is true learning. When you reflect and gain new insights, you naturally smile. In other words, when we finish reading an article, a book, or conduct a review, and we gain new insights, this is what we call cognitive upgrading, which is the true "joy" from the heart.

Lastly, a bit about my recent situation: The village finally has internet access, and I’ve almost finished moving. There’s a large wave of packages on the way. I can officially say I’ve migrated from Shanghai to Guangzhou. Indeed, the food in Guangdong is still great, and I feel like I’ve gained weight again in just a few weeks. When moving, please make sure to wrap glass items with foam. I accidentally cut my finger on broken glass, which greatly reduced my efficiency as a "keyboard warrior." Of course, this is not the reason for my lack of updates…

Recommendations:

Most project successes are due to finding the right users; user persona analysis is more important than you think.

It's been 100 days; let’s say something.

If a watch is inaccurate, then every second it ticks is wrong.

What is a talented person, and what is an excellent company?

99 life advice from KK (Kevin Kelly) on his 69th birthday.

Why should we be ourselves?

Scan to follow 【Lu Canwei】, and send "self-media materials" in the background to receive two benefits for free:

1. A self-media tool kit (worth 1999 yuan).

2. An electronic version of the "2020 Wealth Calendar," containing 365 money-making tips.

👇👇👇 Welcome to click and follow~

"Reading" is the strongest support ↘