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Walter Isaacson: Every Genius He's Studied Was Driven by Childhood Demons

By Walter Isaacson · Startup Growth · 2 min read

Einstein. Leonardo. Jobs. Musk. All miserable as kids. All addicted to changing the world.

Key Points

Every genius Isaacson studied had a painful, demon-driven childhood.
Einstein, Leonardo, Jobs, and Musk all ran away or escaped at 17.
Musk put his entire PayPal fortune into SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Then borrowed for rent.
Peter Thiel says most entrepreneurs calculate risk. Musk is addicted to risk.

Every successful person is either trying to live up to the expectations of his father or live down the sins of his father. And in his case, both.

The Necessary Unhappiness

Walter Isaacson has biographied Einstein, Leonardo, Jobs, and Musk. He noticed something uncomfortable. Every single one had a miserable childhood.

Einstein grew up Jewish in Germany. Leonardo was illegitimate, gay, left-handed. Jobs was adopted and felt rejected. Musk survived a violent childhood in South Africa.

Every genius Isaacson studied was forged in childhood pain.

The Escape at Seventeen

They all ran away at 17. Ben Franklin did it. Einstein did it. Musk did it. They couldn't stay where they were. Something drove them out.

Musk left South Africa with about $4,000. He went to Canada, then to Penn, then to Silicon Valley. The escape was the first act of a pattern that would define his life.

Musk, Einstein, Franklin, all escaped their old lives at 17.

The Man Who Keeps Betting Everything

Musk made about $200 million from PayPal. Most people would stop. Buy something nice. Relax. Musk put $100 million into SpaceX, $80 million into Tesla, $20 million into SolarCity. Then borrowed money for rent.

His PayPal co-founders thought he was insane. He wanted to send a rocket to Mars. They told him he was losing it. He didn't care.

The PayPal mafia thought Musk was crazy. He bet everything on rockets.

Addicted to Risk

Peter Thiel told Isaacson something revealing. Most great entrepreneurs know how to calculate risk. They're smart about it. Measured. Careful.

Musk is different. He's not calculating risk. He's addicted to it. The next bet is always more important than what he already has. He keeps upping the game.

Thiel says most founders calculate risk. Musk is addicted to it.

Observers vs. Changers

Isaacson admits something honest. He and his co-interviewer had happy childhoods. They turned out to be observers, not changers. Comfortable watching the world instead of reshaping it.

That's the uncomfortable truth. The people who change the world aren't the happy ones. They're the ones running from something. Or toward something only they can see.

Happy childhoods produce observers. Painful ones produce world-changers.