I was born in South Africa, and as a kid, I hid in books to escape bullying. I got my nose broken at school, and many times I felt alone. But that loneliness drove me to learn programming at age 10. I sold my first software at 12. When the time came, I left everything behind and started from scratch in the United States—with just two suitcases and a head full of wild ideas. 
I founded PayPal… and then got kicked out, as if I was a problem. I was left with a lot of frustration, but also with millions that I invested in what I loved most: changing the world. That’s how Tesla and SpaceX were born. But it wasn’t easy. I almost lost everything. I literally had to choose between saving one company or the other. In 2008, both were on the brink of collapse… and so was I. There were nights when I cried on the floor. 
SpaceX’s first rocket exploded. The second one did too. The third almost made it… but failed. The fourth was all or nothing. And it worked. Meanwhile, Tesla was the laughingstock of the auto industry. Nobody believed in electric cars. But I did. I went into debt, worked nonstop, and bet everything I had. Today, those same companies are worth hundreds of billions. And not because it was easy… but because I never gave up. 
“If you’re not willing to fail, you’re not ready to change the world. Pressure doesn’t destroy you—it shapes you.” 
– Elon Musk
