Pondering what it takes to be successful, we can point to the characteristics of Mr Musk. Driven, intelligent, a dreamers vision. All good things. Now, lets put that package inside a person of color. Would he be as successful? Lets put that package in a woman's brain. Would she be as successful? Lets put that package in a religious garb - you pick the flavor...same question.
So I suggest that Mr Musk has advantages beyond Driven, intelligent vision. Our society - does put up glass ceilings, walls. And those walls are Tesla Glass strong. Wish it was not so, but that is a description of reality from my view point.
For an Asian in the US, it probably wouldn't have been any barrier. A lot of Hispanics have been quite successful too, one of my SO's cousins is a VP at IBM. Depending on what circumstances Elon had been born into, he might have had more of a struggle to get where he did.
For example if he had been born black in South Africa, he might never have gotten the early education he did get. Elon's being a Canadian citizen by birth also helped him quite a bit. It got him into North America with little hassle.
I completely embrace your position - Success is your own definition. Comparing to others is a path with no happy end. Are the rich and powerful happy? How rich is rich enough? How many cars an you drive? how many steaks can you eat? How pretty is pretty enough?
I have a wife of many years- a life partner who contributes more than I can measure. I have all the stuff I NEED, and most of what I want. I have plaques on my walls thanking for my contributions. Yes my life is successful. Is it AS successful as others? Is it as successful as it COULD have been if only that one little thing happened differently?
Lets not compete - but support those that we can help.
A long time ago I came up with the following definitions:
Poor - You don't have enough to meet all your needs
Middle class - All your needs are met and you have a varying degree of your wants met
Rich - You have enough for all your needs and wants with plenty left over.
Each person is going to be different. Someone of limited means with good health might squeak into the lower ranges of middle class, while someone with a medical condition that requires daily medication might be poor with the same income. And what you consider a need and a want can vary quite a bit. On a mailing list I was on many years ago someone posted a thing to imagine your ideal life. The answers varied from a small house that's paid for and a reasonable income every month to a lifestyle like the British royal family.
I also came to the conclusion that once someone reaches "rich" you have a choice to decide its enough or to use your wealth to keep score. The rich people most people respect are those who came to the conclusion they had enough. Any increase in their wealth is just accumulation from their past work, or it's a side benefit from their ongoing work. Most of the rich people who are hated are those who just want to keep score and live like a Bond villain.
It was a joke (big grin emoticom was added), but there are people where just being able to get up and about is a struggle. So yes, that's a successful day for them.
It's okay to define success by stuff or trophy wives if that makes you happy and fulfills you.
My SO was once in that situation. She was so sick the doctors wrote her off as dead twice. She put her life and her health back together and lives a normal life with a few odd health quirks she needs to maintain.
Ashlee Vance's biography of Musk describes Elon's childhood as unpleasant and sometimes violent. He was bullied endlessly and once beaten so badly in school that he had to have a nose job to repair damage to his face. Elon's father, Errol, is said to have done everything possible to sap the joy out of everyone's existence. Errol is supposedly so crazy that Elon won't even let his kids meet their grandfather, and the rest of Elon's family agrees with this decision.
It is true that being a white man in the United States is a cultural advantage, but it is frankly a miracle that Musk made it out of South Africa in one piece and mostly sane.
I remember that from Elon's biography. I believe his father comes from one of the old Dutch families and was a fervent supporter of the status quo. Elon never agreed with his father and wanted to get as far away from that world as soon as he could. He gravitated towards California because the culture there was very much a meritocracy where anyone with an idea can get a fair shot, especially in the major cities (some parts of California not so much).
