One Tweet From Elon Musk That Will Change the Way You Think
By: Max Phillips
Tags: Life Lessons, Spirituality, Lifestyle, Philosophy, Religion

Every time Elon Musk tweets, Tesla shareholders hold their breath. This time, it’s different.

He always seems to have something to say and is never far away from the headlines. You’d think this would be bad for Tesla’s share prices, but they have continued to soar.

You’ll find articles about him fill the internet, as people try to unlock the enigma of his mind. This tweet, I feel, has shown another side of Elon we can all learn from:

You’d be forgiven for thinking that this has some biblical connotations. In the replies, people have drawn on Jehova’s Witnesses and some passages from the bible.

I think, however, we can take a more literal lesson from it. Elon Musk is a man of science. So while it isn’t impossible he has found religion, it is unlikely. Instead, he is tweeting about the ownership we must take of ourselves.

Your very essence is you. Your brain, thoughts, feelings, emotions, desires, and actions are all you — not the result of some external being.

The phrase isn’t a new one. Its history is long, and it’s source much disputed. To start, C.S Lewis was accredited with the words, but that has since been disproved. The quote is from George McDonald in Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood:

“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.”

That was in 1892, but that isn’t the expression's first appearance in history. In 1881, Rev Dr R Thornton wrote in a paper to the Church of England Congress:

“We should have taught more carefully than we have done, not that men are bodies and have souls, but that they are souls and have bodies.”

This, no doubt, draws on Spiritualism — the belief that spirits of the dead can communicate with the living. To be honest, I’m not sure that was what Mr. Musk was drawing on. Instead, his tweet takes note of our materiality ideals — even as far back as the 19th century.

The idea that we have a soul is as if we keep it somewhere locked in our brain as some sort of mystical trophy. To embody, it is something different altogether.

Thornton believed that the body is a vessel for the soul. You have a body and are a soul. It’s telling that Elon left that part out of his tweet. Sure, your body is a vessel, and, as Spiritualism says, your soul lives on. But, you are just as much your body as you are your soul. We only understand the prior more.

These ideals can be applied to everything you do if taken more literally than Spiritualism and Christianity intended.

If you’re like me and often downplay your achievements, it’s time to own up and claim them as your achievements. You are them. You secured that job, passed your driving test, and lost that weight.

On the flip side, the blame game needs to stop. If you failed an exam, then own it. That way, you can move on from failures and learn your lessons.

It’s a simple idea, but one people often forget. Embody your achievements, as they are a part of you — now and always. What you are is more important than what you have. Yes, you may have a family — but that makes you a family man.

If you want to be an award-winning writer, you need to become that sort of person. You need to develop commitment and dedication to become the sort of person you need to be. As James Clear writes, building those habits means they can last a lifetime — you don’t have them, you are them.

I wouldn’t say I believe in Christianity or Spirituality, but I like the messages you can pull from the quote. People tend to pull themselves away from their accomplishments and failures to protect themselves from the truth. I feel, however, if you embody them, you can learn so much. To say you are a soul is to understand it, even if just by a bit. By taking ownership of yourself, you uncover life bit by bit, demystifying your journey.