I finished back-to-back the long autobiography by Barbra Streisand and Isaacson’s biography of Elon Mus… along with a “contra” book “Breaking Twitter” by Mizrich. Many pages. Not a small feat, but I do like detailed character studies.
The similarities between these two people were striking, aside from the fact they are in different occupations, religions, genders… not to mention on the opposite sides of the political spectrum. And most everything else. But they feel like the same person.
They both blamed everything on their abusive parents (Elon’s dad / Barbra’s mom), difficult childhoods with few friends and, of course, always struggling financially. But, surprisingly, Barbra always got to go away to summer camp and Elon’s dad bought him a motorcycle at age 8 and had emeralds…
But.
They are both rich, but never have enough.
They can’t work for anyone else but themselves.
They are both control freaks.
They yell and throw temper tantrums to get their way.
They are terribly insecure.
They are childlike.
They need drama in their lives.
They have had many failed relationships.
They expect perfection from everyone around them.
They desperately want to be heard.
They are misunderstood.
They are victimized.
They are always wronged.
They are always right.
They blame their parents.
It’s interesting how two people can be so alike and so different all at the same time.
Hmmm…. What to read next?
by Liquin44
1 Comment
Reading Barbra now and wanting to read the Elon book. I am interested to see if I see the same similarities.