Worked at a ranch as a child, pretending to help at 4 years old
Raised by his grandfather, an extremely self-reliant man who never called anyone for help
Fell in love with space exploration at age 5 watching Neil Armstrong on the moon
Memorable quote: "I have to use the word 'impossible' with great caution"
Academic and Professional Journey
Studied at Princeton to become a theoretical physicist
Enjoyed computer science but realized he'd be mediocre in theoretical physics
Pivotal moment: A brilliant colleague from Sri Lanka (Yosanta) indirectly convinced him to abandon theoretical physics
Specific story: Solving a partial differential equation where Yosanta solved in 10 seconds what took others 3 hours, simply saying "cosine" as the answer
Sees himself as an inventor who can develop atypical solutions
Approach: Generate 100 solutions, hoping 1 might work
Walter Isaacson describes his approach as having a "childlike wonder"
Decision-Making and Innovation Philosophy
Most decisions are "two-way doors" - easily reversible
"Disagree and Commit" principle:
If you disagree, you must still support the decision
Compromise is low-energy and doesn't lead to truth
Escalate to someone who can make decisions on both parties' behalf
Truth-telling is crucial:
Humans are social animals, not naturally truth-seeking
Create mechanisms that embed truth-telling
When data and anecdotes disagree, anecdotes are usually right
Never get trapped by past successes, always start fresh
Daily Routine and Work Approach
Slow morning start
Exercise routine (even when demotivated):
30 minutes of cardio
45 minutes of weight training
Uses a trainer who pushes him
Unique meeting style:
Starts with a 6-page narrative memo
30-minute "study hall" to read and analyze
Prefers detailed writing over PowerPoint presentations
Believes a good memo takes two weeks to write and exposes true thinking
Space and Future Vision
Blue Origin rocket (New Glenn):
Heavy lift launch vehicle
45 metric tons to Low Earth Orbit
3.9 million pounds of thrust
7 Be-4 engines
Vision of a trillion humans living in the solar system
Space exploration as a method to save Earth
Utilizing lunar resources for sustainable space development