Imagine you live in New York City. In the morning, you drink your coffee and put on your shoes. You walk a few blocks to the train station, climbing aboard as the departing lights flash, and take your seat. The ride lasts for nearly a half-hour and then comes to a halt. The doors open, you depart and look to your surroundings. You expect to see the streets of New York, where your journey began, but instead you are looking at the streets of Washington D.C. Is it possible to go this far in such a short amount of time? The key: reduce the friction and resistance, reports Forbes.
Enter Hyperloop, the third (and probably not last) form of transportation from Elon Musk. Although a relatively old concept, originally dating to the 18th century, the “vactrain” has been rekindled with a modern twist. The theory is that by creating a vacuum chamber, implementing magnetic levitation and air propulsion, it is possible to reduce friction and air resistance, thus allowing an object like a train to travel at speeds faster than commercial airlines. Allowing a travel time from New York City to Washington DC in 29 minutes flat.
This is an important concept. Not just in terms of transportation, but in everyday life. How can we reduce friction and resistance to get from A-to-B better, faster, more efficiently? We all know the saying, travel the path of least resistance, but why does it seem every time I turn around, there is another company unwilling to transform with the market landscape. Stubborn in their ways, they resist and eventually fail to stay relevant. Nokia, Blockbuster, Xerox to name a few.
It is public knowledge that Musk can be a hard man to work for. He demands the best, and doesn’t tolerate the words “impossible” or “I can’t do that”. But look past this outward appearance. By eliminating the naysayers, and surrounding the workplace with people that believe in reaching a lofty goal, eventually they do. By streamlining the manufacturing of Tesla and SpaceX, the need for third party companies is eliminated, developing in-house and reducing the number of hindrances. And through these successes, public opinion is also improving. It didn’t seem long ago that people would say how unrealistic Musk was. Now it appears, slowly but surely, more are starting to get on board. People who once opposed now agree.
I say we extend this outside of the workplace too. Let’s lessen the tension in our relationships. Let’s work together. Put aside our differences and political partisanship. The end of year approaches, and it is time to make our 2018 resolutions, I propose we take a page from the Hyperloop and choose one that eases the friction and resistance in our lives. Who’s with me?
