Maye Musk in Kyiv: Women should be ruling the world

Maye Musk, model and dietician, and also the mother of inventor Elon Musk, came to Kyiv to inspire Ukrainian women and share the secrets of becoming a self-made woman.

Musk, 69, answered the questions during the public interview at the Marie Claire’s business conference @Work on Nov. 30.

She is a dietician and nutritionist with two master’s degrees who has been a model for more than 50 years. Musk is also a mother of three children: Elon, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, Tosca, the filmmaker, and Kimbal, the founder of The Kitchen Community, a nonprofit that builds gardens in schools.

Musk talked about her way to success, gave recommendations on eating healthy and looking fashionable, and shared a strong message that women should rule the world.

“I just like to encourage women to continue to get educated and support each other,” she said at the conference.

Life values

After getting divorced at the age of 31, Musk was always looking for a balance between raising children and working. She says that family was always a priority.

“My children always came first, and then work, and then friends. I always knew it was in that order,” she said.

Musk says sometimes she had five jobs and it was a challenge to survive. However, because her children “behaved well, were polite and considerate,” she had an opportunity to work as a dietitian from home and perform at runway shows while kids were sitting in the front row.

She says when she lived in New York 15 years ago she wanted to become the top dietitian in the world but her life changed as she started having grandchildren and wanted to spend more time with them.

“I can’t imagine my life without my family.”

Today Musk has 10 grandchildren and says that happiness to her is them and the rest of the family being healthy.

She says that she doesn’t need much time for herself and apart from family and work, spends it with her dog.

“He demands time with me, so we have our morning routine when we watch the news, I have my coffee and he has his treat. ”

Musk shared that in men she appreciates a good sense of humor. She says that after a divorce she dated quite a bit but didn’t get married because she didn’t find anyone to be with till the rest of her life.

“I don’t think any man will tolerate my schedule.”

Health and style

Musk says she is not a naturally slim person.

“I struggle every day with my diet.”

She says that she always watches what she eats, makes nutritious choices. She eats vegetables, beans, whole bread, small portions of meat, eggs, nut and “all the nutritious things that we know are good for us.”

Musk also gave a couple of wellness tips. She recommends to eat more vegetables, whole grains and says that those who are a sweet tooth should eat fruit.

She says it’s important to have a light dinner.

“You need to go to bed a little bit hungry but not starving.”

And she says that there are some tricks for those who happen to be starving late after brushing teeth.

“You can have a piece of cheese or a glass of milk and then you don’t have to brush your teeth again.”

Musk says that she keeps only nutritious food at home – no chips, chocolate or ice cream.

“If I’m a little tired I’ll just go eat it and there’s no limit to me.” “Keep that aside,” she added.

Apart from eating habits, Musk shared her secret of looking fashionable.

She says that’s the team of professionals that makes her look “fabulous.”

“You can’t be good at everything but then you need to know people who are good at that.”

She says that the three must-haves of any wardrobe should be “good-fitting jeans, a nice white shirt and sexy heels.”

Role model

Musk says that she has always been hard-working as well as her parents, siblings, and children.

“We all love our work though.”

She says that she is a curious person and loves learning new.

“When people ask me a question and I don’t know what it is, I need to go to the internet, find a good source and find out about it.”

Musk says that although she went through some hard times, she kept on working a lot, being kind and moving ahead.

“That’s what leads to success.”

Being an inspiration to women all over the world, Musk gets inspired by outstanding women in different fields.

“I love reading about successful women and I learn from each one and each one is inspirational.”

She believes that women should be ruling the world because they are kind.

“We just need to be more successful because that is what will bring us more happiness. We have to keep on educating ourselves.”