Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century

“It takes curiosity to find your call to adventure, it takes courage to venture into the unknown, and it takes imagination to create your path.”

“It’s an essential part of becoming more creative. Expand your interests in life. Seek out new, interesting experiences, no matter how mundane or inconsequential they might seem to others. Read books, watch documentaries, and discuss your ideas with others. No subject, no matter how specialized or esoteric, is off limits. You never know where your imagination will find pieces for its puzzles.”

“Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered—either by themselves or by others.”

“Einstein said that “imagination is more important than knowledge,” because “knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

“This is the beauty of imagination. An unexpected dead end in one journey is merely an opportunity to set a new course for another.”

“Imagination is the life force of the genius code.”

“It's no coincidence that geniuses not only dare to dream of the impossible for their work, but do the same for their lives. They're audacious enough to think that they're not just an ordinary player.”

“the seed of greatness exists in every human being. Whether it sprouts or not is our choice.”

“Henry Ford failed in business several times and was flat broke five times before he founded the Ford Motor Company.”

“Facts and ideas are dead in themselves and it is the imagination that gives life to them.”

“Opportunities are whispers, not foghorns.”

“So, what does all this tell us? First, that the seed of greatness exists in every human being. Whether it sprouts or not is our choice. Second, that there are no such things as natural-born under- or overachievers—there are simply people that tap into their true potentials and people that don’t. What is generally recognized as “great talent” is, in almost all cases, nothing more than the outward manifestations of an unwavering dedication to a process.”

“Picasso said “good artists copy but great artists steal.”

“What is generally recognized as “great talent” is, in almost all cases, nothing more than the outward manifestations of an unwavering dedication to a process.”

“10,000 hour” rule. The rule’s premise is that, regardless of whether one has an innate aptitude for an activity or not, mastery of it takes around ten thousand hours of focused, intentional practice. Analyzing the lives of geniuses in a wide range of intellectual, artistic, and athletic pursuits confirms this concept. From Mozart to Bobby Fischer to Bill Gates to the Beatles, their diverse journeys from nothing toward excellence in their respective fields shared a common denominator: the accumulation of ten thousand hours of unwavering “exercise” of their crafts.”

“Many calls to adventure are puzzles waiting to be solved. Anyone can apply, but the price of admission is paid in imagination.”

“Losing what we have can only do us real harm when we feel we can't create it, or something equally valuable or compelling, again, and that ability resides squarely in our imagination.”

“The air is full of ideas,” Henry Ford said. “They are knocking you in the head all the time. You only have to know what you want, then forget it, and go about your business. Suddenly, the idea will come through. It was there all the time.”

“When you start viewing creativity as a process of combination, and imagination as the ability to connect, stretch, and merge things in new ways, creative brilliance becomes less mystifying. A creative genius is just better at connecting the dots than others are.”

“seed of greatness exists in every human being. Whether it sprouts or not is our choice.”

“While many theories were put forth, there was one common factor that researchers recognized in all great performers: they practiced so hard and intensely that it hurt.”

“Our first endeavors are purely instinctive prompting of an imagination vivid and undisciplined,” Tesla wrote. “As we grow older reason asserts itself and we become more and more systematic and designing. But those early impulses, though not immediately productive, are of the greatest moment and may shape our very destinies.”

“Whether we listen to a sonata of Beethoven’s, watch highlight reels of Michael Jordan, or learn a law of Newton’s, we view extraordinary human skills as gifts granted by unknown forces for unknown reasons. Such an explanation is convenient, but is it correct?”

“One year later, nearly three decades after Tesla began the fight, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that Marconi’s radio patents indeed infringed on Tesla’s and therefore declared Tesla as the true “father of radio.”

“In every field of human endeavor, the more visionary the work, the less likely it is to be quickly understood and embraced by lesser minds.”

“creativity is “just connecting things.”

“If I could write one sentence that would magically increase your IQ by thirty points, would you be interested in reading that sentence?”

“genius is much more than high intelligence, innate talent, extraordinary work ethic, or uncanny luck, but rather a composite manifestation; a synthesis of very specific types of worldviews and behaviors. The more he looked at data through this lens, the more things started to make sense.”

“though. Before you can connect dots, you need to have dots to connect. The more material you’re exposed to in the world, the more grist you’ll have for your imagination mill. Tesla fully immersed himself in the world of electricity. He read hundreds of books. He conducted thousands of experiments and took copious notes. The more varied your knowledge and experiences are, the more likely you are to be able to create”

“Facts and ideas are dead in themselves and it is the imagination that gives life to them.” -W. I. B. Beveridge”