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...
Along with his ticket, passport, and luggage, Tesla still managed to make it aboard the steamship. A mutiny broke out during the voyage, and he got caught in the middle of a battle royale between crew...
Within a week, the entire nation was raving about alternating current as the future of electricity. The fair was a debilitating blow to Edison’s direct current, and foreshadowed the coup de grace in t...
What is imagination, though? Michelangelo said he saw angels in the marble and carved until he set them free. Most of us regard creativity in the same way we regard that statement—as a mysterious gift...
We rely on geniuses to entertain us, educate us, lead us, and show us all what our species is capable of. We rely on geniuses to give us smart phones, electric cars, cures for diseases, social network...
We all face a fundamental choice in our lives. Do we take the path prescribed by our now you’re supposed to society, or do we take our own path toward the life we feel we ought to be living?
We all face a fundamental choice in our lives. Do we take the path prescribed by our now you’re supposed to society, or do we take our own path toward the life we feel we ought to be living? Do we cho...
This is the beauty of imagination. An unexpected dead end in one journey is merely an opportunity to set a new course for another. Losing what we have can only do us real harm when we feel we can’t cr...
This immediately involves us in a bigger picture question, too—one that’s deeply penetrating and personal: why do we desire to heighten our genius and pursue the path of greatness? We
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.
The philosopher Edmund Burke said there is a boundary to men’s passions when they act from feelings; but none when they are under the influence of imagination. Imagination is the life force of the gen...
Tesla, you don’t understand our American humor, he said. Instead, Edison offered Tesla a raise of $10 more per week, to be added to his current salary of $18 per week. Tesla was disgusted and immediat...
One of the dominant traits that define history’s greatest geniuses is their genuine interest in, love for, and dedication to the well-being of other people—a rare commodity that would guide Elizabeth...
On the evening of May 1, 1893, over 27 million people anxiously awaited to see the future of electricity. When President Grover Cleveland pushed a button,
Many such top performers overcame their average—or even below-average—intellects and nonexistent aptitudes to develop outstanding abilities in disciplines such as chess, music, business, and medicine....
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. And to, like Tesla did, create it exactly as you envision
In the same year, it was announced that Tesla and Edison were potential laureates to share the Nobel Prize of 1915. Both men refused to accept the award together, or separately if the other were to re...
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. For one reason or another, many people just don’t get it.
Examples of such remarkable transformations abound throughout history. Henry Ford failed in business several times and was flat broke five times before he founded the Ford Motor Company.
Do we choose our life’s work based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s list of highest-paying jobs, or do we follow our bliss? Do we heed the call to conformity, or the call to adventure?