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

by Sean Patrick

The studies conclusively disproved the notion that great performance stems primarily from a natural “gift” or talent.

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.

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Studies of people with extraordinary abilities, like Ted Williams, have given rise to what Swedish psychologist Dr. K Anders Ericsson called the “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.

To put that number in perspective, if you practiced an activity four hours per day, seven days per week, it would take you about seven years to reach ten thousand hours. That kind of dedication can only come from the heart—a true love and passion for the activity.

First, that the seed of greatness exists in every human being.

Second, that there are no such things as natural-born under- or overachievers—there are simply people that tap into their tru...

Now, that doesn’t mean our fates are written in the stars. We can wholly control our dedication to thousands of hours of study, training and work.

There is no shortage of problems to be solved, needs and desires to be fulfilled, and innovative ways to help others.

They’re often nothing more than chances to improve on something other people are already doing.

Opportunities are whispers, not foghorns. If we can’t hear their soft rhythms—if we are too busy rushing about, waiting for thunderclaps of revelation, inspiration, and certainty—or if we can spot them but can’t nurture them into real advantages, then we might as well be blind to them.

I believe that genius is a path that we can all take and derive much benefit, happiness, fulfillment, and success from...not a genetic windfall or divine gift. Ultimately, this is the path to greatness.

Barrios discovered that his subjects had each developed and routinely displayed a combination of very specific characteristics throughout their lives, and not just mildly but conspicuously.

Barrios then wondered if anyone could operate at a genius level—and achieve genius-level greatness—simply by learning and adopting the same educated views and disciplined behaviors that so repeatedly characterized history’s greatest achievers.

In this book, we will delve into a single characteristic of Barrios’ code: imagination.

We rely on geniuses to entertain us, educate us, lead us, and show us all what our species is capable of.

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

James Clerk Maxwell had proven mathematically that light was electromagnetic radiation—electricity that was vibrating at an extremely high frequency.

In 1891, in his New York City lab, Tesla proved that energy could be transmitted through the air by wirelessly lighting lamps.

His coils helped him discover yet another phenomenon that would change the world: radio waves.

Tesla’s continued research in the field of ultra-high-frequency energy led him to conclude that it was only a matter of time until science would discover a veritable source of inexhaustible, free energy—a

Edison’s newly formed General Electric

A year later, the Niagara power plant was ready for operation.

Tesla was praised worldwide as a hero, and was referred to as the “Wizard of the West.”

Morgan retaliated with a strategy that would become one of his hallmarks. He spread rumors to Wall Street that Westinghouse’s company was financially unstable, which dissuaded investors from giving Westinghouse the capital that he needed to expand the production and installation of his alternating current generators. Morgan then began an attack through stock manipulation, and moved to gain control of The Westinghouse Corporation, and thus Tesla’s patents.

He mistakenly caused an earthquake that engulfed the surrounding city blocks, breaking windows and shaking the plaster off of the walls.

date. He found that the earth was “literally alive with electrical vibrations,” and that the entire planet can be “thrown into vibration like a tuning fork.”

Tesla was absolutely certain that this phenomenon could be used to transmit unlimited electrical power and telecommunication signals anywhere in the world with virtually no signal loss or degradation.

He wirelessly lit over 200 lamps from a distance of over 25 miles, proving that electricity could be transmitted great distances through the air.

Tesla continued to work diligently, and in 1937, stated to the press that he had completed a “dynamic theory of gravity,” and that he would hope to soon give it to the world.

Despite receiving over 800 patents in his lifetime, and quite literally inventing the twentieth century, he died penniless and alone.

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.”

Mark Twain said “all ideas are second-hand, consciously and unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources.”

“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.”

This brings us back to the beginning of the genius code: curiosity.

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.