Nikola Tesla was one of the greatest minds in science. His contributions were immense in the field of electricity and engineering. Although he died in 1943, some of his quotes still serve a lot of purpose for us today. Here are some quotes by Nikola Tesla that remain applicable for us today.
1. “In the twenty-first century, the robot will take the place which slave labor occupied in ancient civilization.”
With the emergence of the internet and its sweeping of us into the digital age, what Nikola Tesla said many years ago is not farfetched. We have arrived in an age where robots now take charge of occupations that used to belong to humans. Robots have come to stay.
2. “I don’t care that they stole my idea… I care that they don’t have any of their own.”
Original ideas define where you are and where you could be. Many underestimate the power of an idea, but if you can both invent an idea and act on it, you can define your success in whatever career you choose.
3. “If your hate could be turned into electricity, it would light up the whole world.”
Passions or emotions can fire up enough energy to upset events. It is better to be able to deal with negative emotions and make them count in a positive way. Rather than allow your hate to be dominant, try and focus on making your love an umbrella above everything you do.
4. “Of all things, I liked books best.”
They say that leaders are readers. With books, you can relate with your being and connect with the world around you intellectually. All successful persons have been readers at some point. So why don’t you determine your future by reading? It is not a lazy thing to be a reader, but it could define your future and what you become.
5. “Be alone, that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born.”
There is nothing perfect in being alone. But when you are alone, you can experience that “wow” moment of discovery. This is many times unleashed when you are able to dive into your internal energy. Many people do not seek solitude, but when you can connect with your inner self, you can create possibilities.
6. “We crave for new sensations but soon become indifferent to them. The wonders of yesterday are today common occurrences.”
Twelve years ago, there was no Facebook or smartphones. The world was not as connected and there were no electric cars. We seem to get so used to things shortly after they first emerge. It becomes a question of what next? Humans always want more that is beyond the norm, things they have never seen before. Human wants and desires are limitless.
7. “The individual is ephemeral, races and nations come and pass away, but man remains.”
We won’t be here forever, but our legacies can live on after we are gone. There is not much you can accomplish without connecting with your environment. Focus on the legacy rather than on being or simply existing. Great minds like Steve Jobs focused on the legacy rather than on just individual greatness. Touch lives and when you are gone your story will be authentic enough to influence others to keep on achieving.
8. “Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more.”
There is no perfect being. What defines or makes us are our strengths and flaws. There is no point in trying to alienate one from the other. We have to live and contend with who we are.
9. “Great moments are born great opportunity”
It all comes down to how you prepare for your opportunity and take advantage of it when it comes. When opportunity converges with your hard work, some tend to term this as luck. Hard work cannot thrive on its own — it needs some kind of opportunity. According to Tesla, this gives birth to great moments.
10. “You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension.”
This is a kind of futuristic prediction, since the brilliance of humans always seems to breed warfare and destruction at some point. This quote is a reminder that human capacity is limitless, still it is up to us to use this capacity for good.
Featured photo credit: Ed Gregory via stokpic.com
