When I get an idea I start at once building it up in my imagination. I change the construction, make improvements and operate the device in my mind. It is absolutely immaterial to me whether I run my turbine in my thought or test it in my shop. I even note if it is out of balance.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the power of imaginative thinking and mental visualization in the creative process.
Nikola Tesla highlights the significance of envisioning and refining ideas in one’s mind before actual implementation. This mental exercise allows for innovation and improvement, demonstrating that the imagination can be just as effective as physical testing in developing concepts. Tesla's approach suggests that creativity and invention stem from a deep engagement with one's thoughts, leading to practical applications in reality.
In practice
In a motivational speech about the importance of creativity and innovation.
Even matter called inorganic, believed to be dead, responds to irritants and gives unmistakable evidence of a living principle within. Everything that exists, organic or inorganic, animated or inert, is susceptible to stimulus from the outside.
Our senses enable us to perceive only a minute portion of the outside world.
Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surrounding, the sphere of external influence extends to infinite distance.
The history of science shows that theories are perishable. With every new truth that is revealed we get a better understanding of Nature and our conceptions and views are modified.
The Secretary of Hygiene or Physical Culture will be far more important in the cabinet of the President of the United States who holds office in the year 2035 than the Secretary of War.
I am unwilling to accord to some small−minded and jealous individuals the satisfaction of having thwarted my efforts. These men are to me nothing more than microbes of a nasty disease. My project was retarded by laws of nature. The world was not prepared for it. It was too far ahead of time, but the same laws will prevail in the end and make it a triumphal success.
Bad books on writing tell you to "WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW", a solemn and totally false adage that is the reason there exist so many mediocre novels about English professors contemplating adultery.
When intelligent people pride themselves on not understanding, it is quite natural they should succeed better than fools.
I have lived to see that being seventeen is no protection against becoming seventy, but to know this needs the experience of a lifetime, for no imagination copes with it.
I'm not perfect. And who knows how many times I've fallen short. We all fall short. That's the amazing thing about the grace of God.
The human body is a steed that goes freest and longest under a light rider, and the lightest of all riders is a cheerful heart.
Appear to know only this--never to fail nor fall.
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