The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine.
Interpretation
The present belongs to those who control it, while the future is shaped by my efforts and vision.
This quote by Nikola Tesla emphasizes the distinction between the current realities that people face and the potential of the future that can be molded through hard work and innovation. Tesla reflects on his dedication to creating a better future through his inventions and ideas, suggesting that while others might reap the benefits in the present, the true value and recognition of one's contributions will ultimately belong to the visionary who labors for what lies ahead.
In practice
In a speech about innovation and technology.
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.
The terror of the atom age is not the violence of the new power but the speed of man's adjustment to it, the speed of his acceptance.
Hours later the blank sheet still stared at me, and I beat my fist against the desk in fury and fustration, striking it so hard my hand bled. That is how heavy a secret can become. It can make blood flow easier than ink.
Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.
What do you think, would not one tiny crime be wiped out by thousands of good deeds?
Heaven doesn't make this life less important; it makes it more important.
Freedom is a state of mind, I said wondering where I'd heard it before, not a state of being. We are all slaves to gravity and morality and the vicissitudes of nature. Our genes govern us much more than we'd like to think. Our bodies can not know absolute freedom but our minds can, can at least try.
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