Nikola Tesla believed that invention is essential to humanity's progress, as it enables mastery over the material world and harnesses nature's forces for human benefit. Despite being misunderstood and often unrewarded, he found fulfillment in his endeavors and understanding that inventors are crucial to human survival. Tesla described his work as a continuous source of joy, emphasizing that mental engagement is the true inspiration for an inventor. He recognized that his early instinctive impulses shaped his destiny, and had he nurtured them better, his contributions might have been even greater.
Although he was expected to join the clergy, Tesla longed to become an engineer. His father's rigid expectations of this weighed heavily on him, considering his father's own intellectual achievements. However, his training involved exercises to strengthen memory, reasoning, and critical thinking would be instrumental in his later achievements. Tesla credited much of his inventiveness to his mother's influence. His mother came from a long line of inventors and was a remarkable woman who displayed exceptional skill, courage, and fortitude, especially when she cared for the dead during a plague. She invented various tools and created all the household goods herself, working tirelessly into her later years. Nikola Tesla's early life was marked by the tragic death of his exceptionally gifted brother, from an accident involving the family’s Arabian horse that he witnessed, which was a traumatic event that stayed with him for life. It deeply affected his parents and his self-confidence was diminished and left Tesla feeling overshadowed. Tesla would work exceptionally hard as a result.
Nikola Tesla experienced a unique affliction in his childhood, where vivid images and flashes of light would distort his vision and interfere with his thoughts, causing great discomfort. These images were of real things he had seen, not imagined, and he struggled to distinguish between reality and vision, which caused him anxiety. After much thought, Tesla theorized that these images were a result of a reflex action from the brain on the retina, and he believed that someday technology could project mental images onto a screen. To cope with this, he began mentally exploring new places and creating vivid mental journeys, finding comfort and solace in these imagined travels, which became as real and meaningful to him as his physical experiences.
Tesla’s imagination also played a significant role in his childhood, as he vividly experienced the sensation of floating in the air during strong winds, only to later realize it was an illusion. Nikola Tesla also developed several strange aversions and habits, such as a dislike of women's earrings, a fascination with crystals, and a strong discomfort around certain objects like peaches and camphor. He also exhibited obsessive behaviors, like counting steps and ensuring repetitive actions were divisible by three. During this time, Tesla’s character was weak and filled with fear, especially regarding death and superstitions, until a turning point where his love for books ignited a powerful desire for self-discipline and control. Over time, he gained mastery over his desires, including overcoming a brief gambling mania, and developed the ability to control his passions with a level of self-discipline that greatly impacted his life.
Around 17 years old, Tesla discovered his ability to visualize inventions with ease, allowing him to develop ideas and blueprints in his mind without needing physical models or experiments. He developed a method of conceptualizing inventions purely in his imagination, refining and operating them mentally before creating them in reality, which he believed was far more efficient than traditional trial and error. Tesla’s approach led him to develop devices that worked exactly as he envisioned, with no failures in over 20 years. His early affliction also enhanced his powers of observation, leading him to realize that all his thoughts and actions were prompted by external stimuli, a discovery that eventually contributed to his development of the concept of telautomatics, which are self-controlled machines.
Tesla's unusual experiences with vivid images and flashes of light, often occurring in distressing or exciting situations had intensified over time, reaching a peak at age 25. During a trip to Paris in 1883, the flashes became so overwhelming that Tesla felt as though his brain was on fire, leading to weeks of recovery. While the intensity of these phenomena later diminished, they continued to manifest, often when new ideas struck him. *
Tesla would develop destructive tendencies and afflictions such as gambling, smoking, and heart problems from coffee abuse. Tesla's mother understood that true salvation could only come through personal effort, and she helped him overcome his gambling addiction by encouraging him to lose all his money, which led him to tame the passion entirely. He also overcame the others by asserting his will and eliminating them from his life. These acts of self-control and discipline brought him satisfaction and preserved his health. After completing his studies, Tesla experienced a nervous breakdown during which he observed many strange and unbelievable phenomena.
Tesla reflects on his miraculous survival through numerous near-death experiences, attributing his well-being to a carefully measured and thoughtful way of living. He recalls a period in his youth when he was considered a physical wreck due to illness, and despite being given up by doctors, he miraculously recovered. Throughout his life, he had countless dangerous encounters; near drownings, nearly boiled alive, and encounters with wild animals, yet had survived them all. Tesla believes these experiences were not entirely accidental but were aided by his resourcefulness and observant nature, qualities he believes are essential for inventors. One notable incident he recounts is from his youth when he almost drowned while attempting to scare his friends while swimming. He became trapped underwater, unable to breathe and on the verge of losing consciousness. However, just before giving up, he experienced a spark of insight that led him to find a small air pocket under the floating structure, allowing him to breathe. This experience, along with others, made Tesla confident in his ability to protect himself in perilous situations.