Tesla and Twain

Two more of my guys off today – great people, gifted people. What funny old times.

Here’s something from Mark Twain to think about. It has truth at its heart and I wish I’d written it. Hey, what the hell. Let’s say that I did write it. Me. Not Twain. Okay? Twain just wrote something very similar.

'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.'

People think of Twain as a writer, which of course he was, and a great one - but he was also a lot of other things. He loved science and invested almost all of his money financing new inventions. He even invented things himself - a bed clamp for infants (that one is a bit worrying), a new type of steam engine (just as electricity became all the rage), and the Paige typesetting machine (which was a bit prone to breaking down). Perhaps it would have been better if he’d stuck to his writing, but isn’t it always worth ‘taking a punt’? As Chris would say.

Not many people today think of him as an inventor, but in his time he was well known for it and he loved to mix in the company of scientists and inventors; where he was well accepted.

Twain became a great friend of Nikola Tesla. Tesla was a genius with electricity and was on the verge of creating free energy, energy without the need for a power source - when he ran out of money, and some might say… luck. Tesla’s a hero of mine thanks to OMD - and don’t worry you don’t get off that lightly I’m sure I’ll come back to him in the future.

Tesla and Twain spent a lot of time together in Tesla’s laboratory. It’s been rumoured that between them they invented a time machine. Twain’s book ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court’ features an American time traveler who uses his knowledge of science to introduce technology to Arthurian England. Danny Kaye played the time traveler in the movie (Danny Kaye is also a hero of mine but I’ll save him for another time as well).

Twain spent a huge amount of his own money financing Tesla’s inventions, which ultimately didn’t pay off – actually they weren’t allowed to pay off which is a whole different story (yes, I’ll save that for another time as well, I know that you’re in a rush).

Anyway, here’s the point I’m trying to make (I’d have got here sooner if I weren’t so easily distracted, but my brain works just like surfing the net – I’m on some site or other when I spot a link to something that is connected and I’m off onto that, then I spot another connection, and another, and so it goes on until I have to use the back button to get to where I started from. I think the back button is a little like time travel and…stop – Stop - STOP… I was off mind surfing again; I’ll save that for another time as well).

Just a minute, I’m going to click the back button.

BACK BUTTON. Anyway, here’s the point I’m trying to make - Tesla and Twain dared to dream big and weren’t afraid to fail. They were brave enough to sail away from safe harbour, catch the trade winds, explore, dream, and discover.

There’s a lesson for us all there.

So here’s my thanks and respect to Vicky and Chris, neither one of which ever gives up or gives in, and like Tesla and Twain they both dare to dream big – I know that they both will succeed.

Even so I still wish I could click the back button.