o a Tesla

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er1n
Overview of Chapter 3

Envisioning the Future
Developing the capability to Visualize
Applying Tesla's Strategy Creating the FuttJre
Oonclusion


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862
SmATEGIES OF Gl!NlUS
Nikola Tesla
Mastering the Mind's Eye
and inventor Nik<>la TQ&l (1856-194a) has been called
"thc genios who uahered in the power age.'' He is arguably one of
the m06t creativo and important inventors of the past century; and
eertai.nlj one of the most prolic. His 700 inventions includc basie
deve)opments for the electromagnct:ie motor, thc turbine engine,
wirelcss transmission and remote cont.rol device3. His dis<:overy of
the rotating magnetic eld in the late 1800's is th basi.s of
a1tem8tingcurrent whieh hos made th widespread distribut.ion of
cl6Ctric power possible throughout tbe world. It was Ti>la who
designed the first clectric po'\.;er &htton at Niagara Falls (hia
system was cho.san over Thomas Edison's systm).
Known as a visionar)' futu.rist, bis notebooka are ati11 studied by
scicntists and engineers today, as a number of lU$ idas and
principies are still far in ad,anoo of prsent da y technology. ,.
Similar to Leonardo, Tesla'a genius lay in b.is ability to disoover
hidden. unseen principlt3, or dep in natu.re and then
to apply those principies tangibly, th.rougb. thc crcation of usful
inventions. Using tbc psych.ologieal modeling toola of Neurcr
Lioguistie we can diacover sorne of tbe kcy cognitive
procesaea underlying bis imprtssive ereativity. In tbis way we ca.n
unearth some of the invisible mental atrategies that Tcsla usod to
make his diacoveries and invention.s.
*It il> rumored that Tesla actually figured lo gencrote ch!dricity
from tbe Earth's magnetie field (th1.1& potcntially crwting a free and funitleas
sourte of eJectrico.l powcr). AAer demonstroting it, howe\er, he ref"''ecl te>
u.nytbing about i t and took the secret witb hm to hi$ gro ve.
NIKOLA l'EsLA
363
Section 1: Envisioning the Future
Al! it turns out, Tcsla himself had a lot to say about his: own
thinking proceas. In an interview conducted in 1919, 1'esla pro-
vides somo Nmarkably rovcaling information the devl
opment ofhis creat.ive thinkin.g procesa.
In my boyhood 1 su{fered {rom. a pccldiar af{liclion lO
the appearance of often accompanied by strong
flasMs of lig!U, which marred the sight o{ real objects o.nd
wilh my t.hought and ac-t.ion. They were pictu.retJ
o{ thil.gs and scenes which 1 Aad alread> $00/t, M r.:-er o{
thou-1 imagined. When a u:ord wos spoken tom-e the image
o{ object it desigtaaUd u:ou./d present itulf vividly to my
uision and sometimes 1 was quite unable to ditftingui$h
whether wh4t 1 saw U>'S (4ngible OY n.ot. This caused me
great di'.scomfort. and anxiety ...
To gU-e an idea o{ my d.ist.ress, suppose tAat 1 had witnessed
a funeral or some such neroeracking spectacle.
in.evitably, i.n the stillne$8 of night, a vivid pictu.re of the
scene would t.hrust itself before my eyes and-persist despite
all my effort$ to ban.ish it. Sometim,es it would euen remain
fixed in spa.ce thougA 1 pushed my hand througk it.
1
Obviously. Tesl is describing a very pronounced and powerful
ability to v:isualize from an early age. He empbasizcs that these
images "were pictres of things and scenes which I had already
aeen, ne"er of those 1 imagined."' The term "eidetic imagery" 1s
u&ed for tetnlnbrd intmal images: that have the quality of
being ao vivid tbat t hey appear real. This type of imagery i.s often
associatd with the right, or 'nOndOminant, si de of the brain.
While the Hfelike quality of Tesla'a, imagecy <:ertainly .sounds
romarkttble, it is not unoommon for ehildren to be frightened by
graphic mental picture3 that tbey cannot control, nor is it uncom
mon. for ehildrn to hv diffic.ulty distintruishing be-tween their
intemal ex.perienoo and externa! rcality. Most childrcn, b.owever,
eventuaUy learn to sque1ch or thia degree ofvividneaa aa
384
8 TRATBOIB8 011' G!OOUS
they,.,.. up in order lo 'more etroclivdy deal with reality'. Tesla,
boweve.r, teems to ha ve learned to cope with the ilsu.e differently:
To ('m myld{ o{ th= lorm<nling opp<aranu, 1 tried. k>
C<mOrntraU my m.ind on. el se 1 had sttn., tmd in-
thle wo.y 1 wordd often. obt.ain. temporary rtlkt but in order
to Jlt!t it 1 hod to conjure crmtjrtulmUy new imoges. It .o'Q.S
,tollong be{ort 1 {OuJJ(l that 1 JKU.i CJXIw.uated all of those a1.
my oomnwnd; my reel" had rtm ouJ, Ot 11 were, bt.>cause 1
ltad ltttn lUtle o[ I.I;,>Orld-ory objfctf in my home and
immedlate surrowtdings. Aa 1 pcr(omwd lhe$t
optrons {or lht $t:((}nd or third timt, in orthr to ch.ase the
oppJNJnce from my uWon, nmetzy grodually JSt aU
IU {on.
TM-n 1 in..stindWely commenel to maM tacunion.s bqond
lhtllmit$0{111< smoU world ofwho<h 1 Md hMw/ede, all(/
1 1aw new sceMs. Th.ue were at firtt utry blurred ond
i.ndittinct, and would {lit at...czy whcn 1 tried to concentrate
my otlention upon them, but by and by 1 1140C'Uded in fui.ng
tl1em; they gaintd in strongtJ, art d.iiJtinclneRtt a.nd, finoJly
auumed the concreteness of real thirl83. 1 800/i disoouertd
thai m.y bese com{ort u.'CI$ aUQ.irutd i/1 Mimply went on in my
vi1lon farlher o.nd farther, geUtllJ nt w lmpreuion.s aU the
linw, o.nd so 1 began lo lrt:wtl-o( couru, in my min.d.
Ewry night (and sometimu durina tltt when olOM, 1
would 11-0rl 011- 1n3 ntw plaa, ciliu and
there# mm puJplc ond mo.b /riM&hips
ond ooquoin.to.ntes ond. /u)weucr it U o {OCI
thGIIAey wt're ji.Uil as dear to me 01 in oct.ual fe and
nota bit lt$11 intt'n.se in tlu:ir tn4ni(ertati,ons. '
Hcro TeaJn describes how, ruther tho.n tu m otT h.is proocss of
v.Unu,JW.tion, he leamed to conacious.ly dJJ'Oct. his l\bility to \oisuali-ze
by "'in8dltctlvely" applyi.n.g the of
1
puc:ing and lea.dmg'. Rather
than try to &uppreS$ the disturbing iroaee in hi& mind's eye, Teala
attempted to shitt bis ntem.al to '10mething else'. He relates
bow he wu able to de'o--e1op the skUI o( conatrueti.ng mm tal i.mages in
ta mlnd"a and -.ee oc-w 8<Uielf which wer9 "beyond tbe limit or
N moLA 'l'EsLA

the small wccld" with wtuch he wu ramlliar. 'Ibis alJow..t lm lo ehlt
bis attoolioo from lho upooUinc remembered \mogeo (V') lo _,.
llnJdod visual Tolla ponts oot that the oldiJ took limo
to d .. elop, He mcntl.oou that Iba constn><ted imagcs "woro at firot
'\'Cl)' blUJ'T'ed and indisti.nct, Md would llit away when 1 tricd t.o
(()tlcentrate my aention u,pon them. but by and by 1 aueoccded in
fixing them; they gained in etrcngth nnd distinctnese and finolly
tuJaumed the concretoncst of real things.'"
What is signifieant in b.is eomments is that resta actunlly
learned ro nnother part of his brai.n. [In tha model
of NLP, eonatructed mental are typic.ally aaaocit'tod with
the left. or 'domiont', hemisphere of th bra.in,J Teela
appruently developed hit abllity to 'daydream' to a ver hleb
degree - the quty ol tbo inner imagery he deecribes hu many
aimilaries to what are called "'poeitive hallucinationa in hypno-
sia. '1'1le fact tbat be men.tionJ that the c:haraeters in bis Cantaaiet
"were as dcar tome a thO&O in actuallife: implies that tharo were
also probably feeli.ngs attaehed to thoae visual fantuic..
inmate oonnection betwMn imagee and fCling; may havo bcen
an important factor in Ws lotcr ability to manifest thoso (do,y-
drcam&' M concrete inventione.
It is intereating to noto that his de..c;criptions of hil to
fantasite are quite remlnlsrnt of anothcr fnmous sc:ientist al\d
genius. Albert Einstein. who claimed that he alwaya thouht in
imagcs rathr than words or mathcmatic:al equations. Enatelo
maintained that tbe tbeory or relativity g:rew out of an dolescent
ranwy in whicb he tried to Imagino what rulity .. ...wd loolt li.ko lt
he were 'ri<ling oo.the d or. beam oflight'.
Tesla'& atte:mpta to deal wlth intemal images also led to anotbcr
important developmcnt for bis ereativity stt'ategy.
My eorly alflidion l1ad., howtver, anolhe.r
The ince8$0.tlt metato.l exert-ion ckueloped my PO&A..'tr8 of
observa.tion and enablcd. me to di..scover a tnLth of gr.at
importance. 1 h.ad mUed tha.t the appearance of image8 wa#
a.lwa;y$ by octm:ll ui1ion o{ unckr pullor
ond generally t.tfl')' exctptWnal conditlons and 1 was impeUed
on tach 10 locoU lile original impul. A{tcr o
whik thi.s qfon snw lO btJ olm061 o.utomotic o.nd 1 gomed
366
STRA11WIRS OF G E!<IUS
lt'fOl fodlity in ronnecting cau and ef/1. Soon 1 btc:ama
o.wore., Jo my surp,.;.,c, lhol tutry t/uxlgh.t 1 eon.eeivtd WO$
114UUted by o:n exlrnwl impreS$ion. Not on.ly thJt but all
my actions were prompt4d in a rimilor wa:y. '
By trocking rus mental - back to exwmnl V'),
T(!:ela was able to establish an in.valuable prctical ooo.nceon
bc:tween bis tboughts and rcality. Tb.is oonncction no doubt kept
hia incn'ldible imaginstion from bccorning $imply a f'onn oeetea.pe
a.nd made it possible !c.r him to coovert his own acienee
fiction into inventions that tra.ntfonned tbe world.
Teela's preoccupation. wtth hls mental imagcry alao led bim to
dovelop a bigh dcgree ofwhat wt) ha ve ealled metncognition. As a
ro&ult or h i!J obaer\'aHODif of how bis own mind Input, processed
and re8ponded to tbe "mrtornnl impressiona" Around him, Tesla
formod tbe idea of a m achino t.bat oould do the anmo thio.g. He was
tht firat per$00. to conceivo of what we tod"Y caU "robotics.
Colllider his prophetie de&criptioo of self..eontroUed automata
wbkb would act as it ll8 el o( reuon and a revoJution
in ma.ny eommerci:LI and induttrio.l departments.
In the c olt.TSe o{ limt it bcconu perfectly tiJUient lo m th<U 1
rOO$ nwrely <m au-tomat<m endowed wit.h power of ,,wuemenl,
l't&pon.ding to the stimrdi of t ite sense orgons <.md thinking
and acti.ng acconUngly. The proctical. resu/.1 ofthi.t WO$ tlu:
ore of teloutomatic.s whlch ho.s been so for oarritd out only
in. an. impqft m.(Jnncr. lt4lotcnl po$$il.>ilitin will, howtt.Jtr,
bt lown. 1 laow bem aince years ploNtlJw lf
con.trolled o4dom<rlo and bcliec;e tlaot mAanim con bt
produced which wiiJ act 01 if possesstd ( mr.ton, to a
limlted degrte, and will crtOJe a reoolution. nw.ny
commercial and indusniol depart!Mnts.
4
lt waa 'Teala's ability to oonnect bis mental proceaaea and
intemal maps to phylieal rt!alit-y, oombined with hia ux.ten.e)ve
practice at stabiJirinc and atrcngtbening amstnleted intages, that
led to bis suClCJeSS u an inventor in bis adult lite. Aa he uplained:
NmoLA TESLA
367
1 WO$ obout MWniC'tll my thought tumal uriQu.sJy to
inuention. Tht:n 1 obwrwd to 17\Y dtlisltl tha.t 1 could
IJisuali.ze with tht Jlrealest facility. 1 netdl no modd$,
drawiTIJIB or ex>eriments. 1 picttH't tl&tttt all as real in.
my mi.m:L TJws 1 havc been led unc:rmsclously t() evolue.
wha.t 1 consid4r a new 1nethod o{ li)(JtfrialU.i.ng i.n.ventiue
concepls and ideos, whick is ro.d.icaiJy oppoeUC! to the purely
experimen.tal ond U in my opinion tut.r so much m.ore
ond tffaeknl. TM mom.tnt onc COMtrucl$ o
deo.i to carey into pi"'O:tii:e o uude idJ he find himalf
un.avoidably e1J6ro..d wilh the detail and de(tcl$ o{ the
apparalu$. At he 8()f$ on and I'<nttructing, his
{orct of concentrction diminishes and he lour t#ght o{ the
great underlylfi(J principie. ResuJts ma.y be obtaimrd but
<JlW4.)s al of quc.Uty.
My method it different. 1 do n.ot ru.slt in.to actual work.
When 1 get an Ulto 1 start at onu building it up in m.y
1 cMillllllM Ctt$/JUdion, makc impT'OfJemenbt
ond operote the dcllice in my mind. lt _, ab$0/.uldy
itnm(J.UritJI lO m.e whtthu 1 ron my turbinc in thought or
test it in m y dop. 1 fgen note if it $ out of b<OJtct. Thue is
no dif{erence whouwer, the nsult4 are tht tome. In this
way I amable to rapidly deuelop and petfe.ct a c011ception
wMut touclliniJ cmytlling. Wlwn 1 haw gone HO far as to
-.mbody in. tM in.wntion euery po.<r$iblt 1 ton.
think of and. tee no (au.ll anyw..tre, 1 pu.t i,nto concrete form
tlti.$ (uud product of my brain. lnvariably my ckvi worlt$
as 1 oonceivd lhot lt Ur.ould, and lhe COine$ out
exactly<l$1 planMd il. In. twenty yean tMrc hM nol beetHJ
single. Why hould it be otlterwi.ld
electricol and meclto.nic<tl, is J)O$it.ive in. ruult.. There is
$C4TCe/y a subject that canrwt be moth4m.(d{cally treated
a.nd the ef{ecl$ calc!4lated or lhe rtJliUUll dalermined
be(orehand from the aucti.l.abl.e theoretiool attd practicol
data. corryill(l oul in.lo procti.ce of a crud idea as is
bej,g genually don is. 1 hold, not.hi1111 but o. ruaste of
money OJtd lime.
368
&ra..mcn!s or G.mus
Tcsla' s strntortY has sorne rerna_rkable aimi1aritioe to the strat-
egy for composing deacribed by Motart, wb.o clahnOO. he fint
composcd h& muaie in his head and. wben i t was mercly
'transcribed it onto paper ($ee Strot.gies o{ Vol. n. Accord
lng to Mou.rt, b4 taw bis muaic lD mind'a eye IJUCh tb:at it stood,
*CJlmost. Q)mpktt ond frn.i$ht in nUt mi.nd, so &t 1 can. suroey it,
a {m.t pit tu.rc oro beautifultatue, ata glance ... For this roo.son
the committi''8 to poper is dom qukhly en<mgh, {or everyt.hing is,
as 1 said be{ore, already fai3hed; a.nd U raroly di{fers on
paper from who.t it wos in m.,y imoinalion.
On tbc otht:r h.arsd, Tesla"a atratec:Y for inve.ntlon was quite
diffe.rent from that of bis contemporW)' and ono ti.me c:olleague
Tbomas Edieon who& mcthodl Tesla is probably Teferring to in
hilt criticism abo\e. Edi$0n, who c.laimed that .. invont.ion i& t<Jf,
tnrpir ation nnd 99% pcrapiration," tended to put hit ideaa i m.medi
otly into a tangibl e form and work with the.m. Edlson, for
uample. apoot (ourt.Mn solid mooths trying dftrent materials in
order to find tbe one that would be the best filameot for hl.s elec:tric
Ught bulb. Teala eallcd Ed&On't tria1-and-error approaeb tbe

method of crperimcntntion and
ally bocamo bis archrival. While both atra.tegiea WCI"C obviously
effective, Teata's interna! vi.suruization st-rategy probably allowed
hlm to de.al more effeetively with i ntangible entities (auth u
magnec fieldJ) wlclt ""' boyood the reaJm of OUl' immediate
1ensory wodd and thus a1ao beyond ou:r ability to work with
physically.
There is an intcrt'Rting anecdotc tlbout Tesla doserlbing how ho
was once chtlllcn.ged on bis aascrtion tbat bo could build bis
machines in hit mind. and that there waa "no wbatever"
whetber be nn bis in lhou.ghL or tsted lt in his sbop. To
respond to th c:hallenge, Tesla report.edly an imaginary
turbine en.gine in his mind and orde:rod anotht.t t.o be oon.s-tructed
phy&ieally. Both the real and the mach.tne.a were started
nt the same timo. A month lntor , TC&la di$0JIS().tnbl00 the turbina
cngine in hltl mlnd and noted in preci$e detall the wMr and tear oo
the pieces in bis imagioary maebine.. When tho real engine waa
diasssembled and ex.amined Teala's deseriptioo waa found to match
the real machin6 in cver) dctaill

369
In a remarka.blo d.Scription of hil own wbjedivo cognitive pro-
OO$e,s., Tesla actually describe& in minute detall the qul\litios of his
ntcrnal image.ry during the pt'OCt.' of invention:
wMn 1 eloM my tJ'U 1 oburw (U'$1, a
boc.kground o( very d4rk and uniform blu.e, not unJike t-ht
sky on a clear b&J.t sto.rkss niht, ,,, a ftw seco,rds thiJi field
becomes animated with i1mumerable scintiUatifi.G flakes o{
green, arraned in l.ayeN and advandng towords
me. Then. tlttre cppeara, to tht right, a beautiful poltun o(
two o{ /)<ln)/W ond clo.l;y 1pcd ln ... ot right
ongf.es to one OlfOiher, in aU .orta of colo,.. with )"ellow-
green and golcl predominat-in,g. lmrMdiately thtrta{tt.r the
linu grow brigM.er and tlu wJ&ol;s is thickly wilh
lots Ught. This ploture slowly ocrou tht
/ield of uiWn an.d in about tt:n HtOnds to the left,
leavillB bt.laind a grou:nd o{ rotMr unp/J$4111 and Uurl
lf"t1Y which giws woy to o billowy .ea of clouda,
seemingly lryin to mo/4 thfmHI.r in living JhOptJ. lt is
curious that 1 cannot project a form into this gray u.nlil t.he
8econd pitase nached.
1
Tbis inlrigun8 deacripton bao lOmO rather in-ting paral)elt
10 Leonardo' doocription or hiJ mothod 10 -.timulate and tUOuM
the mind to varioua nventione. tn bis explanation of the tech
nique, da Vincl mo.intained that if you ..... look at any wolls spotted
with uarious stcdn8 ()r with a mixture of different kind of sfone$ ... you
will be able lfJ m in it a resemblon.u to ua.riou dif{erent land-
IC4/)U adomed wlth rwr, roch,. .. diwn eombats ond
urea in quidt ond ttroniJf. e:xpreaion. o( foet.s. on
inffnite n.umber o( &hings which you can. then red.uot i.nto separat4
a.nd wcllconcvucd {otm$!' ' Loonnrdo seem.a to bo describing an
oJCtcrno.l viauttl
61
Crutch
11
that c.nn bG uaed to holp ochieve tho
":round ofinort ray" that Tealn bcheld internally.
370
9rRA'I'I!GlE8 OF GENWS
Section 2: Developing the
Capability to Visualize
NLP ma.lntaint that the critieal factor in geniu.s i& ltow we UJe
w:r nervou1 lylt(lm and that Uao mcatal strategies of a pa.rtieular
geniua can bo learnod by othen and towan:b othf.!-r
tent8. By galning eome insght into tbe thought proccssce or
exeeptlonal pooplo Jjke Nik.ola Testa, we can learo to identify thosc
spceal o.bllitios whe.n thcy occur naturaJly in others. Perhaps more
importantly, we onn culUvatc and dcvelop those capabilities in
oumelvea. Cognithe t ki11fl, such as those described by Tosln eon b6
taught. to chHdrun. Totdo. elcarly states thathe waa a ehild whcn ho
developcd the kcy mental strate,ri.os he was to use latcr in Hfe as a
phyiJcist Utd l.nvontor . He describes how he would see picture.t so
clearly in hit mind's oye a.Y a clld that U1.cy frigbtcned hi.m.
Aii I mentioncd carlier. thi.s is notan unusual experlenco for
many c:hild11cn (as a fathcr of a throo ycar old and a six year old, 1
am quito familiar witb it). A commoo TeSponse from parents t. t.o
imp-req UJ)On tho child that rt i.sjwn your imaginatioo; or .. Jt ie a
bad memory thtat 'Aill eveotually pass," and to attempt to n!Oricnt
tbe child u mu<h u -iblo to 'reality'. Ra<her Iban downplay or
suppr-eu b.ia memory or imagination, however, Tesla lea.rned to
pace and lead hio iotomal piellueo by footering n<l ctually
strengthenln hie capability to vi.aualize. By observing, or de-velop-
ing a 'meta t.o bis own mental p-roce,;sea and their
relationship to extemal impreuloos" T<lsla lcamed to hameee
and direc:t hit momory o..nd imagination (hi,.$ 1et\' and n,ght' brnin)
toa degree that lcCmll truly r emarkable.
Very of\.e.n chHdroo aro totd not to daydream. In achool they AtO
not suppoeed tobo thinki ng ofanything &xoopt wbat the tcachcr is
telli ng thom. Thoy o.ro to bridlc their memorios o.nd
im.ogino.tiontt and to fC)cus only upon thc task o.t hand. Yct. if
Ein.atein had followod tbat advice we might never have re<:ivod
the benefita or tho d\IJCOVE:rie produccd by bis 'daydreaming'.
Unrort.unatoly, unlike Einstein, Maz.art and Leonardo,
many ofut haveleamd to eurb our ability tovisualize and use our
interna} rtpl"6&ent.tional systems. We are lef't to look witJ\ awe
N !K OLA T!:sLA
S7l
upon the seemingly incredible repreeentational c:apabilities of
people likc them, aa if those llblliti.cs ware something almost
's.upernatural'.
lt is my belier that everyono wu bom ,,._th the$e capaeiti.es.
Almost every ehild chaL 1 have ever met b.as an e.xceptionally
robust concact with thei-r minda' 0>'". eara and fee.lings.. Poople
often ask. -How do you use NLP with c.bildre.o who don't know
anytbiog about cognitive peycholoey and the sen.&ee?" My response
is tht cbildrcn are actually tho renl e1pcrts Otl t! They are usually
m.ueh more in toueh with thoir nnd their imaginations than
are adults. In fact one way to help ndu.lts rcct:ivate aome of thes
eapabilities ia to b.elp tham ret boek In toueh with their childhood.
lt is important to realizo, howovor, thnt t l:HrNe oognitive cap.abili
t-ica: did not nec<!$$.llrily como onsily oven for tho oxceptional
indi viduals mcntioned aho ... e. 'l'osln, for inat.ance, indieatcd that a
c.ombin.ation of "'instinetivo" in.ai"-ht& and .. inceasnnt mental exer-
tion" W8$ at the baiJia ofhis vieut\1 abllity. In faet i t ia only recently
tbat eognitive technologie&, i uch 01 NLP, ha ve provided the under-
standings a.od modela nec:ess.ary to bring auch mental3kill..s out of
thc shadowy realm of chance ancl rendar tbem to be &Omething that
can be e:on.sciously leamed and practiood, aa one would with any
othor skill.
NLP, in provides aeve.n.l motbod.l with whic:h peoplc can
leam. to develop a.nd e.nhanee tbeir to visuali.ze (or more
fully use any of their repl'ften.Latiooal aya-tema for tbat matt.r).
These methods in elude the utilbaWn ol:
Adjusting Pbysiology
Paeing and Leading Referencc EX.pOriQntes
Chunking
Rcducing Interfercnees from tho Oth4lr Sen.sea
Encouraging Positive Over lap with Otllor Sena:'-'&
Cluring Per$onal Histr,y and Limlting Beliefa
Aqjusting PhyJlogy
The great 'P$YCbo1ogist Willinm Jnmea laid dO'\'n t.hc general
law that no mtnlal modi(lcotion euer occurr which i.s not accompa-
or {ol./owed by o change. Aecording to Jame8., the body
872
&rltATEG!ES OF GENIUS
and mind were intimately intercon.nected systm. He believed
tbat, in thc &ame way that the mind could influenoe and dir'9ct the
body, certain positions and movements of the body could also
facilitato, inhibit Qr direct the m.ind and one'a mental representa-
tions. Aa he explainod:
In attetuling to either cm idea or a se.nsation bclotr.gittg to a.
particular senscsphere, the mcuement i.s the a4justment o(
the senstorgan) folt. as i1 occurs. I cannot th.ink in. visual
tums, or e.:camplt, wif.hou.t feelinf! a tzuctuati.ng play of
divergtnces, and accommodaticns
in. e)-e{Jalls ... When. 1 try to remember or re{1$ct, t.he
na.ot."emtfl,tS in question) insteod o{ being d.irected towards
the periphel), sttm to Cme from the pcri.phei'J imuards and
feellike a sort of withdr(zwol (r()m. the oufer world. As [ar
as 1 can det.ect, these feelings are due to an. actual rolli:ng
Ou.l'Ula.rds a.nd upwards o{ eyeballs, such as l btliet.-e
occurs in me in shep, and is the exact opposif4l of thei.r
oclion in fxating a pflysical thi.ng ... it would folJow tAot our
en.tire (ctling o{ spiritual actiuit:), or whot (:()mmonly pass.es
by t.hat name, is really {eclil'lf of bodily actiuities wh0$e
exa.ct naturc is by most men ouerloohcd ... 1'M peculiarity of
tM adjustme,nts wouJd be th<U thty are mi.nimal rc{:us.
few in number, iJltessantJy repeated, constar1.t amid great
fl;uctuotions in th.e resto{ the mirul's content, a.n(/ en.tirtly
unimportcmt and unirUeresting except through their uses in
furthering or inhibiting the prcstwe o{ various things, cmd
actians beforc consciousne.s-.s. '
James' obseJ"iat.ion that thinking in "Visual tnns .. ia accompa
nicd by a "rolling outwa.rds and upwards of the eyeballS"' describes
a classic 'aocessing eue' for internal visualln.g in the model of
NLP. Acce88ing cucs are s ubtle beha\oiors that accompany the
activation of a particular repreaentational syste.m. NLP identi.es a
number of typea of micro beha\'Oral cues, involving onc'& ey:S and
other physical features, that are associated with oognitive pro
oos.ses in particular, those in'olving the five seuscs. As James'
defrnition indicatea. accesosi.ng cues are '"mnima) retlexes. few in
NIKOLA 'IESLA
378
number, incessantly repcated, constant amid great fluctuationa in
tbe reat of the- mind's content, and ontiroly unimportant and
uninteresting (rxccpt through their uses in furthering or inhibiting
the preaence of various things, and actions boforc oonsciousneu ...
Eye movcnumt patterns.. tOr example. are one of the ml>t
interesting of the3e "minimal reflexes"' or micro behavioral cues;
a.nd the onemost associated witb NLP. lt has been aaid that "The
eye3 are the windows of the soul,. In NLP, the eyes are considered
to be a window to the mind. The movement of the eyes up and to
the left or riKht tenda to acoompany visualization. An upward eye
movement tO the lcft typical.ly coincides wi.th the recollection of
vi.sual.meoooriea, wherea.<> a movement up and to the right would
accompaoy the form.ation of conatructed imagery or fantaiy. Hori
7.Qntal movement ofthe. eyes tds to go along with listening. Eyes
down accompany fceling. An eye position to the left hand side is
often indicative of memory, while a movcment to the right hand
side indicates imagination. 'l'heae cues are summarized in the
following diagram.
constructed
ViJ;ual
Kinesthetic
remmberd
Visual
re.mmbered
Audit<>ry
'Basic Relationships Bctween Eye Po$it.ions and Cognitive
Processes (_For a Rigbt Handed Person.)
374
SrtLU'EGIES OF G SMUS
Body posture ia another import..ant inOuenoe and refJeetion of a
intcrnal procceses. For examplo. moat people would prolr
obly fmd i t very difficul t to 00 erllativc w th their head down and
thoir 8bouldcrs bunched forward.. lf you put your&eU into that
pl\yliology you will find i t's going to be difficult to feel inapred.
NLP has discoverod tbat. wben people u. visualizing thy teod to
be in a more erect postura. Wbe:o people are Ustenjng, tbey tend to
loan back a bit wilh thelr.,. folded or head tilted. Whn poople
are having feelings. they tend to lean forward and breath mm;e
dceply. Theu cuc won't neceaaaril:y tell you if the foolinr: 18
positive or negatlvet only that an indlvidunl ia accessing feclinp.
So somebody nght bo tCeling very relnxed and have tho Ptn
aeneraJ po.sture al aomebody wbo'a. fcclin dcpreesed.
People a1so frequently g(l$tme to tM ICli1S8 organ i8
active for them in a moment. People wi1l toucb or pomt to thetr
eyea when they aro attemptiDg to visualiza some.tb.i.ng or wben
they get an insight. People gesture toward U\cir ear4 when thoy
are tal king about aomething they heard or are trying to boar.
Likcwi.se people wlll touch their rnoutll when thcy are t.J:'inking
verbally Oike Rodin'a TI.\c Tbinker). When people touch tholr chcflt
or atomach it. ge.nerally indicates feellng. .
Various CIOilat.eUt.tiona of these typee of toes, then. cao. Olther
aupport or inhibit the development and uso o( particular repre:Hn
tational systems. lt would not be $Urprillng if a person who W&.ll
11itt.ing sl umped fo.rward, staring at tho ground atld stroki.ug hit or
hcr chin would oxJ)e.rloncc diffi.cultiee in viaualizing. Effoetivo
vi.suo.lizlog, as shown in the following diagro.m, would involvo a
poltu:re in which the head nnd cycs wcre IU\.ed upward. Fo.r a ri&ht
handed pcr100. vieual memory would be beat faeilitated by ahifting
the head and ey to the ldt.; visual imagination v.-ould be en
hanced by poaitionin t.he head and eye. t.o the right.
Nmou Tlisu
375
Physiology Jlloot Conducive For Corurtructed Vual
lmagery-Hend and Ey<ls Up and to the Rigbt
Jncidentally, tryln.g: out theae cuea i$ not going to aut.oml'tieally
make one start Beong teehnicolor fo.ntosica. Ou.r nervous eyatcnl is
not a machine o.nd accessing cues not simple co.uao-efteet
triggors.. Adjustina one"t acc:essiJlg euo ca.n be likened to whai you
do wheo you are tuming the dial on your television sct.. 'Ibo picture
on the sereen doe:a not &ctuaUy come from inside your televia.ion
aet.. 'l"he picturc has bcen transmittcd from somewhere etse. The
tuning of the televltiOI\ set allows )'Ou to rocoive the imagos &nd
.ounds that are curr(lntly bin.g brondoo8t. Acceaaing cues t'unctlon
in a similar fashion. They hel p a pereon to tune into whatever
mental representatlons are activ. Ju.at aa one \\"'Uid find wlth a
televisioo. &e4 il tbo aignal being broedcut ia weak or distant, you
ma,y not pick it up clearty. no matter bow much you try to
t'he knobs. 1f ono livoa near a transmission tower or has a aat.ellite
dsb, however, tho precision of the tuninc ia less &sentinl.
The point is that ir you want to dovclop th6 akiU of visualizing,
you iliould make sore that your 'cqulpment' is tuned properly.
Many people, for lnJtanee, find i t atftlnuouEJ or uncomfortable to
put their eyes in ctrtain positio.n.s.. By praetici.ng and beooming
awa:re of the bod,y postu.res and aaea lhai facilitate visualiuUon,
ono ea.n belp to facilit.Rte the natural dcvclopment. ofthat eopaeity.
376
STRATBGli!S OF GENIUS
At the age of three, for exrunplc
1
m y daughter alread;y kncw how to
look up in order to visualize words. She is a.ble to easily spell
simple worda both forwards o.nd backwards.
Pacing and /...e(lding Experien<X:-8
Once the 't i.reuitry' of your nervous system is 'tuned'
ately, you can focus on thc sigoal to be "broadco.i>t". Tcsla claimed
that bis visual ability aprang init-ially from tbe u.ninvited reoollce
.oo of strong referenoo cxperiencea auch as "a funeral or aome
such nct"Ve-racking apectacle." Start ing front this spontanoous
imagery. Testa began to pace and lead his proooss of visualization
to diroot it where he- wanted it. Obviously. images attached to
trong negative emotions. s uch a.s Tac;la mentionOO., are uncomfort-
abl&-and unnecesosary. But it uscful to fi.nd images that are
easy and natural to bring into the mind. Even if somcone is nota
good visualiter, thete will usually b sorne mental images tho.t he
or she ia aware-of drea.ms, for in.stance-.
By sto.rting with one image, even one tha.t is very simple., or
"blurred a.nd indistinct," OJl.e can eventuaBy s uocd in. "futing'" it 30
that it does not "'flit away:" By retuming to this basic referenee
image and i.ncrementally adjusting it, it ..,;u eventually gain in
"'strength o.n.d di.S-tinctneas:'' For examplc, close your eyes and sec
what images you can bring up natural }y. Maybe it is enay to recall
the faces of peoplc you love, a favorite movie character, an
cmotionally charged experioocc from your past, a &pcial vacation
apot, the s unset, your automobile or a simple housebold object.
Oooc J'OU bave auch a picture, C\'CD if it ils at first very indistinct,
keep comin.g back to it, aeeing if you can o.dd more depth, detail or
oolor.
Oft.en, peoplc ho.ve to a great dcal of visual infonnation,
e ven if their conacious mental imagery does not ha ve "thc ooncrete
ness of real thin.gs." 1 have worked with people who initially
c.laim that they cannot visunli.ze. One of the rst quest ions 1 as k is,
.. lfyou could visualize, what would you scc?"' For inat.ance, "lf you
oould visuali.ze a big balloon su&pcuded in front of yo u, wh.at would
it look like, if you euld see Most people will begin to reapond,
"'Well, it would be red and round, about thia far away fr om me ... "
and so on. 'f'he point is that the information and detaila may be
ND<OI.AT!i1sLA
877
there, but just notas a con.scious image or 'pooitive hallucination."
From there it is a mattGr of pac.ing and leading tbo unconscioua
imagi> into
Ch.unking
'Chunking' is the pl'<>OOSS of either taking amall picces of infor-
mat.ion and assembling them into o. h:j.rger whole, or oC taking o.
complete object and breaking it into smaller elements:. Some. poople
are ablc to make a picture of amall details but are unable to see the
whole object. Othcr pcople ean enviaion whole sccncs but cannot
form a picture of the detalls.
Somethnea, when 1 am hlping a person leam to visualize, 1 wiU
say. "'Lct's start with something simple, and then we wilt 'chunk
up'. Lets make t he picture of a ball." Once he or she can imagine
the hall or somo other lrimple object, then we will add anoth.er ball
and then another, until he or she is abte to make a stack of batls in
tbe shapc of a pyramid or $0llle auch c.omposite. Other times. I
might have a person start with just a vague image or outline of a
person, and then look for details such as the buttons on hia or her
shirt.
1 will tben oontinue pacing a.nd leading, either adding more
complexity or detall to the picture.l might s ay, "'Well, ifyou aaw
this ball in front of yo u. where would the shadow be? Whcre i& the
1ight souroc?" To "see" something in extcmo.l reality we nee<l light.
The same principie holds true for our internal images. In my own
intemal imo.ges, 1 always make surc 1 hove light and a light
sou.rce. To try to picture mental images without an intcrnallight
sour<:e is like comp!aining because onc cannot seo an object in a
do.rk r oom. Since, light casts shadowt>, I frequently have peoplc
look for the shadow cast by an object in their mind first. When they
ru:u able to find where thc shadO\\ would be, it makes it mueh
easier to see the objact.
Redueing Interference from the Other Sen$es
Qne com.mon problc.oo. poople experienee. when they are at-
tcmptin.g to learn to viaualize, is intcrtOroncs from the othet
sen.sory repreaentatiOal systema. This of'ten happens whcn o.
378
SntATEGIES OF GENWS
penon i.a: tryin 10 hard to visualize tbe penoo gets in b1a or
bcr own way. Por inJt.a.nee. a person may have a critic:l intt:rnal
voice that ta,yt-, "'What'a wro:ng with me? 1 ean't do 8.Q,)'thi.o,g riJbt.
Wb.7 can't lJH thia imager Rather than belping tbe aituation., the
voice producee lnteere:nce to tbe imaging proce:ss because it il
dogging up the pereon'a representati.onal channels.
Anoeber 10<11<0 or inU.rf....,.. is ftom externa! stimuli. ID l"aec.,
one of the purpoHII of 'aecessing cuas' is to he1p reduce the
interf'erence ooml.ng trom ex.tcrnal sensory inpu.t. AA ono woman
ooc l!xprouod tome during s conversation, '1-really feel that 1 can
aec what. you aro anying bc.t.t:cr whcn 1 don'tlook at you na l liat..oo.
William J ames pointed out th.at tbe o hia oyes during
visunl.ir.aWon wna *tho wc.act oppiitc of t.b.cir actioo in fu.nWn.g n
physieal thlng,"
Encouragin. Poatiue Ouerlap wi.th Other Selt8C8
Th.is doea not noeeuariJ;r mean that the othcr sene:cs and tbo
.&t.rnl world noed t.o be completely shut out however. The
overlap a.nd eupporc of other seo..ses ean in fact be valuable
reaourwa lf they are fl.ligned to the task of visuaHzin. For
inotan>, o p<noo havng diffieulty visualizing on object, 1 wll
often aak the penon to reach out his or he.T banda and the
spac.o tho objGet would take up; as if tbe person we:R tracinc tho
edges of tho objeet wlh hio or her hand$. By doing oo, the .,.......,
will oftoo be ablo ID 'lensc' thc spaoe oC thc ob)ect. ....., if thcy cao'l.
yet oowocouoly .Uuali .. iL
1( the person is extrcmely verbal. 1 might ask him or her to
dCicribo tho objoet. in detail while looking at it in his or her miod'
eye. To ute the tense of hearing. you can imagine you are a bnt,
and sond out n aound that you eao hear echoiog off of tho objoct
like a littlo inncr radar. 'fhi.s can help to get a better &enae o( tho
objuet that you are trying to visualiz.e.
Rathcr than ha ve it be a distraetion. a per1roo can uae hirJ or hor
lnt.e.ro.ction with tho out8ido world t.<> help dcvclop mental
ization. One11uggestion l often make to people who want to leam to
viauo.li.ze boctcr ls to practico drawng. Leonardo orte.rcd
auggu tiona about how to develop the akiU of "'&eeing" througb tbo
intera(tive procees of drawing. Similarly, 1 often tugge3t to pcoplo
NJKOLA '1\:Sl..A
379
who want to develop tbei_r ntcmaJ o.uditory ability tb.at tb.ey
oho\lld start by leanng ID play a mu.lcal instrumcnt.
I know a woman wbo it doinc aome fa..'ldnating work that
mvotva 1eanng cll'"'blod' how to develop lhe
obility to ,;,uaJ;.e. One or tbe thinp abe round wos that maDJI
leaming tub ):ft"e'SUppose conitlve mkro-&trategies that are tae-.
itly assumed but never diroelly taugbt. Most of us bave le.amed by
cxperienee tb.at when an object is moved further away from us. it
appears to get smallcr and lou dhrtlnct.. But it is not guaranteed
that everyone will learn tut.h fundamc.ntal perceptual principies
simply tbrough their c.:<J)Oricnec. Remember that it waa only a
few hundred years ago that ronnisQanco artista, like Leonardo,
figured out the mcchanics of throo .. dimcnsional '\1sual pcrSpeetive.
Thi& woman, for ins tance, round thnt many leaming d_iaabled
ehildren ba,e not o.cqui.rcd somo of thcse fundamental eognitive
micro s.kills. Thia makeiJ it Oven mor6 diffieult for them to form tbe
mental represento.tions for clo.ssroom learn.ing.
So she starts with real objeet8 ond has the eh.ildren fir:st learn
these basic micro &kilJa. She mlght &Ay, "Look at this block ofwood
that I am holding. 1 aro movin it Curther away. what do you sce?
What happens as it geta farlher from you.r Then she migbt say.
"'Now ifl keep it the same diat.ance. but tu.m. it, what do you sce?'"'
The s:iJe stays lhe ume but the hape seema 1.0 cbange aa it ia
rotated. She may even h&ve tbcm ove:rlap their senses by putting
lheir oo lhe object aa lt moveo. Tbe chlldren begin to
understand the interactiont bot.wecn varioua visual tbaracteri&-
tics, or '8-ubrnodalitiea'. Once the childre:n are able to experieoce the
peroeptual relationsbips in tl\o cxtomal wor ld. tbey are more able
todo it in their own minds.
Obvi.ously, by tca.ching thern baaic percept ual pr inclpJs s.he is
not attempting to teach tbem about tho obj ect, but about tbeir own
minda. M Tesla's e.xpcrionoo dcmonstrates , once tbc capaclty to
vi.&ualize ia unleaahed, it can. bo oppliod in many different ways.
You can change a pcraon'a lifo by tenchin them how to takc a box
in their mind& o.nd rotte lt wo thnt thcy enn aco it from di.fferent
angles, it iiJ oot about tho eontent; it i a, about the
COP<>bility.
380
&nlATEGIES OF GJmus
ClJring Personal History and. Limiting Beliefs
Another poasible lntcrferenoe to the devolopment of a cognltivc
oapacity such aa viluaJhmtion has to do wi th bloeb tclatln to
ooo's personal history or beliefs. Some people may believe that if
they really Jet tbei.r dnamer loose, thoy willapen.d the. rtSt of tbei.r
uv .. in a dream wwld, droaming ill!t08d o( doing. lt may be tbat a
penon has sucb a belief beeause be Ot abe had a pa.rent. t.hat.
bebaved in thi8 way. 1 remember work:ins with somebody who had
a rea.Hy hard time hcsring anything in ho.r mind. It turnod out
tho.t shc had a brothor who heard voieee ol1 the time and waiJ put
into & menta) inetitut.ion. So she wa& afraid of hearing
lnt.ernall,y. l t WaJ iroportant for hcr lO first ae<:ept that the
capabitity of hearing .omething in tho mind'a ear wu aimply a
1kill, and not \he C8UM O( her brother's cooditioo.
J bave also with several peoplo who have had trouble
romomberin.g visual imo..gcrs beeau.ao they had been c.hlldrcn
during the aecond World War. They hud bcon :.riven very oxpUeit
moiHlag$, "lf you remombcr what you havo aoon, or teU llt\YOI'I.C
ttbout it, fJomeone wUI be killed or hurt." They may have ll!O toen
man,y th.ings that they do not wisb to remerober.
Utually, the 1.a.au. in these t.ype& of int.eenmee '1.f 1 turn on
- imagcs, will 1 be able to tum tbem oiP." Tbus, paradolrically,
sometimes the beet w-.y to hel p somebod.y tu,m on a eapability il to
t.otlch the fXU"$00 how to turn it off. Then che pcrson knows tbl\t he
or abe ia in charge of the procesa and is no t. afraid of losing control.
Rcmember. the moUvMJon for Testa to develop his skill of imagina
tion was to deal with dbtressing 'oisual memoriea that h could not
tumoft'.
The eadier secdon or this book about Freud off'ers a nu.mbor ol
different. suggeatiOl\1 about how tbcao typoa of in.terferin.g iuues
e.nd beliefs can be deolt witb.
An Example o( Deuelopi11g tlw Abilily lo Visualize
In his claaaic work Principk8 o{ PtycholOI!f.Y. William Jamee
eiLGs a desc::riptioo by O. H. Meye.r ofsome ofthe issues involved ln
levning to corusdou.aly &ee intt:m.al visual images.. Notice how
many of the principies and methoda 1 have described above
NlKOLA Ti:sLA
S81
(chunking, pacina and Jeading refercnco experiencee, reducing
interfcrcnOO:S, etc.) thot Meyer spontanoouely applicd whlltt devel
oping hi$ a.bility to vJaualize.
With much proctict 1 luu .. -e stedd il'l making ,P081ibk
forme to caU vp 1u/Vtiue visual NtUOli.on.s ot wilL 1 trltd
oll rny uperimcnu by dtJ.y 0r at nighl with c.l.()$tl(/. eye.. Al
frst it WQf w.r)' dlffr.cu/J. In the {i.nt. ezperimenJ$ wAich
succctded tJre wMle piclurt WOB luminous, t.lte $haclow
being iven ill a iJOmewh.ot less 8ti'Ong blui.sh.lighJ. lnlater
experimenta 1 14W tlle dark, with bri.ght outlinn, or
rotlter 1 $0-W outline drawings o( them, bright on a dar/t.
ground. 1 can compare Jheae drawin.gs less to chol
dralllingJ on o bladboord lh011 lO drawings mo<M wilh
phosphorua on o dm woU at niht, tM p/t.o$plwrw would
slww lum.in.out uopoNJ which wtrt abnnt (rom my lintJ. lf
1 wished, for txo.mple, lo see a. fac
1
wlth01d inte.ndJng tho.t
of a. particular pcmron., 1 so:w t11c ouJii.Jre of a prQ/ilc Qgo.itart
lhe dc.rk back$rOUild. lVJun 1 tried lO rcpeatlhe expermerU
of the eld.tr Darwn 1 B.aw only tlu td&e of the die Cl$ brf8ht
liM$ on Q d.arlt sroutld. however. 1 sow tl&t dlt
IWJlJy whiU ond iU lge$ bl4dt; it WO.f tlwt. on. o po(cr
ground. Sonu.times. 1 could soon at wUl cha.flge bet:wftn tltt
whik die with block borders on o li4tht ando block die
with while borders on a dark field; on.d 1 can do thl.fl at al\)'
moment tiOUI. After long pl'aotica ... thefe expcrim41nlt
tucceeded betttr 1tiJl. 1 can now call be{ore my eyes alm08l
any objt I pltou, a a sub}ectiw oppearana, ond th in.
itl own. n.aturol eolor o.nd iUuminotiM. 1 1tc 1/w:m
oJt.lXJJ" on o mon or Sf light Ot' darlt
1
11W$1Jy dimly
cha.ngeable round. Even. known faces 1 can. see qu#e
shorp, wi.th the lntt col.or o{ hir czncl oheeks. It is odd that
1 see t.hese (acer mostly i.n profile, wl.ereo.s those desc.ribed
(in the preuWut t"Xtract) wtrc all full(ace. Hero are somt of
the fn,al resulu o( these experimenll:
l . Sorne time aftr tM piduru houe oriun they voni.Jh or
inlo ot.M,.., wilhout nty lxr,ng abk U1 iL
382
8TaATEow OP GeNvs
2. \Vhen the cclor doe$ nct intq,.lly btlo"'l lo the ol>jt, 1
connot- alUJ07* rontrol il. A (o01 '-1 mwr 5ttms lo
biU4, bul olW<lY$ in. l$ natural color; o red eloth on th4
otMr htmd 1 ccn ti'Oinl!l.mU clwn,ge ro o bl'" one.
3. 1 ha.ve tomeUmu $ucceeded in &Ht/1 pure colors without
ohjccu; they titen fill o( vkw.
4. 1 o(len fa.il. to $ef: Qbjects wllich (li"(J: ltot Jmown tome, mere
flceiom o{ 1'111)' (oncy, arul inlllead of tJuun ti ere wut appear
familiar objecM o{ a similar sort; (or insto.nce, 1 on" tried
to Jet a brass sword-ht with o brO.Js guord. instead of
whi.ch lhe more {amior pitturt o( a ropier-:uorcl appeored.
6. Mo.t oftheu $Ubjediue op(JfOronou. ttpeciolly when.
wcrc bright. le{t o/Urimagr bfhind tlwn 111/l.f.n the
wtre quldly opened dUfins thdr prutnct. For 1
thouah.t o{ o silw.r stirrup, and o'"r 1 luu/ h>oltt al it o
whiJe 1 my t;)'('S on.d (()1' o l,on.g whUt: aflei'UXU'd$
sow its ofttrima,ge.
These txperimtnJs succeeded bart wlwt 1 l.ey quietly on.
ltt.y bock ond clo.-ted my eye$. 1 cottld bear no ntJise about
me, aa this ktpt the uisi(m (rom attainlng the required
i.nt.Jnsity. The experiments suocetd witA me n.ow so easily
that 1om su.rpriStd they did not do 10 at first. and 1 foel as
thou.gh lhey ought to su.ccttd wUh tticryone. TM important
point in them is to get tM imogc ufficicntly inl.tn# by tbe
uclu.siw dindion of tM ottention upon il. and by the
n:mcwol o( oU di$l#rbing impnuion._
883
Section 3: Appl ying Tesla's
Strategy - Creating the Future
OC cour&e.. the purposo for deve1oping a capability tuch u
vU.--uaJization i8 to 00 able to apply it. Te$la used his newly noquired
akill to "'make excuraione boyond the limits of the a1:oall world"' in
whieh lived at thal. Umo. When h deve1oped tbc sk.ill furthe.r,
he uscd it to imagine a future fuH of glittcring lights powo.red by
elcctrical generators, of 'Mlf <:ontaincd a utomata' rcvolutlontztng
industry a.nd Of global <:ommunieationa based 00 invisible WOV(II O{
magnetism.
11lese visiona have now euent.ially alJ. come true. (A.e lde.nee
fietion author Artbur C. Clark e:ays, "The future just ilo.'t what it
uaed to be.1 To oootinue to move into tbe future we oeod more
via:ions snd visionariet lilc.e Tesll\. Th following is a tra.nacript of a
meditaon that helps people to apply Testa.s .stcategiea o visual-
ization to the creation of ntw visioll.& for the futurc.
Pk!. your body in a com{orta.ble a.nd relaxed JMSitiOII. Sit
in a posture all(l p/.ysioJoy thot would rea.lly supporl your
a.bz1.ity to dnam. lf your physiology were abk to put you in a
stte in which ..)'OU could rJUy let out the dreomer in ..)'OU,
how woldd :ou M lillif181 What direction would your htod
bt ttedl Whe,.. UHJUid y<>u bt breathingt \Vhot 4ind o{
mU!JC.Ular Unkion would you feel in your bod.yt
What 100uld bt tho quDiity o{ your ooia if you .,.,..
rtDIIy abk to dnam1 Would i< bt ucid and whptri"llt
Or would iJ. beju-1t .oundr Mo.ybe it UJOuld be en.courag(ng
or quuti()n.i.n,g. Or maybe it would sound uery con{i@nt.
Tune ..)'Our interna/ voioc to a q-uality of ooice that lcods you
tt> your drea.ms and poi,lll )'011 towards them.
And then ..)'OU CQ.nfxrgin to uisualiu a SMCial kind of dnam.
A dream for the pla11et. lf you could mak.e a beautiful dna.m.
for the plo.net, what it be? An4 since it i.8 juBt o
dream, you needn'l worry abo4Jl whether it i$ JX>$&ibla or
prQClicol. You N.n drram /f'ftly. lfyou could dnom up your
8TnATEGJES OF 0BNlU8
own wl'lion o( o wopio, whlll would y()UT Pition be? How
would tllnok>gy f inlo thigloOol df<Oifl for tlu p/Gnd1
WIIGJ IDOuld hopp<n w war1 H ... would your childr<n !>o
ducaU<tr How wou/dp<aple o{dtffv'<nt portf oftlte "'orld
oommWikate with w.ch otkr7 lrt whot W(U'B would we use
Vae tOOll tlurt rve luwe in the 6'trvke o[tM plantt, and ofthl!
p.ople on. it, in an eoological and Cff<tlve UJOyr
Allow your dream to move you imo tht (uture. What would
medicine be like? Would people $titlgo to doctora as we haue
tltem IICUu1 lVcuUd thert stl be 1108pital$ Otl,ymore? 1( you
could c:ltt:mge the world just by drromittt it, by uisualiaing
it, how would you t'I'OJI.$.[orm tite lto.pitall Md tM schools
orul tite componies'? Whal i. thc offi o( the future goin.g to
tooA ta.r WO<lld t1ten ..,.. !>o off'"'' Or woutd
!>o oonnt<d togdlur tlarough thctr hom' llow IDOuld
p>plc trove/ in tM futurtr no n.ted to lim.it yourstlf
by tod4y't teeluwlogy. Imagine thot you liut!i on a plan.et
whtre anyt.hing thot you could <mtomot.ic<ly btcomt.
rl!aUty. The only limit would ba the lim.its of your
imagitwtion..
How woulll wt trtat 0.1timal.s and tlur pla.nt life i1t> tM
(tdurtf Would U.'e need lowyers ur tli4rapilttt1 What would
tw1 the mo.tt imporl4ntjob in tltt (utun1
Whot lindo( mu.sie woetld you be li#etti"8 to in tM future?
Whot would the museu.ms o{ the (uturc M llAell( you. tlll
to a muac:um when you tow atti(actt o{ toda_y, which one
WO<lld !>o the most OJ1UUin w tlte _,. o{ th< (ultud
\Vha.t oould you drto-rn th4l would dumge the world tM
mortt lVhkh porlfl of our haut tht most space to

Imagine you could chane the IUtld. throu:h something
tll4t you yoursel( did. Dre(J.nt (lbout wJ&t ,rou would do, and
wl1at would chonge in the world.
And ltt your unconsdous mind oontinue tJwt dreom in the
way tltot is tht 111()$t appropriate. (or you-in o UlfrY thal
giw you an in.ner u.nse of pleou,... t.tti.ttmenl and lwpe.
NU<OLA TESLA
386
Then, {01' a mome:nt. ollow your mind lo shifl from. lhc
(ulw. w tlu pas<. ThinA boeA ooor your tifo and fond o timo
wlwt a cl.nam come trut {OT you. R.tJMmber tlt01
at one time ho-d jun burt o drecun for )'(>u. Jte.r on,
you tha.t $()111-t.hou it. ho.d come true.
FQr in.stonce, twenty :t.:ar ago, wJlen 1 wa.s first gltif18
inuolved in NLP, 1 had a drtam that mQybe some day,
creat.ive, (md commitled paople, would bf
gatheri11g togethu 11harln.g a commo" interettt and
undtrstanding of tl&e mind ond the $lralegie.s o( the world8
grec.test geniuu.t; and tltoi they uxmld be lt.'OrkiJw togethcr
to t:h<utge tM world. By nadin.g this book, you ho.ue b.comc
o pon o{ moAUtsllaal drum tnu.
Then WQ.S o WM, IMIQ' Yf(Jn ago now, w1wt my motMr
wo.sn't erp.t.ed to liw onolhu ai.x monlh& 1 hcd o drtom
t./u;J;t. m.GJbe it wat pouibk (01' her to find her own
resources and hN.l in a. way tho.t bftn
thought poasiJ>Ie be{ort. TodQy. she is one o{ my
dreams oome true.
Jl!) c/Uldren a.re ccrtaln.ly a dream come tru.e far me. Aml
perho.ps each of you llat lto.d drt.ams thal come truc.
And maybe if you fimJ OM, you tuillsta.rt reoli:zing, "Oh yt.r.
there i.t a.notheT one!" Maybc thert are euen dl't.aflt.l. that
haue come true lhal you haw wen at:luaUy ju.t
drta>.$ ot one poinl in. you, li{t. btccuse tlu:y ore juU
normal rwzlity Mw-o.Mlltcr t.ou.y d(fy in parodiM.
And m4ybe we houe on &mconseioU$ compdence cu
individru:lls or 41' a colltcfiw :roup o( peop'te-that con m4M
thest drooms oome t.rut lf we could give ourseluea the
pennission to dream tlwn.
As you.look at tlu: world orowlil you
1
notice how oftlle
things that you. see arouml )'Ou, are (IClt"'llY dream8 lh(J.t
h<we come true; the room in tuhich ) 'Ou art sitting
1
the
electric light b;y which ;you may be reoding, the chair upot
which you are retin.g, tite booAI you ore holding in you.r
386
SntATt:GtES OF GENIUS
hand. AU o{ thing wert: al one time Jmt a drtam in
.onwone't mln.d, but now they hoflt intQ being.
We l.iw in a world o{ drcomt wltkh how (()me true. Puhan
'YO" 7tJUrulf how Mlpl olhers to make their clnonu c:om.
tnu.. Maybc )'OU are tomebodf dffllm tMt came truot..
Puhap1 your ponnt dreomftl o{ you be{on you wrre bona.
Perltop you hout tnkred o:t tM wry momt.nl
t.My n<kd tomme li.lte you.
$() chui.rh your drtam$. thost drto-ms t.hat hcwt
come trw. And at you return to tlle present at. the rat-e of
SJH-ed thal i.t the most opproprio.te {or you, m<.&yOO >"Oll can
feel your4elf Blondin in that e.xci.ting position, on the
tllretJiu>ld of a new drtam. Behind you are thc dreams tll.ot
haf.J-e tomt trtu. Ahead of yo are t.he m:w dream.s t.hat give
your life nuxmlng.
NtKOI.A 1'l!SLA
387
Section 4: Conclusion
Nikola Thslaa ideas a.nd inveotloa have sbaped our mod@m
wortct and io many waya, mad it poalble. '11\ese ideas did noc.
arise out of supernatural powere nor a privileged background.
Ratbe.r. they aTe tbc result ol tho development of basic oognitive
&kili-e ability U> const.-uct !nternlll menl41 pictureo. Through
the development of greater awanmess and metacognition of thc
importance and the strueture o koy mental e.npabilit ies &uch as
thia, we can more ful.ly bring to Hfe and u.te the incredible nervous
systems that we possss aa our blrthright. By cont.inuing to model
the atrategies of paat geniuM:&& and dovcloping our own oognitive
capabilities we can onrich our own oxperlcnce of thc world and
toke another stp cloaer to the ne.xt idcaa and inv&ntions that will
revolutonize the world in which wo Uve.
888
SnlATJi:<;n:S OF BNII/8
Footnotes to Chapter 3
1. "Al)' lnwnJi<>M" by NUtola Te&la, BLEC'l'RJCAL BXPERJ.
MENTER, Pebroary,l919, pp. 696-747.
2.lbid.
a. !bid.
4.lbid.
5. lbid.
6. Th Uf of JloUJrl lnduding Hu Corr.ponden.., E.
HolmCI, Chapman & Hall, 1878, pp. 211213
7. "My ln.utntions by Nikola T8$1a, RLBCTRICAL EXPBRI
MBNTBR, pp. 696747.
8. M-11. 2088 Bib. Nat. 22 v. - The Notelx>ok of Leonardo Do
Vlncl, Edward 1\lacCurdy, George Braliller, New York, NY,
1968.
9. o( Ptyeltolog,, William Jame., Britannica Great
BooU. Eoeydopedia Britannicalnc., ChlcftiJO 111., 1879, PP. 193-
195.
JO. !bid., p. 496.
Chapter 4
Conclusion
More Patterns of Genius
I.n the eonclusion to o( Ccnius Vol.utM 1, 1 idontified
ten 'pat.terns Q{ bued on AristotJes approah for fiodln
ba,sie oonditions .. a.nd nrat principies. The approaeb tli!Montinlly
Jnvethed an 'inducU.ve' method for nding common patternH of
geni us oonsisting of:
1) Colleting a group of indlvidunls who were acknowledged to
have been 'gcniusea' ; and
2) Comparing the cognitlvo processes and strategiee of theae
individu.als and lookinc for quolitios and charoderiallca that
they all bad in common
App)ying this pTOOeN, 1 dtstineu_ished ten basic cognitive pat.-
teros tbat appeared to be common to the four i ndivi.duo.ls that wero
tbo of that book: Ari$totle. Sir Arthur Conan Doyl&'
Sherlock Holmea, Walt Dlsnoy ond Wolfgang Amadeu.s Mozart. In
vol umes ll aud Ill, 1 ha ve axa.mined tbe str atgies of four othor
acknowledgcd 'geniu-!Ses': Albert Einstein, S iginund Fn-n.&d, Lo:
onlU'do da Vinci and Nikolo Tcsln. It is appropriat at thi polnt,
then\ to NOect back over the ten pattems of geniu.s propoeed
earlier to if they a.re atill valid for this second set of se-oiutlee
a,nd eheek &o &ee any pattema hav emered.
390
STRATEGIES OF GENIUS
1. Highly deueloped ability to visualize.
This is certainly the case for Leonardo and Tesla, for whom
"knowing how to see" and the ability to construct mental images
was the core of their respective crea ti ve processes. Albert Einstein,
too, identified the source of his "productive thinking" as his ability
to forro images and imaginary constructions. The one exception
appears to be Freud, who clearly emphasized the importance of
language over all of the other senses. As his analysis of Leonardo
and Michelangelo's statue ofMoses show, however, Freud did have
a powerful imagination and could observe minute visual cues when
he wanted to. His emphasis on dreams and symbols certainly
ack.nowledges the importan ce of visual imagery and indica tes that
he had the capacity to understand and work with visual constructs.
2. Haue deueloped numerous links between the senses.
Whether or not vision is their central focus, geniuses tend to use
all of their sensory representa ti anal systems to sorne degree, and to
create 'synesthesias' between the senses. Mozart's ability to feel,
see and even taste his music is probably the best example ofthis. It
would appear that as long as images stay as simply mental
pictures, they are unproductive. Both Tesla and Einstein, for
insb.nce, claimed to have derived strong feelings from their inter-
na! imaginary constructs. These types of feeling seem to be
important in order to make t he mental imagery more tangible. Da
Vinci's discovery of 'sound waves' carne from being able to connect
the rings that he saw form on the surface of water, when a pebble
struck it, with the sound of a bell. Freud claimed that "words call
forth emotions" and described being emotionally moved by works of
art and literature. His therapeutic methods of analysis and inter-
pretation were, in fact, developed in arder to help people to create
links between their emotions and their other mental representa-
tions, or to uncover unconscious links that were already there.
CoNCLUSION
391
3. Use multiple perspectiues.
An important characteristic of genius is the ability to entertain
several different perspectives of a particular subject or procesa.
Genius often comes from finding a new perspective that no one else
has taken. Leonardo, in fact, equated "knowledge" with having at
least three different views of a particular object or phenomenon.
Einstein's theory of relativity is in essence a description of the
interaction between different perspectives. Freud's analytic methods,
as is exemplified in bis study of Leonardo and the Mases of Michelan-
gelo, were designed to find details that did not fit with traditional
perspectives, in order to fmd a completely new point of view.
4. Highly deueloped ability for switching between perceptual positions.
In addition to being able to take different 'points of view',
geniuses have the ability to identify with different 'perceptual
positions' - i.e., 1st (self), 2nd (other) and 3rd (observer) position.
They can get outside of their own beliefs and assumptions, 'step
into the shoes' of others and perceive a situation as if they were
another person oran observer. Disney's ability to identify with the
characters in bis animated films as well as with his audience is a
good example of tbis skill. Freud's model and treatment of 'trans-
ference' acknowledged the importance of assuming different per-
ceptual positions and keeping them well sorted. Leonardo
acknowledged the pitfall of being stuck in one's own perceptual
position and specified severa! ways to shift perspectives (such as
using a mirror and changing his intemal state) in order to evaluate
one's work. Einstein looked at the universe as if he were riding on
a light beam or in the reality of a two-dimensional being. Tesla
essentially took up a perceptual position in the future, creating
new realities from wbich to view the world.
5. Ability to moue back .and forth between different 'chunk sizes' and
leuels of thinking.
9"eniuses seem to be able to move easily between the broader
vision and the specific actions required to manifest the bigger
picture. Leonardo, for instance, made an analogy between the
392
STRATEGIES OF GENIUS
'macrocosm' and the 'microcosm'. He was constantly breaking down
the subjects of bis studies into their component pieces and then
resynthesizing them into new configurations. He was able work
with the little pieces and yet keep in mind their "intent" for the
whole. Freud's primary mode of analysis was to seek details (such
as Leonardo's odd notebook entries and slight anomalies in
Michelangelo's statue of Moses) and then use them to make a
reinterpretation of the whole. Tesla claimed that his method of
"materializing inventive concepts and ideas" allowed him to "em-
body the invention in every possible improvement" and at the same
time not "lose sight of the great underlying principies." Einstein's
'unified field theory' sought to define the connections between
every physical phenomenon in the universe, from the cosmos to the
ato m.
6. Maintain a feedback loop between the abstract and the concrete.
Geniuses are also able to move between abstract models and
principies and specific concrete expressions of those abstractions.
They create their works through a repeated give-and-take between
mental constructs and physical reality. This forros a loop that
allows them to refine their theories through feedback from the
concrete world, and at the same time refine their physical works
through feedback from more abstract principies. Leonardo, for
in.stance, sought to embody abstract notions and qualities such as
"proportion" and "beauty" in his drawings and paintings. He
derived bis understanding of "nature's causes" from experience
and observation, and then built his machines and made his
drawings to "demonstrate" those fundamental principies. Freud
built bis psychological theories on the basis of bis work with his
patients, and applied bis theories to create new therapeutic tech-
niques. Many of Tesla's inventions in volved phenomena that were
abstract and invisible, such as electromagnetic energy and wave
frequencies, yet the machines he built in his mind ran exactly like
the machines in reality. According to Einstein, the sole justifica-
tion for a theory was the "me asure of survey over the experience of
the senses we are able to achieve with its aid."
'"
CoNCLUSION
393
7. Balance of cognitive functions: Dreamer, Realist & Critic.
Tesla, da Vinci, Freud and Einstein were all 'dreamers' to a
certain degree. That was a large part of their genius. Yet, they also
had the ability and the skills to manifest their dreams in concrete
expressions and to think critically about their ideas. In some
ways, the ability to think critically is as important to the process of
genius as the ability to dream. It is what insures that the genius'
ideas are truly above average. Leonardo provided a number of
strategies for how to learn to draw and how to evaluate one's work,
as well as how to dream. The essence of Freud's work was about
the relationship of dreams and wishes to externa! reality and the
balancing of the 'pleasure principie' with the 'reality principie' (in
fact there are many parallels between his 'id', 'ego' and 'super ego'
and the 'dreamer' realist' and 'critic'). Tesla argued that being a
thorough 'dreamer' made it easier to realize one's ideas and
inventions.
8. Ask basic questions.
Geniuses tend to emphasize questions more than answers.
Certainly, a key characteristic of all geniuses is their intense
childlike curiosity anda high degree offascination for their subject
of study. As we saw in the quotation taken from his anatomical
studies, Leonardo wrote innumerable questions to himself in his
notebooks; seeking, like Aristotle, to fmd the "first principies" in
nature. Rather than focus on present answers, Tesla created
whole new worlds in his imagination and then wondered how to
make them manifest. In fact, genius comes more from asking bold
questions than fmding the 'right' answers. Part of genius seems to
be the belief that, ultimately, there are no right answers. Accord-
ing to Einstein, "The real nature of things, we shall never know,
never." Instead oftrying to s ~ k approval and hold onto what they
already know, geniuses seek the areas in which their knowledge in
incompleta. For instance, Freud maintained that we must be ready
to "abandon a path that we ha ve followed for a time, if it seems to
be .leading to no good end." Instead of perceiving lack of success as
'failure', they consider it to be feedback for where to look next. As
394
STRATEGIES OF GENIUS
one inventor I studied put it, "A 'failure' is just a solution to a
problem other than the one 1 am working on at the moment."
9. Use metaphors and analogies.
Geniuses are constantly using metaphors and lateral or non-
linear thinking strategies. Metaphor or analogy seems to be at the
core of every act of genius. Mozart used the analogy of putting
together morsels to create a meal to compose his music. Einstein
used metaphorical constructs such as a blind beetle walking on a
beach ball, a man in an elevator being pulled through space by
sorne imaginary creature, or a flat world of two-dimensional
creatures, in order to formulate and explain his theories. Often,
the use of metaphor allows one to focus on the more important
deeper structures of a subject. Leonardo, for instance, used the
analogy between the earth and the human body as a way to
organize his anatomy, and made an analogy with hair in order to
understand the principies behind the movement of water. Tesla
formulated his idea of robots by drawing an analogy to the
functioning of his own nervous system. Freud, of course, concen-
trated heavily on the metaphorical significance of symbols and
dreams as a way to understand his patient's symptoms.
10. Have a mission beyond individual identity.
One common characteristic of all geniuses is that they perceive
their work as either coming from or serving something larger than
themselves. In the introduction to his work on anatomy, Leonardo
boldly stated, "I wish to work miracles," even if it meant he would
"possess less than other m en of more peacefullives" and "live for a
long time in great poverty." Tesla developed his powers of
visualization in order to "make excursions beyond the limits of the
small world" of which he had knowledge. Of his reasons for
studying physics, Einstein maintained, "I want to know God's
thoughts, everything else is details." Claiming further that "All
means prove but a blunt instrument if they ha ve not behind them
a living spirit." Freud believed that "the acceptance of unconscious
mental processes representa a decisive step toward a new orienta-
tion in the world and in science."
Co'NcLusioN
395
Other Patterns of Genius
It seems that we can confirm these ten patterns as common
elements to all eight ofthe geniuses included thus far in this study.
By adding the new members to the c?mparison, it is also possible
to identify sorne other common patterns of genius that are illus-
trated more clearly in the context of our new group ofindividuals.
l. Develop special states and strategies for access to unconscious
processes.
Practically every genius included in this study acknowledged
the importance of unconscious processes in their work. E.instein,
for example, claimed that thinking was to "a considerable degree"
unconscious. In fact, many creative people claim they get their
brilliant ideas in dreams or after they have 'slept on the idea'
overnight. A solution to a problem they are working on, for
instance, may suddenly come into their mind when they are in the
shower in the morning. A number of creativa people that I have
interviewed have said something to the effect that, "I stuff my
mind full of the information that I can find until 1 am completely
exhausted and I can't fit anything anymore in there. Then I go to
sleep. When 1 wake up, I have the answer!" Mozart went so far as
to describe his creative state for composing music as taking place
in a "pleasing, lively dream". Through his visualizations, Tesla was
able to tap into his unconscious to discover new "scenes," "places,"
cities" and "countries," making "friendships and acquaintances"
with "people" who were all fabrications of his unconscious mind.
Leonardo suggested a number of exercises specifically designed to
utilize special states of -consciousness for stimulating new ideas,
promoting imagination and improving memory; including staring
at clouds or walls, or reviewing forros and images while in a
naturally occurring 'twilight state'. Clearly, Freud believed that
unconscious processes were essential to creativity and thinking,
and described how he 'resigned himself to the 'control of his
unconscious thoughts' while he listened to bis patients.
396
STitATEOIBS OF Gi:NJUS
2. Bmourage and uu eeJ{organizing' prwtmt.
Geniuaea seem to be t'ble to form me.ntnl etrorog1cs and tnodclt
thnt tue in that they run on their own, 'in paraHcl'
with t.heir consciou.s thin.king. ln otber worda., they are ablo to
make intemal modela lhat ope:rate oo. lhtir own witbout conscioue
direction. It ,-.,.ou]d IMft'l that wben a critical me.ss of elemcn.t.a are
reac.hed, the remainina ones bcgin to 'foil into place'. Once they
havo set up theM) interna) menta) c::irc:ultl, they are nblc t..o
maximize theit uncooscioua coropctnoo by ' gotti ng out ofthe wo.Y
or tho proceas. Mozart
1
for example, claimod bJs symphoolcs wrote
thetmeelvt$ alter a certaln poi.nt w rGachod. Many \\Titen talk
about. bow they "cbk ln' on their sioriee to eee bow far aJoog thoy
u.. Tesla'a ability to conaU"Uct an imagina.ry engine in bia mind
a.nd ru.n it for a moo.tl\ ia one of the most. etrlki.ng examplea o( thit.
Loonardo'a strategy or &ecin.g figure.& in tho sto.ins an!i r oc:k on
wnlle "lf you are o.bout to invent aome IICCM" ia another c:lonr
QXomple encouragil).8' solforganizing procci:HJCS within the mlnd
and ncrvous gysw.m (the idea.<> become an ' att-ractor' a.gainst t.h6
dettabilized background o( th wall). Of COUI'IIe, whole
lbcripcutic approach wu based on tappin,g lnto a.od supportiDc
natunl self-orpnizin eycles and chango proeeoses "aoo-
dative correction."
8. Acquire familiarily with neccsooty informali4n through.
ma1l4ged lJming.
Geniuses often spend an unusual amou.nt of time maaterin
baile ""'""ledge, u _.. to smply l .. din ede t1t llin&o
knowledge.. Obviou.sly, t.o be clfcctive 11 tome area, and to re11.ch
tho eritieal mass nuceua.ry for unconacious, aelforganitiog pro.
costes, one needa to havo &Ome frunillnrity with the neoessory
infonnat.ion. Genlu8c8 are continua1Jy updoting their knowlcdco
through se1f mana8cd lcarning. are aliSO r arely 'specia1
ist'a'. Tbcy tcnd to avoid aophisticated 'Ungo' and seek. simplicity.
n-ey a.1so llave a; wide r6Dge of io.tcnlStl aod draw inspiration &om
m&D,)' differcmt. IO\li"Cee. This is epitomised in Leonardo't vornciou1
a,ppetite for knO\\tedge. Leonardo was tho ultimat.e self.managcd
CoNCLUtltON
S97
teamer. Aristotlo is aleo known for tbc incredible scope ohopica he
maiit.ered. Fruud too, drew from a 'o'&ricty of fields of knowledge
nnd npptied his thoodos to many diftOtent fmbjccts . Einstein spoke
nnd wrote on other topics besidee phY'('ica. from the deveJOJ)-
ment of langu.agc to thc subjcct of world penoc.
4./ncorporoU. diMoe or rani.NnltU$ into the cnatWe pTTX'CU.
Rather tban bo constrained or ticd down by the informa.Llon they
have gathered, gcoi uaea tend to look nt i t and work with it in
different ways. Qenluaes ofl:cn incorpornto ehance or r an.domnesa
into the creative proce.e.t in order to deetebili.ze ex.istin,g pnttcrns of
tbin.king so that thoy may be reorgnni.zcd ln ncw ways. Mourt
m.aint.ained tbal bis best ideas came when he was out '""-alkln or
could not s1eep. Teela desc:ribed how hia vilual Wpirat.iOD.I came
f'rom a mental ima,re of .. a ground of rother unpleasant and inert
gray which q.uickly givea wa.y toa biJiowy &ea of clouds, eoomin.gly
trying to mold thc.maolves in living ghopea." Leonardo'a constroc
tiona of faces and imag)nry animals out of ttu1domly
gcncratcd co.mbnntions of fentu.n)S are o.n example of another way
in whicb ra.odomneu m ay be used c:rentvely. GeniUICI abo a.eem
teu threatened by uncertainty and have the ability to take
11dvantage o( 5pontaneous oeeu.rrenCCII and insi.ghts.. Leonardo, for
oxample was alao able to take advantagea of chance assoclatioM,
such as hearing tbo beU and seeing tbo ringa of water erontod by
tho po:bbl. Oflcm gcni uses report huving only a vague idea of
where their work is to.ki.ng them initiolly. Ein.stein. and Prcud, for
example, often assumption1 without knowing where it
would ultimately lead tbe:l:n.
5. u .. ofm<><kl fO app-im<m reoJity.
Even when tboy nre working witb vcry oomplcx proooO&,
goniUSa tend to uso simple but. btUac:t models as the boaiN for
their thioking. Theae modela are oftcn simplications of .-eality,
Cocusing only ()n urt.ain essential .:domenta. As an example, in his
di.ocu..Wn o{ 11134< Newton'o dio<:overy of gravity, J .B. CoMo
explain.s that Nowt.on n4Tfed with o molhematical oon.atruct that
npre&ent$ nature ffimpli(ied. ... The proce" o( rtpcotediy compari.ng
398
STRATEGIES OF GENWS
the mathematical construct with reality and then suitably modify-
ing it led euentually to the treatment of the planets as physical
bodies with definite shapes."
1
Instead of mathematical equations,
Einstein often thought in terms of simple pictures of basic shapes
(spheres, disks, triangles, etc.). Mozart visualized his completed
pieces of music like a painting. Rather than make 'photographic'
representations, Leonardo often simplified and stylized various
elements (like representing muscles as strings in sorne of his
anatomical drawings). Freud was able to handle a great deal of
complexity with his model of the ego and the id.
6. Operate from dynamic models diuided into three interactive
elements.
To simulate dynamic processes, geniuses tend to use modela
formed of three interacting elements; humorously referred to as
'Holy Trinities' in NLP. These types of models allow a person to
replicate complex patterns in a manageable way. According to
Buckminster Fuller (a genius in his own right), three elements are
the mnimum necessary to have structure or patterns. Even
though the number of variables is small, if the elements all
mutually influence and relate to one another, quite sophisticated
interactions roay be simulated. Disney's Dreamer, Realist and
Critic; Freud's ego, id and superego; Einstein's E=MC
2
; Leonardo's
three perspectives all exeroplify dynaroic roodels based on three
interrelated elements.
7. Think systemically.
One of the most essential patterns of genius seeros to be the
ability to think 'systemically' rather than 'mechanically'. The
mental strategies of geniuses typically allow them to track whole
systems of interacting elements. Freud, for instance, viewed men-
tal processes as "roerely isolated acts and parts of the whole
psychic entity," and claimed that the "meaning" of symptom could
only be found in its relation to the larger system. Strategies of
genius also tend to operate more in terros of'loops ofinteraction' or
'mutual interaction' than 'linear' or 'mechanical' cause-effect. As
Isaac Newton explained in his theory of gravitational attraction,
CoNCLUSION
399
"There is not, for example, one operation by which the sun attracts
Jupiter and another by which Jupiter attracts the sun, but one
operation by which the sun and Jupiter endeavor to approach each
other ... there is one action between them by which they both
approach each other."
2
As Newton's comment indicates, geniuses
focus more on the 'relationships' between objects rather than
objects themselves. As Leonardo put it, they are more interested in
the 'processes of the results' rather than 'results of the processes'.
Leonardo developed strategies which allowed him to represent and
explore complex systero dynamics by observing how they behaved
under extreme conditions. Einstein rejected statistical approaches
to physics because he thought they ignored the deeper dynamics of
the system and focused too much on the resulta. Clearly, Mozart's
ability to represent a whole symphony or opera in his mind at one
time demonstrates a high degree of systemic thinking capability.
8. Focus on 'deep structure' as opposed to 'surface structure'.
Maybe the most definitive characteristic of genius is the com-
mitment to get to the 'deep structure' beyond the 'surface struc-
ture'. Aristotle and Leonardo both claimed that they wanted to f'md
the "first principies" of the natural world. Their strategies of
observation were designed to 'inductively' find deeper structures
by comparing multiple examples of something (like Leonardo's
synthesis of his many experiences at the dissecting table). Tesla
too emphasized the importance of maintaining focus on the "great
underlying principies." Einstein's quest for the unified field theory
represented a search for the deepest structures in the universe.
Freud continually sought roultiple levels of successively deeper
structures behind the surface symptoms and behaviors of his
analytical subjects.
9. Map their ideas into some extemal formal system ofrepresentation.
An act of genius always culroinates in sorne kind of mapping
into an externa! forro. Mozart wrote his music as notes. Aristotle
lectured and wrote his treatises. Einstein formulated his meta-
phors and imaginary constructs into mathematical formulas. Tesla
wrote his own patenta for his inventions. Leonardo kept his
400
STRATEGIES OF GENIUS
notebooks. Disney made his films. Freud collected his ideas into
books. If these people had kept their ideas in their heads we would
have never known about their genius.
10. Harmonize new ideas with existing knowledge.
Until a new idea is harmonized with what is already known, it
will not be put into practice-regardless of how ' brilliant' it is. One
of the most important tasks of a genius is to make it possible for
people to understand ideas which challenge and transform old
ways of thinking. This is especially challenging when those people
are still thinking the old way. According to the philosopher Arthur
Schopenhauer, all great new ideas go through three stages. The
first is ridicule; the second is violent opposition; then, finally, they
are accepted as having always been 'self-evident' . None of the
geniuses included in this study had their ideas immediately
accepted. They all had the experience described by Schopenhauer
to sorne degree.
Molecular geneticist Gunther Stent maintains that much of the
struggle related to the acceptance of new ideas and paradigma
stems from a "contradictory epistemological attitude toward events
in the outer and inner world."
3
Stent identifies these conflicting
philosophies as 'materialism' versus 'idealism'. The materialist
point of view essentially maintains that there is a 'real' extemal
world that exists independently of the mind. The mind is a
reflection ofthat reality and creates an imperfect representation of
that real world. From the 'idealist' perspective, perceived events
and relations have no reality other than their reflection in human
thought. From this point ofview, reality is a reflection ofthe mind.
The externa! world is an imperfect representation or projection of
'pure' forros of thought. Stent points out that in recent years a
third alternativa has been emerging, spurred by Chomsky's theory
of transformational grammar and the notion of surface structure
and deep structure. He calls this new epistemology 'structuralism'.
As Stent explains:
Both materialism and idealism take it for granted that all
the information gathered by our senses actually reaches our
mind; materialism envisions that thanks to this information
CONCLUSION
401
reality is mirrored in the mind, whereas idealism envisions
that thanks to this information reality is constructed by the
mind. Structuralism, on the other hand, has provided the
insight that knowledge about the world enters the mind not
as raw data but in highly abstracted form, namely as
structures. In the preconscious process of converting the
primary data of our experience step by step into structures,
information is necessarily lost, because the creation of
structures, or the recognition of patterns, is nothing else
than the selective destruction of information. Thus since the
mind does not gain access to the full set of data about the
world, it can neither mirror not construct reality. Instead
for the mind reality is a set of structural transforms of
primary data taken from the world. This transformation
process is hierarchical, in that ustronger" structures are
formed from uweaker" structures through selective dstruction
ofinformation. Any set ofprimary data becomes meaningful
only after a series of such operations has so transformed it
that it has become congruent with a stronger structure
preexisting in the mind ... canonical knowledge is simply the
set of preexisting ((strong" structures with which primary
scientific data are mad congruent in the mental-abstraction
process. Hence data that cannot be transformed into a
structure congruent with canonical knawledge are a dead
end.
4
Stent's belief is that many ideas are 'premature' if there is no
bridge to existing 'canonical' knowledge. Thus, for a new idea to
become incorporated and accepted it must first 'pace' and then
'lead' the preexisting models. Einstein's theory of relativity, for
instance, encompassed and acknowledged all of Newton's laws. In
his analytical work, Freud often meticulously acknowledged and
respectfully accounted for previous interpretations. For example,
rather than attack or ridicule the previous interpretations of
Michelangelo's Moses, Freud's proposed interpretation incorpo-
rated and "vindicated" all of them. In order for Tesla's robot or
Leonardo's flying machines to be brought into reality, they had to
wait for the r est ofthe necessary knowledge to come into existence.
402
STRATEGIES OF GENIUS
At its basis, the 'mission' of genius is to widen our maps of the
world rather than to formula te the one 'right' answer. This has also
been my mission With respect to this series on Strategies of Genius.
1 hope that the time you have spent with Sigmund Freud, Le-
onardo da Vinci and Nikola Tesla has enriched your map of the
world significantly.
CoNCLUSION
403
Footnotes
l. Newton's Discovery of Gravity, Cohen, J . B.; Scientific Genius
and Creativity, W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, New
York, 1987, pp. 23-24.
2. lbid. p. 23.
3. Prematurity and Uniqueness in Scientific Discovery, Stent, G.;
Scientific Genius and Creativity, W.H. Freeman and Com-
pany, New York, New York, 1987, p. 102.
4. lbid., p. 103.
'
1
I hope you have enjoyed this exploration into the tral f
Genius. As I indicated during the course of the book, nluny to 1
and resources exist to further develop and apply th n od 1
strategies and skills described within these pages. In addit1ou t. J
the tools already mentioned, I am currently planning a coll(:tctioll oJ
tapes, workbooks, computer software and multimedia progr nls to
help illustrate and support the types of strategies described in th i
o o k ~ I am also conducting seminars and workshops on Strategi 1.9
of Genius in various parts of the United States and Europe as woll
as train.ing programs on the applications of NLP for Creativity,
Health, Leadership, Effective Presentations Skills, and Modeling.
1
If you would like to receive further information regarding these
tools and resources or any future developments related to Strate-
gies of Genius, please contact:


Strategies of Genius
P.O. Box 67448
Scotts Valley, California 95067-7448
Phone & Fax: (408) 438-8314
1
AppendixA:
Summ of Some Common eta
Pro am Patterns
l. General Approach
Move 'away from,' or 'towards' something
Be 'proactive' or 'reactive'
2. Units of Analysis
Details - small information chunks
Generalities - large information chunks
3. Time Frame
'Short-term' or 'long-term'
Focus on Past, Present or Future
4. Basic Cognitive Style
Vision
Action
Logic
Emotion
5. Situational Emphasis
Task (Procedures - Goals)
Relationship (Self- Others)
6. Analytical Style
Sort for Similarities- Matching
Sort for Differences - Mismatching
[Note: For an overview ofbasic NLP models and distinctions, refer
to Appendix A of Strategies of Genius Volume 1 or Volume 11'.]

Appendix:B:
Presuppositions of NLP
The Map is not the Territory
l. People respond to their own perceptions ofreality.
2. Every person has their own individual map of the world. No
individual map of the world is any more "real" or "true" than any
other.
3. The meaning of a communication to another person is the
response it elicits in that person, regardless of the intent of the
communicator.
4. The 'wisest' and most 'compassionate' maps are those which
make available the widest and richest number of choices, as
opposed to being the most "real" or
5. People already have (or potentially have) all of the resources
they need to act effectively.
6. People make the best choices available to them given possi-
bilities and the capabilities that they perceive available to them
from their model of the world. Any behavior no matter how evil,
crazy or bizarre it seems is the best choice available to the person
at that point in time - if given a more appropriate choice (within
the context of their model of the world) the person will be more
likely to take it.
7. Change comes from releasing the appropriate resource, or
activating the potential resource, for a particular context by
enriching a person's map of the world.
410
STRATEGIES OF GENIUS
d 'Mind' Are Systetnie Processes
l. The processes that take place within a person, and between
people and their environment, are systemic. Our bodies, our societies
and our "Q.Iliverse form an ecology of systems and subsystems all of
which interact with and mutually'influence each other.
2. It is not possible to completely isolate any part of a system
from the rest ofthe system. Peo:ple cannot not influence each other.
Interaotions betwee.n people form feedback loops - such that a
1
person will be affected by the results that their own actions have
on other people.
3. Systems are 'self organizing' and naturally seek states of
b;Uanee and stabilit)'. T:Qere .are no failures., only feedbaQk.
4. No response, experience or behavior is meaningful outside ofthe
context in which it was established or the response it elicits next. Any
behaYior, or response may serve as a resource or limitation
on how it ts in With the rest ofthe system,
5. Not all interactions in a system are on the same level. What
'
is positive on one level may be negative on another level. lt is
useful to separata behavior from "self' - to separate the positive
intent, function, belef, etc. that generates the behayio,r rnom the
' '
behavior itself.
6. At sorne level all behavior is (or at one time was) "positively
intended". It is or was perceived as appropriate given the context
in which it was established, from the point of view of the person
1 '
whose behavior ft is. lt i's easier and mor ptoductive t respond to
the intention rather than the expression of a problematic behavior.
7. Environments and contexts change. The same action will not
always produce the same result. In arder to successfully adapt and
s:urv:ive, a mem.be,r of a a .c.ertain. amouq,t of flexibil-
ity. Trhat amount of flexibi1ity has to be proportional to the
variation in the rest of the system. As a system becomes more
complex, more flexibility is re.quired.
. 8. If what you are doiRg is n.ot getting the .response you want
then keep varying your behavior until you do elioit the response.



1

o
An Autobiographical Study, Sigmund Freud, W. W. Norton &
Company, Inc., New York, 1964.
Applications of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Dilts, R.,
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Aristotle, Britannica Great Books, Encyclopedia Britannica Inc.,
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'
,,
' '
' ' V
1
j ' 1
' ; - J'' t
A General ,lntroduction to S;ligmund
Pocket Bo,oks., New York, NY, 1963. ,
'fhe Bq;.t!'rqom .B
1
{!ok, Ip.c.,
Lake. City, ut.ah> . . .
1

' '
'Ehe :Ge,n.is

f L.e()riq,r.dt!J. dfl, l An4re Orjop. 1?re, ss,'

l . 11 ; ,, ,, '
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1
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Psycltolofists_: F,re'f!,tl; R.,,
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1
f
1
' 1 l '

' ' 1 1 '' '
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' \ 1 \ ' ( '
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1
I,nt.t:oduc.tng Ne:urO.Li'nguistic Progr.ammiJJrg, O'CoiUlor, J ... ,
' ,. ' 1 ' '
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11 ( ' 1
r JI
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'
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Lanu,. :age. Ohomsky .. ,. .,

j ' . j ' ' \ ' ' ' ,, ' 1 .
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:da .'Vinc.i, BrllJl,o San ti, Becocci .E.d.itore,
1 1 \ 1 1 1 t 1
l ' ji ' ' 1 ,t 1 + 1 1 ( ... ' '
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Leonar:R,o qa Vinci Ludwig IBM
Cot:poration,; 1
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L.eonard(J.'s Last Supper.,
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. SpJA,
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Machines,, Mrc.o Cianchi, Becocci' Ed1tote, Florence,
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191 '814.. '(
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.
BmLIOGRAPHY
413
Magic Demystified, Lewis, B., Pucelik, F., Metamorphous Presa,
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Ninety Nine Percent Inspiration; Mattimore, B.; American
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