Paul Potts Got Talent

Paul Robert Potts (born 13 October 1970) is a British pop opera tenor who won the first series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent in 2007, singing an operatic aria, "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's Turandot. Potts was a manager at The Carphone Warehouse who also performed in amateur opera from 1999 to 2003.

Potts was born in Kingswood, near Bristol, England and raised in Fishponds, Bristol, by his father Roland, a bus driver, and mother, Yvonne (née Higgins), a supermarket cashier.[2] He has two brothers and one sister. Potts attended St. Mary Redcliffe school, where he developed his love of singing.[3] He also sang with the choir at Chester Park Junior School and with the choirs at several Bristol churches, including Christ Church. Potts said in interviews that he had been bullied in school, and that experience may have made him lack self-confidence. He has also said that his voice had always been a source of solace in the past when he was bullied.

He earned an Honours degree in 1993 from University College Plymouth St Mark & St John, majoring in Humanities.[5] In 1996, Potts was elected the youngest member of Bristol City Council; a Liberal Democrat, he served until 2003. Potts was a manager at mobile phone store Carphone Warehouse in Bridgend.



Potts first sang opera in 1999 in a karaoke competition, dressed as Luciano Pavarotti. That same year, he appeared in the Michael Barrymore musical quiz show My Kind of Music. Although he did not take first place, he won £8,000 — enough to help pay for vocal lessons in Italy, during which he was selected to perform in front of Pavarotti and Katia Ricciarelli.

Potts began in the minor roles of The Prince of Persia and the Herald in Puccini's Turandot for the Bath Opera, an amateur company, in 1999. He then performed leading roles on four occasions: Don Basilio in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro in 2000; Don Carlos in Verdi's Don Carlos in 2001; Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni in 2003; and Radames in Verdi's Aida in 2003. He also performed the role of the Chevalier des Grieux in Puccini's Manon Lescaut for the Southgate Opera Company in London, an amateur company, in May 2003. Additionally, he sang with a small ensemble from the Royal Philharmonic in front of an audience of 15,000 and toured northern Italy as a soloist as part of his music classes there.

In several interviews, Potts revealed that he performed Aida despite doctors' wishes to remove an adrenal tumour they had discovered during his illness from a burst appendix, and performed Manon Lescaut shortly after the surgery to remove it. Potts broke his collarbone and suffered whiplash in a bicycle accident in 2003, which prevented him from pursuing opera as a career. The mishap and financial difficulties that followed led him to enter Britain's Got Talent despite not having sung in years

Col Tim Collins' inspirational speech

Kenneth Branagh recreates Col. Tim Collins' speech to 1 Batt., Royal Irish Regiment, on 19 March 2003, immediately prior to the invasion of Iraq. From the BBC production 10 Days to War.



Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream
Words and music by Ed McCurdy

Last night I had the strangest dream,
I never dreamed before.
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war.
I dreamed I saw a mighty room,
The room was filled with men.
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again.

And when the paper was all signed,
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads,
And grateful prayers were made.
And the people in the streets below,
Were dancing round and round.
While swords and guns and and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground.

Last night I had the strangest dream,
I’d ever dreamed before.
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war.

Yesterday is History, Tomorrow a Mystery

Yesterday is History, Tomorrow a Mystery, Today is a Gift, Thats why it's called the Present.

Many people have been credited with this saying, including Babatunde Olatunji (60's) and Eleanor Roosevelt (30's). But the orginal saying goes much further back in time.

The full quote often reads: "The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

In the 1902 book, "Sun Dials and Roses of Yesterday: Garden Delights..." by Alice Morse Earle, it is noted that the words "Time Waits for No Man" is a play on words or punning device of "gnomon" that has been used on sun dials. A gnomon is a pointer on a sun dial. Somewhere along the way came the full quote which has been truncated to this modern day phrase.

Many believe the phrase has its root in "Time and Tide wait for No Man," meaning no one is so powerful that he can stop the march of time.

According to "The Phrase Finder":

The origin is uncertain, although it's clear that the phrase is ancient and that it predates modern English. The earliest known record is from St. Marher, 1225.

Music Inspiration -The Corrs

Music to please the sole; Music to rest the mind; Music to dream by; and Music to live by. Music warms us. Music moves us. -WMW

A Fathers Love

The Today Show did a special called Today's Real Heroes on Father and Son, Dick and Rick Hoyt. It's a very powerful story. If it doesn't inspire, motivate, and move you to tears, I'm not sure what will.

Best Worldwide Undiscovered Artist

~ Mark Johnson, founder, Playing for Change

The act of playing music with people of different cultures, religions, economics and politics is a powerful statement. It shows that we can find ways of working together and sharing our experiences with one another in a positive way. Music has the power to break down the walls between cultures, to raise the level of human understanding.

As we made our way around the world we encountered love, hate, rich and poor, black and white, and many different religious groups and ideologies. It became very clear that as a human race we need to transcend from the darkness to the light and music is our weapon of the future. This song around the world features musicians who have seen and overcome conflict and hatred with love and perseverance. We dont need more trouble, what we need is love. The spirit of Bob Marley always lives on.









For those who want their own CD/DVD you may order the CD/DVD Playing For Change Songs Around The World" now at amazon.com!
http://tinyurl.com/c6mhgd

The Playing For Change "Songs Around The World" CD/DVD is also available at your neighborhood Starbucks and everywhere music is sold.

Order the "War/No More Trouble," "Stand By Me," "Don't Worry," and "One Love" videos and the new Songs Around The World album now at itunes!
http://tinyurl.com/pfcitunes

Young Guitar God Protégé

I just stumbled accross this young inspirational music man in South Korea.

His name is Sungha Jung. Happy to see this gifted young man accomplish so much in his spare time, instead of playing hours of Xbox 360. This young man is already an inspiration to over 4 million video viewers, on this video alone!

Here are the young mans own words from his website:

Hi, I'm Sungha Jung from South Korea. My dream is to become a professional acoustic fingerstyle guitarist.

I had been watching my dad play the guitar for awhile before I finally jumped on it myself three years ago. I turned twelve in September, 2008.

Currently, I am taking drum lessons and teaching myself fingerstyle guitar.



I'm very grateful to those prominent guitarists who have had a great influence on my guitar playing. I'll continue to study them and learn more about interpretation of music and various playing techniques.

My daily practice routine lasts for one to two hours when school is open, but I play up to three hours a day during the school breaks.

Last, but certainly not least, I can't thank Ulli Bögershausen enough for being my musical inspiration.



Here is this young music guitar gods website:
www.sunghajung.com

Let's here some inspiration from one of Sungha Jung's favorite guitar artist, Eric Clapton.

Man Can Fly

My grandparents witness the birth of man flying inside a machine but I have lived to see man fly.

I was having trouble relating to my son and daughters generation of lingo. You know, INSANE, SiCK and Freaking Awesome Dude.

But once I saw these video's of Man Flying I knew immediately this was beyond INSANE and SiCK this is Freaking Awesome Dude. Or as Austin Powers might say, Groovy Baby! And I would add Holy Sh@T Batman....man can fly!



Warning: Make sure you are not on medication while watching these men fly. I'm having a hard time believing what I'm seeing.

Get out your French book, pump down a fast pint of Red Bull and put in your Heavy Metal Ear Plugs to watch this video.



It’s a bird, it’s a plane … no, it’s just the latest high-altitude sports craze that has grabbed the attention of thrill-seekers worldwide. Forget hang-gliders, the latest sport to take off is wingsuit flying. As the name suggests, just don a special Batman-esque jumpsuit and away you go. The wingsuit flyer exits from a plane or from a base-jump exit point such as a cliff wearing the space-age suit and a parachute. The flier then manipulates the shape of their body to create drag and lift. While still in the early stages of development, powered wingsuits using small jet engines that are strapped to the feet are now also being developed — what next?!



Wingsuit flying is the sport of flying the human body through the air using a special jumpsuit, called a wingsuit, that shapes the human body into an airfoil which can create lift. The wingsuit creates the airfoil shape with fabric sewn between the legs and under the arms. It is also known by the public as a birdman suit or squirrel suit.

A wingsuit can be flown from any point that provides sufficient altitude to glide through the air, such as skydiving aircraft or BASE jumping exit points.

The wingsuit flier wears parachute equipment designed for skydiving or BASE jumping. The flier will deploy the parachute at a planned altitude and unzip the arm wings, if necessary, so he/she can reach up to the control toggles and fly to a normal parachute landing.



Wings were first used in the 1930s as an attempt to increase horizontal movement.

These early wingsuits were made of materials such as canvas, wood, silk, steel, and even whale bone. They were not very reliable. According to wingsuit lore, between 1930 and 1961, 72 of the 75 original birdmen died testing their wingsuits. Some of these so-called "birdmen," most notably Clem Sohn and Leo Valentin, claimed to have glided for miles and inspired dozens of imitators.

In the mid-1990s, French skydiver Patrick de Gayardon developed a wingsuit that had unparalleled safety and performance. Unfortunately, de Gayardon died on April 13, 1998 while testing a new modification to his parachute container in Hawaii; his death is attributed to a rigging error which was part of the new modification rather than a flaw in the suit's design. Despite his tragic end, de Gayardon planted the seeds for a new generation of birdmen.

New World Records

On July 24, 2008, Australian doctor Glenn Singleman jumped from 37,000 feet over central Australia setting a world record for highest wingsuit jump.

The largest wingsuit formation flown involved 71 jumpers (a "71 way") in a "Stealth Bomber" formation at Lake Elsinore, California, on 12 November 2008. The US record (satisfying USPA judging rules) is a 25 way diamond flown at Ottawa, Illinois, on 28 July 2009. A 25 way diamond was subsequently flown at Pepperell, Massachusetts on 15 August 2009.

Extreme Ski - A New Breed is Born

No doubt these are desendents from the orginal Dogtown and Z-Boys club kids. Long steep slopes in dangerous terrain where a single mistake at the wrong moment can mean death would rightly be classed as extreme skiing! Jumping out of Helicopters is extreme skiing. But this is a different breed of extreme skier. This is a combination of BMX biker and Urban Skateboarder extreme skier/boarder.



Every generation has its share of adventurers and envelope pushers. But this is beyond triple black diamond and out-of-bounds thrill seeker skiing. My friends, even King Leonidas and his mighty 300 Spartans would say...This is Madness!!!!!! And it's that very madness that makes this so damn inspirational to this old geezer.

I salute the younger generation of XXX-Extreme Skiers for doing what I never even dreamed was possible. Watching you guys gets my old heart a pumping and a thumping again.





Congratulations to a new breed of ski film producers. After 60 years old king Warren Miller is finally getting competition.



A salute to the orginal school now old school Frank Bare. Frank Bare made a mad man jump back in 1983 that proved he was the 80's Freestyle King. This jump sparked a new generation of freestyle skiing that moved on to a new frontier of out-of-bounds skiing and mindboggling urban style skateboarder rail runs. In the 80's Frank Bare was the king of freestyle ski jumps. But frank was no young blood dare devil, he had been a top gymnast for years.

Don LaFontaine: The Legendary Voice

750000 television spots, 5000 movie trailers, 1 voice, Don LaFontaine, the most recognizable voice in the game died Sept 2008. Here is the legend's story.



The voices without faces that delivery captivating inspiration.

Patrick Henry Hughes - Inspirational Story

This is an amazing inspirational story. The most unlikely story of a Music Man. This video proves it's possible to be born with talent which you can choose to develop or leave behind. This is also a fantastic father and son story of love and commitment.

Two Wolves Within

An old Grandfather, whose grandson came to him with anger at a schoolmate who had done him an injustice, said, "Let me tell you a story.

I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times."

He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way."

"But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."

The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eye and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?"

The Grandfather solemnly said, "The one I feed."

The orginal story comes from a Cherokee Nation Legend of Wisdom.


Gall was a Sioux warrior and leader. He is the center piece for this depiction of the First Nations legend, "the wolves within". It tells how one evening a Cherokee elder sat with his grandson to tell him about the battle that goes on within people.

He said, "my son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. This wolf speaks with anger, envy, jealousy, hatred, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good. This wolf speaks with joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, and caring, empathy, respect for self and others, generosity, truth and faith.

The grandson listened to his grandfather's words and asked, which wolf wins? The wise Cherokee elder looked into his grandson's eyes and replied, "The one you feed".

The Park Bench Story

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree. Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown, for the world was intent on dragging me down.

And if that weren't enough to ruin my day, A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.

He stood right before me with his head tilted down and said with great excitement, "Look what I found!"

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight, with it's petals all worn, not enough rain, or to little light. Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play, I faked a small smile and then shifted away. But instead of retreating he sat next to my side and placed the flower to his nose and declared with overacted surprise, "It sure smells pretty and it's beautiful, too. That's why I picked it; here it's for you."

The weed before me was dying or dead. Not vibrant of colors, orange, yellow or red. But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave. So I reached for the flower, and replied, "Just what I need." But instead of him placing the flower in my hand, he held it mid-air without reason or plan. It was then that I noticed for the very first time that weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver, tears shone like the sun as I thanked him for picking the very best one. You're welcome, he smiled, and then ran off to play, unaware of the impact he'd had on my day. I sat there and wondered how he managed to see a self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree. How did he know of my self-indulged plight?

Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true sight. Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see the problem was not with the world; the problem was me. And for all of those times I myself had been blind, I vowed to see the beauty in life, and appreciate every second that's mine. And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose and breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose. And smiled as I watched that young boy, another weed in his hand about to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.



The Park Bench People Music

Endurance Defined - Lance Armstrong

Endurance defined: The ability to withstand hardship or adversity. The ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity. Add a quarter of a century of enduring and you've defined Lance Armstrong.

The only man to win seven Tours de France.

Lance Armstrong's seven straight victories in the 1999-2005 Tours de France are awe-inspiring. The only man to win seven Tours de France. Seven wins is two victories more than the four men that share the prior five victories record in the Tours de France history.

Lance returned to professional cycling in August 2008, after a four year retirement at age 37. To finish in the top 5 again, in the Tours de France, would be a miracle at age 37. Lance finished 3ed this year -proving he is human, but still a winner. Like a wily fox, he used years of accumulated race smarts to compensate for what his 37-year-old body has lost in speed and resilience; a few seconds saved here, a few more clawed back there. When the youngsters sped off ahead, he gritted it out behind. Lance found enough gas in the tank to keep all but two other riders - winner Alberto Contador and runner-up Andy Schleck - at arm’s length all the way to Paris.

Lance was winning adult Triathlon at age 13

THE BEST OF LANCE ARMSTRONG 01
by miha2007

He began as a triathlete, winning adult competitions from the age of 13. In the 1987–1988 USA Triathlon, Armstrong was the number one ranked triathlete in the 19-and-under group.

At 16, Armstrong became a professional triathlete and became national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990 at 18 and 19, respectively.
At age 25, Lance Armstrong was one of the world's best cyclists. He proved it by winning the World Championships, the Tour Du Pont and multiple Tour de France stages. Lance Armstrong seemed invincible and his future was bright.

Then they told him he had cancer. Next to the challenge he now faced, bike racing seemed insignificant. Lance Armstrong's victories in the Tours de France are inspiring, but his simultaneous battle against cancer makes Lance, Mr. Endurance.

Lance is now leading the fight against cancer, and he hopes that you join him. This is a life he owes to cancer. This is his choice to live strong.
At the Lance Armstrong Foundation, LiveStrong, unites people to fight cancer believing that unity is strength, knowledge is power and attitude is everything.

He Lives Within Us

The greatest underdog story of our time is back for one final round of the Academy Award-winning Rocky franchise, former heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa steps out of retirement and back into the ring, pitting himself against a new rival in a dramatically different era. The fact this move came out in christmas 2006 is not the point. This is no movie review. This is a blog on inspiration and the story of Rocky will always be an inspiration. So, what can we learn? Listen and learn my friends.

Rocky Balboa is a longtime retired boxer and remembered by most as one of the greatest boxing champions in the world. His wife Adrian has died and he's at life's old age cross roads. He now lives back in the skids of Philadelphia but manages a good life including running his restaurant Adrian's, helping an adult Little Marie and her son Steps, and saying hello at any opportunity to his estranged son Robert. After seeing a virtual fight of Rocky in his prime vs. heavyweight champion Mason "the Line" Dixon, Rocky's interest in fighting sparks again.



So, what does Rocky Balboa have to do with you? Rocky lives within you. Yes, Rocky Balboa lives within us. For 30 years Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) has been, as much a metaphor for life's challenges as, he was a boxer. Rocky the greatest perennial underdog of our time. Rocky goes from a "never been" to a "has been" and "back again."

The power of the story was never about how many times Rocky won a fight -it was always about what Rocky needed to do to get in the fight and stay in the fight. The fight with goliaths in the ring...and the fight with life out of the ring. It was a story about being knocked down in life and the will power need to get back up in life. The human will power to keep moving forward in life.



The plot centers on an aging Balboa still feeling he has something to prove when a computer fight, pairing champions from different eras, declares him the winner over the current champion. Stallone copied the computer fight idea from one between Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano in 1970. "After all the data was put into the computer, Marciano won by a 13th-round knockout, and that proceeded to create a lot of uproar among fans," Stallone says. "We wanted to duplicate that."

The character, Rocky Balboa, says it best, "It's about how hard you can get hit, and keep on moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward."



The story of Rocky comes out of the 70's stagflation tuff times. There had been a golden age of heavyweights in the early Seventies, but no one knew it at the time. No one bothered to stop and count all the great fighters – The Greatest, of course, Ali, but also Smokin’ Joe Frazier and George Foreman were the major stars and the supporting cast was brilliant with Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, George Chuvalo, Earnie Shavers, Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle and Jimmy Ellis; there were the usual former champions like Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson, still able to make cameos, and there were the prospects, like Larry Holmes and Ken Norton.



Rocky Balboa lives on within you.

Inspirational Birthday Jump

Regardless of your political feelings....we admire a family of two former Presidents and one State Governer. The Inspiration is everywhere in their family story. Former President George H. Bush celebrates his 85th birthday with a parachute jump. He's done this a number of times since age 75. He vows to jump again when he turns 90.

The Last Lecture

Dr. Randy Pausch passed away on July 25, 2008. He knew death was coming. Randy talks about the life lessons he learned. Randy wanted not to give a college lecture but to create a video for his kids to watch and remember dad, when they grew older.

IronPeople with IronWill

Our hats go off...our hearts open up...to every Iron Man and Women that says,"Yes I Can."

Famous Failures

If you haven't failed -you haven't lived.

It's not about how many times you get knocked down that matters ---it's about how many times you get back up that counts. -Rocky

We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse. -Rudyard Kipling

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them. -George Bernard Shaw

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. -Benjamin Franklin

Harvard's Greatest DROP-OUT

After reading the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics that demonstrated the Altair 8800, Gates contacted Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), the creators of the new microcomputer, to inform them that he and others were working on a BASIC interpreter for the platform.

In reality, Gates and Allen did not have an Altair and had not written code for it; they merely wanted to gauge MITS's interest. MITS president Ed Roberts agreed to meet them for a demo, and over the course of a few weeks they developed an Altair emulator that ran on a minicomputer, and then the BASIC interpreter.

The demonstration, held at MITS's offices in Albuquerque, was a success and resulted in a deal with MITS to distribute the interpreter as Altair BASIC. Paul Allen was hired into MITS, and Gates took a leave of absence from Harvard to work with Allen at MITS in Albuquerque in November 1975. They named their partnership "Micro-Soft" and had their first office located in Albuquerque. Within a year, the hyphen was dropped, and on November 26, 1976, the trade name "Microsoft" was registered with the Office of the Secretary of the State of New Mexico.

Wow, in the summer of 1976 I had just graduated (B.B.A.) from Business School. Learn more about Bill Gates early years.

The APPLE MIRACLE MAN

Steven Jobs, was born February 24, 1955 in California. You know Jobs as the CEO - I know Jobs the Freedom Fighter. You know him as the Co-founder and CEO of Apple and the CEO and Chairman of Pixar Animation Studios.

But I remember the brash and bold Steve Jobs from the 70's who fancies himself as the Che' Guevara of the PC Revolution. The Baby-boomers James Dean. The Rebel with a cause. The leader of the Anti-IBM movement. Steve was our Freedom Fighter. He fought against the powerful forces of the IBM Centralized Command and Control Mainframe. Againest white shirt and plain ties -Steve always hated business suits, most of us boomers did not. In the 80's he viewed himself as a Pirate againest the forces of IBM, Xerox, Hewett Packard and Microsoft. He would often ask employees, "are you a Pirate?" -not the kind of thing you learn in B-School.

Steve Jobs over night success with Apple Corp. and its IPO made him an instant millionaire at age 24. Today Steve Jobs has become one of the iconic leaders of the digital era.

You can relive the Apple Revolution at Window To Wall Street

The Wizard of Menlo Parks Inspiration

Thomas Alva Edison (1847 –1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.


Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park" by a newspaper reporter, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and teamwork to the process of inventions. He was credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.

Born in Milan Ohio, the youngest of seven siblings. His family moved to Port Huron, Michigan. Edison had only three months of official schooling. Edison recalled later, "My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live for, someone I must not disappoint." His mother then home schooled him.

"Edison had only three months of official schooling"

Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1093 U.S. patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Edison originated the concept and implementation of electric-power generation and distribution to homes, businesses, and factories - a crucial development in the modern industrialized world. His first power plant was on Manhattan Island, New York. Nikola Tesla perfected the AC distribution process the world uses today.

Edison was once asked how he acquired his "Genius". Edison's said, "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration."

"Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration" -Thomas Alvan Edison

Through-out history amazing people and products changed our lives. This website is dedicated to the men and women that embody -The American Tradition of Yankee Ingenuity. We honor the American Business Spirit. We salute those trail blazers who came before and await those yet unborn.

Window To Wall Street® is proud to sponsor windowtowallstreet.com a ePortal to educational videos, inspirational people and controversial issues.

The Wizard of Electricity

At age 28, Nikola Tesla arrived in New York City on June 6th 1884. The Serbian immigrant had four cents in his pocket, some mathematical computations, a drawing of an idea for a flying machine, and a letter of introduction from Charles Batchelor, one of Edison's business associates in Europe.

Electricity was first introduced to New York in the late 1870s. Edison's incandescent lamp had created an astonishing demand for electric power. And his DC power station on Pearl Street in lower Manhattan was quickly becoming a monopoly.

It was into this state of affairs that the 6'4" immigrant from Eastern Europe entered Edison's office. Thrilled and terrified to meet his hero, Tesla handed Edison his letter of recommendation: It read: "My Dear Edison: I know two great men and you are one of them. The other is this young man!" Tesla proceeded to describe the engineering work he had done, and his plans for an alternating current motor. Edison knew little of alternating current and did not care to learn more about it. In short, AC power sounded like competition to Edison.


"My Dear Edison: I know two great men and you are one of them. The other is this young man!"


Both Tesla and Edison shared a common trait of genius in that neither of them seemed to need much sleep. Edison could go for days, taking occasional catnaps on a sofa in his office. Tesla claimed that his working hours at the Edison Machine Works were 10:30 a.m. till 5 a.m. the next day.

Even into old age Tesla said he only slept two or three hours a night.
That's where the similarity ended. Tesla relied on moments of inspiration, perceiving the invention in his brain in precise detail before moving to the construction stage. Edison was a trial and error man who described invention as five percent inspiration and 95 percent perspiration. Edison was self-taught. Tesla had a formal European education.

It was only a matter of time until their differences would lead to conflict.

Several months after Edison employed him, Tesla announced that his work was successfully completed. When Tesla asked to be paid, however, Edison seemed astonished. He explained that the offer of $50,000 had been made in jest. "When you become a full-fledged American you will appreciate an American joke," Edison said. Shocked and disgusted, Tesla immediately resigned.

Tesla earned money for food and rent by digging ditchs as a come labor. Word began to spread that a foreigner of unusual talent was digging ditches to stay alive. Investors approached Tesla and asked him to develop an improved method for arc lighting. Although this was not the opportunity he had hoped for, the group was willing to finance the Tesla Electric Light Company. The proud new owner set to work and invented a unique arc lamp of beautiful design and efficiency. Unfortunately, all of the money earned went to the investors and all Tesla got was a stack of worthless stock certificates.

Watch the newest inspirational movie on this legendary master of electricity at my website windowtowallstreet.com -commercial free.

But his luck was about to change. Mr. A.K. Brown of the Western Union Company, agreed to invest in Tesla's idea for an AC motor. In a small laboratory just a short distance from Edison's office, Tesla quickly developed all the components for the system of AC power generation and transmission that is used universally throughout the world today. "The motors I build there," said Tesla, "were exactly as I imagined them. I made no attempt to improve the design, but merely reproduced the pictures as they appeared to my vision and the operation was always as I expected." The battle to produce his motor was over. But the struggle to introduce it commercially was only just beginning.

In November and December of 1887, Tesla filed for seven U.S. patents in the field of polyphase AC motors and power transmission. These comprised a complete system of generators, transformers, transmission lines, motors and lighting. So original were the ideas that they were issued without a successful challenge, and would turn out to be the most valuable patents since the telephone.

An adventurous Pittsburgh industrialist named George Westinghouse, inventor of railroad air brakes, heard about Tesla's invention and thought it could be the missing link in long-distance power transmission. He came to Tesla's lab and made an offer, purchasing the patents for $60,000, which included $5,000 in cash and 150 shares of stock in the Westinghouse Corporation. He also agreed to pay royalties of $2.50 per horsepower of electrical capacity sold. With more inventions in mind, Tesla quickly spent half of his newfound wealth on a new laboratory.

With the breakthrough provided by Tesla's patents, a full-scale industrial war erupted. At stake, in effect, was the future of industrial development in the United States, and whether Westinghouse's alternating current or Edison's direct current would be the chosen technology.
It was at this time that Edison launched a propaganda war against alternating current.

In spite of the bad press, good things were happening for Westinghouse and Tesla. The Westinghouse Corporation won the bid for illuminating The Chicago World's Fair, the first all-electric fair in history. The fair was also called the Columbian Exposition — in celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Columbus discovering America. Up against the newly formed General Electric Company (the company that had taken over the Edison Company), Westinghouse undercut GE's million-dollar bid by half. Much of GE's proposed expenses were tied to the amount copper wire necessary to utilize DC power. Westinghouse's winning bid proposed a more efficient, cost-effective AC system.

The Columbian Exposition opened on May 1, 1893. That evening, President Grover Cleveland pushed a button and a hundred thousand incandescent lamps illuminated the fairground's neoclassical buildings. This "City of Light" was the work of Tesla, Westinghouse and twelve new thousand-horsepower AC generation units located in the Hall of Machinery. In the Great Hall of Electricity, the Tesla polyphase system of alternating current power generation and transmission was proudly displayed. For the twenty-seven million people who attended the fair, it was dramatically clear that the power of the future was AC. From that point forward more than 80 percent of all the electrical devices ordered in the United States were for alternating current.

Today the World utilizes the AC power systems to generate electricity for its people. When we think of a great inventory and light bulbs we think of Thomas Edison. But we also owe thanks to Tesla who made the distribution of electricity possible.

Nikola Tesla was the Wizard of Electricity.
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