A New Newton

Isaac Newton

On the History Channel last week, there were a couple of shows on about Nostradamus, and I was intrigued, so I watched them.

What I ended up taking away from these shows was, yes, a little food for thought about Nostradamus and his prophecies, and even more impactful, a real inspiration from many other people that the featured historians, professors and authors referred to: people like Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei (their discoveries and theories in relation to Nostradamus etc.).

Galileo Galilei

Isaac Newton lived in the 17^th century, and he is most famously known for “discovering” the law of gravity. Galileo also lived in the 17^th century, and his research helped develop modern science. Mathematics, physics and astronomy were his main subjects. Galileo also invented the microscope.

There are many more people like this: How about Leonardo DaVinci and all of his inventions? He’s my personal favourite; I have his birthday on my Verjardakalendaar in my bathroom (I know, I’m a dork)…

…Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Gregor Mendel (did you notice his tribute on the Google home page a couple days ago?), Pierre and Marie Curie…the list goes on and on…

 I started wondering,

[ If these famous inventors, theorists and discoverers had never taken risks or pursued their intellectual curiosity, would they have changed the course of history? What kind of effect would that have had on our development?]

Leonardo DaVinci

OK – I’m sure someone else would have figured out that things fall down if they are heavy enough…and given that law a name. But who? When? In what chain of events? Why?

I am extremely inspired by these great inventors and thinkers. They had questions, so they sought answers. They had passions and dreams, so they chased them. They had to take risks and probably had to make sacrifices—they may have had colleagues or family members ridiculing them for their ideas—but they kept on going, accomplishing much, blazing a trail to perpetuate the course of history and cultural/theoretical/scientific development.

We are the same. Sure, maybe we’re not all going to become great inventors, but we all have passions and dreams…and if you don’t follow your dreams and feed your passions and take a few risks, who will?

You can’t expect anyone else to do what you were created to do. You can’t give up your dreams to someone else. Perhaps there are many other people with the same general dream as yours, but you are the only one who has dreamed that dream in a certain way based on your own personality and experiences...

…and you are the only one who will follow that dream and take those risks in your unique way!

Be your own version of the likes of Isaac Newton and Leonardo DaVinci. Take a long, hard look at that apple that fell from the tree in your life, pertaining to your passion. If you won’t, who will?