wireless communication, and much more. Tesla’ s alternating current( AC) system became the foundation for the electrical grid that powers the world today. Yet, despite his groundbreaking contributions, Tesla died penniless in a New York hotel room, alone and forgotten by the very society that benefited from his genius.
Why did someone so brilliant fail to secure lasting financial success? Tesla’ s downfall was not due to a lack of intellect; it was a mindset issue. He was deeply idealistic and uninterested in the commercial side of his inventions. Tesla saw money as a distraction from his higher purpose. He believed that his work would naturally attract wealth, and as a result, he neglected patents and failed to capitalize on his innovations.
At one point, Tesla worked alongside Thomas Edison, another great inventor. However, unlike Tesla, Edison understood the importance of commercialization. Edison patented his inventions aggressively, built partnerships, and turned his ideas into thriving businesses. Tesla, on the other hand, rejected Edison’ s approach, choosing instead to focus on perfecting his designs, often without financial backing.
Similarly, Vincent van Gogh is considered one of the greatest artists to have ever lived. His vivid, emotional paintings such as The Starry Night and Sunflowers, have sold for hundreds of millions of dollars posthumously. Yet, during his lifetime, van Gogh sold only one painting, and that was to a friend.
Van Gogh’ s financial struggles were not the result of a lack of talent. His unique style, while misunderstood by the art community of his time, was groundbreaking. The issue lay in his mindset and emotional state. Van Gogh lacked the confidence to promote his work, often second-guessing the quality of his paintings. He was plagued by mental health issues, which further limited his ability to engage with the art world commercially.
His brother, Theo, supported him financially throughout his life, but Vincent’ s inability to manage money and cultivate business relationships kept him in poverty. Van Gogh was driven by passion, but without the right mindset to translate that passion into wealth, he remained poor until his death. Ironically, after his death, his work skyrocketed in value, and the world recognized the genius that he had always possessed. But by then, it was too late for van Gogh to enjoy the fruits of his labour.
Tesla and van Gogh’ s stories are not isolated incidents. We keep hearing that knowledge is power but all the knowledge in the world without an accompanying right mindset will take you nowhere. Like Tesla and van Gogh, there is the story of Bobby Fischer, the legendary chess grandmaster who dominated the game like no other. His brilliance was undeniable, but his paranoia and distrust of people kept him from securing long-term wealth. Despite being the world chess champion, Fischer struggled financially and lived in relative obscurity in his later years.
Even the Bible gives a story of a poor wise man!“ There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’ s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard”.- Ecclesiastes 9:14-16.
This man achieved something remarkable. He used his wisdom to deliver his city from a great king. In essence, he outwitted a powerful ruler and saved the city and all who lived in it. Yet, no one remembered him. Why?
The answer to that question reveals why, despite all his wisdom, he remained poor. This man belonged to the same“ WhatsApp group” as Nikola Tesla, Vincent van Gogh, and countless others; brilliant minds who lacked the ability to convert their wisdom into wealth. Their downfall was not a lack of talent or intellect but the absence of what I call the conversion mindset; the ability to transform knowledge, skills, or genius into tangible results that benefit not only others but also themselves.
Only those with a conversion mindset can fully benefit from their wisdom. The poor man in Ecclesiastes, like Tesla and van Gogh, represents a powerful lesson: Wisdom alone does not guarantee prosperity. Without the right mindset to translate that wisdom into value, recognition, and wealth, even the greatest achievements can be forgotten, and the most brilliant people can remain unnoticed.
The challenge for many is not gaining wisdom but learning how to convert it into something that leaves a lasting legacy; one that ensures their voice is not just heard, but remembered.
Tesla, van Gogh, and countless others had immense gifts; extraordinary talents that could have shaped not just their industries but their personal lives. Yet their mindset toward money and business became their greatest limitation. The tragedy is that talent without the right mindset can leave you brilliant but broke, celebrated but struggling. Meanwhile, individuals with less raw talent but a stronger mindset about wealth quietly build legacies that span generations.
What ideas have you unconsciously inherited that might be keeping you from stepping into your full potential? Genius without the right mindset is like a race car without fuel. The potential is there, the design is flawless, but without the systems in place to drive it forward, it will sit idle, never crossing the finish line.
The world doesn’ t just reward talent; it rewards those who know how to turn that talent into value. It is not enough to have the gift. Your mindset is the bridge that takes you from potential to reality and until you cross that bridge, your wisdom, no matter how remarkable, will remain unheard.
Dr. Wale Akinyemi is the CEO of The Street Hub- an Organizational Culture and Transformation Consulting Firm. He is also the Founder of African Legends- A publishing House dedicated to telling African leadership and Entrepreneurial Stories. Get in touch via mail on: wale @ thestreethub. biz