I’ve written a lot about Steve Jobs, but this post is about another kind of apple: the juicy red kind. The kind that sometimes falls from trees–and sometimes bumps us on the head–and sometimes causes us to recognize profound thoughts.
What am I talking about? Well, the apple that fell from a tree in 1666, bumped Sir Isaac Newton on the noggin and caused him to arrive at his grand theory of gravity.
Newton’s assistant, John Conduitt, recorded the scene:
“Whilst he was musing in the garden it came into his thought that the same power of gravity which made an apple fall from the tree to the ground was not limited to a certain distance from the earth but must extend much farther than was usually thought. Why not as high as the Moon? he said to himself, and if so that must influence her motion and perhaps retain her in her orbit, whereupon he fell a calculating what would be the effect of that supposition.”
OK, the apple didn’t really hit Newton in the head (that’s legend). But the point is that he felt as though he’d been smacked in the head, for suddenly he saw a hidden pattern. And he got it: The same force of gravity that drops an apple also keeps the entire universe spinning merrily in orbit.
When was the last time you had an epiphany? When was the last time an answer came barreling out of the blue? Maybe you even snapped your fingers and said, I got it! This is the power of visionary thinking. We all have it–you, me, and Sir Isaac Newton.
Erik, noted your new book Ten Steps Ahead on a colleagues blog. Would love to have you on our Thought Grenades show on Blog Talk Radio. We are now booking for the third quarter. Please let your publicist know of our desire and we can handle the rest. Look forward to it. Cheers, Robert.
That would be great. Will let them know, and thanks!