Stories For CEOs: Lessons from Charles the Bad & Nikola Tesla
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Meet Charles the Bad, the King of Navarre
During the Hundred Years War between France and England (1337 – 1453)…
Charles II of Navarre, also known as Charles the Bad, initially pledged his loyalty to the French.
However, he was not a man of honor. In 1354 when the tide of war seemed to favor the English, he betrayed his French allies and threw his support behind the English.
When the king of France, was captured in 1356, he switched back to the French side hoping to secure more territory in France.
In 1361, when John II, the French king, escaped from captivity, he switched back to the English side.
When John II died in 1364, he saw an opportunity to gain more power in France, so again he switched back to the French side.
And In 1371 he switched sides again to support the English.
His opportunistic behavior and constantly shifting allegiances backfired and caused him to be distrusted by both the English and the French. And also. by his own subjects in Navarre.
In the end, his many plots and schemes did not prove profitable, as he eventually lost most of his territory.
When the French attacked him, he called on the English for help – his allies at the time – and instead of coming to his aid, they instead invaded and seized some of his lands.
Unrelated to his schemes, he died in an accident in quite the horrific way.
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Nikola Tesla the Ditch Digger
In 1885, after a falling out with Thomas Edison, the 29-year-old Nikola Tesla found himself unemployed and penniless…
Desperate for work, he took up manual labor, digging ditches to survive, for a mere $2 a day.
This may seem like a demoralizing setback for someone of Tesla’s intellect and ambition, but he refused to let it deter him.
Instead, he used this time to refocus on his dreams of revolutionizing the field of electrical power. And he continued to seek funds to start his own electrical company.
In 1887, he secured funding from investors to start the Tesla Electric Company.
With his newfound financial backing, he continued to develop his AC system, which would ultimately revolutionize the electrical industry and lead to the founding of the Westinghouse Electric Company.
Just like Tesla, there will be times in your life you might have to engage in manual labor, or other unpleasant tasks because of circumstances. Don’t let that get in your way.
All the best,
Ike “perseverance” Patrick
