--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every effort under compulsion demands a…" description: "\"Every effort under compulsion demands a sacrifice of energy. I never paid such a price.\" — Nikola Tesla" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_every-effort-under-compulsion-demands-a_2055985.jpg" --- # Every effort under compulsion demands a sacrifice of… ![“Every effort under compulsion demands a sacrifice of energy. I never paid such a price.” quote by Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_every-effort-under-compulsion-demands-a_2055985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_every-effort-under-compulsion-demands-a_2055985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_every-effort-under-compulsion-demands-a_2055985.jpg) > “Every effort under compulsion demands a sacrifice of energy. I never paid such a price.” [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compelled actions drain personal energy, and the speaker has avoided paying that cost. **In simple terms:** Forced work costs energy; speaker avoided it. Key Takeaway Beware of being forced into tasks. Themes energy compulsion personal cost Mood reflective cautious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - workplace decisions - personal projects - voluntary vs mandatory tasks Key Concepts psychology motivation self‑care Questions to Reflect On - What tasks do you feel compelled to do? - How can you protect your energy? A Different Perspective If the task is truly valuable, some sacrifice may be inevitable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autobiography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) [Compulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) ## Related quotes > [“Why do we sacrifice so much energy to our art? Not in order to teach others but to learn with them what our existence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-grotowski/why-do-we-sacrifice-so-much-energy-to-our-art-not-in-order-to-teach/) [Jerzy Grotowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-grotowski/) > [When you love someone, that love has no limit, no measure, because you know in your deepest being that when that love demands sacrifice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/when-you-love-someone-that-love-has-no-limit-no-measure-because-you/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [“Success demands sacrifice”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raman-aggarwal/success-demands-sacrifice/) Raman Aggarwal > [Power comes with a price. It's a burden. It demands sacrifice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-karpyshyn/power-comes-with-a-price-it-s-a-burden-it-demands-sacrifice/) [Drew Karpyshyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-karpyshyn/) > [“Resolution demands a sacrifice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/resolution-demands-a-sacrifice/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Love is harsh, and it consumes. And more than anything, it demands sacrifice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/love-is-harsh-and-it-consumes-and-more-than-anything-it-demands/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [The Philippines has no policy that demands sacrifice of human lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-macapagal-arroyo/the-philippines-has-no-policy-that-demands-sacrifice-of-human-lives/) [Gloria Macapagal Arroyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-macapagal-arroyo/) > [Reverence for life . . . does not allow the scholar to live for his science alone, even if he is very useful .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/reverence-for-life-does-not-allow-the-scholar-to-live-for-his-science/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [Every war, every revolution, demands the sacrifice of a generation, of a collectivity, by those who undertake it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/every-war-every-revolution-demands-the-sacrifice-of-a-generation-of-a/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [War demands sacrifice of the people. It gives only suffering in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-c-howe/war-demands-sacrifice-of-the-people-it-gives-only-suffering-in-return/) [Frederic C. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-c-howe/) > [Love demands more sacrifice than any other relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishfaq-lone/love-demands-more-sacrifice-than-any-other-relationships/) [Ishfaq Lone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishfaq-lone/) > [But Calvin is no kind and loving god! He's one of the old gods! He demands sacrifice!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/but-calvin-is-no-kind-and-loving-god-he-s-one-of-the-old-gods-he/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [“Turning pro is free, but it demands sacrifice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/turning-pro-is-free-but-it-demands-sacrifice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Responsibility demands sacrifice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/responsibility-demands-sacrifice/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [The law of sacrifice is uniform throughout the world. To be effective it demands the sacrifice of the bravest and the most spotless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-law-of-sacrifice-is-uniform-throughout-the-world-to-be-effective/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More by Nikola Tesla > [From childhood I was compelled to concentrate attention upon myself. This caused me much suffering, but to my present view, it was a blessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/from-childhood-i-was-compelled-to-concentrate-attention-upon-myself/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [In a time not distant, it will be possible to flash any image formed in thought on a screen and render it visible at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/in-a-time-not-distant-it-will-be-possible-to-flash-any-image-formed/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Women will ignore precedent and startle civilization with their progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/women-will-ignore-precedent-and-startle-civilization-with-their/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Great moments are born great opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/great-moments-are-born-great-opportunity/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [ If he \[Thomas Edison\] had a needle to find in a haystack, he would not stop to reason where it was most likely to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/if-he-thomas-edison-had-a-needle-to-find-in-a-haystack-he-would-not/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Man, like the universe, is a machine. Nothing enters our minds or determines our actions which is not directly or indirectly a response to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/man-like-the-universe-is-a-machine-nothing-enters-our-minds-or/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/the-day-science-begins-to-study-non-physical-phenomena-it-will-make/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [All knowledge or form conception is evoked through the medium of the eye, either in response to disturbances directly received on the retina or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/all-knowledge-or-form-conception-is-evoked-through-the-medium-of-the/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surrounding, the sphere of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/every-living-being-is-an-engine-geared-to-the-wheelwork-of-the-2/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Perhaps I failed, but I did my best, These masters of mine may do the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/perhaps-i-failed-but-i-did-my-best-these-masters-of-mine-may-do-the/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Religion is simply an ideal. It is an ideal force that tends to free the human being from material bonds. I do not believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/religion-is-simply-an-ideal-it-is-an-ideal-force-that-tends-to-free/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [What we now want is closer contact and better understanding between individuals and communities all over the earth, and the elimination of egoism and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/what-we-now-want-is-closer-contact-and-better-understanding-between/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [When a coil is operated with currents of very high frequency, beautiful brush effects may be produced, even if the coil be of comparatively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/when-a-coil-is-operated-with-currents-of-very-high-frequency/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Of all the frictional resistances, the one that most retards human movement is ignorance, what Buddha called 'the greatest evil in the world.' The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/of-all-the-frictional-resistances-the-one-that-most-retards-human/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [I am even grateful to Einstein and others because through their erroneous theories they lead mankind away from that dangerous path I followed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/i-am-even-grateful-to-einstein-and-others-because-through-their/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) [Explore all 248 Nikola Tesla quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) ## More Autobiography quotes > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“Someday, I want to write an unauthorized autobiography of myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcmullen-sullivan/someday-i-want-to-write-an-unauthorized-autobiography-of-myself/) [David McMullen-Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcmullen-sullivan/) > [“As well as writing, 2004 saw my first attempt at wine making: the elixir of life. Unfortunately, my effort tasted more like the elixir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-briggs/as-well-as-writing-2004-saw-my-first-attempt-at-wine-making-the/) Craig Briggs > [I caught a cold and didn't have time to work on my autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-doucet/i-caught-a-cold-and-didn-t-have-time-to-work-on-my-autobiography/) [Julie Doucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-doucet/) > [Who ever heard, indeed, of an autobiography that was not (interesting)? I can recall none in all the literature of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-ever-heard-indeed-of-an-autobiography-that-was-not-interesting-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't really think of my essays as being about myself. I know it sounds insane, but I just don't think of them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-don-t-really-think-of-my-essays-as-being-about-myself-i-know-it/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [The way I would live my life is: never do something in real life that I would not want to write about in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-katragadda/the-way-i-would-live-my-life-is-never-do-something-in-real-life-that/) [Siddharth Katragadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-katragadda/) > [biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-simon/biography-cannot-be-separated-from-autobiography-that-is-the-life/) Linda Simon > [I think I'm like most novelists in that my books have gotten farther and farther away from autobiography the longer I've been writing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-i-m-like-most-novelists-in-that-my-books-have-gotten-farther/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [If you wish to understand me at all (and to write an autobiography is only to open a window into one's heart) you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-melba/if-you-wish-to-understand-me-at-all-and-to-write-an-autobiography-is/) [Nellie Melba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-melba/) > [I want an autobiography without revealing any personal information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-ross/i-want-an-autobiography-without-revealing-any-personal-information/) [Diana Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-ross/) > [I don't like the word 'autobiography.' I rather like the term 'autofiction.' The second you make a script out of the story of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-like-the-word-autobiography-i-rather-like-the-term/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“I don't think anyone could write a completely honest autobiography. I am sure no one could bear to read it: My Past Was An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-don-t-think-anyone-could-write-a-completely-honest-autobiography-i/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 642 Autobiography quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every effort under compulsion demands a sacrifice of energy. I never paid such a price.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nikola Tesla" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/every-effort-under-compulsion-demands-a-sacrifice-of-energy-i-never/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autobiography" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/every-effort-under-compulsion-demands-a-sacrifice-of-energy-i-never/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_every-effort-under-compulsion-demands-a_2055985.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_every-effort-under-compulsion-demands-a_2055985.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_every-effort-under-compulsion-demands-a_2055985.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every effort under compulsion demands a sacrifice of energy. I never paid such a price.” — Nikola Tesla", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nikola Tesla", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every effort under compulsion demands a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/every-effort-under-compulsion-demands-a-sacrifice-of-energy-i-never/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/every-effort-under-compulsion-demands-a-sacrifice-of-energy-i-never/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```