Einstein's Wisdom

This is a true-life anecdote about Albert Einstein, and his theory of relativity.

After having propounded his famous theory, Albert Einstein would tour the various Universities in the United States, delivering lectures wherever he went. He was always accompanied by his faithful chauffeur, Harry, who would attend each of these lectures while seated in the back row!

One fine day, after Einstein had finished a lecture and was coming out of the auditorium into his vehicle, Harry addresses him and says, "Professor Einstein, I've heard your lecture on Relativity so many times, that if I were ever given the opportunity, I would be able to deliver it to perfection myself!"

"Very well," replied Einstein, "I'm going to Dartmouth next week. They don't know me there. You can deliver the lecture as Einstein, and I'll take your place as Harry!" And so it went to be......Harry delivered the lecture to perfection, without a word out of place, while Einstein sat in the back row playing "chauffeur", and enjoying a snooze for a change.

Just as Harry was descending from the podium, however, one of the research assistants intercepted him, and began to ask him a question on the theory of relativity, one that involved a lot of complex calculations and equations. Harry replied to the assistant "The answer to this question is very simple! In fact, it's so simple, that I'm going to let my chauffeur answer it!"

In addition to his great sense of humour, here are a few gems of advice from the great man:

1. Follow Your Curiosity: "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious."

What piques your curiosity? I am curious as to what causes one person to succeed while another person fails; this is why I’ve spent years studying success. What are you most curious about? The pursuit of your curiosity is the secret to your success.

2. Perseverance is Priceless: "It's not that I'm so smart; it's just that I stay with problems longer."

Through perseverance, the turtle reached the ark. Are you willing to persevere until you get to your intended destination? They say the entire value of the postage stamp consists in its ability to stick to something until it gets there. Be like the postage stamp; finish the race that you’ve started!

3. Focus on the Present.

My father always says you cannot ride two horses at the same time. I like to say, you can do anything, but not everything. Learn to be present where you are; give your all to whatever you’re currently doing. Focused energy is power, and it’s the difference between success and failure.

4. The Imagination is Powerful: "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge."

Are you using your imagination daily? Your imagination pre-plays your future. "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination. Are you exercising your "imagination muscles" daily? Don’t let something as powerful as your imagination lie dormant.

5. Make Mistakes: "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

Never be afraid of making a mistake. A mistake is not a failure. Mistakes can make you better, smarter and faster, if you utilize them properly. Discover the power of making mistakes. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, if you want to succeed, triple the amount of mistakes that you make.

6. Live in the Moment: "I never think of the future - it comes soon enough."

The only way to properly address your future is to be present as much as possible "in the present." You cannot "presently" change yesterday or tomorrow, so it’s of supreme importance that you dedicate all your efforts to "right now." It’s the only time that matters, it’s the only time there is.

7. Create Value: "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."

Don’t waste your time trying to be successful, spend your time creating value. If you’re valuable, then you will attract success. Discover the talents and gifts that you possess, learn how to offer those talents and gifts in a way that most benefits others. Labor to be valuable and success will chase you down.

8. Don’t Expect Different Results: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

You can’t keep doing the same thing everyday and expect different results. In other words, you can’t keep doing the same workout routine and expect to look differently. In order for your life to change, you must change, to the degree that you change your actions and your thinking is to the degree that your life will change.

9. Knowledge Comes From Experience: "Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience."

Knowledge comes from experience. You can discuss a task, but discussion will only give you a philosophical understanding of it; you must experience the task first hand to "know it." What’s the lesson? Get experience! Don’t spend your time hiding behind speculative information, go out there and do it, and you will gain priceless knowledge.

10. Learn the Rules and Then Play Better: "You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."

To put it all in simple terms, there are two things that you must do. The first thing you must do is to learn the rules of the game that you’re playing. It doesn’t sound exciting, but it’s vital. Secondly, you must commit to play the game better than anyone else. If you can do these two things, success will be yours!