"I am content in my later years. I have kept my good humor and take neither myself nor the next person seriously."
The above quote is by Albert Einstein, the Nobel Laureate and most famous genius of the 20th Century. One of his most notable charms was never taking himself seriously, and that may be one of the greatest lessons he can teach us.
I recently immersed myself in the life and wisdom of Einstein in preparation for one of my Moneylove Club audios. I used 71 of his hundreds of quotes and commented and added on my own thoughts to many of them--a bit arrogant on my part, but my way of paying homage to the master. I think we have a lot more to gain and absorb and learn from many of the short quotes that most impress us. We can use them as triggers for our own imagination, our own pondering. The quote about not taking things or people too seriously is an important reminder to me and perhaps to you, too. Especially in these times filled with dreary predictions, depressing news, and a decline in general hopefulness.
Einstein was not perfect, he was sometimes wrong, and he was extremely modest. He downplayed his own genius, saying he was just an ordinary man who had an extra dose of curiosity and patience that allowed him to persist until he found the answer to whatever problem he was confronting. In this assessment, if he ever really believed it, he was dramatically wrong. When a number of scientists examined his brain they found that it was much larger than normal and contained some anomalies in the actual brain structure that probably allowed him to make faster connections than almost everyone else.
The word genius is bandied about a lot and pretty lightly at that, but in Albert Einstein's case, it was provably true.
Which is why his thoughts and ideas on so many varied subjects are worth examining and exploring even almost sixty years after his death. You've probably seen a few of his most popular quotes on posters or teeshirts, but you most likely have not seen them all. Give yourself a gift and look them up. I am constantly finding new favorites, and I'll close with one of my newly discovered ones:
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.”
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog for information on The Moneylove Club and a free
download of the 39 page Moneylove Manifesto.
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