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The word “Einstein” has become universally associated with being intelligent.  Although not all of us are physicists like him, the way he lived and worked has inspired people to have the same attitude towards life.

Here are just some of the things you can learn from the great and amazingly successful Albert Einstein:

The Top 10 Lessons From The Late Great Albert Einsten!

1. Don’t Be Afraid To Push The Envelope:

Even back as a teenager, Einstein wasn’t afraid to challenge other people’s views.  At school, he butted heads with the administration over how students were being taught; Einstein believed that critical thinking was important in learning rather than memorization.

Einstein wouldn’t have enjoyed his success if he backed down every time someone disagreed with his views.  Some of his theories weren’t immediately accepted by the scientific community, but he carried on and eventually changed the way the world looked at the universe.

2. Don’t Take Yourself So Seriously All The Time:

When Einstein became famous in America, people began to recognize him on the street to explain his theories.  He would humorously reply, “Pardon me, sorry! Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein.”

Given the nature of his work (which was intensely cerebral), one would think that a world-changing scientist like Einstein wouldn’t have a humorous side.  However, Einstein’s quest for success didn’t require him to be serious all the time – and neither should you.

In fact, not sweating the small stuff and having just a bit of irreverence will preserve your sanity in the long run.  If Einstein took his work seriously all the time, he probably would have gone nuts!

3. Just Show Up To Do The Work:

Like everyone else, Einstein probably never felt like working all the time – we all have our off-days.  But his success and the incredible body of work he’s done proves that he still kept at it despite not feeling particularly motivated on certain days.  He understands that emotions should take a backseat to the overall purpose of what you’re doing.

4. Be Cool With Criticism:

Like all great minds, Einstein knew that not everyone will agree or appreciate what he did.  Even then, he wasn’t burdened by a need to please his critics.  Instead, he took it as a challenge to learn from their feedback and inspired him to work even harder to prove them wrong.

If you focus on pleasing your critics, you’ll end up wasting your time and energy instead of doing something productive.

5. Embrace Failure:

Physics may be an exact science, but no scientist ever got it right the first time around.  Einstein knows that success is a process of learning. The only purpose of his mistakes was to teach him so he could go back to the drawing board and try again.

One of the biggest things holding us back is the fear of failure.  In the long run, not trying at all feels a lot worse than trying but failing.  That’s because with the latter, you still made progress and learned what NOT to do!

6. The Small Things Add Up:

Reaching success feels like a faraway place for a lot of us – this makes some people not want to try at all.  Why bother if it’s going to take forever anyway, right?

Wrong.  Einstein solved physics problems by putting in the daily effort even if he didn’t get it all done right away.  He had the end goal in mind, and he knew that each step he took brought him closer to the eventual goal that was waiting for him at the end.

The work you put in at a given time might not seem like much, but remember that in the big picture, it contributes to the greater whole of your work.

7. Be Unselfish:

While Einstein’s success brought him worldwide fame and adoration, the point of his work was to help humanity advance as a species.  He didn’t do it with the intention of being rich or powerful.  Einstein put the common good of mankind at the forefront of his work and this motivated him to do what he did throughout his life.

It’s important to remember that we don’t only live for ourselves.  When we generously do things for other people without a heavy heart, it makes the world a better place and helps us become better human beings in the process.

8. March To Your Own Beat:

Einstein was famous for expressing his contempt for people who blindly followed others without thinking for themselves.

If we let other people tell us what we can or can’t do, then success will always elude us.  We may all have our share of naysayers, but that doesn’t mean we should let those people tell us who we are or take their opinions as the gospel truth.

We’ve been blessed with the ability to think for ourselves and go after what we truly want.  The world would have been a very different place if Einstein listened to people who once told him that he “would never amount to anything.”

9. Stay Hungry:

Einstein didn’t consider himself as having a special talent, but someone who was “passionately curious”.  When he came out with a new theory or scientific paper, he didn’t stop at that and call it a day.

All throughout his prolific career, he always sought new things to discover and learn.  Einstein was always committed to growing – adopting this simple habit in your own life guarantees you’ll consistently accomplish worthwhile things.  Never be complacent – the most dangerous assumption to have is that you’ve done it all.

10. Keep At It:

You’ll run into inevitable setbacks like anyone else pursuing their dreams.  But this isn’t a reason for you to pack up and go home.  It’s only there to test how badly you want to see your dreams through.  Above all, Einstein valued his ability to stay with problems longer rather than his intellect!

Bonus – 10 Albert Einstein Quotes To Live By:

1. “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.” – Albert Einstein

2. “The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.” – Albert Einstein

3. “The important thing is not to stop questioning; curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein

4. “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” – Albert Einstein

5. “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” – Albert Einstein

6. “Falling in love is not at all the most stupid thing that people do — but gravitation cannot be held responsible for it.” – Albert Einstein

7. “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.” – Albert Einstein

8. “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein

9. “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value” – Albert Einstein

10. “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” – Albert Einstein

Article By Joel Brown | Addicted2Success.com

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14 Comments

1. 

   Curtis Carpenter

   March 9, 2013 at 12:32 pm

   if you want to swim jump off a pear and see only two things will happen eathier your curcumstances will force you to swim and you will swim or your going to drown and are going to continue drowing until you swim. and that is what life is you will eathier sink or swim with anything its your choice and your choice alone you have to want it you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone and be willing to learn or belieave in yourself at the very least.

   Reply
2. 

   ravi janardhan

   March 9, 2013 at 2:17 pm

   Learnt e=mc2 as a kid, nothing abt its significance.

   If only there is this post too alongside, it would have made a hell lot of sense!

   Thanks for sharing this awesome stuff.

   Reply
3. 

   sisterleadership

   March 25, 2013 at 2:37 pm

   A great list here – it’s so interesting to examine how such brilliant people work & live! I’ve been doing the same with Da Vinci over at my blog across several different posts. ~Cam

   Reply
4. 

   Molson

   May 22, 2013 at 4:53 pm

   Thank YOU Sir Curtis – your comment was an eye-opener. Not that I knew of if beforehand. However, reading it afresh JUST gave me the inspiration I needed right now to pursue something I had decided (wrongly) to put off or elude. So, thank you!

   Reply