11 Life Lessons from Albert Einstein rachelalexandrahill.com /11-life-lessons-albert-einstein/ Einstein may have been a genius and a great scientist but he also knew one or two things about life too. He understood the importance of imagination, the need to keep moving forward and most importantly, to keep learning. The human brain isn’t designed to stay stagnant and its full capacity still isn’t known. Using your brain, your potential and your life is everybody’s personal responsibility, to do otherwise is to cheat yourself!
1. “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change .” Life Lesson#1
11 Life lessons from Albert Einstein
In other words, be aware and don’t stick your head in the sand! The world and economy is changing all the time. Whatever your profession, you need to look to the future and understand how changes may affect you. I qualified as a lawyer and the legal profession has changed more than I ever thought possible when I was at university. Keep your finger on the pulse and maintain your networks of friends and colleagues. Don’t allow yourself to become stale or jaded as you will close yourself off to opportunities.
2. “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” Life Lesson#2 Never stop developing yourself and your skills. If you’re skilled in languages or playing an instrument, for example, keep practising and maintain those abilities. Those hobbies and skills could earn you money as a side business or if you lose your job should the worst happen. I developed my own sideline private tuition business and have written books in order to maintain my own long term versatility. I learned a long time ago that it was simply not enough to ‘just’ be a lawyer.
3. “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” Life Lesson#3 Have goals and dreams and never give up on what it is you want to achieve. Write down those goals and, more importantly, take action on them! Seek all available avenues to achieve them and be as specific as you can. Don’t just say you want ‘a better life’ or ‘more money’. Really drill down into what you want for your own future then visualise every single day in order to manifest those desires.
11 Life lessons from Albert Einstein
A mood board is great for this, even a virtual one on Pinterest. Having goals is like ‘putting fuel in your tank’, it means you’re progressing, developing and moving forward. Factor in some small wins too like a weekend break, lunch with a friend or a long walk through the park.
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4. “Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.” Life Lesson#4 This sounds quite overwhelming and when overwhelm takes over, very often nothing gets done which is the worst outcome of all! When I do my tuition I often talk about working in ‘ manageable chunks’ and apply that to my own business practices too. I set aside specific times to undertake certain tasks and make sure stuff is done well in advance. Making lists is great, there’s something very satisfying about writing it down on paper and striking something off as it’s completed as it reinforces the fact that you’re taking action and moving towards your end result.
5. “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” Life Lesson#5 By using this quote, I mean we should stay current with technology trends but don’t let it take over your life! So often we hide behind our phones, tablets and laptops; the art of conversation is seemingly dying a death as we walk around swiping, texting and surfing. Get the balance right and open up a world of opportunities. Life is all about balance so use technology to your advantage, not disadvantage.
6. “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”
11 Life lessons from Albert Einstein
Life Lesson#6 But what we do have should be used wisely! We’re all guilty of saying we’ve ‘no time’ and of course, life does get in the way but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse. If you’ve got a commute to work, listen to self improvement audio books or entrepreneurial podcasts instead of the radio or worse still, just staring into space. Maintain a sleep routine and don’t get into the habit of sleeping your mornings away at the weekend; we all have the same 168 hours each week so we need to squeeze every last drop out of them.
7. “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new” Life Lesson#7 Taking risks is scary but so is living a life without trying. Starting a new life or a new business will take you outside of your comfort zone. You have to ‘put yourself out there’ and risk rejection. What is life without some element of risk? I’ve lost count of the number of rejection letters I got from literary agents after submitting my novel but, I didn’t let it stop me trying. Yes, it can’t always go your way but sometimes it can and it will.
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In the words of Nike – Just Do It.
8. “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle or you can live as if everything is a miracle” Life Lesson#8 In other words, we can choose how you view your environment and our lives. Have an ‘attitude of gratitude’ for the small things; there is always something to be appreciated. It can be the hot water in your bath at the end of a long day or a cup of tea someone else has made for you – simple as that.
11 Life lessons from Albert Einstein
Happiness isn’t always found in the grand gestures. Use all of your senses: really taste the food you eat and really hear the birds singing in the morning. It’s amazing what happens when we just stop for a moment and are mindful of the moment.
9. “The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not what he is able to receive.” Life Lesson#9 Giving value to others should be our primary concern, not what we can get for ourselves. Money is important, that goes without saying, but too many of us worry about either the lack of it or the want of more of it. Money is only the byproduct of the value we give to others so whatever it is you seek to do ensure it is worthy both for you and other people. Much like the saying, ‘what goes around comes around’, the energy we put out there for other people comes back to us so if we give value we attract it right back to us.
11 Life lessons from Albert Einstein
A win win situation.
10. “Imagination is everything; it is the preview to life’s coming attractions.” Life Lesson#10 Use your imagination to paint a mental picture of what you want your best life to be. Create a vision of your ‘better self’ and ‘better life’ then move towards that reality. Our world is made up of the product of thoughts: they are what have created our environment. Use your thoughts to create your own. A vision board or Pinterest is a fantastic way to help create that mental picture inside your head. Review it every day and let the power of your thoughts attract everything you wish to achieve. Entrepreneurs do this all the time so don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
11. “The only real valuable thing is intuition.” Life Lesson#11
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Listening to your gut or trusting your sixth sense is something I believe in very strongly. Much like a mother’s instinct, there is an inexplicable reason why something feels wrong or a person you encounter doesn’t feel quite right. Have an honest conversation with yourself. What do you feel passionate about and what gives you joy? Too many of us go through life doing what we are told is the ‘right thing’ to do and suppress what we really want. Listening to and trusting the messages your body gives you is like having an inbuilt compass giving us direction and focus. Ignore at your peril! I wish you every success for your digital future!
11 Life lessons from Albert Einstein
Rachel A Hill LLB [Hons] Digital Entrepreneur, Lawyer, Private Tutor and Author
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