The 10 Greatest Albert Einstein Quotes of all Time
Einstein wasn’t just a fantastic scientist, but an outstanding philosopher too.
If you’re reading this and you don’t know who Albert Einstein is, you’ve either been living under a rock, or you’re a 7-year-old playing with your mum’s phone, and you’ve accidentally found Medium. If so, welcome young one 😊
Now, most of you know Albert Einstein as the world’s greatest scientist, the person who developed the theory of relativity and who is regarded as being one of the most intelligent people ever to have graced this beautiful planet.
But what you might not know is that Einstein was also something of a philosopher. At the age of 13, the young Einstein took it upon himself to study the works of Immanuel Kant. And yes, that’s Kant with an A. Now Kant Is considered one of the most influential modern Western philosophers of all time. Einstein’s tutor stated that Kant’s works, incomprehensible to ordinary mortals, seemed clear to the young Einstein.
Now, of course, Einstein as we know, went on to dazzle the world with his theories on general relativity, gravitational waves, physical cosmology, wormholes, quantum mechanics, and why, when we’re full after a meal, we can still find room for a tasty dessert. I might have made that last one up, but I wish he had devoted 5 minutes to that conundrum because I don’t think anyone’s ever cracked it.
But I digress. There is so much more to Einstein than his mathematical brain. What you might not know is that he was a little bit of a player. He married his first wife, Mileva Marić, in 1903, but she left him when she discovered that he was also romantically involved with his cousin, Elsa Löwenthal.
He married Elsa in 1919, but she sadly died of heart and kidney problems in 1936. However, it has transpired since that Einstein seemed to be somewhat of a straight-up G because letters written by Einstein and released by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2006 tell of six other women that Einstein was involved with whilst he was married to Elsa, including a blonde Austrian, a Berlin Socialite, and a Russian spy.
The point I’m making here is that Einstein wasn’t just some geek, a nerdy bloke cracking the puzzles of space and time, but he was a human being, a man with flaws, a man controlled somewhat by the sounds of it, his cock.
But regardless of Einstein’s philandering, his love of philosophy continued throughout his life. Now I’ll put it to you, what do you think happens when you get one of the most intelligent men on the planet, then combine it with a man who had a lust for life and a love of philosophy? I’ll tell you what happens. You get some of the most inspirational quotes you’ll ever hear. And without further ado, here, in reverse order, are my top ten.
10. Try not to become a man of success…try to become a man of value.
Wow. How powerful is that? Einstein was one of the most successful men ever to have lived, creating scientific theories that blew the world away. It would have been easy for him to bask in that success. But Einstein was so intelligent that he recognised that the values a person has in their heart are more important than how successful they are.
Success is usually about how much money you make for yourself, and people who want to be successful in that regard might be trying to prove their worth to the world. But in becoming successful yourself, you might not be giving to others.
When you die, you will die with nothing; your success in terms of money is irrelevant. So, when you die, you will be remembered for your values. People will talk about how generous, kind, funny, understanding, and patient you were. And if you have good values throughout your life, you’ll give more to the world than you ever could by putting more money into your bank account while alive.
Einstein seemed to know that the pursuit of wealth alone was unlikely to ever bring anyone true happiness.
From my standpoint, I’ve chased money and had financial success. I’m glad I did it because it allowed me to retire at a young age; I no longer have to work. But the pursuit of wealth never brought me true happiness or fulfilment. I think simply writing on Medium is going to bring me way more happiness and contentment. I get a sense of fulfilment creating value for others to enjoy and potentially learn from.
9. If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
I love this quote. Have you noticed that so many people, when trying to explain an idea or concept, lose you within the first few sentences because they talk in a way that is just too complex to follow?
There’s a brilliant film called Philadelphia made in 1993 with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, who plays the part of a lawyer. In the film, whenever Washington doesn’t understand something someone is trying to say to him, he instructs them to explain it to him like he’s a six-year-old. I will never forget watching him say it, and I’ve gone on to say that to people in my own life when they talk in a way I don’t understand.
Maybe some people like speaking in a complex way, thinking that they are making themselves look clever. Or maybe, as Einstein suggests, they don’t know what they’re talking about?
Knowing your audience and communicating complex ideas in a simple way so that the person or people you’re talking to understand you is a true sign of intelligence.
8. Imagination is more important than knowledge.
When Einstein published his theory of special relativity in 1905, nobody could be certain that his ideas were correct. In 1916 he published his theory of general relativity, and again, people were still determining whether it was true. It all came from Einstein’s imagination of how he believed the Universe worked. One of the things he proposed was that space became curved when near large objects of mass, and even light would be bent by gravity. Think about that for a moment. I mean, who could imagine should a thing? Well, Einstein imagined it, and I’m sure that half the world thought he was mad. But in 1919, Arthur Stanley Eddington proved that Einstein was right when a solar eclipse made stars behind the sun appear to be in a different place than they should have been. The sun's gravity bent space and the light from the stars behind the sun.
You might think Einstein was a genius; I couldn’t have imagined the general theory of relativity. And to be fair, you’re probably right. But his statement saying imagination is more important than knowledge holds. Knowledge isn’t essential. Any fool can learn how to do maths, speak another language, or know how many sulphur atoms there are in a fart. But only certain human beings have the imagination to tell incredible stories, make other people laugh, and imagine ways to make the world better. I believe this is what Einstein meant when he said Imagination is more important than knowledge.
7. Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
Einstein’s genius clearly knew no bounds. Not only did he come up with theories that the rest of us can barely understand, but he was also a humble man who clearly had empathy too.
Many people with Einstein’s intellect may have loved the plaudits telling them how smart they were. Einstein shows with this statement that as well as incredible mathematical genius, he had a lot of emotional intelligence too.
He’s saying here, don’t judge people. He might be good at maths, and the person next to him might not be. But they might be able to sing, to be good with their hands, or just have the ability to be kind to everyone and make other people feel good.
Einstein is saying don’t ever assume somebody isn’t as smart as you, and certainly don’t give people your opinion if it’s negative. Everybody has their talent, their genius. Encourage them to find it and watch them light up and grow.
6. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
You can apply this statement to almost anything in life.
You want to lose weight, so you start a calorie-controlled diet. Two weeks in, you can’t take the hunger and give in. A month or two later, you have a birthday and want to lose weight again, so you start another calorie-controlled diet. Two weeks in, you can’t take the hunger and give in again. A month later, you meet somebody smoking hot and want to lose weight again, so you start a calorie-controlled diet. Two weeks in, you can’t take the hunger and give in. That’s insanity, doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. If you haven’t figured it out, calorie-controlled diets don’t work, but that will be in a future video. If you’ve tried something a few times and it hasn’t worked, the chances are the methodology you’re applying isn’t correct. Don’t be insane and keep doing the same thing; approach the solution with a different strategy.
5. Only a life lived for others is a life worth living.
This deep statement by Einstein elicits sociological and anthropological debate about humans' role and instincts in society. Is our biology wired to make us selfish for survival? Or is our true purpose in life to help others?
Many of us live lives driven primarily by our self-serving goals and desires. Einstein is saying here that while selfish pursuits may temporarily make us joyful, the true sources of happiness can only be found when we live for others.
As I’ve gotten older and wiser, I’m beginning to understand how pursuing money doesn’t make us happy. I’ve bought fancy cars, big screen TVs, and the penthouse apartment. But ultimately, whilst those things gave me temporary pleasure, I soon found myself wanting an even more expensive car, an even bigger TV, and an even fancier apartment. The pursuit of money knows no end. I can honestly tell you that I’m happier now, making YouTube videos and earning less money than when I was pursuing shinier and more expensive stuff.
By passing on my knowledge to others, I feel like I’m giving back, which gives me a lot of satisfaction.
Only a life lived for others is valuable, according to Albert Einstein.
4. Everything that exists in your life, does so because of two things: something you did or something you didn’t do.
When you start thinking about this one, it can almost drive you mad. But I tried it, and it’s true; everything in my life exists because of something I did or didn’t do. The same is true for you.
If you’re in a relationship, it’s because you either made romantic advances to someone or they acted amorously towards you.
The job you have is dependent on what you choose to study at school, how well you do in your exams, and how you perform in interviews.
And if you have dog shit on your trainers, it’s because you’re a goon and didn’t look where you were stepping.
Yes, this quote by Einstein holds true for everything in your life. You might say my family exists in my life, and that’s not because of something I did or didn’t do. Well, they only exist in your life because you haven’t moved to another country and stopped speaking to them or because you haven’t murdered them and buried them in the back garden. I promise you everything exists in your life because of something you did or didn’t do.
Disclaimer — I’m not encouraging you to murder your mum.
3. Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution.
We all know this type of person. You have an idea, and instead of finding the positive aspects of it and encouraging you to go for it, they will nitpick at it and find something negative to say. They tend not to value other people’s good intentions; they complain a lot, are judgemental, and talk poorly of others. They never like to be proved wrong, and if you offer constructive criticism, they tend to take it badly and play the victim.
A negative person’s behaviours stem from their own insecurities, destructive mindset, or awful experiences.
A positive person cannot change a negative person into becoming positive, but a negative person can suck the life out of a positive person. They have an energy that can spoil a room's whole atmosphere.
Einstein knew that instead of trying to change a negative person, you should stay away from them.
2. When you are courting a nice girl, an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder, a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity.
Here, in one genius sentence, is Einstein’s theory of relativity. And guess what? He’s explained it as simply as he can.
Few of us can understand the real theory of relativity. But we all understand the concept of time flying when you’re having fun and time dragging when you’re not.
What impresses me about Einstein is that he always injected humour and simplicity into things which he explained to the public.
He brought women into his explanations a fair bit too. I’m convinced he was a Top G.
1. You never fail until you stop trying
This is my personal favourite Einstein quote of all time. How many people give up on stuff before they’ve even got going?
Did you know that the young Einstein himself was considered a failure? He didn’t start speaking until he was four years old and didn’t start writing until he was seven. At sixteen, he failed to pass the entrance exam to the polytechnic school in Zurich. He struggled and nearly dropped out, doing so poorly in his studies that his father considered Einstein a total failure.
After University, Einstein didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life and ended up as a door-to-door insurance salesman.
Einstein’s father died believing his son would amount to nothing in life, and yet Einstein is now considered by most to be the most intelligent person who ever lived.
There are dozens of examples of famous people who you probably think were immediate successes, but they repeatedly failed before they succeeded.
But for now, understand two things. You are never a failure at anything until you stop trying, and if somebody ever calls you a failure, remember what the smartest man in the world’s father thought of him. You are not a failure. You might be a monkey trying to swim with the fish. Go find your tree.
