A note written by Albert Einstein and given to a Japanese courier in lieu of a tip recently sold for 1.3 million dollars.
Written in German, the translation for this wise advice is as follows:
“a quiet and modest life brings more joy than a pursuit of success bound with constant unrest”.
This quote can be an insightful consideration for business owners. Let’s break it down.
“Quiet and modest” does not mean unsuccessful or unfulfilled. The definition of modest from dictionary.com is: having or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one’s merits, importance, etc.; free from vanity, egotism, boastfulness, or great pretensions.
The characteristics related to living a modest life, with regard to business, equates to having qualities of being a fantastic leader.
Moving on with the analysis of the quote, it doesn’t state that there is anything wrong with success, rather the pursuit of success when it’s related to unrest.
The definition of unrest, according to dictionary.com: lack of rest; a restless, troubled, or uneasy state; disquiet.
The last half of the note essentially says that happiness is unattainable if one is struggling to achieve whatever unrealistic definition of success they’ve set for themselves.
Take a few moments to reflect on your pursuit of success.
- Is your pursuit filled with openness and learning or frustration and roadblocks?
- Will you ever reach your business goals?
- Can you be happy on your journey to success?
- Are you delaying happiness?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this, feel free to leave a comment below.
