Innovation Hero — Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

From time to time I’ll be writing short articles about people that I have come across or met that have inspired me in different ways, and to start here’s one about a very brave and principled Hungarian researcher.

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi is probably most widely know for receiving the Nobel Prize in 1937 for discovering Vitamin-C. However I have a couple of other reasons for bringing him up in my talks on innovation and new ideas.

For my talks on innovation and new ideas ideas I often use a version of his quote on discovery, which describes the ability to change perspectives and see the world with new eyes.

“Discovery is to see what everyone else has seen, and think what no one else has thought”.

But I for me the biggest reason is a story he told a journalist in the 1970s, about all the money he lost during the second world war:

Upon being awarded the Nobel Prize in 1937, he was also awarded a huge lump sum of money. “ The biggest amount of money I have ever seen” as he told it. His banker promptly suggested he invest all the money in stocks, whereupon Albert agreed, but only if the money was to be invested in stocks that would lose value if war broke out. Remember, this was in 1937–38, with Europe in the turmoil preceding the second World War. His banker was horrified and proclaimed that it was lunacy, all the money would surely be lost, Europe was on the brink of war. However, Albert insisted that the banker go through with it, using the argument that he would never be able to face having made money on a war.

The banker obliged, and well, we all know what happened in 1939.

The Second World War broke out, ravaging Europe for six horrendous years, and the stocks that Alberts banker had chosen all took a huge dive, resulting in Albert losing almost all his money.

Decades later, in the interview I was referring to, he was asked about the obviously bad deal he made and all the money he lost.

His answer?

“ Yes, I lost all my money, but I saved my soul”

Sometimes I use that same quote to describe some of the decisions I have made in my business life, when I have chosen sanity and what I have felt is the right thing to do according to my heart over an economically better deal or collaborations with people and companies whose values aren’t mine.

No matter how much money I could have made, I wouldn’t have been able to face myself knowing it had come through me not listening to my heart.

So yes, I might have lost or missed out on a lot of money, but I know I have saved my soul.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.