Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.
A few weeks ago I randomly came across the quote in the title and it stuck with me. Every single day since then, it’s been popping up in my head and for brief moments it makes me contemplate upon its meaning. I’m a sucker for wise quotes, and I became particularly fascinated with this one because it’s attributed to Albert Einstein, one of my favourite scientists of all time.
Yesterday evening I had a bit of time to kill as I was waiting to board a delayed flight, so I started digging into google to see if the wise words were, indeed, Mr. Einstein’s, or if they were wrongly attributed to him as many, many others on the internet. Luckily, after about an hour of investigation I stumbled upon the quote in an incredible memoir on Albert Einstein in LIFE magazine. Written by one of LIFE’s editors, William Miller, and published in their May 2 1955 issue, shortly after he died, it’s an incredible piece of literary history. If you have a few minutes you should go read it now (p. 61, 64). Have a look at the ads while you’re at it (they’re hilarious).
The memoir mainly describes a trip that Mr. Miller took together with his son and an old friend of Einstein’s, Dr. Hermanns, to the scientist’s house, unannounced, a short while before his sudden death. My favourite part of the whole thing is a conversation they have about one’s reason and purpose in life, with Einstein concluding (while addressing Pat, Mr Miller’s young son) that:
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day. Never lose a holy curiosity. Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value. He is considered successful in our day who gets more out of life than he puts in. But a man of value will give more than he receives.”
