A Strange, Yet Remarkable Formula For Success

Photo by Raghav Modi on Unsplash

“If A is success in life, then A = x + y + z. Work is x, play is y and z is keeping your mouth shut.” — Albert Einstein, vide, Philosophy Quotes

There is no single formula for success that anyone can apply anytime, everywhere.

However, the lives of successful people provide clues about what works and what does not work in life. We need to break down the general principles of success to relatable, practical, and actionable ideas.

In Einstein’s formula, the first ingedient, work, doesn’t surprise us.

The second componenet, play, sounds like a novel idea. One rarely comes across play as essential for success in classic self-help literature, though it has entered mainstream discussions in recent times.

Einstein was prescient in underlining the importance of play.

Play is not merely for children. Adults gain enormously from play, which could include creative hobbies, art,music, humour, or doing anythoing for fun or pleausre.

Recent research has shown that play can help people check stress and build resilience. Playfulness promotes flexibilty and protects brain health as we age.

Playfulness also kindles curiosity, which makes people explore and experiment with new things.

Einstein’s third ingredient for success, silence, is a pleasant surprise. What does he mean by “keeping your mouth shut”? It could mean several things.

Silence here is both literal and metaphorical. It’s about focus, unhindered by needless distractions. Blowing one’s own trumpet, courting contorversies, or engaging in arguments are avoidable distractions,whether one is a scientist, an artist, or an athlete,

“Keeping the mouth shut” could also mean practising humility and avoiding comparisons with others.Einstein was known for his humility. He never boasted about his knowledge.

Einstein’s formula for success is simple, yet profound. Play and silence are metaphors for attitudes and habits that help build the necessary intellectual and emotional bandwith to succeed in diverse fields.

Thanks for reading!