RISK

Did you know that Einstein, one of the most revered and creative minds in science was a sailor? Did you know that he couldn’t swim either? An article written in Forbes about ten years ago starts off talking about Einstein and his simultaneous career as a risk-taker.

Throughout his life, and from a very young age, Einstein was empowered to be curious and explore his surroundings. He was comfortable in the potential of failure as well; he was quoted when he took his position at Princeton, saying he needed “a desk, a pen, a pad of paper, and a large wastebasket for all of my mistakes” to get started. 

Another article from Brain Athlete builds on the one from Forbes, which really brings Einstein from this huge pedestal to eye level, quoting “Anyone who’s never made a mistake has never tried anything new”. This really speaks to me, because I’ve always been afraid of failure and thinking that everything I have to put out creatively has to be perfect. I think learning more about Einstein – who people have almost mythicized – and see from his very down-to-earth viewpoint is something I’m going to implement going forward.