Words of Wisdom for Writers and Other Creative Minds from Albert Einstein
January 11th 2008 01:00
My Inspiration for this Post
While checking the current value of my blog over at Dane Carlson’s Business Opportunities Weblog (the results of which I'll report in another post), I came across Dane's latest blog entry, posted earlier, which I found highly appropriate for writers/bloggers as we head into a new year. In his post, Dane shares 10 Golden Lessons from Albert Einstein. Check out the words of wisdom that Dane has chosen to share from the great store of sayings which originated in the mind of this great scientist and creative thinker.
Additional Gems of Einsteinian Wisdom
After reading Dane's post, I became inspired to search for additional Einstein quotes and was by no means disappointed. The following are some of the incredible words spoken by a man of great intelligence, a dedicated scientist and thinker, prolific in articulating his insights about life.
Albert's Advice for Writers to Take to Heart
The first group of five Einstein quotes offers excellent advice which, though not directed specifically at writers, is nonetheless applicable to our creative literary pursuits and every bit as much to our attempts to achieve success in our chosen discipline. Read and reap the benefits of some of the potent life lessons learned by Einstein during his many years of intellectual inquiry:
1. "A person starts to live when he can live outside himself."
2. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
3. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”
4. “We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.”
5. “Never regard your study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later work belongs.”
More Einsteinian Truths to Inspire Us
The additional 21 Einsteinian gems of wisdom which follow can further inspire us to reach the heights of our own personal creativity, imagination, idealism, and intellect. No doubt certain of these sayings will resonate with each of us more than others will; but all seem to me to have great significance for those of us who seek to express ourselves through our literary endeavors. Which of them have special meaning for you?
1. “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
2. “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
3. “Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.”
4. “Information is not knowledge.”
5. “Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.”
6. “If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”
7. “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.”
8. “The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”
9. “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”
10. “The only real valuable thing is intuition.”
11. “The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.”
12. “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
13. “There comes a time when the mind takes a higher plane of knowledge but can never prove how it got there.”
14. “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.”
15. “True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.”
16. “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
17. "It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure."
18. “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?”
19. “Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.”
20. “People do not grow old no matter how long we live. We never cease to stand like curious children before the great Mystery into which we were born.”
21. “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
Not All, But Enough for Now
The above are by no means all the Einstein quotes I've collected during my fascinating foray into the mind of this intellectual giant; yet, they are enough, I think, to stimulate our minds, hearts, and imaginations for the moment. Even these are quite a lot to absorb at one sitting and will likely require rereading a time or two for lasting impact; so I'll stop here to allow them sufficient time to sink in and save the rest for a later post.
Hopefully, these quotes have been a source of inspiration to you and will continue to resonate with you as you look forward to another year of reading, thinking, learning, feeling, and sharing with your readers all that you discover and absorb in the year ahead.
Happy learning--and writing!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to share about the above quotes or the creative process or any additional words of wisdom you've come across in your own intellectual travels? We'd love to hear from you!
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Comment by tlcorbin
Coffee Quip
A Global Citizen
Paranormal Paranormal
Is Why
Alaska Chronicle
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I agree with you on both counts! Imagine how fascinating it would have been to be able to sit down and talk with him for an hour!
Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts!
Jeanne
Comment by AmyHuang
Sydney Table
Project Job Search
Travel Debate
Travel String
Love Adventures
Isn't this what writing is all about?
Thanks for sharing!
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Most other people probably tend, as I did, to think of him mainly as a man of science; so it was very enlightening to me--and should be to many others, as well--to learn about the other dimension of this great man.
Thanks for the visit!
Jeanne
Comment by Anonymous
kerith
Really Long Link
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I love them, too! I was really surprised to see just how many Einstein quotes are out there!
Hope you and your family are enjoying a Happy, Healthy New Year! I'm still fighting Round 2 of this cold that's kept me down for the count over the holidays and into the new year!
Thanks for the visit!
Jeanne
Comment by Lillie Ammann
I have an Einstein quote gadget in iGoogle that gives a different quote from Einstein each day. I also have Words of Christ and quotes from Mother Theresa and C.S. Lewis. I do like to read good quotes!
Comment by Brad Shorr
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Hi, Lillie!
With all the Einstein quotes that are available, I can see how there would be plenty to last a long time at one per day in your iGoogle widget. What a great idea!
The words of Christ and quotes from Mother Theresa and C.S. Lewis sound like great ideas, as well!
All of the above can certainly add an extra dimension to a website or blog! Thanks for sharing those fascinating resources with us!
Jeanne
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Einstein was certainly a fascinating fellow--and that's an understatement! I agree that it's unusual for a scientist to be so much of a mystic--but that just makes him all the more interesting and unique.
He had the rare insight to see that there's so much more to the world than science could ever explain, and his lack of arrogance in that regard is truly refreshing. I'm sure that a study of his life and philosophy would be a most enjoyable undertaking!
Thanks for stopping by to read and share your thoughts!
Jeanne