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Issue 2 > Einstein's ability to risk, and willingness to be wrong.

Einstein's ability to risk, and willingness to be wrong.

Ron White on not settling for mediocrity.

The early life of Einstein gives us some clues to the great man that he would become. He was never one to dominate conversation to prove his intellect. Even as a child he didn't talk much.

Einstein's parents hardly coddled their first born. They gave him tremendous freedom to roam and grow. This had a positive outcome on his development.

The principles of self-reliance and risk that Einstein's parents implemented in his life are ones that we can perhaps adopt. Einstein certainly modeled this behavior with his own son on a smaller scale.

Friedrich Adler and Einstein became great friends, often getting together to share ideas. Their sons would get rowdy and it would be hard for them to talk. Rather than barge-in and tell their sons to be quiet, they'd climb into the attic to carry on their conversation. They allowed their boys to grow and explore even if it was noisy.

Part of his freedom as a child and the freedom he gave his son was in part due to his attitude on failure. He was not afraid to fail. Tackling perplexing questions from which many would have shied, Einstein was not afraid to be wrong or to fail. And when corrected he was not insulted.

When he arrived at Princeton in 1935, and was asked what he would require for his study, he replied: 'A desk, some pads and a pencil, and a large wastebasket—to hold all of my mistakes.'

He once casually mentioned to a colleague that he was on the verge of his 'greatest discovery ever', before admitting that 'it didn't pan out' just two weeks later.

One day in his twilight years, he received a letter from a 15-year-old girl asking for help with a homework assignment. She soon received a curious reply: a page full of unintelligible diagrams, along with an attempt at consolation: 'Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics,' Einstein told her, 'I can assure you that mine are much greater!'

The man who was the greatest success at mathematics also failed a lot at them. But that didn't stop him from moving forward. Not only was he willing to risk at math, he also risked when he gambled.

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