Today’s Teacher: Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)
The Teaching
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
— Albert Einstein
Who Was Albert Einstein?
Albert Einstein is synonymous with genius. His name is used as shorthand for exceptional intelligence. He revolutionized physics with theories that fundamentally changed our understanding of space, time, energy, and matter. He won the Nobel Prize. He’s arguably the most famous scientist in history.
Yet Einstein’s path to greatness was anything but predictable. As a child, he spoke late—so late his parents worried something was wrong with him. He was rebellious in school, questioning authority and challenging teachers who insisted on rote memorization. One teacher told him he would never amount to anything. He failed his first entrance exam to university.
After finally graduating, Einstein couldn’t get an academic position. He worked as a patent clerk—a job where he spent his days evaluating other people’s inventions. It was during these years, working in obscurity, that he developed his groundbreaking theories. In 1905, his “miracle year,” he published four papers that would change physics forever—not from a prestigious university, but from a patent office, in his spare time.
What made Einstein extraordinary wasn’t innate genius. It was relentless curiosity.
While others accepted what they were told, Einstein kept asking “Why?” and “What if?” He never stopped questioning, never stopped wondering, never lost the childlike fascination with how things work.
His genius wasn’t in having answers—it was in asking better questions.
Understanding the Wisdom
The Myth of Special Talents
We love the myth of the naturally gifted genius:
- Mozart composing symphonies as a child
- Einstein born with a superior brain
- Natural athletes who make it look effortless
- Artists with innate talent
- Prodigies who emerge fully formed
This myth is comforting because it excuses us: “They have special talents I don’t have. That’s why they succeeded and I haven’t.”
Einstein dismantles this excuse: “I have no special talents.”
The man who reshaped physics, whose theories required mathematical complexity most people can’t comprehend, says he’s not special.
So what was his secret?
“I am only passionately curious.”
Not “talented.” Not “gifted.” Not “brilliant.”
Curious.
Passionate Curiosity as Superpower
Most people lose curiosity as they age:
- Children ask “Why?” constantly—about everything
- Teenagers start caring more about fitting in than learning
- Adults accept explanations without questioning
- Older people often become rigid in their beliefs
Einstein never stopped being curious like a child.
He wondered about fundamental questions:
- What would it be like to ride on a beam of light?
- Why does a compass needle always point north?
- Why does time seem absolute when it might be relative?
- What is the relationship between energy and matter?
- How does gravity really work?
These weren’t idle musings. They were genuine, burning questions he couldn’t let go of.
While others accepted the existing answers, Einstein questioned them. While others memorized formulas, Einstein wondered why the formulas worked. While others moved on to the next topic, Einstein stayed with questions that fascinated him.
Passionate curiosity drove him to insights that changed everything.
Curiosity vs. Knowledge
Our education system values knowledge over curiosity:
- Memorize the right answers
- Pass the test
- Get the degree
- Prove you know things
Einstein valued the opposite: Questions over answers. Curiosity over certainty. Wonder over knowledge.
He famously said: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
Why curiosity over knowledge?
Knowledge is static: Facts you’ve memorized. Information you’ve acquired. What was true in the past.
Curiosity is dynamic: Questions you’re pursuing. Understanding you’re developing. Discovery happening now.
Knowledge makes you feel finished. “I know this already.”
Curiosity keeps you growing. “I wonder about this. Let me explore.”
Knowledge can become dogma. “This is how it is. Don’t question it.”
Curiosity challenges everything. “But why? What if we’re wrong? Could it be different?”
Einstein achieved what he did not by knowing more, but by questioning more deeply than anyone else.
How to Practice This Wisdom Today
1. Morning Curiosity Activation (10 minutes)
Start your day by reconnecting with the curious mindset you had as a child.
Choose something ordinary you encounter daily:
- Your morning coffee
- The sunrise
- Your commute
- Your phone
- Running water
- Your reflection
Ask Einstein-level questions about it:
- How does this actually work?
- Why is it this way and not another way?
- What am I assuming about this that might not be true?
- What don’t I understand about this?
- If I were encountering this for the first time, what would I wonder?
Example – Your morning coffee:
- Why does hot water extract flavor from beans?
- What chemical reactions happen during brewing?
- Why do different temperatures create different tastes?
- How was coffee discovered in the first place?
- What would happen if I changed one variable in the process?
The goal isn’t to become a coffee expert. The goal is to practice being curious about things you’ve stopped wondering about.
Einstein’s reminder: “I am only passionately curious.” That’s available to everyone.
2. The Question Practice (Throughout the Day)
Today, instead of trying to know things, practice asking better questions.
When someone makes a statement, instead of accepting or arguing:
Ask:
- “That’s interesting—what makes you think that?”
- “How do you know that’s true?”
- “What would change your mind about this?”
- “What am I missing that you understand?”
When facing a problem, instead of jumping to solutions:
Ask:
- “What’s really going on here beneath the surface?”
- “Why does this problem exist?”
- “What assumptions am I making?”
- “What would this look like from a completely different angle?”
When learning something new, instead of memorizing facts:
Ask:
- “Why is this significant?”
- “How does this connect to other things I know?”
- “What questions does this answer, and what new questions does it raise?”
- “What would happen if this weren’t true?”
Einstein spent more time with questions than with answers. Practice this today.
3. The Curiosity Audit (Midday Check)
Pause midday and assess your curiosity level:
Ask yourself:
Am I operating on autopilot or with curiosity?
- Going through motions? (Autopilot)
- Noticing and wondering? (Curiosity)
Am I accepting information uncritically or questioning it?
- “They said so, must be true” (Uncritical)
- “Why do they think that? Is it true?” (Questioning)
Am I more interested in being right or in understanding?
- Defending my existing beliefs (Being right)
- Genuinely exploring other perspectives (Understanding)
What have I wondered about today?
- List everything you’ve been curious about
- If the list is short, you’re in autopilot mode
What’s one thing I can be curious about right now?
- Look around
- Choose something
- Wonder about it deeply
Einstein’s approach: Treat every moment as an opportunity to learn something new.
4. Evening Wonder Practice (15 minutes)
Before bed, reconnect with childlike wonder:
Write about:
- What did I wonder about today?
- What sparked your curiosity?
- What questions arose?
- Did you pursue them or dismiss them?
- What did I accept without questioning that I could have been curious about?
- Where did I just accept the status quo?
- What could I have wondered about?
- What question am I taking to bed with me?
- Something you genuinely wonder about
- Not to solve, just to sit with
- Let your subconscious play with it overnight
- What would I explore if I had Einstein’s passionate curiosity?
- What fascinates you but you’ve never pursued?
- What if you gave yourself permission to explore it?
Einstein never stopped wondering. He carried questions with him like companions. Practice this.
A Modern Application: The Career Plateau
Let’s apply Einstein’s wisdom to a common modern problem: feeling stuck in your career, bored, plateaued.
The situation: You’ve been doing the same job for years. You’re competent, but not growing. Work feels like going through motions. You’re bored but don’t know what to do about it.
The conventional approach:
What most people do:
- Keep doing the same thing (autopilot)
- Complain about being bored
- Blame the job, the boss, the industry
- Wait for something external to change
- Think “I just need a new job” without deeper exploration
What usually happens: They change jobs but bring the same lack of curiosity with them. Within a year or two, they’re bored again. The problem wasn’t the job—it was the absence of curiosity.
The Einstein approach—passionate curiosity:
Step 1 – Get curious about your boredom: Instead of just feeling bored, wonder about it:
- Why am I bored? What’s actually missing?
- What did this work teach me when it was new?
- What am I no longer curious about?
- Is the work boring, or have I stopped wondering about it?
Step 2 – Resurrect curiosity about your current work: Even if you’re leaving, practice curiosity here first:
- What don’t I understand about how my company actually makes money?
- What challenges is my boss facing that I never ask about?
- What do people in other departments do and why?
- What customer problems are we solving, and how well?
- What innovations could improve our processes?
- What assumptions does our industry make that might be wrong?
Step 3 – Follow your fascination: What genuinely interests you? Not what you think should interest you—what actually captures your curiosity?
- Maybe it’s the technology you use
- Maybe it’s how people make decisions
- Maybe it’s the design of systems
- Maybe it’s the psychology of customers
- Maybe it’s something completely different
Step 4 – Pursue questions, not just job titles: Instead of “I need to be a [job title],” ask:
- What questions do I find endlessly fascinating?
- What problems do I love thinking about?
- What would I research even if I weren’t paid?
- Who’s doing work I find genuinely curious?
Step 5 – Let curiosity guide your path: Talk to people doing work you’re curious about. Read about topics that fascinate you. Take courses in subjects you wonder about. Follow your questions wherever they lead.
The outcome:
This is how Einstein discovered his path. Not by planning a career as “world’s greatest physicist,” but by being fascinated by questions about light, time, and space—and following that curiosity relentlessly.
You might discover:
- Your current work becomes interesting again when you approach it with curiosity
- Your curiosity leads you to a new direction you hadn’t imagined
- The act of being curious makes you more engaged, which makes you better at everything
- Your questions lead to insights others miss, making you invaluable
Or you might discover you’re genuinely in the wrong field. But now you know because you explored it curiously, not because you were on autopilot.
Passionate curiosity doesn’t guarantee you’ll be Einstein. But it guarantees you won’t be bored.
The Deeper Philosophy
Beginner’s Mind
Einstein maintained what Zen Buddhists call “beginner’s mind”—approaching things as if encountering them for the first time, without preconceptions.
Most people become experts and stop learning. They “know” how things work, so they stop questioning.
Einstein became an expert and intensified his questioning. He never assumed he understood completely. He remained perpetually curious, perpetually willing to question his own understanding.
This is why he could revolutionize physics: While others defended the existing framework, Einstein questioned whether the framework itself was correct.
Applied to your life: What do you think you already know completely? What have you stopped questioning because you’re “expert” enough?
Try approaching it with beginner’s mind: What if I’m missing something? What would I notice if I looked at this fresh?
The Courage to Not Know
Our culture rewards certainty:
- Leaders who project confidence
- Experts who have all the answers
- People who never admit confusion
- Those who know, not those who wonder
Einstein modeled something different: The courage to say “I don’t know” and the excitement to say “Let’s find out.”
He wasn’t embarrassed by not knowing. He was energized by it. Every gap in understanding was an invitation to explore.
Most people hide what they don’t know. They pretend to understand. They nod along. They fake expertise.
Einstein celebrated what he didn’t know. It meant there was more to discover.
This is liberating: You don’t have to know everything. You don’t have to have it figured out. You can be curious. You can explore. You can learn.
Curiosity requires the humility to admit you don’t know—and the courage to pursue understanding anyway.
Play and Wonder
Einstein attributed much of his success to his ability to play with ideas.
While others approached physics with grim seriousness, Einstein approached it with playful curiosity. He conducted “thought experiments”—imagining scenarios and wondering what would happen.
What would it be like to ride on a beam of light? (This question led to special relativity)
What would happen if you were in a falling elevator? (This led to general relativity)
These aren’t serious, adult questions. They’re playful, childlike questions.
But they led to revolutionary insights because Einstein gave himself permission to wonder, to play, to imagine.
Most adults lose this. We become serious, practical, focused on “useful” knowledge. We stop playing with ideas.
Einstein never stopped playing. And his play changed the world.
Your Practice for Today
Here’s your challenge based on Einstein’s teaching:
Today, be passionately curious about something.
The Practice:
1. Choose your focus: Pick something—anything—that you encounter today:
- A person you work with
- A problem you’re facing
- A system you’re part of
- An object you use daily
- An idea you’ve accepted without questioning
- A skill you want to develop
2. Channel Einstein—ask deep questions:
Not surface questions. Not questions you can Google quickly. Deep, genuine curiosity:
- How does this really work?
- Why is this the way it is?
- What am I assuming that might be wrong?
- What would happen if one element changed?
- Who understands this better than me, and why?
- What don’t I see that’s actually there?
3. Follow your curiosity without demanding immediate payoff:
Einstein didn’t pursue curiosity for practical outcomes. He pursued it because he couldn’t help wondering.
Your curiosity today might not produce anything “useful.” That’s fine. You’re exercising the curiosity muscle.
4. Notice what happens:
When you approach life with passionate curiosity instead of going through the motions:
- Do you feel more engaged?
- Do you notice things you’d normally miss?
- Do you learn something unexpected?
- Do problems become interesting instead of irritating?
5. Commit to one area of sustained curiosity:
What question or topic captures your curiosity enough to pursue beyond today?
Give yourself permission to explore it—not for career advancement, not for practical outcomes, just because you’re curious.
This is what Einstein did. This is how genius actually works.
Essential Reading: Dive Deeper into Albert Einstein
If this teaching resonates with you, explore these books:
Primary Sources:
The World As I See It by Albert Einstein
- Einstein’s own essays and writings
- His philosophy, values, and worldview
- Accessible to non-physicists
- Reveals the mind behind the genius
Ideas and Opinions by Albert Einstein
- Collection of Einstein’s writings
- Science, philosophy, politics, peace
- Shows his curiosity extended to all areas of life
Einstein’s Essays in Science by Albert Einstein
- His explanations of relativity and physics
- Written for general audiences
- Shows how he thought about complex ideas simply
Biographies:
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson
- Definitive modern biography
- Comprehensive, readable, insightful
- Based on newly released letters and papers
- Shows how curiosity shaped his life
Subtle Is the Lord by Abraham Pais
- Scientific biography
- More technical but deeply illuminating
- For those wanting to understand the physics
Applied Wisdom:
A Curious Mind by Brian Grazer
- Hollywood producer’s lifelong practice of curiosity
- “Curiosity conversations” with fascinating people
- Practical application of Einstein’s principle
- Shows how curiosity creates opportunities
- Why generalists and curious people triumph
- Challenges the 10,000-hour specialization myth
- Einstein is a prime example
- Argues for broad curiosity over narrow expertise
Think Like a Rocket Scientist by Ozan Varol
- First-principles thinking and questioning assumptions
- How to solve complex problems through curiosity
- Scientific method applied to everyday life
The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli
- Cognitive biases that block clear thinking
- How curiosity helps overcome mental traps
- Encourages questioning your own thoughts
Closing Reflection
Albert Einstein changed our understanding of reality—space, time, energy, matter. He’s held up as the pinnacle of genius.
Yet he said: “I have no special talents.”
He wasn’t being modest. He was telling us something crucial: What made him extraordinary is available to everyone.
Passionate curiosity.
You have access to the same thing Einstein had. Not his specific knowledge—that took years of study. But the approach that made that knowledge possible.
The willingness to wonder.
The courage to question.
The persistence to pursue understanding.
The playfulness to explore ideas.
The humility to admit you don’t know.
The excitement to discover.
Today, you’ll encounter dozens of things. You can glide past them on autopilot, accepting everything at face value, questioning nothing.
Or you can approach them like Einstein—with genuine, passionate curiosity.
“Why is this the way it is?”
“How does this really work?”
“What am I not seeing?”
“What if things could be different?”
These questions won’t make you Einstein. But they’ll make you more engaged, more interested, more alive.
They’ll help you see what others miss. They’ll lead you to insights others don’t reach. They’ll make your ordinary life extraordinary.
Because the difference between boredom and fascination, between stagnation and growth, between going through motions and truly living—
Is curiosity.
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
What will you be curious about today?
Reflection Questions
Take a moment to journal or contemplate:
- What have I stopped being curious about because I think I already understand it?
- Where am I more interested in appearing to know than in genuinely learning?
- What questions fascinate me that I’ve never given myself permission to explore?
- If I approached today with Einstein’s passionate curiosity, what would change?
Tomorrow’s Wisdom
Join us tomorrow as we explore a teaching from Harriet Tubman, conductor of the Underground Railroad and freedom fighter, on courage, action, and why you must keep going even when you’re afraid.
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Essential Reading: 📚 Einstein: His Life and Universe – Definitive biography 📖 The World As I See It – Einstein’s own writings 🎯 A Curious Mind – Power of curiosity conversations 💡 Range – Why curious generalists triumph
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