A seven-year-old Einstein was lying in bed one day, and his dad brought him a compass. After seeing its magnetic powers, he knew that “something deeply hidden had to be behind things.” As a sixteen-year-old, he thought about what it would be like to ride next to a light beam. And it was this curiosity throughout his young life that led him to later investigate relativity, ultimately driving him to remain curious until his last days. (He was even scribbling theories and thinking about what could be until his final breaths.)
This curiosity, tenacity, and determination isn’t only kin to Einstein, however. It has followed many of the greats. United States President Eisenhower laid on his deathbed, voicing some of his last words to finish his memoirs, desperately trying to squeeze out every ounce of life. And I’m sure if he was given longer, his curiosity for life would have driven him to something else that was of extreme importance.
These are two famous examples of individuals who continually felt the need to remain curious, always searching for something more, but they did so for a reason bigger than themselves. These men learned later in life that pursuing their dreams could and would contribute something of worth to the world, so they persisted.
The truth is that we are all looking for something more. The trick is to enjoy the process and to become selfless along the way, because that is what leads to truly profound influence.
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