Ron White has been a professional speaker since 1992. He is the author of over a dozen CD and DVD programs including his best selling Memory in a Month CD album sold all over the world. He has delivered his powerful 'Benefits of a Trained Memory' talk in seven different countries and most every state in the U.S. He has used his techniques to memorize a room full of 200 people's names in 15 minutes just to demonstrate the power of the human mind.

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Business / Leadership

Einstein's Formula for Success

excerpted from How to Develop the Mind of Einstein

Albert Einstein had a formula for success. Can you believe that? One of the greatest minds of all time developed a math formula for success! I suggest you read this carefully—this may be the most important math equation you will ever see.

Einstein said, "If A equals success, then the formula is: A=X+Y+Z.
X is work.
Y is play.
Z is keep your mouth shut."

Einstein no doubt had an excellent sense of humor. Let's look at the 3 variables in this equation. They are:
1. Work
2. Play
3. Keeping your mouth shut!

1. Work: Albert Einstein had a tremendous work ethic and because of that gave more to society and modern science than any person in recent times.

2. Play: Einstein, however, did not work 24 hours a day and made time for fun and relaxation. His idea of fun may have been different than yours, but that doesn't mean it still wasn't play.

3. Keeping your mouth shut: Finally, my favorite part of his success formula is to keep your mouth shut. I genuinely believe that the person who talks the least says the most. A friend of mine complains that the woman he is dating talks too much. I don't know how to break the news to him; however, the problem is not that she talks too much. It simply is the fact that he is irritated that he isn't able to talk. Now, let me just say this is not a generic man and woman statement. I am speaking about a specific person I know. His desire is to constantly talk and because he likes to talk so much, he will talk in circles. If you let him talk long enough he will repeat the same thing three times and then contradict himself. His desire is not to hear but to be heard.

Albert Einstein, on the other hand, had nothing to prove. He felt no need to be the "Chatty Cathy" he could have been with his knowledge. It wasn't important to him to talk to everyone he met and talk over their heads to demonstrate his IQ. Instead, he learned the value of quietness and solitude.

Shift your mind-set from being a talker to a listener. It has been said that you can make more friends in five minutes by becoming interested in others than you can make in five years of trying to get others interested in you! How do you become interested in others? You ask questions and then keep your mouth shut!

Dale Carnegie wrote a best-selling book titled How to Win Friends and Influence People. One of the key premises of this book was that everyone's favorite subject is actually themselves and that the sweetest sound to their ears is the sound of their own name. Einstein knew this and realized he could influence others by choosing his spots to speak and validating others by extending them the courtesy of listening.

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Some people have a tendency to say too much. Others have a tendency to say too little. It's all about balance. However, in the case of Einstein, he had some very unusual things to say. He quickly learned that saying stuff that is outside the "box" does not usually go over well. So he responded by waiting until he had mathematical proof of his intuitions. So, if you have created something that is outside the norm, then you need a lot of patience. However, there are other approaches than remaining quiet. Do not read into Einstein's statement (which is about himself) a maxim for all humans. That would be a mistake. Rather, seek for balance. Middle ground. What I have discovered as a teacher is that if I start talking about the things my students are talking about, in the way they talk, and then gradually shift and morph the conversation towards the subject and words I wish to express, I can gain their attention and appreciation. So that's another approach; one that requires practice at talking in different styles rather than "keeping your mouth shut". Perhaps if Einstein had done that, he would have gained colleagues to help him with his investigations into physics and arrived at the conclusions several years sooner.

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