"What you think upon grows." — Oriental maxim
"What you think you become." — Buddha
"As you think, so shall you become."
— Jesus of Nazareth
My religion professor in college, Dr. Bernard Boyd,
was one of the most colorful people I have ever known.
The wonderful stories he told brought his teachings to
life in a way his students would have never believed
possible. One of his best was about Albert Einstein.
While young Boyd was a seminary student at
Princeton, Dr. Einstein was a professor there, wellknown
for his absent-minded ways. On more than one
occasion Boyd saw the famous theoretician and scientist
wandering aimlessly in the middle of the street
licking an ice cream cone, totally oblivious to traffic
and the potential threat to his life.
One day, late for a class, Boyd was rushing down the
library steps and accidentally bumped into Dr. Einstein,
almost knocking the two of them down. Stunned, he
realized who it was and hurriedly apologized. Einstein
was polite and said not to worry about it.
What happened next was a complete surprise. The
almost-speechless Boyd suddenly blathered, "Why
don't you come to my room tonight around 8 and meet
some of my friends." Einstein said that sounded like
fun, and promised he'd be there.
Boyd spent the rest of the day telling all his friends
to come by his room that evening because "Big Al" was
going to be there. When they asked, "Who's Big Al?" he
responded vaguely, "It'll be fun. Just come." So they
did. A small crowd gathered in anticipation of meeting
Big Al, who, as almost always, was late.
Around 8:20 a few people were starting to leave,
when suddenly Albert Einstein appeared and asked for
Bernard Boyd. At first some of the friends thought the
man was an impostor, even a hired prankster, but they
soon realized it really was Albert Einstein in the flesh.
Dr. Boyd related that Albert Einstein was colorful,
lively, and very friendly, answered lots of questions
and participated in a "bull session" so typical of anyone's
college days.
A few years later, Einstein passed away and gave
humanity and science one last great lesson. Einstein
had always been widely regarded as one of the greatest
minds on the planet, if not the greatest of all time.
Scientists had a special curiosity to study his brain
after his death, so he granted their wish — under one
condition. He handed the scientists a sealed envelope
with specific instructions that the contents be read
only after the scientists finished their research, which
took place at Cornell University.
After weeks of intensive study of his brain and much
debate among the scientists, they called a press conference
to present their findings. They had indeed uncovered
a major difference between Einstein's brain and
everyone else's, but it was not the difference anyone
had expected. Einstein's brain was about three-fourths
the size of a normal human adult's. Other than that,
there was absolutely no discernible distinction.
Following that incredible press announcement, the
sealed envelope was opened to reveal a single sentence.
It read, "I do not consider myself to be especially
smarter than any other human, but I do have a particularly
vivid imagination."
"Our only limits are in our imagination."
—Albert Einstein
This article was adapted from Bill and Mary Staton's
book Worry-Free Family Finances, by McGraw-Hill. Learn more about Bill Staton and his books and audio
programs.