Einsteins effect on Modern Science is enormous and even many non-scientists will know that he developed the Theory of Relativity and his Mass-Energy Formula E=mc2. His name is a household word as someone brilliant.

To my surprise he led a fairly chaotic life, possibly because his mind was travelling so fast. However, what I did find was that he had some really wise quotations which would be helpful to anyone and which a Principal can store in their rucksack and present to students whenever. I’m certainly a fan of meaningful sayings and find them helpful even for myself.

“Life is like Riding a Bicycle. To keep your Balance you must keep going.”

“Try not to become a Person of Success’ but rather to become a Person of Value.”

“Imagination is more important than Knowledge. For Knowledge is limited, whereas Imagination is not.”

“The important thing is not to stop Questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

“In the Middle of Difficulty lies Opportunity.”

“A person who never made a Mistake never tried anything new.” I confess the very wise Vice-Principal at a school where I was teaching said, when I made a Mistake, “The person who never made a Mistake never lived.” I have used that one many times to support people.

“The true sign of Intelligence is not Knowledge but Imagination.”

“Strive not to be a Success, but rather to be of Value.”

“Only a Life Lived for others is a Life Worthwhile.”

“The only Source of Knowledge is Experience.”

“I have no Special Talent. I am Passionately Curious”.

“Logic will get you from A-B. Imagination will take You Everywhere”.

“Peace cannot be kept by Force; it can only be achieved by Understanding.”

I find each one of these is worth thinking about.

Another brilliant person who produced really helpful quotes is Mother Theresa. She was very different from Einstein but was also a Great Thinker.

“In this Life we cannot do Great Things. We can only do Small Things with Great Love.”

“It is easy to Love the people far away. It is not always easy to Love those close to us…. Bring Love into your Home, for this is where our Love for each other must start.”

“Kind Words can be Short and Easy to Speak, but their Echoes are Truely Endless.”

“Let us always meet each other with a Smile, for the Smile is the beginning of Love.” She said this in her acceptance speech when she received her Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a Drop in the Ocean. But if that Drop was not in the Ocean, I think the Ocean will be Less because of that missing Drop.”

“What I can do, you cannot. What you can do, I cannot. But together we can do something beautiful for God.”

It is always worthwhile when looking at a class of students to recognise that they aren’t all the same and they are part of a Collective filled with Difference like a Mosaic. The challenge is to know the students and understand their similarities and their differences. All sayings will not necessarily appeal to the same students or indeed same staff but a Variety will likely strike a Chord with most.

I said proudly to my Mentor in the early days that I had purchased the Oxford Book of Quotations and was using these in my various talks. Typically Challenging, for which I was grateful, he said, “Why don’t you make up your own?”

In a way that gave me license to have a go at doing that.

Anyway, here are a few more which I have used previously.

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany from 2005-2021:

“Always be more than you appear and never appear more than you are.”

“Am I doing something because it is right or because it is possible?”

“Surprise yourself with what is possible.”

Angela Merkel was born in Hamburg in West Germany and her family moved to East Germany when she was very young. Her father was a Lutheran Pastor and mother a Teacher. She was an Excellent Academic and obtained a Doctorate in Quantum Chemistry in 1986, working as a Research Scientist until 1989 when she entered Politics.

Fred Hollows, Famous New Zealand - Born Australian Eye Surgeon who travelled the World Restoring Sight to so many: “When I’ve seen an Opportunity I haven’t sat down and called a Committee Meeting. We’ve gone and done it.”

Julia Gillard: “In my view, the ideal Prime Minister is Patient, Hard - working, Compassionate and has a Clear Vision, driven by a Fair Go.”

Julia Gillard served as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia from 2010-2013 and was Deputy Prime Minister from 2007 -2010. I met her with a group from ISCA in her Canberra office at the start of her time as Education Minister/Deputy Prime Minister. She was most impressive at that meeting.

Written by Chris Tudor