Albert Einstein — "If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; …"
If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.
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More from Albert Einstein
"Sometimes one has to look at the world from a distance to appreciate its beauty."
"The Chinese don't sit on benches while eating but squat like Europeans do when they relieve themselves out in the leafy woods."
"The only way to do great work is to love what you do."
"Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love."
"He called the patent office 'that worldly cloister where I hatched my most beautiful ideas'."
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Understanding this quote
What it means
Success isn't just about hard work alone. It requires three components: productive effort, leisure and joy, and knowing when to stay silent. The formula suggests that rest and play are as essential as labor, and that restraint in speech—avoiding unnecessary talk, boasting, or controversy—is equally critical to achieving a fulfilled, successful life.
Relevance to Albert Einstein
Einstein lived this formula. He worked obsessively on physics yet famously sailed, played violin, and took long walks for mental renewal. His silence was strategic too—he avoided academic politics when possible and carefully chose public battles. The man who revolutionized physics understood that unfocused chatter dissipates energy better spent thinking or creating.
The era
Einstein made this remark in the early 20th century, an era glorifying relentless industrial productivity and hustle. Post-WWI society debated work-life balance as factories demanded grueling hours. Simultaneously, rising media culture rewarded public figures who spoke constantly. Einstein's formula was a quiet rebuke: silence and play weren't laziness—they were prerequisites for genuine achievement.
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