16/02/2026
The Secret of Happiness – Albert Einstein's message to the world
In 1922, Albert Einstein wrote a little piece of wisdom on a simple piece of hotel paper – a note that decades later would become one of the most famous messages about happiness.
The physicist was in Tokyo at the time, staying at the Imperial Hotel, when he learned that he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics.
A young messenger brought a package to his room. Einstein wanted to give him a tip as a thank you, but the modest young man politely declined – he couldn't accept money, he said, because he was only doing his duty. Einstein smiled, reached for a sheet of paper and said:
“Then allow me to give you something else.”
He wrote with his own hand:
"A quiet and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success, which is accompanied by constant unrest."
The young man gratefully accepted the note – without realizing that one day it would be priceless. He kept it for the rest of his life, and many years after his death, his nephew sold the document at auction. In 2017, it was auctioned for nearly $1.6 million.
But the true value of this paper was never material. At a time when the world was – and still is – dominated by fame, money, and competition, Einstein summed up in a single sentence what most people search for their entire lives: true happiness.
He who discovered the relativity of space and time also understood the relativity of happiness. Because happiness cannot be measured, bought, or forced. You can own a magnificent house and still feel empty; you can sleep on a soft mattress and still find no rest.
Einstein reminded us that the greatest truths often lie in simplicity. Happiness does not come from possessions or fame, but from balance, gratitude, and inner peace. Perhaps that was the most profound formula he ever formulated — not for the universe, but for the people on it
