Albert Einstein - A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new

the Daily Quote

Welcome to the Daily Quote – a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm your host, Andrew McGivern, for August 13th.Today is International Left-Handers Day, celebrating the roughly 10% of the population who navigate through a world designed for right-handed people. This special day was first established in 1976 to raise awareness about the daily challenges left-handed people face and to celebrate their unique perspective on the world.Think about it – from scissors to can openers, from spiral notebooks to computer mice, from door handles to guitar strings – almost everything is designed with right-handed people in mind. Left-handers have spent their entire lives adapting, adjusting, and finding creative workarounds in a world that wasn't built for them.But here's what's fascinating: left-handed people are often more creative, better at multitasking, and excel at thinking outside the box. Maybe it's because they've had to be innovative their whole lives, constantly finding new ways to do everyday tasks. They've been forced to be adaptable from day one.Some of history's most creative minds were left-handed – Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Albert Einstein, Mozart, and more recently, Paul McCartney, Jimi Hendrix, and Oprah Winfrey. Not bad company to be in!Which brings us to today's quote from Albert Einstein, who happened to be left-handed himself, and once said:"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."Einstein's quote captures something essential about the left-handed experience – and really, about life in general. Left-handed people make "mistakes" all the time, at least according to a right-handed world. They hold their pencil "wrong," they cut "backwards," they approach tasks from the "opposite" direction.But what if those aren't mistakes at all? What if they're just different ways of doing things – ways that sometimes turn out to be better, more creative, or more efficient?Einstein understood that innovation comes from being willing to try new approaches, even when – especially when – they go against conventional wisdom. Left-handers embody this every single day. They can't just follow the standard instructions or use tools the "normal" way. They have to experiment, adapt, and create their own methods.This is a lesson for all of us, whether we're left-handed or right-handed. The willingness to try something new, to approach problems from a different angle, to risk making what others might call "mistakes" – that's where breakthrough thinking happens.Maybe the real lesson of Left-Handers Day isn't just about celebrating the 10% who use their left hand, but about celebrating the value of different perspectives and approaches in general.So today, whether you're left-handed, right-handed, or ambidextrous, remember Einstein's wisdom. Don't be afraid to try new approaches, even if they seem "wrong" to others. Don't be discouraged by mistakes – they might just be different ways of doing things that haven't been recognized yet.And if you're right-handed, maybe take a moment to appreciate the left-handers in your life who've been quietly adapting and innovating their way through a world that wasn't designed for them. They've got something to teach us about resilience and creativity.That's going to do it for today. May you embrace your unique perspective, celebrate what makes you different, and never be afraid to try something new.I'm Andrew McGivern, signing off for now, but I'll be back tomorrow – same pod time, same pod station – with another Daily Quote.