This came up in a Facebook group for coaches I belong to…
Dear coaches and others who wrongly attribute this quote:
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein never said this.
There is not a shred of proof otherwise out there.
Benjamin Franklin didn’t say this either. Although he, too, is often wrongly cited as the original source.
It’s one of the most over-used clichés of all time, especially in the coaching industry.
And almost always wrongly attributed!
I kinda like this touché:
“The definition of insanity is believing any quote you find on the internet which is attributed to Albert Einstein.”
😆
The lesson I take from this misquoting of Einstein, is to be careful with the info I lift from the internet.
Because repeating stuff that is wrong can lower my credibility.
And lower credibility means nervous potential clients. Because people can be suspicious of other things I say.
So I want to be careful.
“A.I.” tools, like ChatGPT, are a particularly bad risk.
With a straight face, they’ll cheerily spout all manner of bogus stuff.
But doing a little deeper research can help dodge getting tripped up.
Another way to avoid this problem COMPLETELY is simply…
Sharing from your own experience.
I don’t know about you…
But someone writing about generic “industry best practices” kinda makes my eyes glaze over.
I prefer to learn from someone who is willing to share their this-is-what-I-did-and-why experience.
And if there’s a bit of warts-and-all mixed in… all the better!
There’s automatic authenticity.
And… although someone could claim you’re making stuff up… YOU KNOW you’re keeping your integrity intact.
Now, of course, you and I don’t need to learn EVERYTHING through experience. There’s plenty to learn from what other people have done. Including learning from their mistakes.
If you’re wondering…
The Facebook post went on to say where the quote ACTUALLY comes from…
The quote has been traced to Rita Mae Brown’s 1983 book “Sudden Death,” and the Narcotics Anonymous Red Book, also published in 1983.
Whatever its origin, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin had nothing to do with it.
Fascinating!
And to you budding email writers…
Why not tuck this gem of an email idea away… and use it for a future email of your own sometime? 😊