It’s well known that Albert Einstein gave us the perfect definition of insanity: “doing something over and over again with the expectation of getting a different result,” right? Wrong.
First of all, it’s incorrectly attributed to Einstein. He said no such thing. Second of all, the statement isn’t even true. Doing something over and over again is called persistence. Of course we expect a different result, and if we’re committed to giving our best efforts, we often get what we want.
I’m reminded of the story of a young girl in Louisiana who wanted to be an actress in the movies. The only problem was, she didn’t have any experience. So this girl — I’ll call her Norma — auditioned at her local theater over and over again. Each audition was met with a cold reception and no call-back. So when the 28th play announced there would be an open casting call, she signed up without hesitating. Insane, right?
Well, she nailed the audition and got the role of Beatrix in “The Last Days of Summer” by Norman Potter. This was the role that would change her life. She was so mesmerizing and so captivating and gave such a powerful performance that the local theater critic proposed to her backstage.
To make a long story short, she ended up moving to Hollywood and becoming one of the most sought-after actresses and models in the history of cinema. So doing something over and over again and expecting a different result is not insane, it’s sometimes absolutely necessary.
And what about the marriage proposal? She made the critic ask another 27 times before she finally said yes.