The Kick is in The Discovery

An antidote to the goal-oriented life.

Richard Feynman was perhaps the greatest polymath of the 20th century, receiving a Ph.D., a Nobel Prize in quantum electrodynamics, and writing several best-selling books.

His life provides an interesting antidote to the goal-oriented model of ambition I’ve always followed.

For as long as I can remember, goals have served to orient almost all my pursuits. My pattern is to look ahead, predict what might make me happy in the future, and hone in on something specific.

But after reading one of Fenyman’s books, Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! I started to wonder:

What if that’s not the best way?

One day in 1945, Feynman was bored at work (Los Alamos Lab where they birthed the nuclear bomb) and he thought of a prank to pull on his colleagues.

He knew they were a bit careless when dealing with the safes that stored top-secret documents, sometimes forgetting to lock them, or leaving them on factory settings. So Feynman let himself into their offices, opened their safes, and “borrowed” whatever documents he needed.

He made a little game of it, often leaving notes behind:

“I borrowed document no. LA4312

— Feynman the safecracker.”

This soon caught the attention of the Colonel in charge of his unit, who put in place a new standard operating procedure: “If Mr. Feynman has been anywhere near your safe, change the code.”

Undeterred, Feynman developed new methods to crack the combos. The Colonel eventually upgraded the safes.

Feynman broke into those too.

At age 45, having won the Nobel Prize, Feynman took an art class. He recalls being told by the instructor over and over again to “loosen up.”

Not really getting it, the instructor had him draw without looking at the paper. He kept his eyes on the model, not once looking down at the…

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