THE PEOPLE IN this book didn’t become famous because of how they croaked but because of how they lived. A passion, a belief in themselves, and hard work made them historic and unforgettable. Just think: Caesar, Columbus, Elizabeth I, Galileo, Mozart, Beethoven, Poe, Dickens, Darwin, Curie, and Einstein all worked until the day they died. They loved what they were doing so much, it probably didn’t feel like work at all—they were just playing.
These icons from all over the world—and centuries apart—influenced one another, and coincidences linked them in unexpected ways. Mozart listened to Beethoven play the piano. Marie Antoinette watched Mozart play. Marie Antoinette’s beheading paved the way for Napoleon’s rule over France. Napoleon and his men found the Rosetta stone, which deciphered hieroglyphics, including the writing of King Tut’s era. Caesar and Cleopatra hung out together. Dickens read Poe and Poe read Dickens. And Einstein listened to Mozart’s music for inspiration.
Some we admire more than others, but there is one thing to learn from each of their stories: whether your dream is to study worms or to live in a space station, to be a lawyer, the number-one tennis player, or to paint pictures, it’s up to you. Whatever your story is, if what you are doing is so much fun it feels like you’re just playing, you are onto something very important. When you feel that way, you are doing what you’re meant to do. Don’t let anyone talk you out of it.
Because, guess what?
Eventually, everybody’s story ends.
And now, so does this book.
