History-Making Masterminds Actually Did Not Make Money
Struggles to fill the stomach were real.
‘Choose something more practical.’ ‘Is your art going to keep you alive? Will you eat what you are writing?’ ‘There is nothing in music.’
What is the very first thing that comes to mind when you hear someone choosing to pursue arts, music, or literature as a serious career? Most of you must have heard some of these above comments too.
Why are these hurtful comments so normalized? Why is intellect not paid off? This is because throughout history we have seen that passion never pays but some mindless job very much does! Such is the nature of this capitalist world.
In the same vein, Newton was a banker, Curie worked not one but three jobs, Descartes was a military engineer and Shakespeare was fined for not paying his taxes!
Why were the greatest minds of history in such dire straits? And why do intellectual minds continue to rely on side hustles and labor to make ends meet? Why don’t I highlight how geniuses, literal masterminds are made to believe that brilliance is not paid off, that they must work twice as hard to achieve anything in the field they are passionate about?
Newton Could Have been a farmer!
Maybe that’s where that infamous apple fell on Isaac Newton’s head which sparked his three laws of motion. That’s right, Newton belonged to a family of farmers.
And I for one would have been happy if he did not give us such complicated laws of physics! But, jokes apart, it is believed that when Newton joined Cambridge University, he was a servant!
This was because he belonged to a poverty-stricken family, so to afford his tuition, Newton worked as a servant to the students.
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Then, when a plague drove the rest of the students home, Newton stayed. Perfecting his theories of mathematics, physics, optics, etc. He accomplished so much that he was offered an academic post.
However, that still did not earn him enough and he had to work as a banker as well. He used his mathematical mind to become the master of the royal mint. I would have too, especially after the kind of pressure he faced!
It is not exactly a hidden fact that newton faced pressure from the Catholic King James II (Newton himself was a protestant) so he just got fed up and decided to leave academia to make a fortune for himself.
Despite having authored the greatest scientific writing of all time, a nervous breakdown later, Newton made most of his fortune from being a government banker!
Shakespeare’s Shitty Life
There is honestly no nicer way to put this. The fact that William Shakespeare, the greatest English playwright of all time was essentially broke.
He is regarded as the greatest wordsmith, with his work being part of the school curriculum in many places too. Yet, his father had to lend him money from his own dodgy black-market wool business. Only so Shakespeare could afford to buy shares of his first theatric company.
Then also, Shakespeare had to stage the same performance twice or even thrice sometimes. Gains from these performances were quite low, financially. The only things that were high were Shakespeare’s stress and depression levels, as his colleagues reported as well.
It is also believed that he had to sell his shares in his company later in life. Whereas, a few records even show that he even got in trouble for not paying his taxes. Not once but twice! This is especially saddening. How can such a mastermind lead such a pathetic life and earn even less than what some middling Hollywood screenwriter could earn nowadays?
So, Shakespeare too had to rely on a meager income from his passion, selling shares and evading taxes apparently to make ends meet.
How Cruelly “Curie” Was Treated by Fate
One of five children, Marie Curie had to work not one but three jobs to support herself. She worked as a teacher, a governess, and a reader to workers. She even took on her husband’s job when he passed away in a carriage accident. Curie not only put herself but her sister through a proper education at Sorbonne, Paris as well. This no doubt increases our respect for her.
However, it also makes us question why did she have to suffer so? To such an extent that she had to even skip meals sometimes! Moreover, when she won not one but an impressive total of two Nobel prizes; Physics and chemistry, she invested that into building research institutions.
I think if the radiation had not gotten to her, the depressing state of her life could have been enough to bring her down! Yet, she held on strong.
Descartes’ Desperation — Thinking is not enough
We have all heard the very famous philosophy quote, ‘I think, therefore I am, right? But have we ever thought before making it our WhatsApp status that the genius who gave us the quote never received his due credit?
And that this skilled genius in the fields of philosophy and psychology had to give up academia to design weapons in the military. Even then, killing machines took priority over subsidizing life-altering theories!
Easy on the Soul, heavy on the Pocket!
Academia, as we see is sure a great way to pursue your passions and feel liberated. Yet, not everyone has the luxury to practice their passion! And history proves this in the form of these geniuses having to rely on meager sources of income and hectic ways of life to make ends meet.
However, this falsifies the saying that goes:
‘If you find something you love to do, you never have to work a day in your life.’ Because this article is about how if you find something you love, society goes,’ No, the wrong choice, choose again.’ Sadly, life has a way of throwing lemons at you, so if you get tired of making lemonade, throw them back at life just like these geniuses did.
Should this be normalized? Should we let such brilliance deteriorate? No! We must foster a thirst for knowledge, for passion, for life! Let there be choices for those brave enough to work in whatever field they love!
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