Albert Einstein is often considered the greatest mind in science of the 20th century, but at an auction this week, it was a handwritten note about how to live a happy life that fetched a huge sum of money. His handwritten advice given to a messenger in Japan in 1922 sold for $1.56 million at the auction.

Einstein had been traveling to Europe to do a lecture series in November 1922, and during the journey he learned he had won the Nobel Prize in physics. He was rock star in Japan, but he preferred to keep out of the public eye for the most part by secluding himself at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.

When a messenger arrived to give him something, and refused to accept a tip, Einstein decided to give him a handwritten note advising him on how to life a good life: “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness” reads one of them. Despite starting out at between $5,000 and $8,000, bidding skyrocketed to $1.56 million.