(BBC) -- Einstein gave the notes to a courier in Tokyo in 1922 instead of a tip.

He had just heard that he had won the coveted prize and told the messenger that, if he was lucky, the notes would become valuable.

Einstein suggested in the notes that achieving a long-dreamt goal did not necessarily guarantee happiness.

The German-born physicist had won the Nobel Prize for physics and was in Japan on a lecture tour.

When the courier came to his room to make a delivery, he did not have any money to reward him.

Instead, he handed the messenger a signed note - using stationery of the Imperial Hotel Tokyo - with one sentence, written in German: "A calm and humble life will bring more happiness than the pursuit of success and the constant restlessness that comes with it."

A second note written at the same time simply reads: "Where there's a will, there's a way." It sold for $240,000, Winner's auction house said.

The winning bids for both notes were far higher than the pre-auction estimated price, the auctioneers said.

It said the buyer of one of the notes was a European who wished to remain anonymous.

The seller is reported to be the nephew of the messenger.

(Photo: AFP)