W's of Life

My favorite W is "why". I learned a long time ago that the person who knows what about a problem gets a job, but the person who knows why it is done becomes the boss. It is important that we know why we and others do the things they do in order to make a difference and have an impact in your circle of influence. Many people saw an apple drop from a tree but it was Isaac Newton that asked why? His curiosity led to the Newtons laws of motion. Identifying a problem is never good enough, you have it own it and solve it. The questions you ask (why) and the actions you take can lead to a turning point tomorrow.

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How to have an Amazing Personality!

There it is Folks! Life  is a journey and to get to your destination, you need to take one step at a time. Which of these characteristics are you going to start working on this week? No excuses, just do it!

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There is No Progress Without Change (2)

Continued from previous post

How you react to getting scooped says a lot about you as a student, scientist, and person. Some people leave their group. Some leave grad school altogether, hoping to find something less stressful. People might overreact to getting scooped whether it was their fault or not. The trick is to make sure your getting scooped wasn’t your fault. Those who are at risk of getting scooped must always be one step ahead of the game: thinking of new reactions, different approaches, more efficient techniques. If they do not constantly adapt, they may get scooped, and it will be because of their laziness. They will be forced to change after the fact. And who’s to say the change they make will be a good one? They may end up leaving school. What a waste.

Sadly, I can’t give you any good examples of people changing on their own because I don’t feel comfortable calling people out. And those people are few and far between anyway. There are many more who have been forced to change out of necessity, myself included. Now, I didn’t get scooped (although it would have been my fault if I did) and I didn’t quit grad school, but have had to scramble to pick up the slack that my laziness over the past three years left behind. I am in my fourth year and have published one review paper. I have a handful of papers to write still and I am trying to pull it all together so I can graduate with my wife. If I was a more diligent student and better scientist, I know I would be having a much easier time right now.

But alas, I have adapted. I am doing much better now and I recognize the difference in my work now compared to when I was lazier. Even while writing this, it is four in the morning and I am running experiments. I wish I could be at home with my wife and dogs, but I’m doing this because I am a better scientist and I know I am ahead of the game. So if I get scooped, I know it won’t be my fault. Because I am always making small changes everyday to make sure I don’t fall behind or get into a rut.

So I urge you to make changes, even if you don’t want to. Be sure to not put yourself in a position to get scooped, no matter what your profession is at the moment. And if you still get scooped, make sure you did everything in your power so that it wasn’t your fault. Those who make mistakes need to learn from our mistakes, just as I did. But, we should be striving to not make those mistakes. And for goodness sake, make a full stop at stop signs.

There is No Progress Without Change (1)

Hello dear friends,

I am pleased to introduce you to my friend, Sean, my guest blog contributor today. Sean has a passion for writing and has a unique way of inspring his audience. Enjoy! 

Admit it. You hate change. It’s ok. As humans, it is our natural instinct to resist change. We resist, usually, until a change is forced upon us and we must adapt. That jerk on the road will keep rolling through stop signs until they are pulled over and given a hefty little ticket, forcing them to change. Or at least we hope they will consider modifying their driving habits. We aren’t really flawed in this way. It’s our own personal version of evolution. The environment forces us to adapt. It can also be easily related to basic physics. A body at rest will tend to stay at rest and a body in motion will tend to stay in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force. Of course, wouldn’t we rather have it not come to the point when that outside force pulls us over and gives us a citation, advising us to change?

The truth is we all would love to change certain things in our lives, right? Better job, better pay, nicer car, place to live, etc. But we want all those things to just come, no sweat off our backs. It’s a nice dream, but it’s stupid. We cannot expect to have these things given to us without changing something about ourselves. We have to put the work in. It’s the first law of thermodynamics. This is all science. Those who don’t see this as true are touched in the head. After all, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Yes, that was Einstein. Science. The point here is that the only sane thing for us to do as human beings is to embrace change. Things won’t get better unless you make them better. If we initiate the necessary changes in ourselves, we can better ourselves and avoid the horrible feelings associated with the changes that are forced upon us by our environment.

I am a chemistry graduate student, so I get to see my colleagues succeed and fail all of the time. And while I would prefer my friends to continuously do well, it’s always interesting to see how they deal with disappointment and face challenges. One of the most devastating things that can happen to a scientist is being scooped. If you had been working on a project for a long time and brought it to completion, only to have an opposing lab publish their identical results days before you submit your project, you have been scooped. All that work down the tubes.

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!

Fail Forward but Look Backward

No one wants to fail. I grew up hearing, "Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan". I don't know anyone who wants to be an orphan, so we do anything within our power not to taste failure even if that means living a mediocre life. Growing up, I have learned that failure is an orphan only when you stop learning. A Nigerian proverb says, "When a young man falls, he looks forward, but when an old man falls, he looks backward". The old man looks backward to find out what caused him to fall and prevents that from happening again. The young person just gets up  and walks away, and you can imagine what would happen. Your plans may have failed, but you have gained a lesson that only those experiences could have taught you. Thomas Edison said "He discovered 9,999 ways in which a light bulb did not work". Everyone one of us will miss the mark at some point in our lives, but the important thing is the direction our experiences take us? Do you join a pity party and make excuses or do you ask yourself "what can i learn from these".

Many people forget that Coke was discovered by serendipity by an Atlanta Pharmacist, John Pemberton, who was trying to make a cure for headaches. Penicillin was discovered by a scientist, Alexander Fleming, who forgot to clean his culture plates before he went on vacation. Failing does not make you a failure, all great men have failed in their life times and  used those experiences as turning points in their lives. It doesn't matter how many times you fall down, but how many times you get up and learned from each fall. Michael Jordan, a basket legend of our time says it best, " I have failed over and over in my life and that's why I succeed. You have lived in regret for too long, its time to close that chapter and move on. Your best days are ahead of you; just believe!!!

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To Change the world..Start with Yourself

The following was inscribed on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop (A.D. 1100)

When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits
I dreamed of changing the world
As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change
So I shortened my sights somewhat and
decided to change only my country
But it, too, seemed immovable

As I grew into my twilight years,
In one last desperate attempt,
I settled for changing only my family,
those closest to me , but alas,
they would have none of it
And now I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize:
If I had only changed myself first,
then by example, I would have changed my family
From their inspiration and encouragement,
I would have been able to better my country and,
who knows, I may have changed the world
                                            (Anonymous)

You want to change the world? Start by changing yourself; this is my plan.

Pope Francis: Lessons for Beyonce

I like Beyonce as a person. She works very hard and has climbed the ladder of success. Recently, I heard the new sound track of Beyonce, where she told b____ to bow down to her. Some called it artistic expression and others are mad about it. I believe great leaders/role models should always be mindful of how their communication is been received by their audience. The word bow down is heavy and should not be taken casually. Healthy relationships are established when people respect and love each other, and that is not a one-way street. A lady should only bow to a man that is bowed himself. You cannot bow and let yourself be abused or taken advantage off. 

If we look at great influencers of our time, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Steve Jobs, John Maxwell, and Oprah, all these people have reached the pinnacles of their careers, but none of them have called their audience to bow down to them. Barak Obama, gets flack all the time and some people believe he was not born in America. He is not asking anyone to bow to him to assert his office. Pope Francis, leader of 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide, was seen washing the feet of prisoners. A leader’s mission is to lift up other people and not pull them down. The greatest hero of all time - Jesus, said, “ He who wants to be a leader amongst you must first be the servant.” Lions do not worry about the opinions of sheep but sheeps worry about the opinions of lions.  Beyonce has worked hard and deserves to succeed; I think she should focus more on empowering others.

Maybe I am reading to much into the lyrics, but words do matter.  Your words can make people bitter or better. I choose the latter.

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What Next?

The only constant thing in life is change. Change is unfamiliar territory, and most of us are uncomfortable with it. We prefer the familiar because it gives us a sense of security and control. The music industry is a good case study of change, and how it has affected our lives. Music players evolved from the workman to discman, mp3 players to the Ipod generation. Like Charles Darwin mentions, adapting to change and making it work for you, is a strategy of the strong. In our personal and professional lives, we are all going to go through periods of change. How we handle these times can make us better or bitter. When faced with uncertainty,  remember the words of Reinhold Niebuhr (edited), "God give me grace to be the change I want to see in the world, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference". Those who don't change with change get exchanged. Does that mean I change my core values with the times? As regards your beliefs stand like a rock, for everything else, flow with the tide.