Contents
David Pratt, author of Nobel Laureates. The secret of their success”, formulated five lessons based on the analysis of the life experience of the Nobel Prize winners.
Each of the Nobel laureates is unique, but they all have similar features that led to success. Even if you don’t dream of scientific discoveries, these tips will help make your life more conscious.
1. Find your life’s work
In the life of all the winners there was a great passion – their work. As 2000 Chemistry Prize winner Alan McDiarmid said, “You have to live, eat, dream and sleep in this. It has to be total immersion.” However, first you need to understand where your passion is. “You have to know what makes you happy, what makes you say: “Thank God, today is Monday, not Friday,” shares Leon Lederman (Physics, 1998). Richard Feynman (Physics, 1965) put it this way: “Do your best to find something that fascinates you. Once you find it, you will understand what your calling is.”
2. Develop intellectual independence
It is not so easy to believe in yourself when you are laughed at and convinced that your ideas are meaningless. However, success is achieved only by those who know how to insist on their own and continue to go towards the goal no matter what. Bertrand Russell (literature, 1950) advised not to be afraid to appear eccentric in your judgments, because any conventional wisdom was once considered eccentric.
Linus Pauling, winner of two Nobel Prizes (Chemistry, 1954, and Peace, 1962), taught to act as follows: “When an old distinguished person talks to you, listen to him carefully, with respect, but do not believe him. Never trust anything but your own intelligence.” Speaking before the Nobel Committee, Paul Lauterbur (Medicine, 2003) told listeners that scientists have a saying: “You don’t know your idea is really good until three Nobel laureates call it wrong.”
3. Do not be afraid to risk
If you believe in yourself and your business, you will experiment and take risks, even if the first attempts are unsuccessful. Werner Forsmann (Medicine, 1956) performed a deadly experiment on himself to prove that the heart does not necessarily stop when a foreign body enters it. Under the influence of local anesthesia, he inserted a catheter 65 centimeters into the vein, all the way to the heart. The fearless young man took an x-ray and showed it to his boss. He became furious and fired the scientist.
4. Find a soul mate
All people depend on the environment, and scientists are no exception. How many great ideas have remained unrealized due to lack of support. French microbiologist André Lwoff joked: “The art of the researcher is, above all, the ability to choose a good boss.”
However, there is some truth in every joke: Monsieur Lvoff was the leader of François Jacob and Jacques Monod, and eventually received the Nobel Prize in Medicine with them in 1964. “He was a model of constant care and kindness,” Francois Jacob said of his leader. “He constantly inspired me, praised my work and encouraged me for my successes.”
5. Work with passion
Each Nobel Prize is the result of many years of hard work. Future laureates were able to withstand the stress only thanks to their love for their work. Barbara McClintock (Med. 1983) said of her work: “I never thought about quitting and I just hated sleep. I couldn’t dream of a better life.” Marie and Pierre Curie (Physics, 1903, Chemistry, 1911) did not conduct the first experiments in a modern laboratory, but in an old shed. Maria later recalled: “The best and happiest years passed in this old terrible barn, when we were completely concentrated on work.”
About the Developer
David Pratt – writer, author of the book “Nobel laureates. The Secret of Their Success” (“Nobel Laureates: The Secret of Their Success”, Branden Books, 2016).