Well, I will bring this technology to clinics. I really want to help as many patients as possible. As you may know, I started my career as a surgeon 25 years ago. But it turned out that I am not talented as a surgeon
What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore?
Question
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Identity & self
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Identity & self
Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises. Don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful. Be concerned about doing good work and protect your work. […] Protect your work and if you build a good name, eventually that name will be its own currency.
Christian Lund, Louisiana Literature festival, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 24 August 2012, Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 24 August 2012 source ↗
Others on this question
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Shinya Yamanaka
Stem cell biologist; Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, 2012
Recorded
Adam Smith, Telephone interview recorded shortly after the prize announcement, October 2012, Nobel Prize Outreach, 1 October 2012
source ↗
Simone Biles
United States artistic gymnast
Yeah, I say put mental health first because if you don't, then you're not going to enjoy your sport and you're not going to succeed as much as you want to. So it's okay sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself because it shows how strong of a competitor and person that you really are rather than just battle through it.
Recorded
Post-competition press conference, Ariake Gymnastics Centre, Tokyo Olympics, Rev, 27 July 2021
source ↗
Megan Rapinoe
United States international footballer, 2006–2023
Even more simply, you can ask yourself this question: "Do I truly care about equality for all people in this country?" If the answer is yes, then demand to be a better, more educated, more empathetic version of yourself. And demand the same of every single person you know.
Mario Molina
Atmospheric chemist; Nobel laureate in Chemistry, 1995
The advice that I would give is try to find something that you like. Try to devote your energies to being very good at it. Try to achieve excellence. Don’t necessarily have as a goal success or getting prizes or whatever, but just doing very good work. And work hard. Keep working at it. Be patient. Realize that you don’t always see the benefits of what you’re doing, short-term. But in the end, the activities that I do, for example, scientific research, can be extremely rewarding. It’s really a very fascinating career.
More from Patti Smith
View profile →I would love to have a better sense of physical balance.
Collapse of the imagination.
The artist Gerhard Richter.
Tramping through the woods in South Jersey in 1957 with my dog Bambi.
Clarity when I am writing.
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