The challenge of a big, over-arching vision is that it's hard to know where to start. And your biggest opportunity will change from year to year. Technology changes. Competition changes. You change. My advice: Just start. Find a single unmet need that nudges the world closer to where you believe it's going. And if you hit a dead end, pivot.
What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore?
Question
What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?
Daily life
Question
Which teacher, parent, coach or friend most made you who you are, and what did you learn from them?
Relationships
Question
Do you rely on inspiration or discipline to make work?
Craft & work
You have to be intelligent, and be able to cope with stress. It is a stressful life, both mentally and physically. Those are the qualities to succeed as a surgeon.
Academy of Achievement recorded interview, American Academy of Achievement, 11 April 1991 source ↗
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Reid Hoffman
Co-founder of LinkedIn; partner at Greylock Partners
Naomi Osaka
Japanese professional tennis player
I feel uncomfortable being the spokesperson or face of athlete mental health as it's still so new to me and I don't have all the answers. I do hope that people can relate and understand it's O.K. to not be O.K., and it's O.K. to talk about it. There are people who can help, and there is usually light at the end of any tunnel.
Lee Kuan Yew
Prime Minister of Singapore, 1959–1990; Senior Minister 1990–2004; Minister Mentor 2004–2011
The sky has turned brighter. There is a glorious rainbow that beckons those with the spirit of adventure. And there are rich findings at the end of that rainbow. To the young and the not too old, I say, look at the horizon, find that rainbow, go ride it. Not all will be rich; quite a few will find a vein of gold; but all who pursue that rainbow will have a joyous and exhilarating ride and some profit.
Recorded
Singapore Press Club (title proposed by the Club), Singapore Press Club, Petir (People's Action Party), reproducing the speech in full, 7 June 1996
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 ↗
More from Denton Cooley
View profile →I don’t lead by force, I lead by example. And if I can, set a good example. If I can set an example to my staff and my group, by being punctual, I come to work every morning, walk onto the hospital floor within two or three minutes of the same time every day, and they can depend upon it.
Recorded
Academy of Achievement recorded interview, American Academy of Achievement, 11 April 1991
source ↗
The man who inspired me most, I think, was Dr. Alfred Blalock, who was professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins. He was a rather simple man with a burning curiosity. It was through his curiosity that he made many real contributions to medical science. I didn’t think he was an especially brilliant man, I just admired him for his curiosity, and for his perseverance.
I think so. I really do. With your own effort, you can improve yourself, but people find they can’t improve beyond a certain point. I like to play golf, but I know that no matter how much I practice, I will never get above a certain level. I think that’s also true of surgery. Some people are born with the gifts and the mind for surgery, and they may go on to great heights. Others may try and try, only to reach a certain plateau.
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