Scientists are people who are curious and want to pursue knowledge and pursue truth, and this still remains the most timeless and priceless value of a scientific career. My advice to an early-career scientist is to remain true to your passion and curiosity and that sense of mission to discover knowledge and uncover innovation. It's also very important to be using the tools of the moment, of the century. There are a lot of new tools to uplevel our own scientific research and scientific quest.
What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore?
Question
Who helps you get things done?
Craft & work
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
Craft & work
Question
What made you decide to stop something you were known for, and how did you know it was time?
Time & hindsight
Question
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Death & what remains
Everything that’s happened to me was because I said yes to everything and gave it a go. I never thought, wouldn’t it be good if I got two Michelin stars and my own TV shows. I just tried my hardest at everything I got the chance to do. If I could give the younger me advice I’d just say, never underestimate graft. Give up on sleep, work very hard, and it will pay off. Graft graft graft. And never give up.
Hannah Westwater, Letter To My Younger Self, Big Issue, 14 January 2019 source ↗
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Fei-Fei Li
Professor of computer science at Stanford University; creator of ImageNet
Iyinoluwa Aboyeji
Co-founder of Andela and of Flutterwave; founding partner of Future Africa
Do a deep reflection on what exactly went wrong and write it down. Please don't do that lazy analysis where you just blame government, the economy, the markets, fundraising etc. It might have been a contributing factor and you should reflect that but please do that uncomfortably deep and introspective work of figuring out where *YOU* the founder went wrong.
Recorded
Aboyeji's own verified LinkedIn account, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji on LinkedIn, 27 July 2024
source ↗
Frank M. Johnson Jr.
United States district judge, Middle District of Alabama, 1955–1979; judge of the Eleventh Circuit
Study. Be honest. Don’t violate the laws and get in trouble. Get you a good spouse that will support you, because you never stop working and studying. The fact that you get the place just means you’ve started as far as the work and the pressure is concerned. That’s the only advice I’d know to give.
Recorded
Academy of Achievement recorded interview, American Academy of Achievement, 16 March 1991
source ↗
Wayne Rooney
English former footballer and manager; record goalscorer for Manchester United and England
If you've been picked for your country you've been picked for a reason: because you're good enough. So go there, be yourself, keep doing what you've been doing for your club, and enjoy it.
More from Tom Kerridge
View profile →The people that already do it, Lourdes Dooley, Aaron Mulliss, Nick Bearshaw, Claire Kreigenfeld and all of their amazing support team, and of course the amazing Alex Longstaff who has to deal with my childish antics on an hourly basis.
The team’s achievement of winning 2 Michelin stars in 2012.
No, not at all. I grew up on an estate in Gloucester, with no real sense of what I wanted to do, but I was never afraid of hard work or getting stuck in. School didn't always suit me, but when I found myself in a kitchen at 18, washing up, everything clicked. It was the energy of the space, the pace and the teamwork that I fell in love with.
For me, too many chefs and too many restaurants are too precious about what they serve. They create what they see as a temple of gastronomy and it becomes an experience of how fantastic everything is, rather than 'just come and have a nice time'. That's it... it's that simple.
It’s very easy to get caught up in a habit of work hard and play hard. I couldn’t tell you how much I used to drink in a week – I haven’t got enough fingers. I own two pubs and had built up a reputation of being the best party person in the industry. It got to a point where I realised I was getting too old to be that guy. Now I enjoy the challenge of being on a stag weekend for three days, but drinking Diet Coke and coffee.
Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma. I’m a big sports fan and Italia 90 was such a massive part of my life when I’d just turned 17. That tune just builds and builds. I can imagine a massive coffin disappearing down while he’s singing. What better way to go?
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