I saw this a while back - it's scary how true this rings for some junior researchers.
I was handed a project with little expectation of success. Long hours, lots of reading and hard work (not to mention a good deal of stubbon-ness) have lead to the opportunity to present my work at international, national and regional meetings, along with a national award (my first) I'll be receiving in a few days. We're in the process of finishing the manuscript which the head our division feels is strong enough to submit to NEJM.
Impossible is relative. 
__________________
"The dignity of man is not shattered in a single blow, but slowly softened, bent, and eventually neutered. Men are seldom forced to act, but are constantly restrained from acting. Such power does not destroy outright, but prevents genuine existence. It does not tyrannize immediately, but it dampens, weakens, and ultimately suffocates, until the entire population is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid, uninspired animals, of which the government is shepherd." - Alexis de Tocqueville
|