dazed

1. Not having goals. You can’t reach your goals if you don’t know what they are.

2. Choosing goals that don’t inspire you. You won’t be able to keep on going if the prize at the end doesn’t really matter to you.

3. Expecting immediate results. Anything worthwhile is a battle and a struggle. It takes times and effort to bring about a change.

4. Lack of support. We all need someone to believe in us and to be our cheerleader when we start to feel discouraged.

5. Not believing in yourself. As Henry Ford so wisely said: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

6. Feeling bored. Most success involves a lot of humdrum work, and repeatedly doing the same kind of stuff. But each day brings you closer to achieving what you want.

7. Inaction and laziness. You have to work the plan before the plan will work … and dreams are only dream till you turn your thoughts to actions. Also, it’s crucially important that you manage your time well, and you don’t get distracted or procrastinate.

8. Being around negative people. There are plenty of people who only see the flaws, and whose eyes are on the problems, and the absence of solutions. If you hang out with them, you will lose your zest and passion, and your positive outlook will soon be undermined.

9. Comparing yourself to others. We each are individuals, and we start from different places; we all face our challenges, and work at different rates. Remember “it’s your journey”. Be patient with yourself.

1. Independence

2. Self-confidence

3. Persistence

4. Creative thinking

5. Being thick skinned

6. Knowing who you are and what you want from life

7. Setting clear goals – and going after them

8. Staying focused

9. Optimism

1. We often feel apathetic when we’ve picked the wrong goals or when have no goals, or direction for our life. So, look at what inspires you, or makes you feel alive.

2. Stop listening to others, and their views on success. Success really is doing what’s important to YOU.

3. Try to think of some small action that will improve how you feel – and just do one small thing, and note how good it makes you feel!

4. Look for someone who could function as a role model for you – who didn’t have advantages but made something of life. If they can do it – it means that you can, too!

1. Choose to be thankful

2. Choose to see the good

3. Choose to be courageous, and to try something new

4. Choose to forgive, and to let go of the past

bigotry, especially in the midwest

implicit bias in the medical profession

those who look to serve themselves on the backs of those who look to serve others

a history infinitum screaming that I should not be where I am today

Things they cannot change:

my sheer willpower to overcome all of the above

my tolerance for pain. for sweat. for sacrifice. my toil is my legacy. when my bones are gone, what I have crafted will remain.

my values. to give endlessly to those who love for the sake of love. to give water to those who have been downtrodden until they are seeds in the earth, waiting to sprout again.

my funding. i will kiss the hand that feeds until i become the hand that feeds.

my culture. they care not for what they don’t understand. with each passing day, I care to better understand who I am.

Once, I fought to prove to myself that I can triumph. Now, I fight to prove to them that I can triumph. I won, once. 

Father of the year. 

His daughter, Malala Yousafzai, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize today. She won the prize for her work as an activist fighting for the right to education in parts of the world where it’s often denied (especially to girls).

In her acceptance speech, she said: 

It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change. 

I am here to stand up for their rights, raise their voice. It is not time to pity them. It is time to take action so it becomes the last time that we see a child deprived of education.