Investing Through Inconvenience

Subrahhmanyan Chandrasekhar, who created the model for what became the basis for black holes, is now a renowned astrophysicist. But back in the 40’s and into the 50’s he was still living in relative obscurity, conducting research and teaching at the University of Chicago.

During this time, Chandrasekhar was working at Yerkes Observatory which was run by the University of Chicago, but located about eighty miles away from the main campus in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. One semester, Chandrasekhar was slated to teach an advanced seminar in astrophysics, but only two students signed up for the class. Because teaching that course would require a one hundred and sixty mile round trip drive twice a week to get to and from the main campus, it was expected he would cancel the seminar and avoid the hassle of commuting for just two students.

Chandrasekhar not only kept his commitment to go forward with the seminar, he did so with great enthusiasm, fervently investing a great deal of effort into those two students. With the extra attention allotted to each student, both excelled in the course and greatly advanced their knowledge and command of astrophysics. In fact, just a few years later, one of those two students would win a Nobel Prize for physics. Just four years later, the second student in the class won his own Nobel Prize in physics.

Chandrasekhar himself would eventually win his own Nobel Prize, but not before investing his knowledge, ideas and passion in those two students. Although that course was seen by others as a major inconvenience at best, and would certainly steal copious amounts of precious time away from his research, Chandrasekhar viewed it an opportunity to enrich the lives of others around him. Even if it was only two students, he was committed to making the most of it and ended up changing the landscape of astrophysics going forward.

While you may never have the chance to equip someone to win a Novel Prize, opportunities will certainly present themselves for you to change the trajectory and outlook of someone else’s life. Your influence and impact matter, even if you can’t see it initially, so make the most of your interactions with others. Don’t let inconvenience keep you from investing in the lives of those around you.

Comments

Toxic Humility

We have all seen false humility: the guy who tries to hide his arrogance with feigned modesty. It’s usually pretty obvious and always obnoxious. But there is also another variation of false humility out there: toxic humility. This is often displayed in self-deprecating talk and a lack of self-confidence, belittling or undermining one’s own talents and abilities. The danger in this kind of behavior is twofold: it is too often accepted as true humility and like a virus, it spreads doubt and disbelief. To clarify, it is not that the bearer of this toxic humility isn’t honest about his view of himself. That is the very issue: he absolutely believes he has little value or utility. He thinks downplaying his own worth is humility but I disagree. CS Lewis said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.” His point being, true humility is not an ever-present raincloud of self-doubt that follows you around. It’s a focus on

Glutton for Punishment

I’ve learned over the years that being comfortable can be a dangerous thing. I try to find paths to discomfort to push me out of my realm of “safety.” However, I have noticed my ability to develop comfort zones amidst discomfort. I’ve found ways to be comfortable in uncomfortable circumstances. I wonder, do I need to be stretched beyond those areas as well? One of the areas in which I have adapted to the discomfort is the gym. I don’t go to the gym to exercise, to get stronger or even to be healthier. It’s grown beyond that. Now, I go to the gym to clear my head by testing my will and resolve. I do it to see how hard I can push my limits and I strive to outwork everyone else there. I may not be the strongest, the fastest or the fittest. I may not lift the most weight or even do the most reps – I can’t control any of those variables – but I can control my effort. So one of my goals for each workout is to unleash more effort than anyone else at the gym. But along with this

Commitment

You know what the problem is with a lot of goals and grand plans? They are mostly fueled by emotion rather than commitment. It is why most New Year’s Resolutions are long forgotten by now and many aspirations quietly fizzle out over time. True commitment is sticking with the effort even – if and especially when – the emotion has diminished or disappeared. Emotion can be a great initiator of action, like kindling on a fire, but it lacks staying power. Commitment is the logs that keep the fire burning long after the kindling is consumed. The butterflies after falling in love, the best intentions of waking up at 4:30am every day to work out after you join a new gym, the excitement of your first day on campus, even the sleep-deprivation induced euphoria of a new baby: all kindling. But it is commitment that keeps you working hard on the marriage twenty-three years after “I do.” It is what causes you to keep going when you do not want to make one more sales call, do one more presentat

Mindset Matters

Search This Blog