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Commentary: Persistence Pay Off

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. James Poel
  • 18th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
Last year, scientists marked 90 different parts of a growing mouse brain with 90 different colors. The result was "Brainbow" (to see a really cool picture, go to http://www.tleonardi.eu/notablog/archives/12 ). This experiment was heralded as a "spectacular event" in developmental biology and the beginning of a new era in understanding brain defects. 

Experiments like this are common today thanks to Dr. Osamu Shimomura, a Japanese-born researcher, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last month. In 1953, he began work on isolating a fluorescent protein found in a clam. His subsequent experiments isolating "green fluorescent protein" or GFP from a crystal jellyfish are compared to the invention of the microscope. 

The Nobel Prize is like an Olympic medal for athletes or an Oscar for actors...it's a big deal. I think the 'bigger deal,' especially for you and me, is the path taken to get this prize. Dr. Shimomura's efforts represent a truism we should keep in mind every day...persistence pays off. 

Dr. Shimomura lived in Nagasaki and planned to go to school on 9 Aug 1945, the day the atomic bomb was dropped. That event caused him to put his education plans on hold. Six years later he graduated from a small, community school, Nagasaki College of Pharmacy. In 1956, he was a research assistant to Professor Hirata at Nagoya University. One day, Dr. Hirata found a crushed clam and wanted to know why it glowed. He assigned the task to his 28-year-old assistant because he didn't want to give the job to one of his students and ruin their chances of earning a PhD. Four years later, this hard working, persistent, community college graduate had isolated the glowing protein, published a paper, and was offered a job at Princeton University, where he earned a PhD. 

For the next 50 years Dr. Shimomura continued to study this glowing phenomenon by collecting millions of crystal jellyfish and isolating the material which caused them to glow. He purified and identified the glowing substance, analyzed its shape and the characteristics which cause the glow to become brighter. Other scientists then used his research and used this glowing protein to study how living organisms develop. 

I've often heard people say things like, "I'm not wasting my time with this," "it's really not what I want to do" or "I was volun-told." Many people hold their 110% effort until they get their dream job or dream assignment. I've got news for you...it'll be too late if and when you land your dream job. 

Work hard now, at everything you're asked to do. A seemingly boring task done well is much more impressive than a difficult task done poorly. Work hard at cleaning up your office or work area, mentoring your subordinates, completing the required computer based training, analyzing a process defect, or filling out a form correctly. Do this and you'll create your own opportunities for your dream job or dream assignment. 

We often focus on larger future goals instead of small objectives now. Don't get caught in the trap of focusing on winning a PACAF or Air Force award. Instead, concentrate on the small, day-to-day tasks that make up the entire package. It's not wrong to think about the big picture, but it's the little drawings every day that create a work of art. 

Imagine the consequences of statements like, "I tightened 90% of the bolts." "I got most of her SSN correct." "I filled in most of the blanks on his medical exam." People don't intend to make statement like that, but, that's what happens when you're not focused on the 'now.' Focus on the basics of completing specific tasks well and the entire project is sure to succeed. 

It took Dr. Shimomura 52 years to earn the Nobel Prize. Upon being notified of his accomplishment, Dr. Shimomura, now 80, said. "I guess I could achieve this goal because I kept painstakingly breaking down walls, one by one." 

Major victories are only achieved because minor skirmishes and battles are won along the way. We're capable of amazing things, as individuals and as a team. But it takes persistent hard work...every day, every week, every year. You may not see it right away. Be patient. Eventually that hard work will pay off. Who knows, you may earn a Nobel prize or get that dream job or assignment.