It's A Lot Like Investing Posted on February 21, 2006 David Brent (bio) advises researchers to have both persistence and passion.

I think that if you find something that you really care about and you believe that it's going to make a difference... To give the advice to persevere in the absence of that passion, I don't think is meaningful. It's a lot like investing. You actually do better if you invest regardless of whether things look good or not over time than if you buy when the market is hot and sell when it's low. For example, people say, "Well, you know now the Feds are only funding to the 11th percentile." Well, that's not a time to give up. Get your grant in there, and so maybe it won't get funded, but you'll get feedback, and you'll go in [again]. If things loosen up, then you'll be ahead of someone who didn't put it in because of those conditions.

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