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| One of my life's benchmarks: Elizabeth Holmes, age 30 image from http://www.fortunegreece.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/26/holmes-fortune.jpg |
Today as I was browsing through news feeds on Facebook, I came across an article on Fortune about Elizabeth Holmes, CEO and Founder of Theranos. What I read about her was astounding: At 19 years old she was able to patent a new medical technology that can run 30 diagnostic tests on very small amounts of blood. She then decided to drop out of Stanford to put up her own company in 2003 and her brainchild has started growing and is now worth more than nine billion dollars. Wow. Here is the link to the beautifully written article by Roger Parloff:
I was overwhelmed and astounded to have learned about her. Aside from her superdupermega advanced brain, she also has a very strong passion for her endeavor and a clear vision of what she wants to achieve. I am so inspired by her. I will try to emulate her as much as I can, especially on the aspect that Parloff wrote:
As soon as she got back to the U.S., Holmes started writing a patent application embodying the ideas set in motion by that experience. “I saw her sit down at the computer, and for five to six days she barely got up,” recalls her mother, Noel. “I would bring her food occasionally, and she slept maybe one or two hours a night for five nights.”
Wow. I wish I could do the same thing for my thesis. I marvel at her ability to stay focused and write for hours on end; streamlining, directing, putting it all out for five to six days and producing something that could radically change the way we handle healthcare. WOW. I. AM. AWED. Another paragraph that struck we was this:
Still, he balked at seeing her start a company before finishing her degree. “I said, ‘Why do you want to do this?’ And she said, ‘Because systems like this could completely revolutionize how effective health care is delivered. And this is what I want to do. I don’t want to make an incremental change in some technology in my life. I want to create a whole new technology, and one that is aimed at helping humanity at all levels regardless of geography or ethnicity or age or gender.’ ”
To say something like this, you know that the person is not just after the money. It goes beyond that. To hear this, alam mong may paninindigan yung tao, may patutunguhan. At alam mong alam niya ang gagawin niya at ginagwa niya. Wow. Naiiyak ako kapag binabasa ko ito. Such passion, such determination! I remember watching a show at CNN wherein all the Nobel Laureates for 2014 were seated at a round table having discussions on a myriad of topics. And one of them said, when the question, "What makes you do what you do?" was raised --- I remember her name was May-Britt Moser --- she said, "Passion." And she went on explaining that it's passion that makes her go on with her research; everything else just didn't matter. And the Nobel Laureates concurred with her. PASSION. Somewhere in me, I know I have passion. But there has to be other ingredients. And that, in my opinion, is DISCIPLINE and LOGIC. My professor in grad school told us in his class that the error of some non-government organizations (NGOs) is that they all have passion. ONLY passion. This is what causes NGOs to do all those empty rah-rah-rahs without any substance, producing only pandemonium and failing to deliver substantial results. Haha. I agree with him to some extent on that. Right now I know I have passion and logic. Perhaps I need to build on my discipline. Very much needed discipline. Another paragraph that moved me was this:
Whether it grew out of her father’s experiences at Tenneco or family lore–they are descendants of a founder of the Fleischmann’s Yeast company–Elizabeth grew up admiring private industry. “At a relatively early age I began to believe that building a business was perhaps the greatest opportunity for making an impact,” she says, “because it’s a tool for making a change in the world.”
"Business... a tool for making a change in the world." I could just cry with that statement. "Making a change in the world." I remember prior to entering college --- I entered college at 16 years old --- I also had the same dream: to do something great that will make an impact on humanity. I dreamed of finding a cure for AIDS. And until now, I still dream about it. Perhaps that's also one of the reasons why I chose to take biochemistry as an undergraduate course. I wanted to do something. Something great. Something that will surprise humankind. Surprise in a good and beneficial way though, haha. Sigh. I want to dream of lofty dreams because someday, I will become those dreams. I remember I put that as one of my favorite quotes in my Facebook page. The quote by James Allen goes like this:
Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.
Such desire, such fervor lives in my heart that my soul will burst into flames and become reborn, like the mythical Phoenix in the Arabian desert....
Hay ang sarap managinip. Kung hindi lang a las dies na ng gabi rito sa office eh, hahaha. Hello Edz knock knock gising na, kung gusto mo maging a la Elizabeth Holmes e umalis ka na dyan sa opisina at umuwi ng dorm at matulog para maaga ka bukas. At sana, kaysa sinulat mo itong blog entry mo e nagsulat ka na lang sana ng thesis mo...
Hahahahaha! And there goes my alter ego scolding me for somewhat wasting effort and energy to write this entry. Hahaha. Well, I decided to write it down so it will serve as an anchor for me in the bright future that is to come. :)
'ika nga, Law of Attraction. ;)
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