The Art of Value Investing 18

Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D

Father Of Soft Leadership

Advice To Young Researchers: Work Smart and Do Great Work!

“My best teacher is not a person. My best teacher is my books, my experience, my observation, my failures, and my students. They are all my best teachers. In a nutshell, my best teachers are not persons but books, experience, observation, environment, and students who provoked my thinking and encouraged me to research and improve my teaching.” ―Professor M.S. Rao Young researchers are ambitious, intelligent, smart, and tech-savvy. They appreciate inspirational insights from experienced researchers to proceed in the right direction. In this regard, we will discuss ideas, insights, and advice for them to become successful researchers and leave their marks for future generations.

A Blueprint for Young Researchers

“The reward of the young scientist is the emotional thrill of being the first person in the history of the world to see something or to understand something. Nothing can compare with that experience.” — Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Everything starts with passion. Therefore, be passionate about your area of research. Have dreams, pursue them, and work very hard to accomplish them. Have a vision and mission. Contribute in the right direction consistently. Surround with geniuses and talk to them regularly to understand the latest developments in research. Be curious and ask appropriate questions. Enter unexplored areas where there is the least competition. Identify the gaps and explore them persistently. Experiment to fill those gaps. Learn by doing. Don’t worry about failures. Treat failures as experiments. Publish papers in quality journals. Work hard, smart, and wise for 20 to 25 years. Enjoy the journey to reach your destination. Avoid instant gratification. Inventions mostly happen by choice, not by chance. Research ideas come from the strangest sources and places while walking, driving, reading, writing, teaching, cooking, washroom, and music. Believe in pluck, not in luck as luck plays a minor part in the research. Create solutions, add value to the world and win the Nobel Prize.

Malcolm D. Shuster in his research paper Advice to Young Researchers offers advice to young researchers as follows: Work hard and do good work! Be focused. Put not thy trust in drawings! Put