Stem cell biologist; Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, 2012
Recorded · Nobel Prize Outreach · 2012
Working at the hospital, I found that my surgical skills were not as good as I expected.
General
The general questionnaire
Twelve questions in FLAPSS wording — taste, daily life, craft, failure, and who formed you. The place to start if you have no idea where to start.
12 questions, 1 answer written here by 1 member, and 498 quoted from what public figures said elsewhere, each with its source. Every question is asked in FLAPSS wording — nobody answers as anybody else.
Worth reading
How has a setback or failure set you up for later success?
Founder of Teach For America; chief executive of Teach For All
Recorded · American Academy of Achievement · 2013
I applied to one firm in every sector. This was the most half-hearted job search.
Co-founder, president and chief executive of NVIDIA
Recorded · NVIDIA Blog · 2024
One setback after another, we shook it off and skated to the next opportunity. Each time, we gain skills and strengthen our character.
Every question in this questionnaire
- Which book do you recommend most often to others, and what makes you pass it on? 82
- What purchase of $100 or less has most improved your life in the last six months? 25
- What does the first hour of your day look like? 17
- What is an unusual habit or small pleasure you are oddly fond of? 31
- What is one of the best investments you have made — of money, time, or energy? 42
- What bad recommendations do people in your field repeat too often? 32
- In the last five years, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your life? 21
- In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to? 22
- When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do? 23
- How has a setback or failure set you up for later success? 69
- What counsel would you give your twenty-year-old self — and what should they ignore? 78
- Which teacher, parent, coach, or friend most made you who you are, and what did you learn from them? 57
Who has answered
Members with enough answers in this questionnaire to be worth arriving at — listed A–Z, not ranked by count.
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1 answer Bay Area, US
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Five questions about books you pass on, books that changed you, gaps on your list, and long-form work that stayed with you.
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Six questions about how you work, what your job really is, and the advice your field gets wrong.