Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
Helen Keller, as quoted by Donna Shirley
We know that equality of individual ability has never existed and never will, but we do insist that equality of opportunity still must be sought.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
I am an aspiring social researcher, I am currently studying Community and Social Development….well I am looking to model a successful researcher…could you help please? As Tony Robbins puts it ‘success leaves clues’ so…….how did you do it and how did you go about it?
Dear Maria,
First of all, if you define success to be at the level of Nobel prize then I’m afraid I hardly can be of much help
The very goal of this blog is to collect advice that would help one to succeed but I never claimed that the advice collected is generally applicable. Things very much depend on your personality (some tips can fit you and some do not) and your field, so I greatly doubt there is a single universal model of successful researcher. Also, I work in the “hard” science (physics and mathematics), so my advice would be hardly applicable to your case. That’s it and sorry for being a bit of a disappointment 
Dear Successful Researcher
You are right in saying that some tips depend on my personality but at the same time it is up to me to decide what tips would suit me best…and I say this respectfully. I admire your approach and the tips you give to people..you seem very sure and cofident in your methodolgy and that is what I aspire to produce in my work. Your website is neat, concise, applicable, current and user friendly, so I would not say you are a ‘bit of a disappointment’. Yes your field may be science and physics but I could learn from your hypothesis, what inspires you to carry out research and the end result you hope to achieve through research..how you deal with set backs during the process of research..etc. I know these may seem like really minute things to you but I am an amateur and I am looking to ‘expose’ mysely to as much as I can in my endeavour to be the best. So please I urge you to reconsider….
Dear Maria,
Thanks for the nice comments and sorry for the late reply. Speaking of the very basic things (not covered on this blog), try to learn as much as you can and to get a good mentor who is knowledgeable, successful and whom you really can talk to and get feedback from. There are many important subtleties but these two things will hopefully get you moving in the right direction.
Best,
S.R.