Compelling Research Requires More Than Asking Good Questions

"The first trick of asking questions is to determine if your question is a good one. Just because a question has never been asked does not make it a good one. Smart people have been asking questions for quite a few centuries now, so many of the questions that haven't been asked are bound to yield uninteresting answers.

"But if you can question something that people really care about and find an answer that may surprise them--that is, if you can overturn the conventional wisdom--then you may have some luck." (p. 89)

Self Discipine Is Vital to Self Respect

"Self discipline was vital to self-respect, which in turn is vital to survival and meaningful participation in a POW organization. Self-indulgence is fatal. Daily ritual seems essential to mental and spiritual health. I would do 400 pushups a day, even when I had leg irons on, and would feel guilty when I failed to do them. This ritual paid valuable dividends in self-respect, and, incidentally, I learned yesterday at Mayo Clinic that it also paid physical dividends." (p. 10)

It's Important to Learn How to Take Abuse Sometimes

Disclaimer: Of course there are certain types of abuse that should never be tolerated and should be reported to authorities. The statements below are from James Stockdale, who was a Vietnam prisoner of war for 7.5 years, on lessons learned from taking that brutal abuse.

"For what it is worth, I learned the merits of men having taken the physical abuse of body contact in sports. It is a very important experience; you have to practice hurting. There is no question about it.

"Second, survival school was based on taking mental harassment...I hope we do not ever dilute those things. You have to practice being hazed. You have to learn to take a bunch of junk and accept it with a sense of humor." (p. 8)