Break the Rules

“Before we parted company that day, I shared an insight with the doctoral student. I told him that if he were to learn every unwritten rule in the academic culture where he was presently studying, and if he followed every one of those rules to perfection, he would have a perfectly mediocre career. His life would become an experience of quiet desperation, filled with psychic entropy. This is the case in the life of many professionals. I told this young student that establishing a notable career requires that we break the rules. At some point, we have to know, accept, and express who we really are, not be content with being what others what us to be.”

—Robert E. Quinn