POTUS 19 and Dissertations
October 4th marks the birthday of the 19th President of the United States. Here’s some words of wisdom from Rutherford B. Hayes that you can apply to your dissertation…
We can travel longer, night and day, without losing our spirits than almost any persons we ever met.
— Rutherford B. Hayes
Persistence is one of the great keys to success in the dissertation journey. The road is long and may be fraught with peril. But few, if any perish on the road. Failure takes the form of quitting, of failing to forge ahead. Those who persist are much more likely to be successful. But persistence, alone, is not enough…
Every expert was once a beginner.
— Rutherford B. Hayes
Let’s face it. When it comes to your dissertation you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s OK, though. You’re a student, and you’ve never completed a dissertation before.
Everybody has to start somewhere. But, you can’t stay there. Just because you begin the dissertation process as a neophyte doesn’t mean that you’ll graduate if you remain one.
The dissertation is a growth experience. You’re not a doctor when you start the dissertation. You are a doctor when you finish.
How you get from here to there is up to you. I suggest that you build a strong support network, develop a solid plan, assess your progress against regular milestones, and, when you’re sick of it all and ready to quit, don’t!
