It’s been almost a month since I last posted here – I guess that tells you how busy life has been for me. Between school, projects, initiatives, and my personal life, I haven’t had much time to just stop, think, and write. I have a lot of thoughts in my head, some of which I wish I could share if I found the time, and others that aren’t yet ready for publication. That being said, this year I have been much more productive overall – I have started studying earlier, I have time managed better, I am more productive with my side projects and initiatives, and I am much happier in my personal life compared to this same time last year.

I started setting lots of goals at the beginning of the summer, both big and small, and I started devising my action plan for achieving them. These are goals for all aspects of my life, from school to career to hobbies to personal life. Part of my increased productivity is due to my current time management practices – the way I plan to achieve my goals, and the way that affects how I structure the use of my time.

While I don’t think I’m an expert in goal setting and achieving by any means, I thought it might be useful to share some of my thoughts on the subject and the types of strategies I have been employing since a few months ago. Hopefully you guys find this helpful.

The Big Goal

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The day the Toronto Star article came out, I got contacted by a reporter with a Chinese newspaper that read that article and were interested in doing a follow up story. The article came out yesterday, which you can find here. It was more focused on myself compared to the Star article, and I thought it came out pretty well.

Given some of the controversy of the first article, I thought it might be interesting to share my thoughts and reasons on why I decided to interview for this article, and my thoughts in general about interviewing. Before doing an interview, I think it’s always important to consider whether/how it can benefit you, how others will perceive it, and generally the implications of doing it. While you aren’t the one asking the questions, you are the one giving the answers – and you can choose which answers you want to give.

Clarification

Many people have seen the original article in the Star that I posted last time. As I mentioned in my last post, the whole monetary aspect wasn’t clear. For example, just yesterday I had a family friend who told me they read the article and thought I actually received $200,000 in the bank from scholarships, which as I explained, is way off from the truth.

And although this Chinese newspaper has nowhere near the circulation and audience that the Toronto Star does, I thought it would still be a good opportunity to clear up what I actually did receive in terms of scholarship money. I appreciate them being willing to do that with me. Hopefully, some of the people who read the Star article will read this one as well. Of course, there probably aren’t too many that will, but every little bit helps.

Promotion of Personal Interests

News is publicity. An interview is a good opportunity to publicize and provide exposure to things you have a vested interest in. Many of you know that SMARTS continues to be one of my most important projects, and we could always use the exposure. An interview like this was a good opportunity to mention that.

Sharing Ideas You Believe In

An interview is also a good opportunity to send a message you believe in and share it with others. An example of this is in the interview where I shared some of my views and thoughts on success and achieving goals – the same ideas I have written about here on this blog.

Some Interview Tips

I’d like to close this post by sharing some of the things I have learned throughout the few interviews I have done the past few years:

• Don’t say anything you don’t want to be published. The fact is that anything you say is fair game for the writer to use. If you’re worried about something being published, don’t say it!
• Realize that only parts of what you say will be used. What that means is, it is very easy for you to be quoted or written about out of context. Focus on saying things that will not be misinterpreted even if mentioned on their own.
• Speaking clearly and concisely. If you’re going to be quoted, you can’t be explaining long paragraphs. Make sure to speak in a way that makes it easier for you to be quoted, by focusing on spelling out the main ideas clearly and simply.
• Be upfront with the reporter about what you’re willing to talk about. You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t to. Clarify up front and at the beginning what you’re willing to speak about. Just give a “no comment” if there’s something you don’t want to discuss.

Anyways, that’s all for now. I hope you guys enjoy the article!

Being in medical school has opened up many doors and presented a vast number of opportunities. As a medical student, it is very easy to say get an opportunity to shadow any type of physician in an affiliated teaching hospital – something much harder to do as an undergrad or high school student. The same goes for research opportunities. It is much easier to approach medical researchers for opportunities to work with them if you are already a medical student. I think it’s because as a medical student, it is more likely that you will remain in this field, and thus your contributions become valuable both in the short term as well as potentially leading to long term contributions (e.g. a medical student doing cardiology research is more likely to end up being a cardiology researcher than an undergrad or high school student, since they have already made it through into medical school).

That being said, securing these types of opportunities and getting people to say “yes” are still challenging, no matter who you are. When emailing potential researchers to work for, it’s not uncommon to be rejected – let alone ignored completely (yes, this does happen to everyone!). I myself have had emails ignored, and trust me, it can be frustrating.

The wrong way to look at it is to let the frustration get to you mentally and emotionally and discourage you from asking again. However, the way you should react is simply to ask more. Get rejected? Ask someone else. Keep asking over and over until you get what you want, and be willing to search for new opportunities and new people to work with if you have to.

I call this the planting seeds method. You shouldn’t expect to get a yes on the first, second, or even third attempt. You should be willing to plant a lot of seeds if you have to. Realize that in the end, all you might need is one or two yes’s. Sometimes that will take a hundred seeds, but if you’re ‘willing to put in the work, it isn’t that hard.

So you got a rejection. How long does it take to just copy and paste your email to someone else? Realistically, not very long. If you send enough emails, ask enough people, you’re bound to find people who will say yes.

And this goes beyond asking for research opportunities. Looking for a job? Be willing to plant many seeds and send out many resumes and job applications.

Moreover, realize that your probability of success goes up when you plant more seeds not just because you are planting more seeds, but because every new seed you plant is likely a better seed than the previous – that is, you are likely to learn from your previous method and become better at asking/applying or whatever it is you’re planting.

So please don’t give up, don’t get discouraged. If you’re thinking of giving up, don’t – just plant more seeds.

Last night I was at dinner with a couple of friends. A good friend of mine from class was sitting across from me, and at one point, the topic of generosity came up. The discussion helped elucidate a concept that I’ve always believed, but never really put onto paper, so I guess now is a good enough time than ever.

I have always been really big on kindness. I like kind and courteous people. A lot.

The basic concept I want to propose is that when it comes to success, being nice and kind goes a long way. I think more so than we often realize.

Appreciation

I have to admit, it’s nice to feel appreciated when you do a good deed, like when you help someone. It actually really annoys me when I help someone out and I don’t get a simple thank you in return – thanking someone for taking their time to help you is so simple and makes such a huge emotional difference, that it boggles my mind when people don’t do this.

I remember one time in an undergraduate biology class a complete stranger asked me if I could send them the notes I had typed up that day since they came a bit late. I said sure. I emailed them to her and never heard back.

I receive quite a few emails here at MedHopeful and while I’m more than happy to answer questions and provide personal advice, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth when nothing comes back in return – not even a simple thank you.

What happens? The next time you email me, I’m going to remember you as the person who wasn’t even courteous enough to say thank you – and it would probably be naive to think that wouldn’t consciously or subconsciously affect any advice I provide in the future.

And I’m sure you might be a nice, great person, but look at the impression that was left behind instead. Not saying thanks implies being ungrateful, even if you were in fact grateful.

When you get help, take the time to say thanks. All it takes is a second, but it goes a long way to building good, strong relationships.

Generosity

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Hello World! Since this is my first ever post, I figured that I’ll keep it light, telling you guys a bit more about myself (stuff that wasn’t already covered in About), along with a tangent, and some of my plans with MedHopeful.

Being ‘serious’

Josh and I recently had a discussion about first impressions, and as the topic shifted to our first impressions of each other – we first met at O-Week – he told me that his first impression of me was “serious”. I responded with a “what?!”, but to be fair, I had already known that I had given off that vibe.

On the first day of O-Week, we had a welcome talk delivered by the Associate Dean, where he said something along the lines of: “It’s traditional for the Associate Dean to present statistics about the entering class…This year, we have one 19-year-old student…” A small buzz in the auditorium arose, and I simply shrunk in my seat, thinking to myself, “No one will know it’s me.”

I had gone through the whole medical school application process without disclosing my age, and had no intention of doing so in medical school either. In undergrad, I realized that letting people know that you are younger than your peers is a double-edged sword. On one edge, you felt ahead of the game, but on the other, some will question your capabilities and maturity level.

It turns out that a good friend from high school, who was also in my class, had literally squealed in excitement, saying, “Oh! Oh! I know who it is!” By the end of the day, my cover was blown, and I spent the rest of week overcompensating by pretending to be an overly mature and incredibly serious person, before I couldn’t keep it up anymore.

Different types of impressions

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Luck, variance, randomness – whatever you want to call it, it has an undeniable influence on the course of events.

Taking a simple case, you get lucky when your medical school interview is conducted by a physician who turns out to be life long buddies with one of your referees, or perhaps you get unlucky when you realize your interviewer and you are complete opposites.

Or maybe you were lucky (in the way that I was) to only have two organic chemistry passages on your MCAT when it was your weakest area. Some people in my situation may have gotten unlucky with three passages. Some were luckier with just one passage.

I would say that most medical school applicants realize this type of luck and only refer to these recent type of events when discussing the luck involved in applying.

However, the actual reality is that “luck” runs much deeper and much further back, to the point where it is hidden to many of us.

I’m lucky that I never got into a serious accident or developed a serious illness. I’m lucky that I had certain experiences in my life that helped develop an early interest in medicine and led me to where I am today. I’m lucky that I have had very supportive family and friends. Change any one of these things, things that we don’t normally consider “luck” related, and I might not be in medical school. In fact, changing any of these things would have prevented medicine from even being an option in the first place.

I hope this post doesn’t make you cynical about life and make you think you have no control. It’s true that you can’t necessarily control luck, although it is true that sometimes you can manage/reduce the variance involved. For example, if you study hard, then it shouldn’t matter whether you get one or two or three organic chemistry passages on your MCAT.

I like luck, variance, and randomness because in a way it’s beautiful and I’ve learned to embrace it. I embrace it because it’s a powerful concept, and it’s powerful because it’s misunderstood.

Understanding the existence of variance helps you detach yourself from emotional situations that were out of your control. It helps you realize that sometimes no matter if you put your best foot forward, some things are out of your control. And if you understand that, what’s there to cry about?

For instance, say my expectation for passing my previous exam was 95%. And let’s say I fail. Why should I be surprised? I knew I was going to fail 5% of the time. Sure it sucks if it happens, but it’s easier to take in when you accept the reality of the possibilities that can happen and how often they happen. Many people seem to have difficulty coming to terms with the idea that supposed to getting something 95% of the time doesn’t equate to deserving it 100% of the time.

Don’t just accept it – embrace variance, and you will learn to live with reality much easier.

I think far too often in too many things we focus on just one side of the coin. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be counter productive if you’re looking at the side that prevents you from succeeding, and succeeding big.

While I don’t have any specific role models that I look up to, one of the things I have come to admire are people who are masters of their trade – those considered “great” in their respective fields.

One of the things I have come to realize is that a key characteristic such individuals have in common is that they are fearless. To be more specific, what I mean is that they are not scared to lose.

I think it’s important to make this distinction between being fearless of losing and simply being fearless because fearlessness is all too often misconstrued as foolishness when it need not be.

Yes it is true that there is foolish fearlessness. For example, a fearless person who takes a test without studying is foolish. Fortunately, that’s not the type of person I am talking about and clearly not the type of fearlessness I am advocating for.

A master who is fearless is one who recognizes the failures or losses he may experience, but chooses to not focus on them. Instead, he focuses on succeeding.

There are many reasons why being fearless is critical to being successful, but there are two that stand out to me.

Focusing on Failure Prevents you From Taking Advantage of Opportunities to Succeed

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On Monday I had lunch with Alex Shipillo, a good friend of mine who is very smart, driven, and talented, and whom I always have good discussions with and learn a lot from. The funny thing about my friendship with Alex is that I had talked with him and formed a friendship before we had even met in person (no, it wasn’t E-harmony).

Alex and I both attended Shad Valley the same summer, but at different programs, but one of his best friends attended Shad Valley at McMaster with me. We found each other on Facebook, discovered we had a lot of common interests, and began chatting and sharing ideas.

Since the start of this year, Alex has been the President of Impact – Canada’s largest student-run entrepreneurship group. The funny thing is that it was I, a few years ago, who got Alex in contact with Kunal Gupta, the founder of Impact, after not really even knowing Kunal (I had just met him briefly the week before). But it seemed like a good person for Alex to contact. Funny how things turn out. (Or just my way of reminding Alex that he is in debt to my for life. Just kidding though, as Alex is talented enough to have gotten to where he is on his own, I’m sure).

At lunch, we started off by catching up with how each other was doing. I shared with him my progress with a project I was working on (and one you will all soon learn about).

But the biggest thing we talked about was basically about turning my life around and being more productive. I think I don’t come off that way, but I am super, super lazy and am very unproductive. Really, I am. I was very busy in high school and kept myself occupied with many cool things, but since undergrad, I have gotten very lazy. I think it’s partially due to my interests changing (and not finding things that really stimulate me) and partially due to my being way to lazy/burned out to take initiative. I also think it’s because I like instant satisfaction, and in the real world, you really got to put in the work and effort before you reap the rewards, and I struggle with that.

One key thing Alex talked to me about was developing better habits. He told me that if I could pick up a habit and perform it 21 days in a row, it would likely stick. So my plan is to pick up a new habit every 7 days, and hopefully after 21 days of performing each habit, it’ll stick. And I’ll slowly pile on new and improved habits that will become a part of my everyday life.

So the first habit I’ve decided to pick up is getting at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night. To be fair, I already broke this habit last night (in my defense, I was studying for my Determinants of Community Health Exam today). Hopefully I won’t break it again for a long time. Some future habits I’m thinking about picking up include a small bit of daily studying, daily workouts, regular productivity with my blogging, etc.

I feel really unproductive a lot of the time, and hopefully this will help.

Oh yeah, big changes coming – like I’ve been mentioning for a long time, but things are finally ready. MedHopeful is moving onto bigger and better things. More to come in my next post.

I first joined my church choir about five years ago playing the trumpet. That didn’t work out so well, partly because I’m not very good, and partly because it just didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the instruments (guitar and piano). I still wanted to remain an integral part of the choir, so I began to sing instead.

When I first started singing, I remember the choir director would always tell me to sing louder. I always got a bit irritated, because I thought I was singing pretty loud. Of course, the reality was that I was only singing as loud as I was comfortable with – which means, loud enough for myself to hear, but maybe not loud enough for everyone else.

One thing I did notice though, was that when other people started singing louder, I didn’t mind singing louder myself – it was if I felt safe knowing that my voice would be blanketed by everyone else’s. It’s quite a common phenomena among new choir members who are afraid of hearing their own voice – singing is good when the leader sings, but singing becomes scary when the leader doesn’t.

As time went by, I became more and more comfortable with my own voice and other people hearing it. Now, I am one of the lead singers in the choir, and also sometimes direct the choir when the normal choir directors aren’t available. And from this position, I myself have seen other choir members dealing with the same experience – wanting to sing, but only when everyone else, particularly the leader, was singing.

This is why leading by example is so important. By being a leader who participates (and not just directs), you make those around you feel more comfortable getting involved. The more you do, the more motivated other people become, and the more comfortable they become doing it. Hopefully, one day, your team will have developed the confidence to begin leading by example on their own.

Sing loudly, and your choir will sing loudly with you.

I know I’m mentally healthy when I am able to honestly re-evaluate myself in all aspects – that I am able to get rid of all external factors and really reflect deeply about my thoughts, motivations, desires, etc. It’s only through personal honesty that we are able to make the decisions that really are best for us.

One of my proudest moments so far happened because I was honest with myself. On paper I lost, but it felt like a personal victory to be able to shed my pride and ego when it counted most.

OSClub 2003

It all started when I attended OSClub – an all expenses paid summer program at the Ontario Science Centre after my Grade 9 year. It was a really cool program, where you got to meet fifty other students across Toronto and learn about aerospace, biotechnology, telecommunications, engineering, and other fields in a fun, hands-on manner with lots of project-based and field trip experiences. Unfortunately, that program no longer runs, but it was pretty darn cool.

One of the perks of the program was that it had a connection with the International Space School in Houston, Texas. At the time, four Canadian high school students were selected annually to join several students from around the world in attending the International Space School – and two of those spots were promised to OSClub alumni of the two most recent years (one boy and one girl).

My First-Ever Interview

So after the program, I applied for the spot, and made the interview stage. It was actually my first ever interview, so that was kind of cool. In addition, it was a group interview – meaning that all of the finalists get asked the same question, and you take turns answering the question. It’s quite an interesting dynamic, as you get to hear other answers, which in turn might affect how you answer yours. For example, you don’t want your answer sounding exactly like someone else’s, so even if you would’ve came to the same conclusion yourself, you try to look for ways to differentiate yourself.

I don’t think I did great by any means, considering it was my first interview and I had no idea what to expect or how I would react. In the end, a Grade 10 boy and girl were selected to attend the space school. That being said, I later heard that they always selected the older students, and that the younger students were just brought along to the interview to gain some experience.

A Second Chance

A year went by before I had my second and last chance to apply. It was quite the year – I finally started get involved more in my school and community, and had a lot more confidence and experience than the year before. I really wasn’t the guy I was a year ago.

I made it to the interview stage again, except this time, they had all of the guys in one interview. There were three Grade 9 students, and two other Grade 10 students (who I was pretty good friends with). I was pretty sure that the situation would be the same as last time, and I was really only up against the other two guys my age – not bad odds.

I have always been competitive by nature, and after having not made it last time, I was super determined to finally break through.

As we went question through question, I honestly felt like I was completely owning the interview. I really felt like I was separating myself from the pack, and that I had the trip in the bag.

So Close…

But then came the final question: “What type of career are you interested in pursuing?”

For the first time that afternoon, I felt really affected by what was going around me. A bunch of these guys were answering the question saying that they were interested in aerospace engineering and other outer space-related careers. I couldn’t help but feel a bit sick inside because I felt pretty sure I wasn’t going to pursue anything space-related. Sure, it’s possible these guys were lying or stretching the truth, and were just saying whatever was necessary to secure the trip. But I couldn’t do it.

So when it finally got to my turn, this is what I blurted out:

You know what? Don’t pick me. These guys want this way more than I do. I’m not interested in pursuing a career in a space-related field. I’m interested in medicine.

And when I imagine myself going into space, it isn’t as an astronaut or scientist – it’s as a tourist, a visitor.

So don’t pick me.

It was a really weird feeling. I had spent all that time preparing, and doing really well in the interview, and I just threw it all away during the very last question.

It’s a no, but I’m okay

Needless to say, I didn’t get selected. Of course, it’s entirely possible I wasn’t going to be selected anyways.

In any case, it felt like the right thing to do, and I will always be proud of what I did there. If there was even a chance someone else in that room would have benefited more from the experience, it was definitely the right thing to do.

Fortunately for me, I was able to go to Shad Valley instead, and I was really happy with that.

No real message or lesson I’m trying to convey here, but it’s a story that’s important to me, so I wanted to share it with everyone.