Editorial en inglés

In spite of calendars and clocks, time is not measurable — no one can say how long a minute or an hour actually is. It is certainly short enough to pass unnoticed, or to die in, it is also long enough to change the world in. Each of us has 24 hours to daily dispose of. For some of us it passes quickly and undisturbed, but for others it can be utilized for the creation of some world renowned accomplishment or another. But each of us is capable of a world class accomplishment (or two, or three). We may not be able to become Nobel Laureates, but we can become world renowned leaders in our field! We exist at a base board level but we have a ceiling potential. Far too many people believe that they do not have the mental tools to become a world leader, far too many people believe that they do not have the time to accomplish great things, far too many people believe that they lack the „opportunity‟ to accomplish world renowned feats. But this is not true. Many renowned inventions/creations have been made by someone just like you and I. These people were not that much smarter than you or I, they were not that much more resourceful than you or I, they were not that much more fortunate than you or I. But they were able to improve their status by knowing how to maximize their mental abilities and their opportunities for greatness. When I first became an educational researcher at MIT, I wondered just how I would compare to the world renowned researchers and professors that were also working at MIT. I wondered how I would measure-up to the students at MIT, who were also world class thinkers. I wondered what they knew that I did not; I wondered how I could be like them—what was it about them that made them world renowned? During my first few months at MIT one of my primary goals was to meet as many Nobel Laureates as I could. I wanted to know what it was that caused them to reach the heights that they had attained. I also wanted to meet as many world renowned professors as I could. Again, this was to learn what made them different than other human beings on the planet. At that time, I recalled something that Albert Einstein said: “I am not that much smarter than anyone, I just stick with a task longer.” Well Einstein was smarter than most people; he was just being humble. But his observation about „persistence‟ and „curiosity‟ was very true. It was a gem of wisdom. As I met and interacted with MIT people who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, it became very apparent that their level of curiosity coupled with their persistence was significantly different that the rest of the population. Note: I also observed that the Nobel Laureates at MIT that I met were also much taller than I was; but that did not seem to be a factor. I also noticed that they all had few other traits incommon. This observation also applied to the world renowned authors and professors that I was privileged to meet. In addition to a level of persistence and curiosity that was significantly different than other human beings, these highachievers also shared two other commonalities. One other factor was the IEEE-RITA Vol. 4, Núm. 4, Nov. 2009 i